Duke
A duke is the senior rank in the English peerage. The word is derived from the Latin dux, meaning leader: thus William the Bastard was titled as Ducis Normannorum et regis Anglorum -- Duke or senior man of Normandy and King of England. The area ruled by a duke or duchess is a Duchy or Dukedom.
The premier English dukedom is Cornwall, but that is an appendage of the Crown; the first non-royal dukedom was granted in 1351 to Henry, Earl of Lancaster, Derby, Lincoln and Leicester; the premier surviving non-royal dukedom is Norfolk, first created in 1397.
In Scotland, David, son of Robert I, became Duke of Rothesay in 1398 but the premier non-royal dukedom extant is that of Hamilton, created in 1599.
No Irish dukedom remains from period.
Dukes in the SCA
In the SCA this title is awarded to someone who has completed a reign over a kingdom two or more times. The ducal coronet displays strawberry leaves and dukes are permitted to have a ducal coronet on their arms. The honorific for a duke is "Your Grace".
See also:
Alternate Titles
The SCA recognises the following alternate titles in other languages as the equivalent to Duke:
| Language | Alternate Form |
| Albanian | Duk� |
| Arabic | Mushir/Musaitir |
| Catalan | Duc |
| Czech | V�voda |
| Danish | Hertug |
| Dutch | Hertog |
| Estonian | --- |
| Finnish | Herttua |
| French | Duc |
| German | Herzog |
| Greek | K�mes tou st�blou |
| Hebrew | Alluf |
| Hungarian | Ban/Herceg |
| Icelandic | Hertogi |
| Irish Gaelic | Diuc/Righ-cuicidh |
| Italian | Duca |
| Latin | Dux |
| Middle Norwegian | Hertogi |
| Old English | Eorl |
| Old Norse | Hertogi |
| Polish | Ksiaze |
| Portuguese | Duque |
| Romanian | Duce |
| Russian | Kniaz |
| Scots Gaelic | Diuc |
| Spanish | Duque |
| Swedish | Hertig |
| Turkish | D�k/Serdar |
| Welsh | Dug/Gwledig |
And also
The Venetian title of doge is also derived from the latin dux, and would therefore nominally equivalate to Duke.
