In ancient times there was a road, the Via Domitia, built by the Romans to bring soldiers and trade across the Alps from Italy into southern Gaul, then south to Spain. Cities and towns along this route that hugged the Mediterranean prospered, and fortified positions held by noblemen kept trade safe, and of course providedContinue reading “Dukes of Castries: the Wealth of the Mediterranean comes to Versailles”
Author Archives: Jonathan Spangler
Dukes of Cleveland: Two FitzRoys and Several Vanes
One of the least known dukedoms in the peerages of Great Britain is that of Cleveland. After starting off as a title for one of the most famous duchesses in Europe, Barbara Villiers, the second and third dukes, Charles and William FitzRoy, were very rich but unremarkable. Their successors in the Vane family managed toContinue reading “Dukes of Cleveland: Two FitzRoys and Several Vanes”
The Leslies: Just one Duke of Rothes but many generals in Scotland, Russia and Austria
‘You know nothing, Jon Snow’, is perhaps a fitting introduction to the family history of Rose Leslie, an actress famous for playing Ygritte the Wildling in Game of Thrones. Snow did in fact know nothing about his own true ancestry in the story, but he also did not know that his real-life counterpart, Kit Harington,Continue reading “The Leslies: Just one Duke of Rothes but many generals in Scotland, Russia and Austria”
The MacCarthys—Irish kings to princes … to dukes?
Ireland did not have dukes and princes created by emperors or kings in the manner of other European kingdoms in the medieval and early modern ages. There were a few dukedoms (Ormond, Leinster, Abercorn), but these were all created for Anglo-Irish families who had emigrated to the Emerald Isle at some point after its conquestContinue reading “The MacCarthys—Irish kings to princes … to dukes?”
Dukes of Medina Sidonia: Virtual kings of Andalusia
One of the wealthiest and most powerful aristocratic families in Spain are the dukes of Medina Sidonia. With their base in the Andalusian seaport town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, huge estates across the south of Spain, and the oldest extant dukedom in the Kingdom, they dominate much of Spanish history from the fifteenth century toContinue reading “Dukes of Medina Sidonia: Virtual kings of Andalusia”
Eulenburg and Bülow princes: two scandals that shook the Prussian court
The court of Kaiser Wilhelm II is remembered for its excessive militarism—the Prussian sabre rattling that encouraged the Austrian emperor to send such a strong ultimatum to the Serbs in July 1914 that made World War I inevitable—an excess that ultimately brought about the demise of both monarchies and the dukes and princes that supportedContinue reading “Eulenburg and Bülow princes: two scandals that shook the Prussian court”
Seymour of Wolf Hall: the rise and fall and rise again of the dukes of Somerset
The woman at the centre of the historical drama The Mirror and the Light—though she doesn’t say very much—is Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII of England and mother of the future king, Edward VI. Hilary Mantel’s trilogy focuses on the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, from a tradesman’s son to chief ministerContinue reading “Seymour of Wolf Hall: the rise and fall and rise again of the dukes of Somerset”
Il Gattopardo: The Real Leopard, Prince of Lampedusa
The new Netflix series Il Gattopardo (‘The Leopard’) is the third adaptation of the celebrated novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. Published in 1958, it was first a hugely successful film by Visconti in 1963, then a BBC radio drama in 2008. Telling the story of a powerful landowner from the old aristocracy of SicilyContinue reading “Il Gattopardo: The Real Leopard, Prince of Lampedusa”
The Hills are Alive! Auersperg princes: Lords of Slovenia and Relatives of the Von Trapp Singers
I was recently talking to some students about the character Captain von Trapp in the film ‘The Sound of Music’. Students are always curious how someone from a landlocked country like Austria could be a retired naval commander. We also got to talking about his rank, since he is called a baron in the filmContinue reading “The Hills are Alive! Auersperg princes: Lords of Slovenia and Relatives of the Von Trapp Singers”
Gesualdo: Princes of Venosa and a composer-murderer
I’ve just finished watching the last season of ‘My Brilliant Friend’ so my mind is focused on all things Neapolitan, and more troubling, about a world drenched in passion and violence. There were hundreds of wealthy aristocratic families in the Kingdom of Naples who were given princely titles—the highest honour, but without any sovereign statusContinue reading “Gesualdo: Princes of Venosa and a composer-murderer”
Dukes and Princes 