For an explanation of the French peerage, see the article Peerage of France. Note that peerages and titles were distinct, and the date given for the extinction of the peerage is not necessarily the same as that of the extinction of the title.

The "old peerages"

The "new peerages" (1259-1789)

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	Peerage Of France (1073 words) Early in the 13th century Normandy was absorbed by the French crown, and later in the 13th century two more of the lay peerages were absorbed by the crown, so that in 1297 three new peerages were created (Artois, Anjou and Bretagne) to compensate for the three peerages that had disappeared. The French peerage was abolished during the French Revolution on the night of August 4, 1789, the Night of the Abolition of Feudalism. The French peerage was recreated in 1814 at the Restoration of monarchy, albeit on a different basis than before 1789. The Dispatch - Serving the Lexington, NC - News (1460 words) In that respect the French peerage was very different from the British peerage (to whom the term Barons, their lowest class, was applied in its generic sense), because the vast majority of French nobles of ranks from Baron to Duke were not Peers. Peerage was attached to a specific episcopal see (in the case of the episcopal peerages) or a fief. Members of the peerage had the right to sit in a "lit de justice" (a formal preceding) and speak before the Parlement of Paris, and they were also given high positions in the court, and a few minor privileges such as entering the courtyards of royal castles in their carriages.
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