The district duchy, also known as the district principality, was a type of the state under the

patrimonial system Patrimonialism is a form of governance in which all power flows directly from the ruler. There is no distinction between the public and private domains. These regimes are autocratic or oligarchic and exclude the lower, middle and upper classes ...

, such as

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once exis ...

principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...

, formed in the

feudal system Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

, as a result of land

partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

between the members of a

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...

. It occurred in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and early modern period, notably in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, in states such as the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

, Duchy of Poland, and

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...

.Tadeusz Manteuffel: ''Historia powszechna. Średniowiecze.'' Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1990, p. 250. ISBN 83-01-08685-8.

Holy Roman Empire

Bavaria

Bavaria-Ingolstadt Bavaria-Ingolstadt ( or ') was a duchy which was part of the Holy Roman Empire from 1392 to 1447. History After the death of Stephen II in 1375, his sons Stephen III, Frederick, and John II jointly ruled Bavaria-Landshut. After seventeen year ...

Bavaria-Landshut Bavaria-Landshut (german: Bayern-Landshut) was a duchy in the Holy Roman Empire from 1353 to 1503. History The creation of the duchy was the result of the death of Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian. In the Treaty of Landsberg 1349, which divided u ...

Bavaria-Munich Bavaria-Munich (german: Bayern-München) was a duchy that was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1392 to 1505. History After the death of Stephen II in 1375, his sons Stephen III, Frederick, and John II jointly ruled Bavaria-La ...

Bavaria-Straubing Bavaria-Straubing denotes the widely scattered territorial inheritance in the Wittelsbach house of Bavaria that were governed by independent dukes of Bavaria-Straubing between 1353 and 1432; a map (''illustration'') of these marches and outliers ...

Mecklenburg

Mecklenburg-Güstrow Mecklenburg-Güstrow was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in Northern Germany, that existed on three occasions ruled by the House of Mecklenburg at Güstrow. History A first short-lived predecessor existed after the death of Henry IV, Duke of Me ...

Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting Hous ...

Mecklenburg-Stargard Mecklenburg-Stargard was one of the two semi-duchies formed from the partition of the Duchy of Mecklenburg from 1348 to 1471. The other semi-duchy was called Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The main part of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Stargard comprised th ...

Mecklenburg-Strelitz The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy in northern Germany consisting of the eastern fifth of the historic Mecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-day Mecklenburg-Strelitz district (the former Lordship of Stargard), ...

Palatinate

Palatinate-Birkenfeld The House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld (German: ''Pfalz-Birkenfeld''), later Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, was the name of a collateral line of the Palatine Wittelsbachs. The Counts Palatine from this line initially ruled over only a relatively u ...

Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler was a state of the Holy Roman Empire based around Bischwiller. It was formed in 1600, after the separation from Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld and was incorporated into Palatine Zweibrücken in 1731. Hist ...

Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen was a state of the Holy Roman Empire seated in Gelnhausen in the south of modern Hesse, Germany. Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen was partitioned from Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler in 1654. It was a mediate st ...

Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Zweibrücken Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Zweibrücken was a state of the Holy Roman Empire based around the Duchy of Zweibrücken in modern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Zweibrücken was created in 1731 when Christian III of Palatinate-Zweibr ...

Palatinate-Kleeburg Palatinate-Kleeburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, which centered on the Alsatian lordship of Kleeburg. Palatinate-Kleeberg was the younger partition of Palatinate-Zweibrücken in 1604 for John Casimir, the youngest son of John I, Co ...

Palatinate-Landsberg Palatinate-Landsberg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire based around Landsberg in northeastern France. Palatinate-Landsberg was the intermediate partition of Palatinate-Zweibrücken in 1604 for Frederick Casimir, the youngest son of John I, C ...

Palatinate-Lautern Palatinate-Lautern was a state of the Holy Roman Empire based around Lautern and Neustadt an der Weinstrasse in the south of modern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Palatinate-Lautern was partitioned from the Electorate of the Palatinate in 1576 ...

Palatinate-Mosbach Palatinate-Mosbach was a state of the Holy Roman Empire centred on Mosbach and Eberbach in the north of modern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Palatinate-Mosbach was created in 1410 out of the partition of the Palatinate after the death of King ...

Palatinate-Mosbach-Neumarkt Palatinate-Mosbach-Neumarkt was a state of the Holy Roman Empire based around Mosbach and Eberbach in the north of modern Baden-Württemberg, and Neumarkt in the Upper Palatinate of Bavaria, Germany. Palatinate-Mosbach-Neumarkt was created in ...

Palatinate-Neuburg Palatinate-Neuburg (german: Herzogtum Pfalz-Neuburg) was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire, founded in 1505 by a branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Its capital was Neuburg an der Donau. Its area was about 2,750 km², with a population of ...

* Palatinate-Neumarkt *

Palatinate-Simmern The House of Palatinate-Simmern (german: Pfalz-Simmern) was a German- Bavarian cadet branch of the House of Wittelsbach. The house was one of the collateral lineages of the Palatinate. The Palatinate line of the House of Wittelsbach was divided i ...

Palatinate-Simmern and Zweibrücken Palatinate-Simmern and Zweibrücken (german: Pfalz-Simmern-Zweibrücken) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire based in the Simmern and Zweibrücken in modern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Palatinate-Simmern and Zweibrücken was created in 1410 o ...

Palatinate-Simmern-Kaiserslautern Palatinate-Simmern-Kaiserslautern was a state of the Holy Roman Empire based in the Counties Palatine of Simmern and Kaiserslautern, and the Palatinian portion of the County of Sponheim in modern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Palatinate-Simmer ...

Palatinate-Simmern-Sponheim Palatinate-Simmern-Sponheim (german: Pfalz-Simmern-Sponheim) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire based in the County Palatine of Simmern and the Palatinian portion of the County of Sponheim in modern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Palatinate-Sim ...

Palatinate-Sulzbach Palatinate-Sulzbach was the name of two separate states of the Holy Roman Empire located in modern Amberg-Sulzbach, Bavaria, Germany, ruled by a branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Palatinate-Sulzbach (1569–1604) Palatinate-Sulzbach was pa ...

Palatinate-Sulzbach-Hilpoltstein Palatinate-Sulzbach-Hilpoltstein was a state of the Holy Roman Empire based around Hilpoltstein in modern central Bavaria, Germany. Palatinate-Sulzbach-Hilpoltstein was created in 1614 out of the partition of the territories of Philip Louis of Pa ...

* Palatinate-Zweibrücken *

Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld was a state of the Holy Roman Empire based around Birkenfeld within the Upper Rhenish Circle. It was formed in 1569, after the partition of Palatine Zweibrücken and was reincorporated into that state in 1731. ...

Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Vohenstrauss-Parkstein Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Vohenstrauss-Parkstein was a state of the Holy Roman Empire based around Vohenstrauß and Parkstein in modern northeastern Bavaria, Germany. Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Vohenstrauss-Parkstein was created in 1569 out of the p ...

Pomerania

Pomerania-Demmin The Duchy of Pomerania-Demmin, also known as the Duchy of Demmin, and the Duchy of Dymin, was a feudal duchy in Western Pomerania within the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Demmin. It was ruled by the Griffin dynasty. It existed in the High Midd ...

Pomerania-Stettin The Duchy of Pomerania-Stettin, also known as the Duchy of Stettin, and the Duchy of Szczecin, was a feudal duchy in Farther Pomerania within the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Szczecin. It was ruled by the Griffin dynasty.B. Dopierała, ''Po ...

Pomerania-Schlawe The Duchy of Pomerania-Schlawe, also known as the Duchy of Sławno, was a Feudalism, feudal duchy with its capital in Sławno, located in Pomerania within the Holy Roman Empire. It was formed in 1190, when it separated from Pomerania-Stettin. In 12 ...

Pomerania-Wolgast The Duchy of Pomerania-Wolgast, also known as the Duchy of Wolgast, and the Duchy of Wołogoszcz, was a feudal duchy in Western Pomerania within the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Wolgast. It was ruled by the Griffin dynasty.Edward Rymar, ''Rod ...

Pomerania-Stolp The Duchy of Pomerania-Stolp, also known as the Duchy of Stolp, and the Duchy of Słupsk, was a feudal duchy in Farther Pomerania within the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Słupsk. It was ruled by the Griffin dynasty. It existed in the High M ...

Pomerania-Neustettin The Duchy of Pomerania-Neustettin, also known as the Duchy of Neustettin, and the Duchy of Szczecinek, was a feudal duchy of the Holy Roman Empire located in Middle Pomerania. It existed between 1372 and 1478. Its capital was Szczecinek. It was form ...

Pomerania-Stargard The Duchy of Pomerania-Stargard, also known as the Duchy of Stargard located in Western Pomerania in the Holy Roman Empire, was a feudal duchy with its capital in Stargard. It was formed in 1377, when it separated from Pomerania-Stolp. In 1395 ...

Pomerania-Barth Duchy of Pomerania-Barth was a feudal duchy of the Holy Roman Empire located in Western Pomerania that existed in the Middle Ages between 1376 and 1478, and between 1569 and 1625. The state consisted of its capital, Barth, and nearby areas. Duch ...

* Pomerania-Rügenwalde * Pomerania-Wolgast-Stolp

Saxony and Thuringia

Saxe-Altenburg Saxe-Altenburg (german: Sachsen-Altenburg, links=no) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in present-day Thuringia. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilometer ...

Saxe-Coburg Saxe-Coburg (german: Sachsen-Coburg) was a duchy held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in today's Bavaria, Germany. History Ernestine Line When Henry IV, Count of Henneberg – Schleusingen, died in 1347, the possessions of the ...

Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach was a duchy within the Holy Roman Empire. It existed during two fairly short periods: 1572-1596 and 1633-1638. Its territory was part of the modern states of Bavaria and Thuringia. History The duchy was created by the Div ...

Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld () was one of the Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin Dynasty. Established in 1699, the Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield line lasted until the reshuffle of the Ernestine territories that occurred following the extinct ...

Saxe-Eisenberg The Duchy of Saxe-Eisenberg was one of the Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin Dynasty. History Established in 1680 for Christian, fifth son of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha, the Duchy consisted of Eisenberg and the towns ...

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, links=no ), was an Ernestine, Thuringian duchy ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-d ...

Saxe-Eisenach Saxe-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Eisenach) was an Ernestine duchy ruled by the Saxon House of Wettin. The state intermittently existed at three different times in the Thuringian region of the Holy Roman Empire. The chief town and capital of all th ...

Saxe-Gotha Saxe-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Gotha) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in the former Landgraviate of Thuringia. The ducal residence was erected at Gotha. History The duchy was established in 1640, when ...

Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg () was a duchy ruled by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in today's Thuringia, Germany. The extinction of the line in 1825 led to a major re-organisation of the Thuringian states. History In 1640 the sons of the l ...

Saxe-Hildburghausen Saxe-Hildburghausen () was an Ernestine duchy in the southern side of the present State of Thuringia in Germany. It existed from 1680 to 1826 but its name and borders are currently used by the District of Hildburghausen. History After the Duk ...

Saxe-Jena The Duchy of Saxe-Jena was one of the Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin Dynasty. Established in 1672 for Bernhard, fourth son of Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, Saxe-Jena was reincorporated into Saxe-Weimar on the extinction ...

Saxe-Marksuhl The Duchy of Saxe-Marksuhl was one of the Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin Dynasty. Established in 1662 for John George I, third son of Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar. Originally John George was supposed to share Saxe-Eisen ...

Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-Meiningen ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernestin ...

Saxe-Römhild Saxe-Römhild (German: ''Sachsen-Römhild'') was an Ernestine duchy in the southern foothills of the Thuringian Forest. It existed for only 30 years, from 1680 to 1710. History After the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, Ernest the Pious, died on 26 Marc ...

Saxe-Saalfeld The Duchy of Saxe-Saalfeld was one of the Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin Dynasty. Established in 1680 for Johann Ernst, seventh son of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha. It remained under this name until 1699, when Albert, D ...

Saxe-Weimar Saxe-Weimar (german: Sachsen-Weimar) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar. The Weimar branch was the most genealogically senior extant bra ...

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) was a historical German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was rais ...

Poland

Original division

Seniorate Province Seniorate Province, also known as the Senioral Province, , was a district principality in the Duchy of Poland that was formed in 1138, following the fragmentation of the state. Its ruler held the title of the High Duke, ruling all duchies wit ...

(later reformed into the Duchy of Kraków) *

Duchy of Greater Poland The Duchy of Greater Poland was a district principality in Greater Poland that was a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Poland. It was formed in 1138 from the territories of the Kingdom of Poland, following its fragmentation started by the testament of ...

Duchy of Sandomierz The Duchy of Sandomierz was a district principality and a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Poland. It was formed in 1138 from the territories of the Kingdom of Poland, following its fragmentation, that was started by the testament of Bolesław III Wr ...

Duchy of Masovia Duchy of Masovia was a district principality and a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Poland, existing during the Middle Ages. The state was centered in Mazovia in the northeastern Kingdom of Poland, and during its existence, its capital was located in ...

Duchy of Silesia The Duchy of Silesia ( pl, Księstwo śląskie, german: Herzogtum Schlesien, cs, Slezské knížectví) with its capital at Wrocław was a medieval duchy located in the historic Silesian region of Poland. Soon after it was formed under the Pia ...

Greater Poland

Duchy of Poznań The Duchy of Poznań was a feudal district duchy in the Greater Poland, centered on the Poznań Land. Its capital was Poznań. The state was established in 1177, in the partition of the Duchy of Greater Poland, after the rebellion against Mies ...

Duchy of Gniezno The Duchy of Gniezno was a feudal district duchy in the Greater Poland, centered on the Kalisz Region. Its capital was Gniezno. The state was established in 1177, in the partition of the Duchy of Greater Poland, after the rebellion against Mieszk ...

* Duchy of Kalisz

Masovia

Duchy of Czersk The Duchy of Czersk was a feudal district duchy in Masovia, centered on the Czersk Land. Its capital was Czersk. The country was established in 1275, in the partition of the Duchy of Masovia, with duke Konrad II becoming its ruler.Agnieszka Teter ...

Duchy of Płock The Duchy of Płock was a feudal district duchy in Masovia, centered on the Płock Land. Its capital was Płock. It existed in the High Middle Ages era, from 1275 to 1294, from 1310 to 1351, and from 1381 to 1462. History The country was esta ...

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...

Duchy of Rawa The Duchy of Rawa was a feudal district duchy in Masovia, centered on the Rawa Land. Its capital was Rawa. It existed during the High Middle Ages era, from 1313 to 1370, and from 1381 to 1442. The state was established in April 1313, in the part ...

Duchy of Belz Duchy of Belz or principality of Belz was a duchy, formed in the late 12th century in Kievan Rus. During its history the duchy was a constituent part of some other political entities such as the Kingdom of Rus, the Kingdom of Hungary, Duchy of ...

Duchy of Wizna Duchy of Wizna was a district principality and a fiefdom within the United Kingdom of Poland, and later the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. The country was located in Wizna Land with Wizna as its capital and during its existence it remained in ...

Kuyavia

* Duchy of Łęczyca *

Duchy of Sieradz The Duchy of Sieradz ( la, ducatus Siradiae, pl, Księstwo Sieradzkie), also known as the Duchy of Siradia, was one of the territories created during the period of the fragmentation of Poland. It was originally part of the central Seniorate Provi ...

* Duchy of Brześć Kujawski *

Duchy of Inowrocław The Duchy of Inowrocław ( pl, Księstwo Inowrocławskie) was one of the territories created during the period of the fragmentation of Poland. It was originally part of the Duchy of Kuyavia, but was separated by Ziemomysł and Władysław I the E ...

Duchy of Bydgoszcz and Wyszogród Duchy of Bydgoszcz and Wyszogród was a District duchy, district principality and a fiefdom within the Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385), Kingdom of Poland during the Fragmentation of Poland, era of fragmentation. It was formed between 1314 and 1315 ...

Duchy of Gniewkowo The Duchy of Gniewkowo was a district principality and a fiefdom within the Kingdom of Poland during the era of fragmentation that was formed in 1314 from part of the Duchy of Inowrocław. The country was located in the Kuyavia and consisted of Gn ...

Duchy of Dobrzyń A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World ...

Silesia

Others

Duchy of Wiślica Duchy of Wiślica was a district principality and a fiefdom within the Kingdom of Poland. It was formed in 1166 from the territories of the Duchy of Sandomierz, following its fragmentation onto three parts. The state was ruled by Casimir II the ...

(from the

)

Pomerelia

Duchy of Gdańsk The Duchy of Gdańsk was a duchy in Pomerelia with its capital in Gdańsk. It was formed in 1227 from the partition of the Duchy of Pomerelia and existed until 1270 when it was incorporated back into it. History In 1227, after the Gąsawa ma ...

Duchy of Świecie and Lubiszewo Duchy of Świecie and Lubiszewo was a duchy in Pomerelia centred around Świecie and Lubiszewo. It was formed in 1227 from the partition of the Duchy of Pomerelia and existed until between 1227 and 1233 when it was partitioned between duchies of ...

Duchy of Białogarda Duchy of Białogarda was a duchy in the Pomerelia centred around its capital, Białogarda. It was formed in 1233 from the partition of the Duchy of Świecie and Lubiszewo,Labuda Gerard, ''Mściwoj I, Słownik biograficzny Pomorza Nadwiślańskieg ...

* Duchy of Lubiszewo *

Duchy of Świecie Duchy of Świecie ( pl, księstwo świeckie) was a duchy in Pomerelia centred around Świecie. Its only ruler was duke Mestwin II of the Samboride dynasty. History The state was established between 1248 and 1264, with duke Mestwin II being gi ...

References

Monarchy Feudalism Principalities Dukedoms Types of administrative division {{geo-term-stub