Arms of the Dauphin of France.
Arms of the Dauphiné
Arms of Dauphin
Francis, King-consort of Scots.
The
Dauphin of France ()—strictly,
The Dauphin of Viennois (
Dauphin de Viennois)—was the title given to the
heir apparent of the
throne of France from 1350 to 1791, and from 1824 to 1830. The word is literally the French for
Dolphin, as a reference to the animal they bore on their flag.
Guy VIII, Count of
Vienne, had a
dolphin on his
coat of arms and had been nicknamed
le Dauphin (French for
dolphin). The title of
Dauphin de Viennois descended in his family the LeVieux Princes of Ivetot until 1349, when Humbert II sold his
seigneurie, called the
Dauphiné, to King
Philippe VI on condition that the heir of France assumed the title of
le Dauphin. The wife of the Dauphin was known as
la Dauphine.
The first French prince called
le Dauphin was
Charles V. The title was roughly equivalent to the English title
Prince of Wales, the Scottish title
Duke of Rothesay, or the Spanish title
Prince of Asturias. The official style of a Dauphin of France, prior to 1461, was
par la grâce de Dieu, dauphin de Viennois, comte de Valentinois et de Diois ("By the Grace of God, Dauphin of Viennois, Count of Valentinois and of Diois"). A Dauphin of France would unite the coat of arms of the Dauphiné, which featured Dolphins, with the French
fleurs-de-lys, and might where appropriate further unite that with other arms (e.g.
François, son and
Dauphin of
Francis I, was ruling Duke of Brittany, so united the coat of arms of that province with the typical arms of a Dauphin of France;
Francis II, whilst Dauphin, was also King of Scots by marriage to
Mary, Queen of Scots, and so added the arms of the
Kingdom of Scotland to those of the Dauphin of France).
Originally, the Dauphin was personally responsible for the rule of the Dauphiné, which was legally part of the
Holy Roman Empire, and which the Emperors, in gifting the rule of the province to the French heirs, had stipulated must never be united with France. Because of this, the Dauphiné suffered from anarchy in the 14th and 15th centuries (since the Dauphins of France were frequently minors, or concerned with other matters).
During his period as
Dauphin, Louis, son of
Charles VII, defied his father by remaining in the province longer than the King had permitted and by engaging in personal politics more beneficial to the Dauphiné than to France. For example, Louis married
Charlotte of Savoy against his father's wishes. Savoy was a traditional ally of the Dauphiné, and Louis wished to reaffirm that alliance to stamp out rebels and robbers in the province. Louis was driven out of the Dauphiné by Charles VII's soldiers in 1456, leaving the region to fall back into disorder. After his succession as
Louis XI of France in 1461, Louis united the Dauphiné with France, bringing it permanently under royal control.
The title of
Dauphin was automatically conferred upon the next heir apparent to the French throne in the direct line upon birth, accession of the parent to the throne, or death of the previous Dauphin, unlike the English title
Prince of Wales, which has always been in the gift of the monarch rather than an automatic right at birth.
The title was abolished by the
Constitution of 1791, which made France a constitutional monarchy. Under the constitution the heir to the throne (
Dauphin Louis-Charles at that time) was restyled as
Prince Royal (a
Prince of the Blood would be retitled as
prince français), taking effect from the inception of the Legislative Assembly on 1 October 1791. The title was restored
in potentia under the
Bourbon Restoration of
Louis XVIII; there was not, however, another Dauphin until his death. With the accession of his brother
Charles X, Charles' son and heir,
Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, automatically became Dauphin.
However, with the removal of the
Bourbons the title fell once again into disuse (the heirs of
Louis-Philippe being titled as
Prince Royal). After the death of
Henri, comte de Chambord,
Carlos, Duke of Madrid, the heir of the
legitimist claimant,
Juan, Count of Montizón, made use of the title in
pretense, as have the Spanish legitimist claimants since.
List of Dauphins of France
In literature
In
Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck encounters two odd characters who turn out to be professional
con men. One of them claims that he should be treated with deference, since he is "really" an impoverished English
duke, and the other, not to be outdone, reveals that he is "really" the Dauphin ("
Looy the Seventeen, son of
Looy the Sixteen and
Marie Antoinette").
Alphonse Daudet also wrote a short story called "The Death of the Dauphin," about a young Dauphin who wants to stop Death from approaching him.
See also
Category:Heirs to the throneCategory:Royal titlesCategory:French monarchyaf:Dauphin van Frankrykbs:Dofenbg:Дофинcs:Dauphincy:Dauphinda:Dauphinde:Dauphin (Adel)et:Dofäänes:Delfín (título)eo:Dauphineu:Dofinfr:Dauphin (titre)ko:도팽it:Delfino di Francialt:Dofinasnl:Dauphin (kroonprins)ja:ドーファンno:Le Dauphinpl:Delfin Francjipt:Delfim de Françaro:Delfin al Franţeiru:Дофинsk:Dauphinsr:Дофенfi:Dauphinsv:Dauphintr:Döfenuk:Дофінzh:法国王太子
