Napoleonic Titles and Heraldry

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Napoleon Ier, in coronation robes. by François Gérard. Note the collar of the Légion d'Honneur. (France, Ministry of Culture, Base Joconde)

Napoléon Bonaparte (himself of a noble family) ruled France from 1799 to 1804 as First Consul, and from 1804 to 1814 as Emperor of the French (as well as a 3-month period in 1815, called the Hundred Days).

Napoléon found a number of ways to reward and distinguish those who served his regime well. The first institution was the Légion d'Honneur, created on May 19, 1802. Although the grand-fiefs were created in Italy, outside of the French Empire, in 1806, the restoration of titles and of heraldry, which had been abolished in 1790, did not come until a statute of March 1, 1808. Technically, it was not a restoration of nobility, which Napoleon had sworn never to tolerate, and which would have been characterized by inequality before the law. In fact, the words "nobility" and "noble" are never used in the statutes, and the law on majorats(see below) explicitly states that the majorats confer no right or privilege whatsoever (Senatus-consulte of Aug 14, 1806, art. 6; confirmed by statute of March 1, 1808, art. 74). In 1814, when monarchy was restored, the Charter used the term "new nobility" when referring to the Napoleonic titles, but again specified that nobility conferred no exemption from the burdens and duties of society. In practice, the term of nobility is nowadays sometimes used as a short-hand to designate the collection of titles granted during the Empire.

A decree of May 17, 1809 extended the right to arms to cities, corporations and associations which applied for them.

Napoléon's Titles

French Empire

Creation of the Empire

(See also the page on the title of emperor.)

The First French Empire lasted from 1804 to 1814 (and was briefly restored from March to June 1815, a period known as "the Hundred Days").

It resulted from the transformation of the French Republic, in existence since 22 Sept 1792, into an Empire.  Strictly speaking, the Republic remained in name.  The French Senate voted a law on May 18, 1804 whose first article reads: "The government of the Republic is vested in an Emperor, who takes the title of Emperor of the French." The second article read: "Napoléon Bonaparte, currently First Consul of the French Republic, is Emperor of the French." The law was proclaimed on May 20, 1804. No contradiction was seen between France being a Republic and it being governed by an Emperor. Indeed, until 1808, French coins bore "République Française" on one side and "Napoléon Empereur" on the other, pursuant to a decree of June 26, 1804 that only modified the legend on the obverse, replacing "Bonaparte Premier Consul" with "Napoleon Empereur". The legend on the reverse was only modified by decree of October 22, replacing "Republique Française" with "Empire français" as of Jan 1, 1809). This was a return to the Roman use of the word Emperor (Augustus was officially only the first citizen of the Roman Republic).

A referendum took place in late May 1804. It did not bear on either the imperial dignity or its bestowal on Napoleon, but rather on the question of heredity of the imperial dignity. The text of the referendum was: "the people want the imperial dignity to be hereditary in the direct, natural, legitimate and adoptive line of Napoléon Bonaparte and in the direct, natural and legitimate line of Joseph Bonaparte and Louis Bonaparte, as provided by the law of [May 18]."

Napoléon's official style was: "Napoléon, par la grâce de Dieu et les Constitutions de la République, Empereur des Français". Several other titles were added: "Roi d'Italie" (1805), "Protecteur de la Confédération du Rhin"(1806), "Médiateur de la Confédération Helvétique"(1809).

The arms of the French Empire are described elsewhere.

The territories of the French Empire already exceded the boundaries of 1789 France, as a result of annexations: Comtat-Venaissin (1791), Savoie (1792), Belgium and Germany up to the Rhine (1795), all of which were confirmed by the peace of Lunéville in 1801.  The territory increased further as a result of other annexations:

Law of Succession

The rules on inheritance of the imperial dignity are described in detail in the law of May 18. Women and their issue were excluded forever. Napoléon could adopt a son or grandson of one of his brothers Joseph or Louis, if he had no children of his own. No other adoptions were allowed. Joseph and Louis and their issue were in line after Napoléon's own issue. Princes were forbidden from marrying without prior consent, on pain of losing their succession rights and excluding their issue; but if the marriage ended without children, the prince would recover his rights.

A decree of March 30, 1806 defined the status of the imperial family. It was composed of (1) the princes apt to succeed as defined by the Constitution, their spouses and their descendance in legitimate marriage, (2) the sisters of Napoléon, their spouses and their descendants in legitimate marriage to the 5th generation included, (3) the adopted children of the Emperor and their legitimate descent. The decree laid down many rules on the behavior of the members of the family; the most predictable one was that formal written assent from the Emperor (in a closed letter sealed by the Chancelor) was required for any marriage to be legally valid; in the absence of consent, the marriage was null and void and any descent was illegitimate. Many other rules were also set down: the Emperor could exile members of his family, or exile people whose influence he disapproved of; he decided on their education, where they lived, etc.

End of the Empire

On April 1, 1814, the victorious Allied troups occupied Paris, and Czar Alexander I of Russia issued a proclamation to the effect that the Allies would respect the constitution that France would choose for itself, but that they would not deal with Napoleon or any member of his family. The Senate met the next day and proclaimed: "Napoléon Bonaparte est déchu du trône et le droit d'hérédité établi dans sa famille est aboli." The next day, the Corps Législatif signalled its agreement: "Le Corps Législatif [...] reconnaît et déclare la déchéance de Napoléon Bonaparte et des membres de sa famille." Napoleon himself formally renounced the thrones of France and Italy "for himself and his posterity" on April 11, 1814. This renunciation was enshrined in a formal treaty between himself on one hand, Russia, Austria and Prussia on the other hand, signed at Fontainebleau on the same day. Great Britain acceded to the treaty of Fontainebleau on 27 April, the Provisional Government of France accepted it on April 11, and an official note by Louis XVIII's minister of foreign affairs of 30 May indicated the king's intention to abide the terms of the treaty. Thus, Napoleon's renunciation was an act of international law. The treaty gave him sovereignty over Elba, and gave Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla as hereditary domain for his wife and their son (the treaty of Vienna of June 1815, however, only gave Parma to Napoleon's wife for her life and left the details of reversion for another treaty; that treaty, signed in Paris on June 10, 1817, left Parma to the dynasty of Bourbon-Parma; for a short while, though, Napoleon's son was styled "principe di Parma"). The treaty of Fontainebleau also made other arrangements for Bonaparte family members.

Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba, off the coast of Italy; he was given sovereignty over the island for his lifetime (the arms of the island under Napoleon were argent on a bend gules three bees or). But Napoleon decided to take advantage of the fragility of the restored Bourbon regime in France, and returned to France. Upon landing at Golfe-Juan, on March 1, 1815, he resumed the imperial dignity. The defeat at Waterloo on June 18 left him with no choice but to abdicate, this time in favor of his son Napoleon II, who was proclaimed in Paris on 22 June 1815.  On July 1, 1815 the Bourbons returned to Paris and put an end to "les Cent Jours".

See a map of the French empire at its peak in 1811.

Kingdom of Italy

The kingdom of Italy resulted from the transformation of the Italian Republic, formerly known as the Cisalpine Republic, whose creation in 1796 was recognized by the Treaty of Campo-Formio of Oct 1797.

Napoléon was already president of the Italian Republic.  He was proclaimed king of Italy in Paris on March 16, 1805 by delegates of the Republic. Napoléon intended to leave the kingdom of Italy to a younger son of his and maintain France and Italy as separate realms: these intentions are expressed in the constitutional statute of March 17, 1805, which indicates that the two crowns could never be united, and that Napoléon's successors in Italy had to reside there; but that separation of the crowns would take place only once Sicily, Malta and the Ionian Islands had been joined to the kingdom, and a general peace prevailed in Europe. (See also the full texts in Italian).

When Venice was united to the kingdom of Italy on March 30, 1806, the title of "prince of Venice" was reserved for the heir presumptive to the kingdom of Italy (art. 9). A statute of June 5, 1805 defined the position of viceroy of Italy, to which Napoléon appointed Eugène de Beauharnais (1781-1824), son of his wife Joséphine from her first marriage. The Prince Eugène was adopted on 12 Jan, 1806 with no rights to the French succession, but he was given presumptive rights to the throne of Italy in the absence of a second son of Napoleon on February 16, 1806, and given the title of Prince of Venice on December 20, 1807.

The arms of the kingdom of Italy were:
Tierced per pale: 1) per fess a) Gules on a gonfalone two keys per saltire all or (Parma-Farnese) and b) Azure an eagle displayed argent, wings inverted, crowned and armed or (Modena-Este); 2) Argent a serpent erect per vert, crowned or, swallowing a child gules (Lombardia); 3) per fess, a) Azure the lion of Saint-Mark or (Veneto) and b) Gules on a cross argent a label or and in base sinister a tower of the second (Bologna). Overall an escutcheon bearing: or a crown radiant vert, on a bordure gules 8 plates. The shield encircled by the collar of the Legion of Honor on the breast of an imperial eagle or, within a mantle gules lined ermine, crowned by a royal crown.

The kingdom was enlarged with the annexation of Urbino, Ancona, Macerate and Camerino (part of the Papal states) on 2 Apr 1808.  The territories ceded by Austria on the coast of the Adriatic may have formed part of the kingdom.  They were collectively organized into the "Illyrian Provinces" on 14 Oct 1809 (comprising Villach, Carniola, Istria, Fiume, Trieste, Dalmatia, parts of Croatia).

When Rome and the remainder of the Papal states was united to the French Empire on February 17, 1810, Rome was given the rank of second city of the Empire, and the title of "roi de Rome" was reserved for the Prince Imperial ("art. 7: le prince impérial porte le titre et reçoit les honneurs de Roi de Rome"). It was subsequently born by Napoleon (1811-32), the Emperor's only son.

Le Roi de Rome, par Pierre-Paul Prud'hon.

Napoleonic Titles

Aside from the kingdoms and sovereign grand-duchies that Napoléon created as he rearranged the map of Europe, he also established a hierarchy of titles. The first batch of titles were created in 1806: these were territorial principalities ceded as "immediate fiefs of the crown", or "great fiefs of the crown" established in Italy on particular lands, a 1/15th of whose income was attached to the title as revenue. Furthermore, a statute of 1806 foresaw the creation of further titles.

This was carried out in 1808, by a decree of March 30, 1808 on titles. Napoléon created a full-blown hierarchy of titles: prince, duc, comte, baron, chevalier (each qualified as de l'Empire: prince de l'Empire, duc de l'Empire, etc). For some reason, Napoléon found the titles of marquis and vicomte ridiculous, and never bestowed them.

The titles were either life titles or hereditary titles. A hereditary title had to have an endowment called majorat attached to it. The endowment could be provided by the Emperor himself out of his personal estate (the domaine extraordinaire, resulting from conquests and confiscations) in the case of a majorat de propre mouvement or proprio motu, or it could be formed by the title holder.

The life titles of dukes, counts and barons were automatically conferred to the holders of certain offices or positions. To become a hereditary title, the recipient had to establish a majorat. The title of chevalier d'Empire was originally conferred on members of the Légion d'Honneur, although it ultimately became distinct from membership. Three consecutive generations of membership in the Legion conferred hereditary knighthood on the third member. It was the lowest rank (there was no écuyer d'Empire).

Napoléon also created titles at his pleasure, and endowed them totally or partially as he wished. In particular, he created a series of titles of princes and dukes for his generals, the "victory titles", in which the name of the title was derived from a particular battle. This was not an invention of Napoleon: the British had been doing so since 1693 (viscount Barfleur) and the Spaniards since the 1730s at least (e.g., marqués de Bitonto; Charles III of Sicily created the count of Montemar duke of Bitonto in July 1734). But there were no precedents in France, where until 1789 titles remained linked to land.

The titles which were automatic were the following (decree of March 1, 1808):

  1. Prince for the Grands Dignitaires of the Empire
  2. Duke for their eldest sons (only after formation of a majorat)
  3. Count for ministers, senators, life-councillors of State (conseillers d'Etat à vie), presidents of the Legislative House, archbishops
  4. Baron for presidents of electoral colleges (with minimum tenure of 3 sessions), First President of the Court of Cassation, First President and procureur-général of the Court of Accounts (Cour des Comptes), First Presidents and procureurs-généraux of the Courts of Appeal, mayors of the "bonnes villes" (37, later 52 major cities), bishops. All offices had to be held at least 10 years before the title became automatic. The titles could also be bestowed on generals, prefects, mayors, military and civilian officers, at the emperor's pleasure.
Titles of princes and dukes were given: There was a declension of titles: if a majorat had been formed, then the son of a prince was a duke, the son of a duke was a count, the son of a count was a baron. This innovation (inexistent under the Old Regime) was preserved by the Restoration for peers.

In addition to titles, there existed the rank of prince français, reserved for members of the Imperial family eligible to succeed to the throne.

In all, about 2200 titles were created:

There were 239 remaining families holding 1st Empire titles in 1975. Of those, perhaps 130-140 were titled. Only 1 title of prince and 7 titles of duke remain.

The Majorats

See the decree of March 1, 1808 creating the majorats and other related texts.

The peculiarity of Napoleonic titles was the necessity for a title to have an endowment (called a majorat) to which it was attached. Titles, whether automatically obtained by office or conferred by the Emperor, were life titles only, unless an endowment was created, either by the holder of the title out of his own estate (for automatic titles) or by the Emperor when he conferred the title. The endowment had to generate a minimum annual income (200,000F for a duke, 30,000F for a count, 15,000F for a baron, 3,000F for a knight).

The endowment could be formed of estates free of any liens (estimated on the basis of tax assessments and leases), government bonds, shares in the Bank of France. The composition of the endowment had to be approved by the Conseil du Sceau before the letters patent could be issued.

Once an endowment (or "majorat") had been created, the estates or securities which comprised it were exempted from the normal civil laws (the Napoleon Code), particularly from rules on division between heirs. The majorat remained whole, and was transmitted by male primogeniture to the legitimate issue (heir of body or adopted but with imperial approval in the latter case). Bishops and archbishops could appoint a nephew to inherit their title. The endowment could not be mortgaged, sold, or foreclosed. The majorat carried no privilege or tax exemption of any kind, however.

An oath of loyalty was required of the recipient of a majorat, within 3 months of reception: "I swear to be faithful to the Emperor, his dynasty, to obey the constitutions, laws and regulations of the Empire; to serve His Majesty as a good, loyal and faithful subject; to raise my children in the same feelings of faithfulness and obedience, to rise to the defense of the Motherland any time the territory is endangered or when His Majesty goes to head the army."

In case of extinction of the male line of the founder of the majorat, the title became extinct, the estates forming the endowment were freed and passed on to the heirs according to the normal rules of inheritance, unless the endowment had been provided by the Emperor with reversion clauses. The decree of March 1, 1808, does not say what happens if any of the requirements on recipients are not met.

The law of May 9, 1835 suppressed the requirement of a majorat to make titles hereditary, and specified that existing majorats were to become extinct after the second inheritance (that is, the estates became subject once again to ordinary inheritance laws). However, the law applied only to majorats created by individuals out of their own estates, not to majorats endowed by the Emperor, which continued to exist under their own regime. These last majorats were abolished by the finance law of April 22, 1905, pursuant to which the estates reverted to the State in exchange for an indemnity (negotiated by a bilateral commission; the total amount appropriated for these indemnities was capped at 15 times the revenue of all existing majorats).

A side effect of the law of 1835 was that, since it eliminated the requirement of creating a majorat, any original recipient who was still alive at that date and had not yet created a majorat saw his title become hereditary. This was significant, since creating a majorat was costly and few had done so, only 15% of recipients.

The Annuaire de la noblesse de France published in 1858 and 1859 lists of the two kinds of majorats, those endowed by the title holders themselves (majorats sur demande) and those endowed by the Emperor (majorats de propre mouvement).

Armory of the Principal Napoleonic Titles

This is an armory of the major Napoleonic titles (dukes and higher). In the following list, an asterisk marks those that are not extinct. The coats of arms are those of the individual to whom the title was granted; in most cases I have omitted the mention of the chief of prince of the Empire or duke of the Empire.

Arnaud Bunel has depicted most of these coats of arms.

Sovereign Titles

Kings

Sovereign Grand-Dukes and Princes (3)

Both the grand-duchies of Cleves-Berg and Frankfurt were fully sovereign states, members of the Confederation of the Rhine, and equal in status in international law to any other European state ruled by a relative or close ally of Napoleon. Tuscany was a purely honorary title. Lucca-Piombino was a principality formed from the pre-existing, independent republic of Lucca.

"Sovereign" Princes (3)

The status of these principalities is a little ambiguous, as the texts concerning them speak of "full sovereignty", yet (in the cases of Ponte-Corvo, Benevento, and Neufchâtel) an oath of loyalty to Napeolon was required, which makes them a little closer to fiefs. These statelets were presumably ruled much the way Monaco is today, formally independent but closely dependent on France. Guastalla was initially patterned on the same model but was immediately annexed by the kingdom of Italy and turned into a ducal title.

duchés grands fiefs de l'Empire

Since feudalism had been abolished in France, Napoleon could not satisfy his desire to surround himself with great feudataries. He did so by establishing "duchies great-fiefs" (duchés grands-fiefs) in the satellite dominions of Italy. A total of 16 duchies were created in March 1806. The peculiarity of these titles was that they were attached to a territorial basis, and received an income from public funds in those territories (either from general fiscal revenues of from the state's domains). This is different altogether from the majorat system, which are private estates attached after concession of the title by the grantee (even if the estates often proceeded from a gift of the emperor), and owned as private property, albeit subject to a special regime in civil law.

In the Kingdom of Italy (12)

Created by decree of 30 March 1806

In the Principality of Lucca-Piombino (1)

In the Kingdom of Naples (4)

Created by decree of 30 March 1806.

In the states of Parma and Piacenza (3)

Created by decree of 30 March 1806 in the states of Parma and Piacenza, ceded to France by the treaty of Aranjuez of 21 March 1801.  The territories were united to the French Empire on 24 May 1808.

Victory Titles

Principalities (4)

Dukedoms (11)

Other Dukedoms

Titles in the Kingdom of Italy

Within the kingdom of Italy, Napoléon also created a hierarchy of titles, parallel to the French hierarchy, but all titles were titles "of the kingdom" as opposed to titles "of the Empire". Presidents of the Electoral Colleges three times in a row were dukes, Grand Officers of the crown, ministers, senators, Counselors of State were counts, etc (7th Constitutional Statute of Italy, Sept. 4, 1808). Two dukes, about 100 counts and as many barons were created. In 1812, holders of titles of previous regimes were invited to petition for a grant of a new title. A complete list is in Bascapè and Del Piazzo (1983).

The canton of counts was vert instead of azure, but the heraldry was otherwise identical.

Italian Dukedoms

Titles elsewhere

Napoléon's brothers and relatives in Spain, Naples, Holland, and Westphalia also created titles. The list of titles created in Naples is in Bascapè and del Piazzo (1983).

Napoleonic Heraldry

Titles of the 2nd Empire (1852-70)

On December 2, 1851, Napoléon I's nephew Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of the French Republic, took power by force and dissolved the National Assembly. On January 24, 1852 he restored titles of nobility which the Republic had abolished in 1848. A senatus-consulte of November 7, 1852 restored "the imperial dignity" vested it in Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, and made it hereditary in his direct legitimate descent, by male primogeniture. As with Napoleon I, Napoleon III was allowed to adopt a son from among the descent of the brothers of Napoleon I, but this ability was denied to any successor. An organic decree of December 18, 1852 named Jérôme Napoléon and the direct legitimate male issue of his marriage with Catherine of Wurttemberg as collateral successors after the Emperor's descent. A statute of June 21, 1853 reestablished most of Napoleon's rules for the imperial family, defined as the legitimate or adoptive descent of the emperor, and the other princes with succession rights, their spouses and legitimate descent. A referendum ratified the restoration of the Empire. Napoleon III reigned 18 years (1852-70).

Under the 2nd Empire a few more titles were created, and many titles were confirmed (although 114 out of 296 confirmations were for "titres de courtoisie", that is, illegitimate titles which had been in use for some period of time):

The heir to the throne was the Prince Impérial (Napoleon, 1856-79); at some point the title of Roi d'Algérie was mooted but never adopted.

Four titles of dukes were created:

The first two titles are victory titles (from the Crimea War and the Campaign of Italy respectively). If you're wondering about Magenta, yes, the color's name has the same origin: it was discovered about that time by a patriotic French scientist. Napoléon III also modified the remainders for several titles of the 1st Empire to extend them to collateral or female lines (Auerstaedt, Otrante, Feltre, Abrantès).

Napoleon III's style was "Napoléon, par la grâce de Dieu et la volonté nationale, Empereur des Français".

References

I don't know of any good source in English, most writers in that language being understandably uninterested in the topic. The material is covered in Pastoureau's Traité. A complete armory of the Empire is Révérend, which also contains the full texts of the relevant laws and decrees, and a large number of plates; see also Tulard. See Bascapè and Del Piazzo for the Italian aspects of Napoleonic heraldry. A book on the Bonaparte family which discusses their arms is Valynseele. See also the plates in Neubecker's Heraldry (well, at least in the French edition...).



 
 
 

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