The word 'apanage' or '''appanage''' stems from the
Late Latin ''apanare'' meaning "to give bread" (''panem'', compare the French court title ''
Grand panetier''), a ''pars pro toto'' for food and other necessities, hence for a "subsistence" income, notably in kind, as from assigned land.
The system of appanage has greatly influenced the territorial construction of
France and explains the
flag of many
provinces of France.
Appanage is also the word used to describe the funds given by the state to certain royal families, for instance the
Danish Royal Family.
The original appanage: in France
History of the French appanage
An appanage was a concession of a fief by the sovereign to his younger sons, while the eldest son became king on the death of his father. Appanages were considered as part of the inheritance transmitted to the puisne (french ''puisné'', 'later born') sons; the word ''Juveigneur'' (from the Latin comparartive ''Iuvenior'', 'younger [brother]'; in Brittany's customary law only the youngest brother) was specifically used for the royal princes holding an ''apanage''. These lands could not be sold, neither hypothetically nor as a dowry, and returned to the royal domain on the extinction of the princely line. Daughters were excluded from the system: a false interpretation of
salic law generally prohibited daughters from inheriting land and also from acceding to the throne.
The appanage system was used to gild the pill of the
primogeniture to avoid civil war among throne contenders or the division of the kingdom among princes of royal blood. It was used in this way in
843, by the
Treaty of Verdun, when
Louis the Pious divided his empire between his sons
Lothair and
Louis the German. This division was a source of antagonism between
France and
Germany, less so in France, since the treaty was imposed on Lothair by Louis.
Hugh Capet was elected King of France on the death of
Louis V in
987. The royal line of France from
987 to
1328 broke entirely away from the
Merovingian and
Carolingian custom of dividing the kingdom among all the sons. The eldest son alone became King and received the royal domain except for the appanages. Most of the
Capetians endeavored to add to the royal domain by the incorporation of additional fiefs, large or small, and thus gradually obtained the direct lordship over almost all of France.
King
Charles V tried to remove the appanage system, but in vain. Provinces conceded in appanage tended to become ''de facto'' independent and the authority of the king was recognized there reluctantly. Theoretically appanages could be reincorporated into the royal domain but only if the last lord had no male heirs. Kings tried as much as possible to rid themselves of the most powerful appanages: for example,
Francis I confiscated the
Bourbonnais, the last appanage of any importance then, after the treason in 1523 of his commander in chief,
Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, the 'constable of Bourbon' (died 1527 in the service of
Emperor Charles V).
The first article of the
Edict of Moulins (1566) declared that the royal domain (defined in the second article as all the land controlled by the crown for more than ten years) could not be alienated, except in two cases: by interlocking, in the case of financial emergency, with a perpetual option to repurchase the land; and to form an appanage, which must return to the crown in its original state on the extinction of the male line. The ''apanagist'' (incumbent) therefore could not separate himself from his appanage in any way.
★ After
Charles V of France, a clear distinction had to be made between titles given as names to children in France, and true appanages. At their birth the French princes received a title independent of an appanage. Thus, the
Duke of Anjou, son of
Louis XIV, never possessed Anjou and never received any revenue from this province. The king waited until the prince had reached adulthood and was about to marry before endowing him with an appanage. The goal of the appanage was to provide him with a sufficient income to maintain his noble rank. The fief given in appanage could be the same as the title given to the prince, but this was not necessarily the case. Only seven appanages were given from
1515 to
1789.
★ Appanages were abolished in
1792 before the proclamation of the
Republic. The youngest princes from then on were to receive a grant of money but no territory.
★ Appanages were reestablished under the first French empire by
Napoleon Bonaparte and confirmed by the Bourbon restoration-king
Louis XVIII. The last of the appanges, the
Orléanais, was reincorporated to the French crown when the Duke of Orleans,
Louis-Philippe, became king of the French in
1830.
★ The word ''apanage'' is still used in French figuratively, in a non-historic sense: “to have appanage over something” is used, often in an ironic and negative sense, to claim exclusive possession over something. For example, “cows have appanage over
prions.”
List of major French appanages
★
Louis VI
★
★ The
County of Dreux for the king's third son
Robert.
★
Philip II
★
★ The
Counties of Domfront and
Mortain for the king's younger son
Philippe Hurupel.
★
Louis VIII, by his
1225 will, granted
★
★ The
County of Artois to his second son
Robert. Artois was lost by Robert's male heirs, passing through a female line, and eventually was inherited by the Dukes of Burgundy.
Louis XI seized it upon the death of
Charles the Bold in
1477, but his son returned it to Charles's heirs in preparation for his invasion of Italy in
1493.
★
★ The
Counties of Anjou and
Maine to his third son
John. This title returned to the crown when John died without heirs in
1232.
★
★ The
Counties of Poitou and
Auvergne to his fourth son
Alphonse. This title returned to the crown when Alphonse died without heirs in
1271.
★
Louis IX endowed
★
★ 1246 - The
Counties of Anjou and
Maine to his youngest brother,
Charles. These titles passed to Charles's granddaughter, who married Charles, Count of Valois, the younger son of
Philip III, and thence to their son,
Philip. When Philip inherited the throne as Philip VI, the titles merged into the crown.
★
★ The
County of Orleans to his eldest son,
Philip. This title returned to the crown when Philip succeeded his father in
1270.
★
★ ca. 1268 - The
County of Valois to his second son,
John Tristan. This title became extinct upon John Tristan's death in
1270.
★
★ 1268 - The
Counties of Alençon and
Perche to his third son,
Pierre. This title became extinct on Pierre's death in
1284.
★
★ 1269 - The
County of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis to his fourth son,
Robert. Robert's son,
Louis, was later given the
Duchy of Bourbon, which was treated as an apanage, although it was not technically one. Louis later traded Clermont for
La Marche with his cousin
Charles, Count of Angoulême, younger brother of King Philip V. These titles remained in the Bourbon family until they were confiscated due to the treason of
Charles III, Duke of Bourbon in
1527.
★
Philip III
★
★ The
County of Valois to his second son
Charles. Charles was later given the
Counties of Alençon,
Perche, and
Chartres by his brother,
Philip IV of France. Valois passed to Charles's eldest son,
Philip upon his death in
1325, and returned to the crown when Philip became King Philip VI in
1328. Alençon and Perche passed to Charles's younger son,
Charles. A descendant was raised to the dignity of Duke of Alençon. These titles returned to the crown upon the extinction of the Alençon line in
1525.
★
★ The
County of Beaumont-sur-Oise to his third son
Louis. Louis was later given the
County of Évreux by his brother Philip IV. These titles returned to the throne upon the death of Queen
Blanche of Navarre in
1441.
★
Philip IV endowed
★
★ the
County of Poitou for his second son,
Philip. This title returned to the throne when Philip became king in
1316.
★
★ the
Counties of La Marche and
Angoulême for his third son,
Charles IV. Charles later traded La Marche for the
County of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis with the
Duke of Bourbon. These titles returned to the throne when Charles became king in
1322.
★
Philip VI endowed the
★
★ the
Duchy of Normandy for his elder son
John. This title returned to the throne when John succeeded his father in
1350.
★
★ the
Duchy of Orléans for his younger son
Philip. This title returned to the throne when Philip died without issue in
1375.
★
John II ''the Good'', on his departure to England in
1360, granted
★
★ the Duchies of
Anjou and
of Maine to his second son
Louis. This title returned to the throne upon the death of duke
Charles IV, Louis I's great-grandson, in
1481.
★
★ the Duchies of
Berry and
of Auvergne to his third son
John. These titles returned to the throne upon John's death without male issue in
1416.
★
★ In
1363, John II granted the
Duchy of Burgundy to his fourth son
Philip. Upon the death of Philip's great-grandson
Charles the Bold in
1477, King
Louis XI claimed the reversion of Burgundy and seized the territory. It continued to be claimed, however, by Charles's daughter
Marie and her heirs. When Marie's grandson Emperor
Charles V defeated and captured
Francis I at the
Battle of Pavia in
1525, he forced Francis to sign a treaty recognizing him as Duke of Burgundy, but Francis disavowed the treaty when he was released, and the cession was revoked by the
Treaty of Cambrai four years later. Charles and his heirs reserved their claims, however, and this reservation was repeated as late as the
Treaty of the Pyrenees in
1659, when
Philip IV of Spain continued to reserve his rights to the Duchy.
★
Charles VI granted
★
★ the
Duchy of Orléans and the
County of Angoulême to his brother
Louis in
1392. This title returned to the crown when Louis's grandson became
Louis XII of France in
1498.
★
Louis XI granted
★
★ the
Duchies of Normandy,
Berry, and
Guyenne to his younger brother
Charles. These titles returned to the crown when Charles died in
1472.
★
Francis I granted
★
★ the
Duchies of Orléans,
Angoulême, and
Châtellerault and the
Counties of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis and
La Marche to his second surviving son,
Charles in
1540. To this was added the
Duchy of Bourbon in
1544. These titles returned to the crown when Charles died without issue in
1545.
★
Charles IX granted
★
★ the
Duchies of Anjou and
Bourbonnais and the
County of Forez to the older of his two brothers,
Henry, in
1566. He added the
Duchy of Auvergne to these holdings in
1569. The titles returned to the crown when Henry succeeded his brother in
1574.
★
★ the
Duchies of Alençon and
Château-Thierry and the
Counties of Perche,
Mantes, and
Meulan to his youngest brother,
Francis in
1566. To this he later added the
Duchy of Évreux and the
County of Dreux in
1569. Francis's other brother,
Henry III, increased his holdings still further in
1576, granting him the
Duchies of Anjou,
Touraine, and
Berry and the
County of Maine. All these titles returned to the crown upon Francis's death without issue in
1584.
★
Louis XIII granted
★
★ The
Duchies of Orléans and
Chartres and the
County of Blois to his younger brother
Gaston in
1626. To this was added the
Duchy of Valois in
1630. These titles returned to the crown on Gaston's death without male issue in
1660.
★
Louis XIV granted
★
★ The
Duchies of Orléans,
Chartres, and
Valois to his brother,
Philippe in
1661. To this was added the
Duchy of Nemours in
1672. These titles passed to his descendants and were abolished during the Revolution in
1790. They were restored to the heir at the time of the
Restoration in
1814. The heir,
Louis Philippe III, duc d'Orléans, usurped the throne in
1830 following the
July Revolution, and the titles may at this point be considered to have merged in the crown.
★
★ The
Duchies of Alençon and
Angoulême and the
County of Ponthieu to his third grandson,
Charles, duc de Berry in
1710. These titles returned to the crown upon his death without surviving issue in
1714
★
Louis XV granted
★
★ The
Duchy of Anjou and the
Counties of Maine,
Perche, and
Senonches to his second surviving grandson,
Louis Stanislas, comte de Provence in
1771. Louis was further given the
Duchy of Alençon by his brother
Louis XVI in
1774. These titles were abolished during the Revolution in
1790. When the monarchy and apanages were restored in
1814, Louis had inherited the throne as Louis XVIII, and his titles merged into the crown.
★
★ The
Duchies of Auvergne,
Angoulême and
Mercoeur and the
Vicomté of Limoges to his youngest grandson
Charles, comte d'Artois in
1773. To this was added in
1774 by his brother,
Louis XVI the
Marquisate of Pompadour and the
Vicomté of Turenne. In
1776, Louis XVI deprived Charles of Limoges, Pompadour, and Turenne, and gave him in exchange the
Duchies of Berry and
Châteauroux, the
Counties of Argenton and
Ponthieu, and the
Lordship of Henrichemont. In
1778, the apanage was further reshaped, with Auvergne and Mercoeur removed and replaced with the
County of Poitou, leaving Charles with a final apanage consisting of the Duchies of Angoulême, Berry, and Châteauroux, the Counties of Argenton, Ponthieu, and Poitou, and the Lordship of Henrichemont. These titles were during the Revolution in
1790, but were restored at the time of the Restoration in
1814. They merged into the crown when Charles became king in
1824.
Although Napoleon restored the idea of apanage in
1810 for his sons, none were ever granted, nor were any new apanages created by the restoration monarchs.
Western feudal Appanages outside France
★ In
Britain, it became usual for princes of the blood to receive Royal Dukedoms, though
Peerages of lower ranks have been assigned as appanages too, indeed recently again
Prince Edward, third son of
Queen Elizabeth II, was made
Earl of Wessex
In the only
crusader state of equal rank in protocol, the
Kingdom of Jerusalem, the
count of Jaffa and Ascalon was often granted as an appanage.
Equivalents outside Western Europe
The practice is certainly not unique to western feudalism
★ The principalities of
European Russia had a similar practice; an apanage given to a younger male of the royal family was called an ''
udel''. The frequency and importance of the custom was particularly important between the mid 13th and the mid 15th centuries; some historians refer to this era as "the appanage period."
★ In the
Indian subcontinent, the ''
jagir'' (a type of fief) was often thus assigned to individual junior relatives of the ruling house of a
princely state, but not as a customary right of birth, though in practice usually hereditarily held, and not only to them but also to commoners, normally as an essentially meritocratic grant of land and taxation rights (guaranteeing a 'fitting' income, in itself bringing social sway, in the primary way in a mainly agricultural society), or even as part of a deal.
★ Most unusual, the mother of the Maharaja of
Travancore (a matrilinear Hindu dynasty) and her sister received the principality of
Attingal in joint appanage, being styled the Senior and Junior ''Rani'' (the female form of Raja or Rana) of Attingal, respectively; their husbands, known as Koil Tampurans, came from one of four or five princely houses who were closely related to the Royal House of Travancore
Sources and references
★
"Apanages in the French monarchy", on François Velde's ''Heraldica'' site.
★ ''Nouveau Larousse illustré'', undated (early XXth century; in French)
★
RoyalArk- here Travancore
See also
★
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