Appanage

An appanage is land, revenue, or another source of income granted to a junior member of a royal family. It often reverted to the crown when the holder or a specified line died out.

Frankish Empire: A post-Roman kingdom and empire ruled by Frankish dynasties in western and central Europe. Frankish divisions of royal territory helped establish the inheritance customs behind later appanages.
Entail: A legal restriction directing inherited property to specified heirs and limiting its sale or division. Entails could restrict how an appanage passed through a holder’s descendants.
Duchy of Burgundy: A powerful French duchy held by the Valois dukes from 1363 until the line’s extinction in 1477. Its Valois rulers began as appanage holders before building a semi-independent state.
Cadet branch: A line of a dynasty descended from a younger child rather than its senior heir. Appanages often supplied the lands and status from which royal cadet branches developed.
Capetian dynasty: A French royal dynasty that ruled from 987 to 1848, including branches that governed other European realms. Capetian kings used appanages to support younger sons while preserving the royal domain.
Reversion (law): The return of property to a grantor or successor after a prior interest ends. Reversion describes the appanage’s return to the crown when its grant conditions expired.
Duchy of Orléans: A French duchy granted to members of the royal house, including the future Louis XII and Louis Philippe I. It exemplifies a royal grant that provided rank and resources to a junior branch.
House of Valois: A branch of the Capetian dynasty that ruled France from 1328 to 1589. Its kings used appanages to manage succession and support their younger sons.
French royal domain: The lands and revenues held directly by the French crown, distinct from those controlled by vassals. Appanages were carved from this domain, making their reversion a means of royal expansion.
Royal demesne: Land retained by a monarch for direct ownership and revenue rather than granted to tenants. A reverted appanage could enlarge the lands directly controlled by the crown.

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