Appanage
Welcome to This Too Shall Passed, my fortnightly mini-episode that help cover some topics that can't make it into the main episodes. This week I'll be discussing appanages, land or funding usually given to younger sons.
Transcript:
Appanage:
Welcome to another short episode. I know I’ve used the word appanage a few times, and I think it’s time I share it’s meaning. It’s one of those times I’m going to start with a dictionary definition. The Oxford Dictionary defines it as a provision made for the maintenance of the younger children of kings and princes, consisting of a gift of land, and official position, or money. The second definition is a benefit or right belong to someone, we’ll be focusing on the first definition. The word actually comes from the medieval Latin combination of ad and panis, in a simple translation to give or provide bread. Since this podcast has mainly focused on French and English subject, thus far at least, I’ll focus on his this works in those countries.
This word has a much longer usage in France than in England, though of course, it’s no longer used in a royal sense in France. You’ll hopefully, remember that under the Merovingian and Carolingian French that inheritance was divided equally between all sons and their descendants, this means, that unlike in England, the oldest son didn’t inherit everything. This of course changed with the House of Capet. This left younger sons a bit out in the cold, unless their father’s provided for them. And this is where an appanage comes in. The most recent example I have for this in my recent episodes is John II, granting his younger sons Louis, John, and Philip the appanages of Anjou, Berry, and Burgundy respectively. These allowed his younger sons to raise their own funds, and to almost be little kings of their own territory, though, the Burgundian line seemed to take this the most seriously. Their great-great nephew, Louis XI would do all he could to regain these territories, by making sure that each could only he inherited by a male-line descendant. though, obviously Berry had already returned to the crown prior to his accession. The Bourbons, who will come up at the end of this current mini-series, did away with this all together. Younger sons were given state funding yearly. This was, of course, helpful for the centralisation of royal power and funding. Trust me, despite this French taxes are a mess right up until the revolution (can any of my French listeners let me know if taxes are less complicate now).
(If you hear this you are listening to an AI stolen copy of this Passed episode. Please visit passedpod.com for links to this show by it’s creator, Veronica Fortune)
In England things were a bit different. There was only one royal appanage from the time of Edward III, the duchy of Cornwall, granted to the oldest son of the king upon his birth or upon his fathers accession. The Duchy of Lancaster is a royal appanage to this day, but we’ll see what future governments decide to do with the king’s tax-free holdings. While Edward III did provide his younger sons with titles, Clarence, Lancaster, and York (remember, he forgot his youngest son in the mix), these didn’t include land, Edmund of Langley would receive funding from the royal treasury when they would remember to pay him. Lionel of Antwerp and John of Gaunt received most of their funding through advantageous marriages that gave them property.
So, what about say Brittany, Aquitaine, or even Bourbon held-lands? Well, there are completely different. Brittany had been an independent country in the early part of its existence, and even once it became part of the kingdom of France was still near-independent until Charles VIII’s marriage to Anne of Brittany. It did have a royal link though, Peter I Mauclerc, was a male-line descendant of Louis VI’s son, Robert of Dreux. But, irrespective of this Brittany wasn’t a royally granted holding. Bourbon was originally the ruling name fore those who controlled Bourbonais, but had been inherited by Louis I of Bourbon, juri uxorise. Louis was a grandson of Louis IX through his fourth son Robert. Remember, marriages to wealthy heiresses can make the lives of younger sons. Finally Aquitaine, or Guyenne, which was not an appanage and not held by the crown of France until the 730s. The independent duke was forced to declare allegiance to France for assistance with invading Umayyad forces. In 781 Aquitaine was given to Charlemagne’s son Louis, who was declared the king of Aquitaine. As you may know, Louis will become Louis I, king of the Franks and unite Aquitaine with the French crown, until his sons started fighting over it. Now, I’m not going to cover the entire history of Aquitaine, but it will take until 1453 for the entirety of Aquitaine to be French again.