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:

• superduke

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

See Also:

Honorific