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PRINCE (Lat. princeps, from primus ca...

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Originally appearing in Volume V22, Page 344 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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PRINCE (See also:Lat. princeps, from See also:primus capio, " I am the first to take "; Ital. principe, Fr. prince) , a See also:title implying either See also:political See also:power or social See also:rank. The Latin word princeps originally signified " the first " either in See also:place or See also:action (cf. Ger. See also:Furst; O.H.G. foristo= See also:English "first "). As an honorary title it was applied in the See also:Roman See also:republic to the princeps senatus, i.e. the senator who stood first on the See also:censor's See also:list, and the princeps juventutis, i.e. the first on the See also:roll of the equestrian See also:order. The See also:assumption of the See also:style of princeps senatus by See also:Augustus (q.v.) first associated the word with the See also:idea of See also:sovereignty and dominion, but throughout the See also:period of the See also:empire it is still used as a title of certain See also:civil or military officials (e.g. princeps officii, for the See also:chief See also:official of a provincial See also:governor, in the Theodosian See also:code, See also:leg. I., De offic. rect. prov. i. 7; princeps militiae, i.e. the See also:commander of a See also:cohort or See also:legion); while in the See also:middle ages the See also:term is still applied vaguely in charters to the magnates of the See also:state or the high officials of the See also:palace, principes being treated as the See also:equivalent of proceres, optimates or seniores. Yet the idea of sovereignty as implied in the word princeps, used as a title rather than as a designation, survived strongly. In the Visigothic and Lombard codes princeps is the equivalent of rex or imperator; and when, after the overthrow of the Lombard See also:kingdom by the See also:Franks, Arichis II. (d. 787) of Beneventum wished to assert his See also:independent sovereignty, he had himself anointed and crowned, and exchanged his style of See also:duke for that of prince.

From See also:

Italy the use of the title spread—first, with the Crusaders, to the See also:Holy See also:Land, where See also:Bohemund, son of See also:Tancred, took the style of prince of See also:Antioch; next, with the Latin conquerors, into the See also:East Roman Empire, where in 1205 See also:William de Champlette, a See also:cadet of the See also:house of See also:Champagne, founded the principality of See also:Achaea and the Morea. This example was followed by lesser magnates, who styled themselves loosely, or were so styled by the chroniclers, " princes," even though they had little claim to independent sovereignty. From the East the See also:fashion was carried back to See also:France; but there the erection of certain fiefs into " principalities," which became See also:common in the 15th and 16th centuries, certainly implied no concession of independent sovereignty, and the title of " prince " thus bestowed ranked below that of " duke," being sometimes See also:borne by cadet branches of ducal houses, e.g. the princes of See also:Leon and of See also:Soubise, cadets of the house of See also:Rohan. On the other See also:hand, the title of " prince " was borne from the See also:time of See also:Charles of the See also:blood " (princes du sang), who took See also:precedence in due order after the See also:king. To these were added, from the time of See also:Louis XIV., the princes legitimes, recognized bastards of the See also:sovereign, who ranked next after the princes of the blood. Thus, e.g. the princes of See also:Conde, See also:Conti and See also:Lamballe owed their exalted precedence, not to their principalities, but to their royal descent. In See also:Germany, See also:Austria and other countries formerly embraced in the Holy Roman Empire the title of " prince " has had a some- what different See also:history. During the first period of Germany. the empire, the " princes " were the whole See also:body of the optimates who took rank next to the See also:emperor. In the 11th See also:century, with the growth of See also:feudalism, all feudatories holding in chief of the See also:Crown ranked as " princes," from See also:dukes to See also:simple See also:counts, together with archbishops, bishops and the abbots of monasteries held directly of the emperor. Towards the end of the 12th century, however, the order of princes (Ffirstenstand) was narrowed to the more important spiritual and temporal feudatories who had a right to a seat in the See also:diet of the empire in the " See also:college of princes " (Furstenbank). Finally, in the 13th century, seven of the most powerful of these separated themselves into a college which obtained the See also:sole right of electing the emperor. These were called " prince See also:electors " (Kurfursten), and formed the highest rank of the See also:German princes (see ELECTOR).

The formal designation of " prince " (Furst) was, however, extremely rare in Germany in the middle ages. Examples are the princes of See also:

Mecklenburg (Prilislav I., prince of the Holy Roman Empire in 1170) and See also:Rugen, the latter title now belonging to the See also:kings of See also:Prussia. In the 17th century some See also:half-dozen more principalities were created, of which that of Schwarzburg-See also:Sondershausen (1697) survives as a sovereign house. The 18th century increased their number, and of the princely houses of this period those of Schwarzburg-See also:Rudolstadt (1710), Waldeck (1712) and See also:Reuss, See also:elder See also:branch (1778), have preserved their sovereignty. Of the other sovereign " princes " in Germany, Reuss, cadet branch, obtained the title in 1806, Schaumburg-See also:Lippe in 1807. Outside the German Empire the prince of See also:Liechtenstein, whose title See also:dates from 1608, still remains sovereign. Thus, in Germany, with the decay of the empire the title "prince" received a sovereign See also:connotation, though it ranks, as in France, below that of " duke." There are, however, in the countries formerly embraced in the Holy Roman Empire other classes of " princes." Some of these inherit titles, sovereign under the old empire, but " mediatized " during the years of its collapse at the beginning of the 19th century, e.g. Thurn and Taxis (1695), See also:Hohenlohe (1764), See also:Leiningen (1779); others received the title of " prince " immediately before or after the end of the empire as " See also:compensation " for ceded territories, e.g. Metternich-Winneburg (1803). Besides these mediatized princes, who transmit their titles and their See also:privilege of " royal " blood to all their legitimate descendants, there are also in Austria and Germany " princes," created by the various German sovereigns, and some dating from the period of the old empire, who take a See also:lower rank, as not being " princes of the Holy Roman Empire " nor entitled to any royal privileges. Some of these titles have been bestowed to give a recognized rank to the morganatic wives and See also:children of royal princes, e.g., the princes of See also:Battenberg, or the title of " princess " of Hohenberg borne by the See also:consort of the See also:Archduke See also:Francis See also:Ferdinand d'See also:Este; others as a See also:reward for distinguished service, e.g. See also:Hardenberg, See also:Blucher, See also:Bismarck.

In this latter See also:

case the See also:rule of See also:primogeniture has been usual, the younger sons taking the title of " See also:count " (See also:Graf). These non-royal princes are ranked in the Almanach de See also:Gotha with See also:British and See also:French dukes and See also:Italian princes. All these various classes of princes are styled Furst and have the predicate " Serene See also:Highness " (Durchlaucht). The word Prinz, actually synonymous with Furst, is reserved as the title of the non-reigning members of sovereign houses and, with certain exceptions (e.g. See also:Bavaria), for the cadets of mediatized ducal and princely families. The See also:heir to a See also:throne is " crown prince " (Kronprinz), " hereditary See also:grand duke " (Erbgrossherzog) or " hereditary prince " (Erbprinz). The heir to the crown of Prussia, when not the son of the monarch has the .title of " prince of Prussia " (Prinz von Preussen).1 In Italy the title " prince " (principe) is also of very unequal value. In See also:Naples, following the precedent set by Arichis II., " much affecting the See also:glory of a greater name than duke," it ranked above that of duke. In other parts linty' of Italy the heads of See also:great families sometimes See also:bear the title of " prince," e.g. Prince See also:Corsini, duke of Casigliano; sometimes that of " duke," e.g. the Caetani, princes of See also:Teano, whose chief is styled " duke of Sermoneta," the title of " prince of Teano " being borne by his eldest son. The title of "prince of Naples "is attached to the eldest son of the king of Italy. The excessive multiplication of the title has tended to deprive it of much social value in itself, and under the democratic constitution of Italy it confers neither power nor precedence.

" Prince " is also the See also:

translation of the See also:Russian title knyaz, though veliky knyaz, the style of the Imperial princes, is rendered " grand duke." Some of the Russian, or See also:Polish- See also:Russia Russian, princely families are of great importance- e.g.the Czartoryskis,the Swiatopolk-Czetwertynskis,or the Russian 1 Furst may or may not be a sovereign or territorial title, but it is only borne by the See also:head of the See also:family, e.g. Heinrich XIV., regierender Furst (reigning prince) von Reuss or Furst Bismarck. Prinz always implies cadetship, e.g. Prinz Heinrich XLV. Reuss. The title Prinz von Preussen, therefore, excludes any idea of territorial sovereignty, whereas the correct German rendering of that of prince of See also:Wales, which originally at least implied such sovereignty, would be Furst von Wales. France. branch of the I.ubomirskis. But, in See also:general, though the title " prince " implies descent from one or other of the ruling dynasties of Russia, it is in itself of little See also:account, being exceedingly common owing to its being borne by every member of the family. The predicate of " Serene Highness," though borne by certain magnates who were princes before they became Russians—as in the case of the families mentioned above—is not attached to the Russian title of "prince." In some cases, however, it is conferred with the title by imperial See also:warrant (e.g. Lieven, 1826). The title of " prince " is also borne by the descendants of those See also:Greek Phanariot families (see PHANARIOTS), e.g.

See also:

Mavrocordato, See also:Turkey. See also:Ypsilanti, Soutzo, who formerly supplied hospodars to the See also:Turkish principalities on the See also:Danube. In the See also:Ottoman Empire the rulers appointed to the quasi-independent See also:Christian communities subject to it have usually been designated " prince, " and the title has thus come to signify in connexion with the Eastern Question a sovereignty more or less subordinate. As such it was rejected on behalf of the Bavarian prince See also:Otho, when he accepted the throne of See also:Greece, in favour of that of " king. " On the other hand, the substitution, in 1852, in See also:Montenegro of the title of " prince and See also:lord " (knyaz i gospodar) for the See also:ancient title of vladika (See also:archbishop) certainly Monaca. implied no such subordination. The only other instance in See also:Europe of " prince " as a completely sovereign title is that of the prince of See also:Monaco, the formal style having been adopted by the See also:Grimaldi lords in 1641. In Great See also:Britain " prince " and " princess " as titles are confined to members of the royal family, though non-royal dukes are so described in their formal style (see D1r1LE). Nor is this use of great antiquity; the See also:custom of giving the See also:courtesy title of " prince " to all male descendants of the sovereign to the third and See also:fourth See also:generation being of See also:modern growth and quite See also:foreign to English traditions. It was not till the reign of See also:Henry VII. that the king's sons began to be styled " princes "; and as See also:late as the time of Charles II., the daughters of the duke of See also:York, both of whom became queens regnant, were called simply the See also:Lady See also:Mary and the Lady See also:Anne. The title of " princess royal, " bestowed on the eldest daughter of the sovereign was borrowed by King See also:George II. from Prussia. Until See also:recent years the title " prince " was never conferred on anybody except the heir-apparent to the Crown, and his princi- pality is a See also:peerage. Since the reign of See also:Edward III. the eldest sons of the kings and queens of See also:England have always been dukes of See also:Cornwall by See also:birth, and, with a few exceptions, princes of Wales by creation.

Before that Edward I. had conferred the principality on his eldest son, afterwards Edward II., who was summoned to and sat in See also:

parliament as prince of Wales. But Edward the See also:Black Prince was the See also:original grantee Prince of of the principality as well as of the dukedom, under the See also:special limitations which have continued in force to the See also:present See also:day. The See also:entail of the former was " to him and his heirs the kings of England " and of the latter " to him and his heirs the first-begotten sons of the kings of England. " Hence when a prince of Wales and duke of Cornwall succeeds to the throne the principality in all cases merges at once in the Crown, and can have no See also:separate existence again except under a fresh creation, while the dukedom, if he has a son, descends immediately to him, or remains in See also:abeyance until he has a son if one is not already See also:born. If, however, a prince of Wales and duke of Cornwall should See also:die in the lifetime of the sovereign, leaving a son and heir, both dignities are extinguished, because his son, although he is his heir, is neither a king of England nor the first-begotten son of a king of England. But, if instead of a son he should leave a See also:brother his heir, then—as was decided in the reign of See also:James I. on the See also:death of Henry, prince of Wales, whose heir was his brother Charles, duke of York— the dukedom of Cornwall would pass to him as the first-begotten son of the king of England then alive, the principality of Wales alone becoming merged in the Crown. It has thus occasionally happened that the dukes of Cornwall have not been princes of Wales, as Henry VI. and Edward VI., and that the princes of Wales have not been dukes of Cornwall, as See also:Richard II. and George III. But even now the cadets of the reigning family can only by royal intervention legally be saved from merging, as of old, in the general untitled See also:mass of the See also:people. The children of the sovereign other than his eldest son, though by courtesy " princes " and " princesses, " need a royal warrant to raise them de jure above the common See also:herd; and even then, though they be dubbed " Royal Highness " in their cradles, they remain " commoners " till raised to the peerage. In 1905 King Edward VII. established what appears to be a new precedent, by conferring the titles of "princess" and "highness" upon the daughters of the princess See also:Louise, duchess of See also:Fife, created " princess royal. " This use of the word " prince "—which has in England so lofty a connotation—to translate foreign titles of such varying importance and significance naturally leads to a See also:good See also:deal of confusion in the public mind. It is not uncommon in English society to see, e.g. a Russian prince, who may be only the cadet of a family not included in the Almanach de Gotha, given precedence as such over the untitled members of a great English ducal family, and treated with some of that exaggerated deference paid to " See also:royalty.

" On the other hand, the insular complacency of many Englishmen is See also:

apt to regard all German princes with a certain contempt, whereas the title is in Germany sometimes associated with sovereign power, sometimes with vast territorial possessions, and always with high social position. See, Du Cange, Glossarium, s.v. " Princeps," ed. G. A. L. Henschal (See also:Niort, 1883); See also:John See also:Selden, Titles of See also:Honour (See also:London, 1672); Almanach de Gotha (1906); H. Schulze, Die Hausgesetze der regierenden deutschen Fiirstenhduser (3 vols., See also:Jena, 1862—1883) ; H. Rehm, Modernes Fiirstenrecht (See also:Munich, 1904). (W. A.

End of Article: PRINCE (Lat. princeps, from primus capio, " I am the first to take "; Ital. principe, Fr. prince)

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