A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is

Markgraf Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Emp ...

(margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) of a marquess is a marchioness or marquise. These titles are also used to translate equivalent Asian styles, as in

Imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...

and Imperial Japan.

Etymology

The word ''marquess'' entered the English language from the

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...

("ruler of a border area") in the late 13th or early 14th century. The French word was derived from ("frontier"), itself descended from the

Middle Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying deg ...

("frontier"), from which the modern English word '' march'' also descends. The distinction between governors of frontier territories and interior territories was made as early as the founding of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

when some provinces were set aside for administration by the senate and more unpacified or vulnerable provinces were administered by the emperor. The titles "

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

" and "

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

" were similarly distinguished as ranks in the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, with (literally, "leader") being used for a provincial military governor and the rank of (literally "companion," that is, of the Emperor) given to the leader of an active army along the frontier.

Belgium

The title of marquess in Belgium predates the French Revolution and still exists today. See and .

Spain

In Spain, the rank of Marquess/Marchioness (/) still exists. One hundred forty-two of them are Spanish grandees. Normally a is addressed as "The Most Illustrious Lord" (), or if he/she is a grandee as "The Most Excellent Lord" (). Examples include the Marquess of Carpio, Grandee of Spain.

United Kingdom

The honorific prefix "The Most Honourable" precedes the name of a marquess or marchioness of the United Kingdom. In Great Britain, and historically in Ireland, the correct spelling of the aristocratic title of this rank is marquess (although on the European mainland and in Canada, the French spelling of marquis is used in English). In Scotland, the French spelling is also sometimes used. In Great Britain and historically in Ireland, the title ranks below a

and above an earl. A woman with the rank of a marquess, or the wife of a marquess, is a marchioness in Great Britain and Ireland or a marquise elsewhere in Europe. The dignity, rank, or position of the title is referred to as a marquisate or marquessate. Coronet of a British Marquess

The theoretical distinction between a marquess and other titles has, since the Middle Ages, faded into obscurity. In times past, the distinction between a

and a marquess was that the land of a marquess, called a march (territory), march, was on the border of the country, while a count's land, called a county, often was not. As a result of this, a marquess was trusted to defend and fortify against potentially hostile neighbors and was thus more important and ranked higher than a count. The title is ranked below that of a

, which was often largely restricted to the royal family. The rank of marquess was a relatively late introduction to the British peerage: no marcher lords had the rank of marquess, though some were earls. On the evening of the Coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838, the Prime Minister Lord Melbourne explained to her why (from her journals):

I spoke to [Lord Melbourne] about the numbers of Peers present at the Coronation, & he said it was quite unprecedented. I observed that there were very few Viscounts, to which he replied "There are very few Viscounts," that they were an old sort of title & not really English; that they came from Vice-Comites; that Dukes & Barons were the only real English titles; – that Marquises were likewise not English, & that people were mere made Marquises, when it was not wished that they should be made Dukes.

Equivalent non-Western titles

Pompa funebris Albert Ardux - Trazegnies

Like other major Western noble titles, marquess (or marquis) is sometimes used to translate certain titles from non-Western languages with their own traditions, even though they are, as a rule, historically unrelated and thus hard to compare. However, they are considered "equivalent" in relative rank. This is the case with: * In History of China#Ancient China, ancient China, 侯 (''hóu'') was the second of five noble ranks 爵 (''jué'') created by King Wu of Zhou and is generally translated as marquess or marquis. In Imperial era of Chinese history, imperial China, 侯 (''hóu'') is generally, but not always, a middle-to-high ranking hereditary nobility title. Its exact rank varies greatly from dynasty to dynasty, and even within a dynasty. It is often created with different sub-ranks. * In Meiji Japan, 侯爵 (''kōshaku''), a hereditary peerage (''kazoku'') rank, was introduced in 1884, granting a hereditary seat in the upper house of the imperial diet just as a British peerage did (until the House of Lords Act 1999), with the ranks usually rendered as baron, viscount, count, marquis and duke/prince. * In Korea, the title of 현후 (縣侯; ''hyeonhu''), the meaning of which is "marquess of district", existed for the hereditary nobility in the Goryeo, Goryeo dynasty. It was equivalent to the upper fifth rank of nine bureaucratic orders, and was in the third rank of six nobility orders. The title of Buwongun, could be received only Father in law of King or The Vassals who dedicate Notably to create New kingdom is also same as Marquess. In the Joseon, Joseon dynasty, there was no title equivalent to marquess. * In Maritime Southeast Asia, ''temenggong'' (or ''tumenggung'') is a title used by Islamic dynasties such as Mataram Sultanate and Johor to designate a noble ruled over a frontier area or district, or to a chief of public security. Tumenggung ranks below Bendahara or vizier. * In Vietnam, ''hầu'' () was a senior title of hereditary nobility, equivalent to marquis, for male members of the imperial clan, ranking under ''hoàng đế'' (皇帝)(emperor), ''vương'' (王)(king/prince), ''quốc công'' (國公)(grand duke/duke of the nation), ''quận công'' (郡公)(provincial duke) and ''công'' (公)(duke, rather like a German Fürst), and above ''bá'' (伯)(count), ''tử'' (子)(viscount) and ''nam'' (男)(baron).

In fiction

Marquesses and marchionesses have occasionally appeared in works of fiction. For examples of fictional marquesses and marchionesses, see List of fictional nobility#Marquesses and marchionesses.

Notes

References

* The Chronological Peerage of England, hereditarytitles.com as of 2 March 2003

omits Normanby, misspells Hartington as Martington, places Marquess of Lorn and Kintyre in the peerage of England (Scotland is more probable).
EtymologyOnLine
* — "and in 1694 was made marquess of Normanby"

External links

* *{{cite EB1911 , wstitle=Marquess , volume=17 , page=751 , short=x Marquessates, Marquesses, Counts, Noble titles Peerage Men's social titles de:Markgraf