Nobility of the First French Empire
As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles in a newly established noblesse impériale (Imperial Nobility) to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution.[1]
"Count of the Empire" redirects here. For the title in the Holy Roman Empire, see Imperial Count.
Like many others, both before and since, Napoleon found that the ability to confer titles was also a useful tool of patronage which cost the state little. In all, about 2,200 titles were created by Napoleon:
Napoleon also established a new knightly order in 1802, the Legion of Honour, which is still in existence today. The Grand Dignitaries of the French Empire ranked, regardless of noble title, immediately behind the Princes of France.
Ennoblement started in 1804 with the creation of princely titles for members of Napoleon's family, the House of Bonaparte. Other titles followed: titles were created and, in 1808, those of count, baron, and knight.
Napoleon founded the concept of "nobility of Empire" by an Imperial decree on 1 March 1808. The purpose of this creation was to amalgamate the old nobility and the revolutionary middle-class in one peerage system. This step, which aimed at the introduction of a stable elite, was fully in line with the creation of the Legion of Honour and of life senatorial peerages.
A council of the seals and the titles was also created and charged with establishing armorial bearings, and had a monopoly of this new nobility.
These creations are to be distinguished from an order such as the Order of the Bath. These titles of nobility did not have any true privileges, with two exceptions:
In Napoleon's nobility, there existed a strict and precise hierarchy of the titles, which granted office to some according to their membership of the Imperial Family, their rank in the army, or their administrative career in the civil or clerical administrations:
One could receive a title without exercising one of its enumerated functions. The title of marquis was not used during the First Empire, and it therefore became very fashionable after the Bourbon Restoration, since it was not perceived to be tainted by the Napoleonic creations.
This nobility is essentially a "nobility of service", to a large extent made up of soldiers (67.9%), some civil servants (22%), and some collaborating members of the ancien régime. Napoleon's nobility was not abolished after the Bourbon Restoration, but it largely disappeared gradually for natural reasons, due in part to the great number of soldiers who had been promoted and subsequently died during the Napoleonic Wars.
In 1975, there were 239 remaining families belonging to the First Empire's nobility. Of those, perhaps about 135 were titled. Only one princely title (Essling, since Sievers is no longer used and Pontecorvo is merged with Prince Murat) and seven ducal titles remain today.