Last modified: 2003-06-14 by ivan sache
Keywords: marechal de france | marshal of france | batons: 2 (blue) |
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Marshal of France is not a rank but a State honour granted to a General Officer victorious on battle fields
The word Maréchal is the modern form of Mareschale, which came from Germanic Mareschale, servant in charge of horses [mare and merrie are used for a female horse in modern English and Dutch, repectively].
The dignity of Maréchal (Marshal) seems to have the same origin as the dignity of Connétable (Constable). The Constable, the Chief of the Royal stables, had for servants Marshals, whose statute and duty were progressively increased and precised.
Initially, there was only one Marshal. The first Marshal of France was Albéric Clément I, Lord of Metz, appointed in 1185 by King Philippe-Auguste. From Saint-Louis (1226-1270) to Louis XII (1498-1515), there were two Marshals. François I (1515-1547) appointed a third Marshal and created the Marshal's baton (bâton de Maréchal). The number of Marshals then increased as follows: 4, under the reign of Francois II (1559-1560); 6, under the reign of Charles IX (1560-1574); 8, under the reign of Henri III (1574-1589)
In 1627, under the reign of Louis XIII (1610-1643), the dignity of Constable was suppressed by Richelieu and the Marshals became the first dignitaries of the Army. Under the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715), there were 20 Marshals, but they had only a ceremonial function at the Court in Versailles. Louis XIV indeed created the Court of Versailles to 'emprison' there in a complicated ritual all the potentially troublesome nobles who might have disputed his absolute power. The number of Marshals decreased to 18 under the reign of Louis XV (1715-1774). In 1791, under the reign of Louis XVI (1774-1792), a Decree stated that the Marshals should have only military functions.
On 21 February 1793, the Convention suppressed the dignity of Marshal, which was reestablished by Napoléon I on 19 May 1804. The first 18 Empire Marshals (Maréchaux d'Empire) were: Berthier, Moncey, Masséna, Murat, Jourdan, Augereau, Bernadotte (later King of Sweden), Brune, Mortier, Lannes, Soult, Ney, Davout, Kellerman, Bessières, Pérignon, Lefebvre, and Sé'rurier. Those names are quite familar to the Parisiens, because the outer boulevards were named after the Empire Marshals and globally nicknamed boulevards des Maréchaux (Marshals' boulevards). Marshal of Empire was a State dignity without command power.
The miitary dignity was reestablished uncder the Bourbon Restoration. In 1839, under the reign of Louis-Philippe, a law prescribed six Marshal positions in peacetime and twelve in wartime. In 1875, under the Third Republic, the law on the Army Officers kept the dignity of Marshal, which, however was not conferred until 1916 (Joffre).
During the XXth century, the dignity of Marshal of France was conferred to the following officers:
The length of the Marshal's baton is 50 cm, its diameter is 4.5 cm. The baton is covered in blue velvet ornated with golden fleur-de-lys (Kingdom), eagles (Empire) or stars (Republic). Both ends of the baton are capped with a vermeil calotte. One calotte bears the Marshal's name, the other the Latin motto:Terror belli, Decus pacis (Terror of war, honour of peace).
Source: Grand Larousse Illustré du XXe siècle (1932) and other Larousse encyclopaedia.
Ivan Sache, 13 November 2001
Other sources claim that the word Maréchal came to French from the Breton word for knight. Indeed, the Breton word for horse is Marc'h.
Marc Pasquin, 14 November 2001
The flag of a Maréchal de France is a square white flag with the French Tricolore in canton and two crossed blue marshal's batons in lower fly. Since there is no Maréchal de France still alive, the flag is prescribed but not currently in use.
Source: Album des Pavillons [pay00]
As above, but in proportion 7:8.
Source: Album des Pavillons [pay00]