Dauphin of France
The Dauphin of France (French:Dauphin de France)—strictly, Dauphin
of Viennois (Dauphin de Viennois)—was the title given to the heir apparent of
the
Guy VIII, Count of Vienne, had a dolphin on his coat of arms and had been nicknamed le Dauphin (French for dolphin). The title of Dauphin de Viennois descended in his family until 1349, when Humbert II sold his signeurie, called the Dauphiné, to King Philippe VI on condition that the heir of France assumed the title of le Dauphin. The wife of the Dauphin was known as la Dauphine.
The first French prince called le Dauphin was Charles V. The title is roughly equivalent to the English title Prince of Wales. The official style of a Dauphin of France, prior to 1461, was par la grâce de Dieu, dauphin de Viennois, comte de Valentinois et de Diois ("By the Grace of God, Dauphin of Viennois, Count of Valentinois and of Diois"). A Dauphin of France would unite the coat of arms of the Dauphiné, which featured Dolphins, with the French fleurs-de-lys, and might where appropriate further unite that with other arms (e.g. François, son and Dauphin of Francis I, was ruling Duke of Brittany, so united the coat of arms of that province with the typical arms of a Dauphin of France; Francis II, whilst Dauphin, was also King of Scotland by marriage, and so added those arms to those of the Dauphin of France).
Originally, the Dauphin was personally responsible for the rule of the Dauphiné, which was legally part of the Holy Roman Empire, and which the Emperors, in gifting the rule of the province to the French heirs, had stipulated must never be united with France. Because of this, the Dauphiné suffered from anarchy in the 14th and 15th centuries (since the Dauphins of France were frequently minors, or concerned with other matters).
The province was united with France by Louis XI. During his period as Dauphin, Louis defied his father, Charles VII, by remaining in the province longer than the King had permitted and by engaging in personal politics more beneficial to the Dauphiné than to France. For example, Louis married Charlotte of Savoy against his father's wishes. Savoy was a traditional ally of the Dauphiné, and Louis wished to reaffirm that alliance, so as to stamp out rebels and robbers in the province. Louis was driven out of the Dauphiné by Charles VII's soldiers in 1456, leaving the region to fall back into disorder. After his succession in 1461, Louis united the Dauphiné with France, bringing it permanently under royal control.
The title of Dauphin was automatically conferred upon the next heir apparent in the direct line upon birth, accession of the parent to the throne, or death of the previous Dauphin, unlike the English title Prince of Wales; which was (and is) granted at the will of the monarch, rather than as an automatic right at birth.
The title was abolished by the Constitution of 1791, which made France a constitutional monarchy. Under the constitution, the heir to the throne (Dauphin Louis-Charles at that time) was restyled as Prince Royal (a Prince of the Blood would be retitled as prince français), taking effect from the inception of the Legislative Assembly on 1 October 1791. The title was restored in potentia under the Bourbon Restoration of Louis XVIII; there was not, however, another Dauphin until his death. With the accession of his brother Charles X, Charles' son and heir, Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angouleme, automatically became Dauphin. However, with the removal of the Bourbons, the title fell once again into disuse (the heirs of Louis-Philippe being titled as Prince Royal). After the death of Henri, comte de Chambord, Carlos, Duke of Madrid, the heir of the legitimist claimant, Juan, Count of Montizón, made use of the title in pretense, as have the Spanish legitimist claimants since.
List of Dauphins of France
In literature
In Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck encounters two odd characters who turn out to be professional con men. One of them claims that he should be treated with deference, since he is "really" an impoverished English duke, and the other, not to be outdone, reveals that he is "really" the Dauphin ("Looy the Seventeen, son of Looy the Sixteen and Marie Antoinette"). Alphonse Daudet also wrote a short story called "The Death of the Dauphin," about a young Dauphin who wants to stop Death from approaching him.
Modern Uses of the Term
Today, the term Dauphin is used as the name for the yearbook of St. Louis University High in St. Louis, MO, United States. The high school, the oldest west of the Mississippi River, has carried down through its almost 200-year history some symbols of the French influence on the beginnings of the city of St. Louis, which was, of course, named for the French king, Louis IX. Its theatre players are known as the Dauphin Players.
Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, USA, is in Dauphin County.
Dauphin Island, a barrier island off the coast of Alabama, received its name when it was part of French Louisiana.
There is also a helicopter with the name Dauphin made by the French company, Eurocopter.
See also
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