Duke of Aquitaine

The duke of Aquitaine (, , ) was the ruler of the medieval region of Aquitaine (not to be confused with modern-day Aquitaine) under the supremacy of Frankish, English, and later French kings.

As successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom (418–721), Aquitania (Aquitaine) and Languedoc (Toulouse) inherited both Visigothic law and Roman Law, which together allowed women more rights than their contemporaries would enjoy until the 20th century. Particularly under the Liber Judiciorum as codified in 642/643 and expanded by the Code of Recceswinth in 653, women could inherit land and titles and manage their holdings independently from their husbands or male relations, dispose of their property in legal wills if they had no heirs, represent themselves and bear witness in court from the age of 14, and arrange for their own marriages after the age of 20.Klapisch-Zuber, Christiane; A History of Women: Book II Silences of the Middle Ages, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, London, England. 1992, 2000 (5th printing). Chapter 6, "Women in the Fifth to the Tenth Century" by Suzanne Fonay Wemple, pg 74. According to Wemple, Visigothic women of Spain and the Aquitaine could inherit land and title and manage it independently of their husbands, and dispose of it as they saw fit if they had no heirs, and represent themselves in court, appear as witnesses (by the age of 14), and arrange their own marriages by the age of twenty As a consequence, male-preference primogeniture was the practiced succession law for the nobility.

Coronation

The Merovingian kings and dukes of Aquitaine used Toulouse as their capital. The Carolingian kings used different capitals situated farther north. In 765, Pepin the Short bestowed the captured golden banner of the Aquitainian duke, Waiffre, on the Abbey of Saint Martial in Limoges. Pepin I of Aquitaine was buried in Poitiers. Charles the Child was crowned at Limoges and buried at Bourges. When Aquitaine briefly asserted its independence after the death of Charles the Fat, it was Ranulf II of Poitou who took the royal title. In the late tenth century, Louis the Indolent was crowned at Brioude.

The Aquitainian ducal coronation procedure is preserved in a late twelfth-century ordo (formula) from Saint-Étienne in Limoges, based on an earlier Romano-German ordo. In the early thirteenth century a commentary was added to this ordo, which emphasised Limoges as the capital of Aquitaine. The ordo indicated that the duke received a silk mantle, coronet, banner, sword, spurs, and the ring of Saint Valerie.

Visigothic dukes Suatrius (flor. 493), captured by Clovis I during the First Franco-Visigothic War.

Dukes of Aquitaine under Frankish kings

Merovingian kings are in boldface.

Chram (555–560) Desiderius (583–587, jointly with Bladast) Bladast (583–587, jointly with Desiderius) Gundoald (584/585) Austrovald (587–589) Sereus (589–592) Chlothar II (592–629) Charibert II (629–632) Chilperic (632) Boggis (632–660) Felix (660–670) Lupus I (670–676) Odo the Great (688–735), his reign commenced perhaps as late as 692, 700, or 715, unclear parentage Hunald I (735–745), son of Odo the Great, abdicated to a monastery Waifer (745–768), son of Hunald I Hunald II (768–769), probably son of Waifer Lupo II (768–781), Duke of Gascony, opposed Charlemagne's rule and Hunald's relatives.

Direct rule of Carolingian kings

Restored dukes of Aquitaine under Frankish kings The Carolingian kings again appointed Dukes of Aquitaine, first in 852, and again since 866. Later, this duchy was also called Guyenne.

House of Poitiers (Ramnulfids)

Name Birth Marriage(s) Death King of the Franks(reign)Ranulph I852–866820Adeltrude of Maine 3 children866Charles the Bald843–877)Ranulph II887–890850N/A5 August 890Charles the Fat(881–888)Odo(888–898)

House of Auvergne The following were also Count of Auvergne.

Name Portrait Birth Death King of the FranksWilliam Ithe Pious(893–918)22 March 875Odo(888–898)Charles the Simple(898–922)Charles the Simple(898–922)Robert I(922–923)Rudolph(923–936)William IIthe Younger(918–926)12 December 926Acfred(926–927)927

House of Poitiers (Ramnulfids) restored (927–932) Ebalus the Bastard (also called Manzer) (927–932)), illegitimate son of Ranulph II and distant cousin of Acfred, also Count of Poitiers and Auvergne.

House of Rouergue Raymond I Pons (932–936) Raymond II (936–955)

House of Capet Hugh the Great (955–962)

House of Poitiers (Ramnulfids) restored (962–1152) William III Towhead (962–963), son of Ebalus, also Count of Poitiers and Auvergne. William IV Iron Arm (963–995), son of William III, also Count of Poitiers. William V the Great (995–1030), son of William IV, also Count of Poitiers. William VI the Fat (1030–1038), first son of William V, also Count of Poitiers. Odo (1038–1039), second son of William V, also Count of Poitiers and Duke of Gascony. William VII the Eagle (1039–1058), third son of William V, also Count of Poitiers. William VIII (1058–1086), fourth son of William V, also Count of Poitiers and Duke of Gascony. William IX the Troubadour (or the Younger) (1086–1127), son of William VIII, also Count of Poitiers and Duke of Gascony. William X the Saint (1127–1137), son of William IX, also Count of Poitiers and Duke of Gascony. Eleanor of Aquitaine (1137–1204), daughter of William X, also Countess of Poitiers and Duchess of Gascony, married the kings of France and England in succession. Louis the Younger (1137–1152), also King of France, duke in right of his wife.

From 1152, the Duchy of Aquitaine was held by the Plantagenets, who also ruled England as independent monarchs and held other territories in France by separate inheritance (see Plantagenet Empire). The Plantagenets were often more powerful than the kings of France, and their reluctance to do homage to the kings of France for their lands in France was one of the major sources of conflict in medieval Western Europe.

House of Plantagenet

Name Portrait Arms Birth Marriage(s) Death King of France Henry IHenry Curtmantle18 May 1152–June 1172() 5 March 1133Le MansSon of Geoffrey Plantagenet of Anjouand Matilda Eleanor of AquitaineBordeaux Cathedral18 May 11528 children 6 July 1189ChinonAged 56 Louis VII (1137–1180) Philip II(1180–1223) Richard IRichard the LionheartJune 1172–6 April 1199() 8 September 1157Beaumont PalaceSon of Henry IIand Eleanor of Aquitaine Berengaria of NavarreLimassol12 May 1191No children 6 April 1199ChâlusShot by a quarrel aged 41 JohnJohn Lackland27 May 1199–19 October 1216() 24 December 1166Beaumont PalaceSon of Henry IIand Eleanor of Aquitaine Isabel of GloucesterMarlborough Castle29 August 1189No children Isabella of AngoulêmeBordeaux Cathedral24 August 12005 children 19 October 1216Newark-on-TrentAged 49 Henry II; .Henry III of England28 October 1216–16 November 1272() 1 October 1207Winchester CastleSon of Johnand Isabella of Angoulême Eleanor of ProvenceCanterbury Cathedral14 January 12365 children 16 November 1272Westminster PalaceAged 65Louis VIII (1223–1226)Louis IX (1226–1270)Philip III "the Bold" (1270–1285)Edward I; .Edward Longshanks20 November 1272–7 July 1307() 17 June 1239Palace of WestminsterSon of Henry IIIand Eleanor of Provence Eleanor of CastileAbbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas18 October 125416 children Margaret of FranceCanterbury Cathedral10 September 12993 children7 July 1307Burgh by SandsAged 68Philip IV the Fair(1285–1314) Edward II; .Edward of Caernarfon8 July 1307–1325() 25 April 1284Caernarfon CastleSon of Edward Iand Eleanor of Castile Isabella of FranceBoulogne Cathedral24 January 13084 children 21 September 1327Berkeley CastleMurdered aged 43Louis X "the Quarreller" (1314–1316)John I "the Posthumous" (4 days in 1316)Philip V "the Tall" (1316–1322)Charles IV "the Fair" (1322–1328) Edward III; .Edward of Windsor1325–24 October 1360() 13 November 1312Windsor CastleSon of Edward IIand Isabella of France Philippa of HainaultYork Minster25 January 132814 children 21 June 1377Sheen PalaceAged 64Philip VI "the Fortunate"(1328–1350)John II "the Good"(1350–1364)

Plantagenet rulers of Aquitaine In 1337, King Philip VI of France reclaimed the fief of Aquitaine from Edward III, King of England. Edward in turn claimed the title of King of France, by right of his descent from his maternal grandfather King Philip IV of France. This triggered the Hundred Years' War, in which both the Plantagenets and the House of Valois claimed supremacy over Aquitaine.

Name Portrait Arms Birth Marriage(s) Death Edward IIIEdward of Windsor1337–1360 13 November 1312Windsor CastleSon of Edward IIand Isabella of France Philippa of HainaultYork Minster25 January 132814 children 21 June 1377Sheen PalaceAged 64

Lord of Aquitaine (1360–1369) In 1360, both sides signed the Treaty of Brétigny, in which Edward renounced the French crown but remained sovereign Lord of Aquitaine (rather than merely duke). However, when the treaty was broken in 1369, both these English claims and the war resumed.

Name Portrait Arms Birth Marriage(s) Death Edward IIIEdward of Windsor1337–1360 13 November 1312Windsor CastleSon of Edward IIand Isabella of France Philippa of HainaultYork Minster25 January 132814 children 21 June 1377Sheen PalaceAged 64

Prince of Aquitaine and Gascony (1362–1372) In 1362, King Edward III, as Lord of Aquitaine, made his eldest son Edward, Prince of Wales, Prince of Aquitaine and Gascony. cites Fœdera, iii. 667.

Name Portrait Arms Birth Marriage(s) Death Edward, Prince of Wales19 July 1362 –6 October 1372 15 June 1330Woodstock PalaceSon of Edward IIIand Philippa of Hainault2 children Joan of Kent1361 8 June 1376Westminster PalaceAged 45

On 6 October 1372, Prince Edward (who had returned to England the previous year) resigned the Principality of Aquitaine and Gascony, stating that the revenues he earned from Aquitaine were no longer sufficient to cover his expenses. cites Rot. Parl. ii. 310; Hallam, Const Hist, iii. 47. Thus, King Edward III, his father, resumed his title as Duke of Aquitaine.

Duke of Aquitaine (1372–1453)