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The Marshal of France (maréchal de France) was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France. The title derived from the office of marescallus Franciae created by Philippe Auguste for Albéric Clément (circa 1190). It later became a distinction and takes precedence over the Constable of France, which was originally an office higher than Marshal. Up to 1791, there were 256 Marshals of France. The title was abolished by the National Convention in 1793.

During the First French Empire, Marshals were known as Marshals of the Empire. Under the Bourbon Restoration, the title reverted to Marshal of France and Napoléon III kept that designation. Four Marshals of France were given the even more exalted rank of Marshal-General: Turenne, Villars, Saxe and Soult.

In contemporary France, marshal is a military distinction, not a military rank, and is granted to generals for exceptional achievements. Its symbol, the marshal's baton, is a blue cylinder with stars (formerly fleurs-de-lis).

Philippe Pétain, awarded the distinction of Marshal of France for his generalship in the First World War, retained his title even after his trial and imprisonment and after he was stripped of other positions and titles.

The last living Marshal of France was Alphonse Pierre Juin, promoted 1952, who died in 1967.

Marshals of France

Capetiens

Six Marshals under Philip Augustus, 1180 - 1223

Eight Marshals under Saint Louis, 1226-1270

Four Marshals under Philip the Bold, 1270-1285

Six Marshals under Philip the Fair, 1285-1314

One Marshal under Louis X, 1314-1316

Three Marshals under Philip V, 1316-1322

One Marshal under Charles IV, 1322-1328

Valois

Five Marshals under Philip VI of Valois, 1328 - 1350

Four Marshals under John the Good, 1350-1364

Two Marshals under Charles the Wise, 1364-1380

Nine Marshals under Charles the Beloved, 1380-1422

Six Marshals under Charles VII, 1422-1461

Four Marshals under Louis XI, 1461-1483

Two Marshals under Charles VIII, 1483-1498

Valois-Orléans

Four Marshals under Louis XII, 1498-1515

Valois-Angoulême

Twelve Marshals under François I, 1515-1547

Five Marshals created by Henry II, 1547 - 1559

One Marshal created by François II in 1559

Five Marshals under Charles IX, de 1560 à 1574

Seven Marshals under Henry III, 1574-1589

Bourbons

Eleven Marshals created by Henry IV between 1592 and 1602

Thirty-four Marshals created by Louis XIII, between 1613 and 1643

Fifty-one Marshals created by Louis XIV, between 1643 and 1715

Thirty-four Marshals under Louis XV from 1715 - 1774

Twenty Marshals named by Louis XVI, 1774 - 1792

French Empire

Twenty-six Marshals under Napoleon I, 1804 - 1814

The names of a great proportion of these have been given to successive stretches of a circular avenue encircling Paris, thus nicknamed Boulevard des Maréchaux ("The Marshals' Boulevard").

The Second Restoration 1815 - 1830

Six Marshals named under Louis XVIII, from 1815 - 1824

Three Marshals under Charles X, from 1824 - 1830

Constitutional monarchy

Ten Marshals under Louis-Philippe I 1830 - 1848

The Second Republic

Seven Marshals under Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, President of the Republic, 1848-1852

The Second Empire

Twelve Marshals under Napoleon III, Emperor from 1852 to 1870

The Third Republic

Three Marshals under Raymond Poincaré, 1913 - 1920

Five Marshals under Alexandre Millerand, 1920 - 1924

The Fourth Republic

Three Marshals under Vincent Auriol, 1947-1954

The Fifth Republic

One Marshal under François Mitterrand, 1981 - 1995

Marshals of France

Marschall von Frankreich | Maréchal de France | Maresciallo di Francia | საფრანგეთის მარშალი | Marszałkowie Francji | Marechal de França | Маршал Франции | Marskalk av Frankrike | 法国元帅

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Marshal of France".

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