Appanage


An appanage, or apanage, is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much of Europe.
The system of appanage greatly influenced the territorial construction of France and the German states and explains why many of the former provinces of France had coats of arms which were modified versions of the king's arms.

Etymology

  • appanaticum, from appanare or adpanare 'to give bread', a pars pro toto for food and other necessities, hence for a "subsistence" income, notably in kind, as from assigned land.

    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 puisné. The word Juveigneur was specifically used for the royal princes holding an appanage. These lands returned to the royal domain on the extinction of the princely line, and could not be sold. Daughters were initially able to inherit the appanages under the Capetian kings. However, under the House of Valois, Salic law was applied, which prohibited women from inheriting.
The system of appanage has played a particularly important role in France. It developed there with the extension of royal authority from the 13th century, then disappeared from the late Middle Ages with the affirmation of the exclusive authority of the royal state. It strongly influenced the territorial construction, explaining the arms of several provinces. The prerogative of Burgundy is also the origin of the Belgian, Luxembourgeois and Dutch states, through the action of its dukes favored by their position in the court of the kings of France.
Primogeniture avoids territorial splintering, which the earlier Frankish tradition of partible inheritance suffered from. But primogeniture creates resentment in younger sons who inherit nothing. Appanages thus were used to sweeten the bitter pill of primogeniture and deter revolt of younger sons by diverting their aspirations of claiming their eldest brother's throne.

House of Capet

Unlike their predecessors, the Capetian dynasty's hold on the crown was initially tenuous. They could not afford to divide the kingdom among all their sons, and the royal domain was very small, initially consisting solely of the Île-de-France. So the Capetians broke away from the Frankish custom of partible inheritance, to instead have the eldest son alone become King and receive the royal domain. Most Capetians endeavored to add to the royal domain through incorporation of additional fiefs, large or small, and thus gradually obtained direct lordship over almost all of France.
Their first king Hugh Capet only had one son, Robert II. But Robert had multiple sons. One of them, Henry I of France, became the first king to create an appanage in 1032, when he gave the Duchy of Burgundy to his younger brother Robert I of Burgundy.
Louis VIII and Louis IX also created appanages.

House of Valois

The king who created the most powerful appanages for his sons was John II of France. His youngest son, Philip the Bold, founded the second Capetian House of Burgundy in 1363. By marrying the heiress of Flanders, Philip also became ruler of the Low Countries.
King Charles V tried to abolish 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. In particular the line of Valois Dukes of Burgundy caused considerable trouble to the French crown, with which they were often at war, often in open alliance with the English. 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. Louis XI retook the Duchy of Burgundy at the death of its last duke, Charles the Bold. Francis I confiscated the Bourbonnais, after the treason in 1523 of his commander in chief, Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, the 'constable of Bourbon'.
The first article of the Edict of Moulins declared that the royal domain 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 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, grandson 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.

Post-Revolution

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 appanages, the Orléanais, was reincorporated to the French crown when the Duke of Orléans, Louis Philippe I, 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

Direct Capetians

  • Henry I gave the Duchy of Burgundy to his brother Robert.
  • Louis VI gave the County of Dreux to his son Robert. The lineage of the counts became extinct in 1355, but a cadet line, descended from Pierre Mauclerc, became Dukes of Brittany.
  • Philip II gave his son Philippe Hurepel the county of Clermont, then the counties of Domfront and Mortain.
  • 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 Poitou and Auvergne to his fourth son Alphonse. These returned to the crown when Alphonse died without heirs in 1271.
  • *the Counties of Anjou and Maine to his third son John. They returned to the crown when John died without heirs in 1232.
  • Louis IX endowed
  • *the Counties of Anjou and Maine to his youngest brother, Charles. They 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 lands reverted to the crown.
  • *the County of Orléans to his eldest son, Philip. It returned to the crown when he succeeded his father in 1270 as Philip III.
  • *the County of Valois to his second son, Jean Tristan. This title became extinct upon Jean Tristan's death in 1270.
  • *the Counties of Alençon and Perche to his third son, Pierre. This title became extinct on Pierre's death in 1284.
  • *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 appanage, 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 appanages remained in the Bourbon family until they were confiscated due to the treason of Charles III, Duke of Bourbon in 1527.
  • Philip III granted
  • *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. His titles returned to the throne when Charles became king in 1322.

    House of Valois

  • Philip VI granted
  • *the Duchy of Normandy to his elder son John. This title returned to the throne when John succeeded his father in 1350.
  • *the Duchy of Orléans to 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 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 Mary and her heirs. When Mary'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. The Duchy of Orléans returned to the crown when Louis I's grandson became Louis XII of France in 1498. The County of Angoulême returned to the crown when Louis I's great-grandson became Francis I of France in 1515.
  • Louis XI granted the Duchies of Berry, Normandy, 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.