Burke's Peerage Limited is a British
genealogical publisher
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist
John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and
heraldry
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...
of the
peerage,
baronetage,
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...
age and
landed gentry
The landed gentry, or the ''gentry'', is a largely historical British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. While distinct from, and socially below, the British peerage, t ...
of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. His first publication, a ''Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the United Kingdom'', was updated sporadically until 1847, when the company began releasing new editions every year as ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage'' (often shortened to just ''Burke's Peerage'').
Other books followed, including ''
Burke's Landed Gentry
''Burke's Landed Gentry'' (originally titled ''Burke's Commoners'') is a reference work listing families in Great Britain and Ireland who have owned rural estates of some size. The work has been in existence from the first half of the 19th cen ...
'', ''Burke's Colonial Gentry'', and ''Burke's General Armory''. In addition to the peerage, the Burke's publishing company produced books on
royal families of Europe and
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...
, ruling families of Africa and the Middle East, distinguished families of the United States and historical families of Ireland.
History

The firm was established in 1826 by
John Burke (1786–1848), progenitor of a dynasty of
genealogists and
herald
A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms.
Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen ...
s. His son Sir
John Bernard Burke (1814–1892) was
Ulster King of Arms (1853–1892) and his grandson, Sir
Henry Farnham Burke (1859–1930), was
Garter Principal King of Arms
The Garter Principal King of Arms (also Garter King of Arms or simply Garter) is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms, the heraldic authority with jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland ...
(1919–1930). After his death, ownership passed through a variety of people.
Apart from the Burke family, editors have included
Arthur Charles Fox-Davies
Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (28 February 1871 – 19 May 1928) was a British expert on heraldry. His ''Complete Guide to Heraldry'', published in 1909, has become a standard work on heraldry in England. A barrister by profession, Fox-Davies wor ...
,
Alfred Trego Butler,
Leslie Gilbert Pine
Leslie Gilbert Pine (22 December 1907 – 15 May 1987) was a British writer, lecturer, and researcher in the areas of genealogy, nobility, history, heraldry and animal welfare.
Early life and education
Pine was born at Bristol, the son of Henry Mo ...
,
Peter Townend, and
Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd.
From 1974 to 1983,
Jeremy Norman was chairman of the company, taking the role while Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd was editor. His fellow directors included
Patrick, Lord Lichfield, and
John Brooke-Little
John Philip Brooke Brooke-Little (6 April 1927 – 13 February 2006) was an English writer on heraldic subjects, and a long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London. In 1947, while still a student, Brooke-Little founded the Society of ...
. Under Norman's chairmanship, new volumes were published on royal families, Irish genealogy, and country houses of the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (O ...
. In 1984, the ''Burke's Peerage'' titles were separated and sold: ''Burke’s Peerage'' itself was acquired by Frederik Jan Gustav Floris, Baron van Pallandt, while ''Burke’s Landed Gentry'' and other titles were sold to other buyers.
Criticism
In 1877, the Oxford professor
Edward Augustus Freeman
Edward Augustus Freeman (2 August 182316 March 1892) was an English historian, architectural artist, and Liberal politician during the late-19th-century heyday of Prime Minister William Gladstone, as well as a one-time candidate for Parliament. ...
criticised the accuracy of Burke's
and said that it contained pedigrees that were
purely mythical – if indeed mythical is not too respectable a name for what must be in many cases the work of deliberate invention .. andall but invariably false. As a rule, it is not only false, but impossible ..not merely fictions, but exactly that kind of fiction which is, in its beginning, deliberate and interested falsehood.
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
in the play ''
A Woman of No Importance'' wrote: "You should study the Peerage, Gerald. It is the one book a young man about town should know thoroughly, and it is the best thing in fiction the English have ever done!" In 1901, the historian
J. Horace Round
(John) Horace Round (22 February 1854 – 24 June 1928) was an historian and genealogist of the English medieval period. He translated the portion of Domesday Book (1086) covering Essex into English. As an expert in the history of the British ...
wrote of Burke's "old fables" and "grotesquely impossible tales".
[
More recent editions have been more scrupulously checked and rewritten for accuracy, notably under the chief editorship, from 1949 to 1959, of ]L. G. Pine
Leslie Gilbert Pine (22 December 1907 – 15 May 1987) was a British writer, lecturer, and researcher in the areas of genealogy, nobility, history, heraldry and animal welfare.
Early life and education
Pine was born at Bristol, the son of Henry Mo ...
and Hugh Massingberd (1971–1983). Pine was particularly sceptical regarding many families' claims to antiquity, saying: "If everybody who claims to have come over with the Conqueror were right, William
William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conq ...
must have landed with 200,000 men-at-arms instead of about 12,000."["Twentieth Century Squires", ''Time'', 10 December 1951]
See also
* ''Almanach de Gotha
The ''Almanach de Gotha'' (german: Gothaischer Hofkalender) is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First published ...
''
* ''The Complete Peerage
''The Complete Peerage'' (full title: ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a bord ...
''
* '' Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage''
* '' Social Register''
* Carnet Mondain
The ''Carnet Mondain'' ( French for Social Notebook) of Belgium is a directory featuring high society (nobility and upper bourgeoisie), Belgian or foreign, established in Belgium, as well as members of Belgian families established abroad. It is ...
* International Register of Arms, formerly ''Burke's Peerage & Gentry International Register of Arms''
References
External links
*
*
Burke's Peerage Foundation website
Online editions
1st edition – 1826 – Hathitrust
3rd edition – 1830 – Hathitrust
4th edition – 1832 – Vol 1 – Hathitrust
4th edition – 1832 – Vol 2 – Hathitrust
4th edition – 1832 – Vol 2 – Google Books
4th edition – corrected to 1833 – Vol 2 – Hathitrust
5th edition – 1838 – Google Books
6th edition – 1839 – Hathitrust
7th edition – 1843 – Vol 2 – Hathitrust
10th edition – 1848 – Hathitrust
12th edition – 1850 – Hathitrust
20th edition – 1858 – Hathitrust
22nd edition – 1860 – Hathitrust
23rd edition – 1861 – Hathitrust
27th edition – 1865 – Google Books
30th edition – 1868 – Google Books
30th edition – 1868 – Vol 1 – Hathitrust
30th edition – 1868 – Vol 2 – Hathitrust
31st edition – 1869 – Vol 1 – Hathitrust
31st edition – 1869 – Vol 2 – Hathitrust
37th edition – 1875 – Vol 2 – Hathitrust
40th edition – 1878 – Hathitrust
48th edition – 1886 – University of Dusseldorf
53rd edition – 1891 – University of Dusseldorf
76th edition – 1914 (to page 1274) – Archive.org
77th edition – 1915 – Archive.org
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Publications established in 1826
Publishing companies established in 1826
British biographical dictionaries
English society
Scottish society
Welsh society
Family history
Genealogy publications
Literature on heraldry
Series of books
19th-century history books
20th-century history books
21st-century history books
1826 establishments in the United Kingdom
Peerages in the United Kingdom