Constable of France

The Constable of France (French: Connétable de France, from Latin comes stabuli for 'count of the stables'), as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and chancellor) and Commander in Chief of the army. He, theoretically, as Lieutenant-general of the King, outranked all the nobles and was second-in-command only to the King.

The Connétable de France was also responsible for military justice and served to regulate the Chivalry. His jurisdiction was called the connestablie (or in modern French orthography which sticks closer to the correct pronunciation: connétablie).

The office was established by King Philip I in 1060 with Alberic becoming the first Constable. The office was abolished in 1627 in accordance with the Edict of January 1627 by Prime Minister Cardinal Richelieu, upon the death of François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières, in order to strengthen the immediate authority of the King over his armed forces.

The position was officially replaced by the purely ceremonial title "Dean of Marshals" (Doyen des maréchaux), in fact the most senior "Marshal of France" (Maréchal de France) as the word doyen is used in French mainly in the sense of "the eldest".

The later title Marshal General of France or more precisely "Marshal General of the King's camps and armies" (Maréchal général des camps et armées du Roi) was bestowed on outstanding military leaders. The recipient had authority over all the French armies and garrisons engaged in a war and was senior to the Maréchaux de France, but had not the extended powers of the earlier "Constable of France".

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