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{{short description|Hereditary rank in various European peerages}}{{Redirect-several|Marchesa|Marchese|Marchioness|Marquis|Marquise|Marquesa|Marquess}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Royal and noble ranks}}

A '''marquess''' ({{IPAc-en|uk|ˈ|m|ɑːr|k|w|ɪ|s}};<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/marquis|title=English: Marquis|publisher=[[Collins Dictionary]]|date=n.d.|access-date=22 September 2014}}</ref> {{langx|fr|'''marquis'''}} {{IPA|fr|maʁki|}})<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/french-english/marquis|title=French: Marquis|publisher=[[Collins Dictionary]]|date=n.d.|access-date=22 September 2014}}</ref>{{efn|{{langx|it|marchese}}, {{langx|es|marqués}}, {{langx|pt|marquês}}.}} is a [[Nobility|nobleman]] of high hereditary rank in various European [[peerage]]s and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is ''[[Markgraf]]'' (margrave) and the Italian-language equivalent ''Marchese''. A woman with the rank of a marquess or the [[wife]] (or widow) of a marquess is a '''marchioness''' ({{IPAc-en|'|m|ɑːr|ʃ|ə|n|ɛ|s}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Marchioness definition and meaning {{!}} Collins English Dictionary |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/marchioness |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20210430025622/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/marchioness |archive-date=2021-04-30 |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=www.collinsdictionary.com |language=en}}</ref>) or '''marquise''' ({{IPA|fr|maʁkiz|lang|LL-Q150 (fra)-Poslovitch-marquise.wav}}). These titles are also used to translate equivalent Asian styles, as in [[History of China#Imperial China|Imperial China]] and [[Imperial Japan]].
[[File:William Kerr, 4th Marquess of Lothian on a charger, by David Morier.jpg|thumb|A portrait of [[William Kerr, 4th Marquess of Lothian|the 4th Marquess of Lothian]], wearing his [[British Army]] uniform.]]

==Etymology==

The word ''marquess'' entered the English language from the [[Old French]] {{lang|fro|marchis}} ("ruler of a border area") in the late 13th or early 14th century. The French word was derived from {{lang|fro|marche}} ("frontier"), itself descended from the [[Middle Latin]] {{lang|la|marca}} ("frontier"), from which the modern English word ''[[March (territory)|march]]'' also descends. The distinction between governors of frontier territories and interior territories was made as early as the founding of the [[Roman Empire]] when some provinces were set aside for administration by the senate and more unpacified or vulnerable provinces were administered by the emperor. The titles "[[duke]]" and "[[count]]" were similarly distinguished as ranks in the [[Byzantine Empire]], with {{lang|la|dux}} (literally, "leader") being used for a provincial military governor and the rank of {{lang|la|comes}} (literally "companion", that is, of the Emperor) given to the leader of an active army along the frontier.

==Belgium==
The title of marquess in Belgium predates the French Revolution and still exists today. See {{section link|Belgian nobility#Marquesses in the Belgian nobility}} and {{section link|List of noble families in Belgium#Marquesses}}.

==Spain==
In Spain, the rank of Marquess/Marchioness ({{lang|es|Marqués}}/{{lang|es|Marquesa}}) still exists. One hundred and forty-two of them are Spanish [[grandee]]s. Normally a {{lang|es|marqués}} is addressed as "[[The Most Illustrious]] Lord" ({{lang|es|Ilustrísimo Señor}}), or if he/she is a grandee as "[[The Most Excellent]] Lord" ({{lang|es|Excelentísimo Señor}}). Examples include the [[Marquess of Carpio]], [[Grandee of Spain]].

==United Kingdom==
{{Peerage |Ranks=expanded}}
{{Main article|Marquesses in the United Kingdom}}

In Great Britain and historically in Ireland, a marquess ranks below a [[duke]] and above an [[earl]]. A woman with the rank of a marquess, or the wife of a marquess, is a '''marchioness''' {{IPAc-en|ˌ|m|ɑː|r|ʃ|ə|ˈ|n|ɛ|s}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/marchioness?showCookiePolicy=true|title=Marchioness|publisher=[[Collins Dictionary]]|date=n.d.|access-date=22 September 2014}}</ref> The dignity, rank, or position of the title is a marquisate or marquessate.

The [[honorific]] prefix "[[The Most Honourable]]" precedes the name of a marquess or marchioness of the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="Debrett's">{{cite web |date=n.d. |title=Marquess and Marchioness |url=http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/marquess-and-marchioness |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110144107/http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/marquess-and-marchioness |archive-date=10 November 2014 |access-date=22 September 2014 |publisher=Debrett's |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In [[Great Britain]], and historically in [[Ireland]], the spelling of this title is '''marquess'''. In Scotland, the French spelling '''marquis''' is sometimes used. 

[[File:Coronet of a British Marquess.svg|thumb|right|The [[coronet]] for a marquess in the British realms]]

The theoretical distinction between a marquess and other titles has, since the [[Middle Ages]], faded into obscurity. In times past, the distinction between a [[count]] and a marquess was that the land of a marquess, called a [[march (territory)|march]], was on the border of the country, while a count's land, called a [[county]], often was not. As a result of this, a marquess was trusted to defend and fortify against potentially hostile neighbours and was thus more important and ranked higher than a count. The title is ranked below that of a [[duke]], which was often largely restricted to the royal family.

The rank of marquess was a relatively late introduction to the British peerage: no [[marcher lord]]s had the rank of marquess, though some were [[earl]]s. On the evening of the [[Coronation of Queen Victoria]] in 1838, the Prime Minister [[Lord Melbourne]] explained to her why (from her journals):
<blockquote>I spoke to [Lord Melbourne] about the numbers of Peers present at the Coronation, & he said it was quite unprecedented. I observed that there were very few Viscounts, to which he replied "There are very few [[Viscount]]s," that they were an old sort of title & not really English; that they came from Vice-Comites; that Dukes & Barons were the only real English titles; – that Marquises were likewise not English, & that people were mere made Marquises, when it was not wished that they should be made Dukes.<ref>''Queen Victoria's Journals'', Thursday 28th June 1838, Buckingham Palace, Princess Beatrice's copies, Volume:4 (1st June 1838–1st October 1838) p. 84, [http://www.queenvictoriasjournals.org/search/displayItemFromId.do?FormatType=fulltextimgsrc&QueryType=articles&ItemID=qvj02134&volumeType=PSBEA#zoomHolder online], accessed May 25, 2013</ref></blockquote>

==Analogous non-Western titles==
[[File:Pompa funebris Albert Ardux - Trazegnies.jpg|thumb|The [[Marquess of Trazegnies d'Ittre|Marquess of Trazegnies]]]]
Like other major Western noble titles, marquess (or marquis) is sometimes used to translate certain titles from non-Western languages with their own traditions, even though they are, as a rule, historically unrelated and thus hard to compare. However, they are considered "equivalent" in relative rank.

This is the case with: <!-- Titles should not be capitalized unless directly in front of a person's name.  -->
* In [[History of China#Ancient China|ancient China]], 侯 (''hóu'') a [[Zhou dynasty nobility|noble rank]] created by [[King Wu of Zhou]] for rulers of newly conquered regions, and is generally translated as marquess or marquis.<ref>{{ cite journal
| last = Pines | first=Yuri
| title= Names and Titles in Eastern Zhou Texts
| journal= T'oung Pao| year = 2020
| volume= 106 | issue=5–6
| page = 715
| publisher= Brill | doi=10.1163/15685322-10656P06
| place = Leiden
}}{{pb}}{{ cite book
| author= Li Feng | year = 2008
| title= Perceptions of Antiquity in Chinese Civilization
| editor1-last = Kuhn | editor1-first = Dieter
| editor2-last = Stahl | editor2-first = Helga
| chapter= Transmitting Antiquity: The Origin and Paradigmization of the “Five Ranks”
| page = 112
| publisher= Würzburger Sinologische Schriften
| place = Würzberg
| ref = {{sfnref|Li|2008}}
}}
</ref> In [[Imperial era of Chinese history|imperial China]], 侯 (''hóu'') is generally, but not always, a middle-to-high ranking hereditary nobility title. Its exact rank varies greatly from dynasty to dynasty, and even within a dynasty. It is often created with different sub-ranks, with {{zh|labels=no|c=列侯}} (''liè hóu'', [[Ranged Marquis]]) generally the highest.<ref>{{Cite book
|title = Dong Han Liehou juewei zhidu
|script-title=zh:东汉列侯爵位制度
|author=You Jia (尤佳)
|publisher=云南大学出版社
|year=2015|location=Kunming 
|pages=47–48, 52, 73}}</ref>
* In [[Meiji Japan]], 侯爵 (''kōshaku''), a hereditary peerage (''[[kazoku]]'') rank, was introduced in 1884, granting a hereditary seat in the upper house of the imperial diet just as a British peerage did (until the [[House of Lords Act 1999]]), with the ranks usually rendered as baron, viscount, count, marquis and duke/prince.<ref>{{cite book|title=Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility|last=Lebra|first=Takie Sugiyama|pages=51|publisher=University of California Press|location=CA, US|year=1993|isbn=9780520911796}}</ref>
* In [[Korea]], the title of 현후 (縣侯; ''hyeonhu''), the meaning of which is "marquess of district", existed for the hereditary nobility in the [[Goryeo|Goryeo dynasty]]. It was equivalent to the upper fifth rank of nine bureaucratic orders, and was in the third rank of six nobility orders. The title of Buwongun, could be received only Father in law of King or The Vassals who dedicate Notably to create New kingdom is also same as Marquess. In the [[Joseon|Joseon dynasty]], there was no title equivalent to marquess.
* In [[Maritime Southeast Asia]], ''[[temenggong]]'' (or ''tumenggung'') is a title used by Islamic dynasties such as [[Mataram Sultanate]] and [[Johor]] to designate a noble ruled over a frontier area or district, or to a chief of public security. Tumenggung ranks below [[Bendahara]] or vizier.
* In [[Vietnam]], ''hầu'' ({{linktext|侯}}) was a senior title of hereditary nobility, equivalent to marquis, for male members of the imperial clan, ranking under ''hoàng đế'' (皇帝; emperor), ''vương'' (王; king/prince), ''quốc công'' (國公; grand duke/duke of the nation), ''quận công'' (郡公; provincial duke) and ''công'' (公; duke, rather like a German [[Fürst]]), and above ''bá'' (伯; count), ''tử'' (子; viscount) and ''nam'' (男; baron).

==In fiction==
{{see also|List of fictional nobility#Marquesses and marchionesses}}
Marquesses and marchionesses have occasionally appeared in works of fiction.

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=28em}}
* [[County of Mark|Mark (county)]]
* [[Marquesses in the United Kingdom]]
* [[List of marquesses in the peerages of Britain and Ireland]]
* [[List of marquessates in the peerages of Britain and Ireland]]
* [[List of marquesses in Italy]]
* [[List of marquises in Norway]]
* [[List of marquises in Portugal]]
* [[Exarch]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030201155716/http://hereditarytitles.com/Page70.htm The Chronological Peerage of England, hereditarytitles.com as of 2 March 2003]; omits Normanby, misspells Hartington as Martington, places Marquess of Lorn and Kintyre in the peerage of England (Scotland is more probable).
* [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=marquis&searchmode=none EtymologyOnLine]
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Buckingham and Normanby, John Sheffield, 1st Duke of |volume=4 |pages=727–728}} — "and in 1694 was made marquess of Normanby"

==External links==
*{{commonscat-inline|Marquesses}}
*{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Marquess |volume=17 |page=751 |short=x}}
[[Category:Marquessates| ]]
[[Category:Marquesses| ]]
[[Category:Counts| ]]
[[Category:Noble titles]]
[[Category:Peerage]]
[[Category:Men's social titles]]

[[de:Markgraf]]