:''This article is about a title. For an adjective meaning "warlike" and associated meanings, see
martial (disambiguation) and . For marshaling in computer science, see
serialization. For the
Dungeons & Dragons base class, see
Marshal (Dungeons & Dragons). Or see
Marshall.''
'Marshal' (also sometimes spelled 'marshall' in
American English, but not in
British English) is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word derives from
Old Germanic ''marh'' "horse" and ''scalc'' "servant", and originally meant "stable keeper". As marshals became trusted members of the courts of
Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for the most elevated offices. The American English spelling of the name ("Marshall") is often confused with the spelling of the title ("Marshal"). It is approximate to the position of
Constable.
Military
In many countries, the rank of Marshal is the highest
Army rank, outranking
Field Marshals,
Grand Admirals and
Generals. Marshals are very sparsely appointed, and typically only in war-time (although this need not be the case). The special symbol of a Marshal is a
baton, and so their insignia often incorporate batons.
In some countries, the word ''Marshal'' is also used instead of ''General'' in the higher
Air force ranks. The four highest
Royal Air Force ranks are '
Marshal of the Royal Air Force', '
Air Chief Marshal', '
Air Marshal' and '
Air Vice Marshal' (although the first, which has generally been suspended as a peacetime rank, is the only one which can properly be considered a marshal). The
5 star rank of
Marshal of the Air Force is used by some
Commonwealth air forces.
In the French army and some armies based on the French army, Maréchal des logis (
Marshal-of-Lodgings ) is a cavalry term equivalent to
sergeant.
Some historical rulers have used special ''Marshal'' titles to reward certain subjects. Though not strictly military ranks, these honorary titles have been exclusively bestowed upon successful military leaders, such as the famous
Grand Marshal of Ayacucho
Antonio Jose de Sucre. Most famous are the '
Marshals of France' (''Maréchaux de France''), not least under
Napoleon I. Another such title was that of '
Reich Marshal' (''Reichsmarschall''), that was bestowed upon
Hermann Göring by
Adolf Hitler, although it was never a regular title.
Soviet Union and
Russia have both
General of the Army and Marshal in their rank system, which leaves the latter as a largely honorary rank.
Marshal ranks by country
The following articles deal with the rank of Marshal as used by specific countries:
★
Marshal of the German Democratic Republic (
East Germany)
★
Marshal of Finland (
Finland)
★
Marshal of France (
France)
★
Marshal-of-Lodgings (
France)
★
Marshal of Italy (
Italy)
★
Marshal of Poland (
Poland)
★
Marshal of Romania (
Romania)
★
Marshal of the Russian Federation (
Russian Federation)
★
Marshal of the Soviet Union (
Soviet Union)
★
Maresal (
Turkey)
★
Marshal of Yugoslavia (
Yugoslavia)
★
Mariscal and the upper
Condestable (
Spanish language countries)
These non-
European ranks are considered the equivalent to a Marshal
★
Chom Phon (
Thailand)
★
General of the Army,
Fleet Admiral and
General of the Air Force (
United States)
★
Mushir (
Middle East)
★
Wonsu (
North Korea and
South Korea)
★
Yuan Shuai (China)
★
Gensui (Japan)
Ceremonial
★ In feudal times, at many courts one or more of the major dignitaries were styled marshal or a compound such as ''court marshal'' (not related to
court martial) or grand marshal; their functions varied, also in time, but frequently included formally announcing guests at audiences, balls, dinners, etc. Such prestigious office was often made
hereditary in the high nobility, e.g. the English
Earl Marshal, or the Scots
Earl Marischal.
★ The term is still used in modern pageantry; for example, the ''grand marshal'' of a parade is often an honored guest or dignitary
Law enforcement
The word Marechaussee seems to derive from the old French name Marecheaux given to an ancient court of justice in Paris called the "Tribunal of
Constables and
Marshals of France". These constables and marshals were to become members of the
Gendarmerie which served as a model for the police forces of both
Belgium and the
Netherlands. The term Marechaussee was also used for the
Continental Army's
military police during the
American Revolution.
United States
Particularly in the
United States, ''marshal'' is used for various kinds of law enforcement officers.
Federal Marshals
★
★ At the federal level, the federal court system is served by the '
United States Marshals Service'. The US Marshals Service also serves
arrest warrants.
★
★
Sky Marshals are armed
security police officers employed to protect commercial airliners from the threat of
Skyjacking. (Though sometimes called ''Air Marshals'', they are completely unrelated to the military rank mentioned above, and are not to be confused with it.)
★
★ The
US Supreme Court maintains a Marshal of the Supreme Court who also controls the
US Supreme Court Police, a
security police service.
State and Local
★ At the state, local or municipal court level, marshals are petty court officers similar to
constables. Although they may be sworn peace officers their job is civil rather than criminal law enforcement. Some communities maintain a Town Marshal who is responsible for general law enforcement as well as court duties, while others are strictly court officers. This is especially true in communities with both police and marshals.
★
★ In the
American Old West, marshals, usually called the "Town Marshal", were appointed or elected
police officers of small communities, with similar powers and duties to that of a
sheriff, while federal marshals would work in a larger, possibly overlapping area, especially in pioneering country. The word is still used in this sense, especially in the
Southwest United States. (''See''
List of Western lawmen). Still the name for some police forces.
★
★ In
California, several counties maintained separate county marshal's Offices which served as court officers similar to US Marshals. All have been merged into or taken over by the local County Sheriff's Office.
★
★ In
Connecticut, marshals serve as court officers. They are separated into two classes: ''State Marshals'' are charged with service of process, and ''Judicial Marshals'' perform court security and transport detainees to and from court.
★
★ In
Georgia, the Marshal is a civil law enforcement officer in some counties and may have some patrol duties.
★
★ In
Indiana, In towns which still have them, Marshals are responsible for law enforcement in a town. His usual duties are the enforcement of local ordinances and code enforcement. He is also the town's humane officer. If he has deputies then one of them must be designated the humane officer.
★
★ In
Maine the State Marshal Service provides physical security and law enforcement duties to the judicial system as well as protection of all state judges. Deputy Marshals are fully sworn state law enforcement officers with statewide authority.
★
★ In
New York City, New York, Marshals are charged with the enforcement of civil judgments. A Marshal is appointed by the Mayor and the office is a private business which pays a percentage of fees it collects to the government. It is supervised by the
Department of Investigation. Generally, the office performs the collection of money judgments, evictions, seizure of
scofflaw vehicles,
replevins, small claims as well as
garnishments.
★
★ In
Ohio the term ''village marshal'' has been used for the same, often without any colleague, directly under the Mayor.
★
★ In
Texas, city marshals and deputy city marshals have, by law, the same authority as a municipal (village, town, or city) police officer. However, municipalities that have both a police force as well as a city marshal's office often utilize the police as the general law enforcement agency of the municipality, while court security and process service is provided by the city marshal's office. In municipalites that do not have a police department, the city marshal's office sometimes serves as the agency that provides general law enforcement services to residents.
★
★ In
Washington, the City of
Seattle employs Marshals in their Municipal Court, with the senior officer holding the title of Chief Marshal and the subordinate officers being Deputy Marshals.
Europe
France
In
France the Maréchaussée was the forerunner of the
French Gendarmerie. A military corps having such duties was first created in 1337 and was placed under the command of the
Constable of France, and therefore named the ''
connétablie''. In 1626 after the aboliton of the title of connétable, it was put under the command of the ''Maréchal of France'', and renamed ''
Maréchaussée''. Its main mission was protecting the roads from
highwaymen.
The gens d'armes were originally heavy cavalry in the king's household, the equivalent of the "
Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms".
In 1720 the maréchaussée was subordinated to the gendarmerie; after the
French Revolution the maréchaussée was abolished and the gendarmerie took over its duties in 1791.
It was a mounted
military police force organised and equipped along military lines. While its existence ensured the relative safety of French rural districts and roads, the marechaussee was regarded in contemporary England (which had no effective police force of any nature) as a symbol of foreign tyranny. In 1789, on the eve of the
French Revolution, the marechaussee numbered 3,660 men divided into small detachments called brigades. By law dated 16 February 1791 this force was renamed the gendarmerie nationale. Its personnel and role remained unchanged.
Netherlands
In the
Netherlands the ''
Koninklijke Marechaussee'' are the ''
gendarmerie'' force. Created by King
William I to replace the French ''gendarmerie'' on October 26, 1814 . The word ''gendarmerie'' had gained a negative connotation, so William called the new force "''marechaussée''" (''maréchaussée'' is an alternate French word for ''gendarmerie''). At that time, the ''marechaussee'' was part of the army (''landmacht''). The ''marechaussee'' performed police duties for the army, as well as civilian police work as a part of the national police (''rijkspolitie''). The ''marechaussee'' would form the only police force in many small cities like Venlo, especially in the southern provinces of Limburg and North Brabant.
Science fiction
===
Star Wars===
The rank of Marshal has made frequent appearances in
science fiction works, both live action productions and literature. In the universe of ''
Star Wars'', the rank of Marshal is conjectured to be connected to the
TIE fighter forces, being ranks held by senior TIE fighter commanders, equivalent to
Imperial Navy Admirals. Several sources of the
Star Wars Expanded Universe have conjectured the following Marshal ranks of the
starfighter service.
★
Grand Marshal
★ High Marshal
★ Force Marshal
★ Chief Marshal
★ Marshal
★ Vice Marshal
Others
In addition to Star Wars, the rank of Marshal may also be found in the novel ''
Starship Troopers'' where the rank of
Sky Marshal is held by the Commander-in-Chief of the military.
Marshal is also a military rank frequently found in the universe of ''
Doctor Who'' where, more often than not, it is held by various
villains who seek galactic domination through military force.
In the ''
Riddick'' universe, the leader of the diabolic
Necromonger army is called the Lord Marshal.
In the computer game ''
StarCraft'', the major character
Jim Raynor holds the rank of Marshal at the story's outset.
In the ''
Warhammer 40,000'' universe, the
Black Templars Space Marines chapter has Marshals.
Another example of the rank of Marshal in science fiction and
fantasy can be found in
Mercedes Lackey's world of
Valdemar. One of the country's most important ranks is that of
Lord Marshal.
In the episode "
Hide and Q" the entity
Q took the appearance of a French marshal.
Academic
★ A university marshal often leads or guides graduates in a procession to the place where the graduation ceremony will take place.
Racing and other competitions
★ In
motor racing,
rallying etc. the
track marshals wave the
Racing flags and assist crashed or broken down vehicles cars and their drivers, while
pit marshals watch over the procedures in the pits, and
fire marshals operate fire extinguisher if needed. The
FIA provides
[1] general rules and recommendations on marshalling. In the
2000 Italian Grand Prix and
2001 Australian Grand Prix, track marshals were victims of fatal accidents
★ In some organized competitions, such as the endurance sport
Tough guy, officials, seeing to the observance of the rules, are styled marshals
★ Marshal is the highest playing piece in the board game ''
Stratego''
See also
★
Earl Marshal
★
General of the Army
★
Constable
★
Sheriff
★
Police patch collecting
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
