The Nobles of the Sword () were the noblemen of the oldest class of nobility in France dating from the

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

and the

early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

, and arguably still in existence by descent. It was originally the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

ly class whose members owed military service, usually to a king (to the

King of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

typically but in some cases to other monarchs such as the Plantagenet kings of England for example) in return for the possession of

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

landed estates in the king's

realm A realm is a community or territory over which a sovereign rules. The term is commonly used to describe a monarchical or dynastic state. A realm may also be a subdivision within an empire, if it has its own monarch, e.g. the German Empire. Etymo ...

. They played an important part during the French Revolution since their attempts to retain their old power monopoly caused the new nobility’s interests to align with the newly arising French bourgeoisie class, creating a powerful force for change in French society in the late 18th century. For the year 1789, Gordon Wright gives a figure of 80,000 nobles.

Background

The term ''noblesse d'épée'' is largely synonymous with ''noblesse de race'' ("nobility of family") and ''noblesse ancienne'' ("old nobility"), and it is used in distinction from the other classes of the

French nobility The French nobility () was an Aristocracy, aristocratic social class in France from the France in the Middle Ages, Middle Ages until its abolition on 23 June 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First French Empire, ...

: *''noblesse de chancellerie'' ("nobility of chancery") – those holding certain high offices under the king *''noblesse de lettres'' ("nobility of letters") – those ennobled by the king's

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

*'' noblesse de robe'' ("nobility of the robe") – those holding certain official positions, such as ''

maître des requêtes A Master of Requests () is a counsel of the French ''Conseil d'État'' (Council of State), a high-level judicial officer of administrative law in France. The office has existed in one form or another since the Middle Ages. The occupational titl ...

'', treasurer or president of a ''

parlement Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...

'' *''noblesse de cloche'' ("nobility of the bell") or ''noblesse échevinale'' ("nobility of the chain") – ''échevins'' (mayors) or ''prévôts des marchands'' (merchants' provosts) in certain important towns, including Paris, Angers, Angoulême, Bourges, Lyon, Toulouse, Perpignan, and Poitiers *''noblesse militaire'' ("military nobility") – officers holding commissions in the army or navy who were not by descent members of the ''noblesse d'épée'' As with the term " officer of the sword", the expression "nobles of the sword" derives from the right of such noblemen to bear a

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

, which reflected their duty of knightly service to their feudal overlord. In later centuries, a nobleman of the sword was not recognized as such unless his family had held this status for at least three generations. The nobility of the sword also provided non-military services to the king, holding positions in all branches of government. However, from the Renaissance onwards, kings upset the old nobility by the creation of a new "nobility of the robe", the first such men coming into the nobility through their own merit, by being appointed to various judicial or administrative offices, and later members buying the offices which carried such status. This angered the nobles of the sword, who saw their own opportunities being lost to the ''

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

''. In the 17th century, the nobility of the sword began to demand that the new nobility of the robe be limited in its access to the court. To maximize its income, however, the government continued to sell even more positions, which caused conflict between the two groups of the nobility. The trend had other benefits for the monarchy, as it reduced the power of the old nobility and made it less able to revolt against the Crown. However, the nobility of the sword continued to provide much of the officer class of the French army and navy, thus the kings of France needed to maintain good relations with them. Also, many such noblemen saw the importance of maintaining strong relations with the monarch and courting his good will, and so remained at court.

Distinctions among the nobility

The French nobility was always divided into those who had the right to carry a sword and those who did not. In the 17th century, the nobles of the robe did not have this right, making the distinction between the nobility of the sword and the nobility of the robe very clear. Nobles of the sword, who had greater

prestige Prestige may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films *Prestige (film), ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett: woman travels to French Indochina to meet up with husband *The Prestige (film), ''The Prestige'' (fi ...

, were given control of the French provinces and were seen to hold power at Versailles. The members of the nobility of the robe, however, bought their positions, and had a higher income than most nobles of the sword. Lower-ranking noblemen were thus able to gain a higher status by military service.

Estates of the realm

There were three " estates" of the Estates General, France's parliament, and each represented a different class. The First Estate was the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, and the Second Estate was the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

. The nobles of the sword traditionally had more power than the nobles of the robe. Their inherent position was derived from the military service they owed to the king in return for possession of their land-holdings, which were passed from father to son; but they also held official positions in provincial and national government, and at court. The Third Estate was the

commoner A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...

s, with representatives sent from the ''bonnes villes'' ("good towns") around the country, generally

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

s, and while the electorate was limited, it included some men sent from surrounding villages. While the most numerous class in France was the

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

ry, it was hardly represented in the Estates General, if at all. Under King Louis XIV, the nobles of the robe largely replaced the nobles of the sword at the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

. The nobles of the robe were dependent on salaries paid by the king, so their votes would always favour the policy the king pursued. The nobility of the sword, with its greater independence, its ancestry, and its exemption from taxes, had great social

, but it generally had a significantly lower income than the nobility of the robe, and its votes were less committed to supporting the king and his government. The nobles of the robe were in effect rich ''

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

'' and aspired to have the same privileges and exemptions as the first and second estates, in particular the exemption from paying taxes. This created conflict between the different branches of the nobility, with the nobles of the sword feeling entitled to special treatment, because of their long history and well-established rights and privileges. This division weakened the balance of power before the revolution and led to much criticism from the Third Estate, the commoners.

References

{{Reflist Court titles in the Ancien Régime

Background

Distinctions among the nobility

Estates of the realm

See also

References