They were probably, at the time of the old Frankish monarchy, the great princes and vassals who were called to appoint the successor of the king among the eligible princes to the crown. At the Capetian era, we find that the number is set at twelve, but all throughout the Old Regime, there were 173 fiefs which were erected in peerage.
Archbishop of Reims | Bishop of Laon | Bishop of Langres | Bishop of Beauvais | Bishop of Châlons | Bishop of Noyon |
Duke of Burgundy | Duke of Normandy | Duke of Guyenne | Count of Flanders | Count of Champagne | Count of Toulouse |
Since 1204, when the duchies of Normandy and Aquitaine were absorbed into the French crown, the roster of the Twelve Peers had never been complete. By 1297, there were only three lay peers — the duke of Burgundy, the duke of Guyenne, and the count of Flanders (the county of Champagne was held by the king's eldest son and heir). Philip IV decided to restore the number of peers to twelve by granting peerage to three princes of the royal line — the duke of Brittany, the count of Anjou, and the count of Artois.
Duke of Brittany | Count of Anjou | Count of Artois |
Châteauneuf-en-Thymerais
Poitou
La Marche
Évreux
Angoulême
Mortain
Étampes
Bourbon
Beaumont-le-Roger
Clermont-en-Beauvaisis
Maine
Orléans
Valois
Nevers
Rethel then Rethel-Mazarin
Mantes-et-Meulan
Mâcon
Berry
Auvergne
Touraine
Vertus
Alençon
Montpellier
Forez
Roannais
Blois
Chartres
Dunois
Fère-en-Tardenois
Chateau-Thierry
Périgord
Soissons
Coucy
Nemours
Châtillon-sur-Marne
Mortagne-lès-Tournay
Évry-le-Châtel
Jouy-le-Châtel
Coulommiers
Ponthieu
Saintonge
Auxerre
Foix
Eu
Beaujeu
Villefranche
Civray
Vendôme
Châtellerault
Guise
Montpensier
Aumale
Montmorency
Albret
Enghien
Perche
Graville
Penthièvre
Dreux
Mercœur
Clermont-Tonnerre
Uzès
Mayenne
Saint-Fargeau
Joyeuse
Piney-Luxembourg
Épernon
Elbeuf
Retz
Brienne
Hallwin
Montbazon
Ventadour
Beaufort
Thouars
Biron
Aiguillon
Rohan
Sully
Fronsac
Damville
Brissac
Grancey
Lesdiguières
Chevreuse
Châteauroux
Luynes
Bellegarde
Candale
Chaulnes
La Roche-Guyon
La Rochefoucauld
La Valette
Frontenay
Richelieu
Puylaurens
Saint-Simon
La Force
Valentinois
Gramont
Coligny
Châtillon/Loing
Estrées
Tresmes/Gesvres
Arpajon
Lavedan
Mortemart
Noirmoutier
La Vieuville
Rosnay
Villemor
Villeroy
Bournonville
Cardone
Créquy
Orval
Roquelaure
Verneuil
Villars-Brancas
Fayel (Le Fayel)
La Guiche
Montaut
Randan
La Meilleraye
Saint-Aignan
Noailles
Coislin
Montausier
Choiseul
Aumont
La Ferté-Senneterre (Saint-Nectaire)
La Vallière
Duras
Chârost
Saint-Cloud
Le Lude
Aubigny
Châteauvillain
Boufflers
Villars
Harcourt
Fitz-James
Antin
Rambouillet
Rohan-Rohan
Hostun
Lévis
Châtillon
Fleury
Gisors
Taillebourg
La Vauguyon
Praslin
Brunoy
Louvois
Amboise
Coigny
A type of personal peerage, instituted in 1576 for the princes of the blood of France. This practically ensures that any adult prince of the blood is a peer of France. At the age of 15, they are allowed to sit among the other Peers of the Realm. The royal princes who actually sat in respect of this type of peerage, having reached their 15th year, were as follows, at the dates indicated:
Christophe Levantal, Ducs et pairs et duchés-pairies laïques à l'époque moderne (1519-1790), Paris, 1996