Monsieur (title)

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Philippe I er , duc d'Orléans , called "Monsieur" (under Louis XIV. )

In the ancien régime of France, the title (or title) Monsieur was reserved for the king's eldest brother.

Origins of the term

In the Middle Ages , “Monsieur” (a corruption of Monseigneur) was a religious address reserved for the saints (“Monsieur Saint-Jean”) and the Pope (“Monsieur Clément, sovereign seigneur et gouverneur de l'Église”).

Takeover by the King of France

Since the first French kings from the House of Valois , it became customary to use the term “monsieur” no longer only in the religious field. Rather, it was extended to include the princes of the royal family.

From the 16th century until the end of the kingdom, the name was reserved for the king's eldest brother. "Monsieur" was also capitalized in each case.

He is first mentioned in French history on May 6, 1576, when Monsieur le duc d'Alencon negotiated the Edict of Beaulieu in the Huguenot War, which was finally passed on by his brother, King Henry III. , was signed.

Between 1640 and 1660 King Louis XIII's brother, Gaston de Bourbon, duc d'Orléans , held the title of "Grand Monsieur" and thus differed from Philippe I. de Bourbon, duc d'Orléans , who was called "Petit Monsieur" has been.

The following princes held the title "Monsieur":

Other uses

In the private sphere, the rulers were addressed by their domestics as "Monsieur".

During the Ancien Régime , the members of Parliament in Paris were given the plural as a designation: "prendre l'avis de Messieurs".

The salutation and title for an ordinary nobleman, on the other hand, was only "Sieur de ..."

Footnotes

  1. ^ Paul Augé “Larousse du XXe siècle” Paris 1931 Chapter IV, Section 6, p. 953
  2. ↑ Louis de Rouvroy de Saint-Simon in his Mémoires (Chapter 7, Section 10),
  3. ↑ Applied until the abolition of the monarchy by the National Convention on September 21, 1792. Until the execution of Louis XVI. the Count of Provence was still allowed to use the title de jure .
  4. ↑ With the death of Louis XVII. in 1795 the comte de Provence became King Louis XVIII for the French royalists. This made his brother Charles-Philippe the "Monsieur". In fact, this was true of the reign of Louis XVIII. until 1824.
  5. ↑ consult the gentlemen
  6. ↑ Lord of ...

literature

  • Hervé Pinoteau: État présent de la Maison de Bourbon . 3rd edition, 1985.
  • Hervé Pinoteau, Fabien Gandrille, Christian Papet-Vauban: Etat présent de la maison de Bourbon: pour servir de suite à l'almanach royal de 1830 et à d'autres publications officielles de la Maison . éditions du Léopard d'or, 1986.