Cardinal Richelieu Bronze Medal 1631 by Warin

Duke of Fronsac (French: ''duc de Fronsac'') was a title of

French nobility The French nobility (french: la noblesse française) was a privileged social class in France from the Middle Ages until its abolition on June 23, 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First Empire the Emperor Napol ...

, first created by promoting the ''

seigneurie In English law, seignory or seigniory, spelled ''signiory'' in Early Modern English (; french: seigneur, lit=lord; la, senior, lit=elder), is the lordship (authority) remaining to a grantor after the grant of an estate in fee simple. ''Nulle terre ...

'' of Fronsac to a duchy in 1608, but the title became extinct a few decades later. This title was revived in 1634 for Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu, better known as Cardinal Richelieu, and it survived until the 19th century.

First creation

The title of ''duc de Fronsac'' was first created in 1608 for the

House of Longueville Duke of Longueville (''Longueville-sur-Scie'') was a title of French nobility, though not a peerage of France. History The title was created in 1505 by King Louis XII of France for his first cousin once removed, François d'Orléans, Count of D ...

, a bastard-cadet branch of the

House of Valois The Capetian house of Valois ( , also , ) was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. They succeeded the House of Capet (or "Direct Capetians") to the French throne, and were the royal house of France from 1328 to 1589. Junior members of the f ...

. The mother of the first duke, Anne de Caumont (1574–1642), held the lesser title of ''marquis de Fronsac'' when her son Léonor II d'Orléans was created a duke. The title became extinct after the first duke died without an heir and the title passed to his father, who had no other issue. * In 1608, Léonor II d'Orléans (1605–1622) was created 1st Duke of Fronsac and held the title until his death in January 1622. Having no heir, the title was passed to his father. * Beginning in 1622, the title was in the possession of the first duke's father, François III d'Orléans (1570–1631), 2nd Duke of Fronsac, Duke of Château-Thierry and

Count of Saint-Pol The county of Saint-Pol (or ''Sint-Pols'') was a county around the French city of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise (''Sint-Pols-aan-de-Ternas'') on the border of Artois and Picardy, formerly the county of Ternois. For a long time the county belonged to Fla ...

. Having no other heirs after his only son preceded him in death, the title became extinct when François III died in 1631.

Second creation

In 1634, the title of ''duc de Fronsac'' was revived for Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu, who already held the title of

Duke of Richelieu Duke of Richelieu (french: duc de Richelieu) was a title of French nobility. It was created on 26 November 1629 for Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu (known as Cardinal Richelieu) who, as a Roman Catholic clergyman, had no issue to pass it down ...

. The title of Duke of Fronsac was often used by subsequent Dukes of Richelieu as a ''titre d'attente'', or courtesy title, for the heir to the Dukedom of Richelieu. * From 1634 to 1642, the title was held by Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu (1585–1642), 1st Duke of Richelieu. * From 1642 to 1646, the title was held by the ''cardinal-duc's'' nephew,

Jean Armand de Maillé-Brézé Jean Armand de Maillé, Duke of Fronsac, Marquis of Brézé (18 October 1619 – 14 June 1646) was a French admiral. He was born in Milly-le-Meugon, in one of the most powerful French families of the time; his father was Urbain de Maillé, Mar ...

(1613–1646), Marquis de Brézé. * The title was held from 1646 to 1674 by the former's sister,

Claire Clémence de Maillé Clair or Claire may refer to: *Claire (given name), a list of people with the name Claire * Clair (surname) Places Canada * Clair, New Brunswick, a former village, now part of Haut-Madawaska * Clair Parish, New Brunswick * Pointe-Claire, Q ...

(1628–1694), Princess of Condé, who ceded the title in 1674 to her cousin (see below). * From 1674 to 1715, the title was held by

Armand Jean de Vignerot du Plessis Armand-Jean de Vignerot Du Plessis, duc de Richelieu (Le Havre, 3 October 1629 – Paris, 20 May 1715),Louis François Armand de Vignerot du Plessis (1696–1788), 3rd Duke of Richelieu. He was known from birth as the ''duc de Fronsac'' as a courtesy title. * From 1788 to 1791, the title was held by

Louis Antoine Sophie de Vignerot du Plessis Louis ''Antoine'' Sophie de Vignerot du Plessis, 4th Duke of Richelieu (4 February 1736 – 1791), was a French nobleman and general. He was known by the courtesy title of Duke of Fronsac before 1788. He also held the titles of Prince de Mortagne, ...

(1736–1791), 4th Duke of Richelieu. He was known as the ''duc de Fronsac'' when his father held the more senior title of ''duc de Richelieu''. * From 1791 to 1822, the title was held by Armand Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis (1766–1822), 5th Duke of Richelieu and Prime Minister of France from 1815 to 1818 and 1820 to 1821. He was known from birth by the courtesy title of ''comte de Chinon'', since the title of ''duc de Fronsac'' was being used as a courtesy title by his father until the death of the 3rd Duke of Richelieu in 1788. At that point, his father inherited the more senior title of ''duc de Richelieu'', and Armand Emmanuel in turn used the courtesy title of ''duc de Fronsac''. The title became extinct upon his death in 1822.

References

External links

European Heraldry page
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426203726/http://www.europeanheraldry.org/france/families/maison-du-plessis-de-richelieu/ , date=26 April 2017 * Dukes of Fronsac