Duc de Berry: junior status

In www. biography.com., the statement was mentioned that Louis XVI of France was named Louis Auguste and given the title Duc de Berry signifying his junior status in the French Court.
Was Duc de Berry used only by French princes of an absolute lower rank?
 
IDK if it was necessarily attached to the most junior prince at court, considering that the Cte de Provence was invested with the dukedom of Anjou. But if we go further back, Louis XIV's grandson was granted a special permission to retain the style de Berri, even though his children would be d'Alençon.
 
It's true that certain titles, like Dauphin, duke of Burgundy Orleans and Anjou were given to older princes, but since Berry was usually granted to a son or grandson of the king, he couldn't be considered the most junior prince at court.
 
In www. biography.com., the statement was mentioned that Louis XVI of France was named Louis Auguste and given the title Duc de Berry signifying his junior status in the French Court.
Was Duc de Berry used only by French princes of an absolute lower rank?

No, Berry was one of the traditional Ducal titles granted to member of the Bourbon family and while it was less prestigious than Orleans or Burgundy at the time that Louis Auguste was created Duke of Berry the more senior ones were occupied. While it was informal and subjective there was a hierarchy among the various titles in terms of prestige with Orleans, Burgundy and Valois at the top of the tree while Berry and Anjou were less popular there wasn't a deliberate snub directed at Louis Auguste who at birth as the 2nd son of the Dauphin and thus future 3rd in the order of precedence (after the King and Queen) was destined to be very important. It's just Orleans, Burgundy and Valois were occupied and Acquitaine had been created for Xavier of France who had died a few months before Louis Auguste's birth.

If Louis Joseph, Duke of Burgundy had survived and become Louis XVI then the Duchy of Burgundy would have been merged with the Crown and become available to be re-granted. One interesting thought is that in that scenario whether it would have been given to Louis Auguste or kept free for any children of Louis Joseph.
 
My understanding of French ancien regime royal titles is as follows:

Dauphin - eldest son of the king
Orléans - second son of the king
Chartres - Orléans' heir apparent
Valois - Chartres' heir apparent
Bourgogne - eldest son of the dauphin
Bretagne - eldest son of Bourgogne
 
My understanding of French ancien regime royal titles is as follows:

Dauphin - eldest son of the king
Orléans - second son of the king
Chartres - Orléans' heir apparent
Valois - Chartres' heir apparent
Bourgogne - eldest son of the dauphin
Bretagne - eldest son of Bourgogne

No that's completely wrong.

Dauphin or strictly speaking the Dauphin of Viennois was a unique, separate title equivalent to Crown Prince or Prince of Wales and had been since 1349. It was solely held by the heir the throne even if it was the grandson of the King.

Separately you had the various Royal Ducal titles which post 1500 were only granted members of the House of Capet. The Duchies of Orléans, Chartres, Valois, Bourgogne, Bretagne, Normandy etc. are all examples of this. There was no strict order or seniority among the various titles and there certainly wasn't any formal system like you claim. For example Louis-Charles/Louis XVII the second son of Louis XVI was created Duke of Normandy despite it not having been used as a French title since the 15th century. Why? God only knows Bretagne and Bourgogne were both available at the time but Louis XVI picked Normandy.
 

Vitruvius

Donor
I think Thoresby is generally correct. Berri, Orleans and Anjou were generally used by the Valois and early Bourbons but from the later 17th century on older titles were revived like Bretagne and Bourgogne, probably because there were too many living princes. I think the hierarchy at court was more attached to style, the way the Princes du Sang and enfants of France were addressed. There was more of a system to who was a Prince du Sang, who was an fils de France, a petit-fils de France etc. The appanage they held was irrelevent to their status which was dictated strictly by birth.

I think Dauphin would also more properly fit into this system since it was the title of the heir apparent. The appanage's held by his younger brothers didn't distinguish them in status beyond being fils de France. The children of the King were enfants de France and his grandchildren were the petit-enfants de France (like the Spanish and Portuguese infante). Anyone in the Royal line more remote than that (grandchildren of the fils de France) was a Prince du Sang. Some members had specific titles for example the eldest fils de France was the Dauphin, Monsieur le Dauphin. The eldest brother of the King was known as Monsieur. At one point there were two living monsieurs, Gaston d'Orleans, brother of the late Louis XIII, and Philippe d'Anjou, brother of the new King Louis XIV, so to distinguish them Gaston was le Grand Monsieur and Philippe, le Petit Monsieur. The eldest daughter of the King was Madame Royale and the eldest daughter of Monsieur was Mademoiselle. The First Prince of the Blood was known as Monsieur le Prince. By the 18th century this was the Duc d'Orleans but in earlier periods it had been borne by the Prince of Conde. As the generations pass and the holder becomes more distant to the current King or as a line days out it can move around. So Philippe d'Orleans was Monsieur as the second eldest fils de France of his generation and brother to King Louis XIV. His son would be a petit fil de France and the 18th century ducs d'Orleans were all Princes du Sang since they were descended only from Louis XIII and thus more distantly related (in the male line) to the current Kings.

Most court etiquette revolved around these styles which rather than the appanage was responsible for how one was addressed and what privileges one had. Though the appanage could convey wealth if it contained valuable lands or incomes. And I suppose certain titles could carry some prestige born from tradition but the style of address still trumped that in court ceremony. There were some informal traditions regarding who got which appanage. With Anjou and Orleans usually going to the second son depending on which title was available. But that's not a precise system because once granted an appanage could form an independent line lasting several generations like Orleans or it could almost continuously revert to the crown like Anjou. So its impossible to form a rigid system with Appanages because they can be inherited whereas the style of address cannot be inherited per se and is instead a direct function of the degree of kinship to the current King.
 
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