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{{Short description|Medieval European borderland or buffer zone}}
{{otheruses|March (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Marches|the commune in France|Marches, Drôme|other uses|March (disambiguation)|and|Marche (disambiguation)}}


In ], a '''march''' or '''mark''' was, in broad terms, any kind of ]land,{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=689}} as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between ]s or a neutral ] under joint control of two states in which different laws might apply. In both of these senses, marches served a political purpose, such as providing warning of ] or regulating cross-border trade.
A '''march''' or '''mark''' refers to a border region similar to a ], such as the ], the borderland between England and Wales. During the Frankish ], the word spread throughout Europe.


Marches gave rise to the titles ] (masculine) or marchioness (feminine).
In contrast to a ], a march could be dominated by a single given country, and rather than being ], it could be strongly fortified for defence against the neighbouring country. Although a march generally circumscribed the same or similar land area as a ], it held its distinction from a normal ] due to its more important position at the border of the ]. A march was ruled over by a ] (English pronunciation) or a ] (French or Scottish pronunciation), or nobles with corresponding titles in the other European states. (The equivalent feminine titles of ''marchioness'' and ''marquise'' respectively may be used by the wife of a titleholder or by a woman holding the rank in her own right.) In comparison, regular counties were ruled over by ].


==Etymology==
The name Denmark preserves the Old Norse cognates ''merki'' ("boundary") ''mörk'' ("wood", "forest") up to the present.
The word "march" derives ultimately from a ] root *''mereg-'', meaning "edge, boundary". The root *''mereg-'' produced ] ''margo'' ("margin"), ] ''mruig'' ("borderland"), ] ''bro'' ("region, border, valley") and ] and ] '']'' ("borderland"). The ] ''*marko'' gave rise to the ] word ''mearc'' and ] ''marka'', as well as ] ''mǫrk'' meaning "borderland, forest",<ref name=etymology>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=mark|title=Online Etymology Dictionary|website=www.etymonline.com}}</ref> and ] from ''merki'' "boundary, sign",<ref name=etymology/> denoting a borderland between two centres of power.


In Old English, "mark" meant "boundary" or "sign of a boundary", and the meaning only later evolved to encompass "sign" in general, "impression" and "trace".
A sense of the dangerous "otherness" of the marches, where the king's writ did not run, as seen from the secure cultural homeground in ] or ], is suggested in '']'' by the lakeside marsh of the monstrous ]: "the fell and fen his fastness was, the march his haunt".


The ] kingdom of ] took its name from ] ''mearc'' "marches", which in this instance referred explicitly to the territory's position on the Anglo-Saxon ] with the ] to the west.
See also: ]


During the Frankish ], usage of the word spread throughout Europe.
==Etymology==
The Frankish word ''marka'' and the Old English word ''mearc'' both come from ] ''*marko'' (] ''merki'' "boundary, sign"<ref>http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=mark</ref> and ''mörk'' "borderland, forest")<ref name=mark></ref>, denoting a border land between two centers of power. The ] kingdom of ] took its name from ] ''mearc'' "marches", which in this instance referred explicitly to the territory's position on the Anglo-Saxon frontier with the ] to the west.
It seems in ] "mark" meant "boundary", or "sign of a boundary", and the meaning later evolved into "sign in general", "impression or trace forming a sign".


The name "Denmark" preserves the Old Norse cognates ''merki'' ("boundary") ''mǫrk'' ("wood", "forest") up to the present. Following the ], the Nazi German government revived the old name ] for Austria.
The Germanic word ultimately derives from a ] root *''mereg-'', meaning "edge, boundary". The root *''mereg-'' gave ] ''marz''{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} ("border, land"), ] ''margo'' ("margin"), ] ''mruig'' ("borderland"), ] ''marz'' ("border, land").


== Historical examples of marches and marks ==
==By region==
===]===
The specific ] are each called ''Marz'', possibly a loanword from Persian into Armenian or an Armenian loanword into Persian.


{{Further|List of marches}}
===The ]===


==Frankish Empire and successor states==
See ] and ].


===Spain=== ===Marca Hispanica===
{{main|Marca Hispanica}} {{Main|Marca Hispanica}}
In the early ninth century, ] issued his new kind of land grant, the '']'', which redisposed land belonging to the Imperial '']'' in deserted areas, and included special rights and immunities that resulted in a range of independence of action.{{sfn|Lewis|1965}} Historians interpret the ''aprisio'' both as the basis of ] and in economic and military terms as a mechanism to entice settlers to a depopulated border region. Such self-sufficient landholders would aid the counts in providing armed men in defense of the Frankish ]. ''Aprisio'' grants (the first ones were in ]) emanated directly from the Carolingian king, and they reinforced central loyalties, to counterbalance the local power exercised by powerful marcher counts.{{citation needed|date=August 2014}}
Beyond the province of ], after some early setbacks, ]'s son ] took Barcelona from the ] ] in 801. Thus he established a foothold in the borderland between the Franks and the Moors. The Carolingian "Hispanic Marches" ('']'') became a buffer zone ruled by the ], with its own outlying small separate territories, each ruled by a lesser ''miles'' with armed retainers, who theoretically owed allegiance through the Count to the Emperor, or with less fealty to his Carolingian and Ottonian successors. Each was the ''catlá'' ("castellan" or lord of the castle) in an area largely defined by a day's ride, the region dotted with strongholds becoming known by them, like Castile at a later date, as "Catalunya." Counties in the ] that appeared in the 9th century as ]s of the counts of Barcelona included ], ] and ].


After some early setbacks, Emperor ] ventured beyond the province of ] and eventually took ] from the ] ] in 801. Thus he established a foothold in the borderland between the Franks and the Moors. The Carolingian "Hispanic Marches" ('']'') became a buffer zone ruled by a number of feudal lords, among them the ]. It had its own outlying territories, each ruled by a lesser ''miles'' with armed retainers, who theoretically owed allegiance through a count to the emperor or, with less ], to his Carolingian and Ottonian successors. Such territory had a ''catlá'' ("castellan" or lord of the castle) in an area largely defined by a day's ride, and the region became known, like Castile at a later date, as "Catalunya". {{Cn|date=January 2021}} Counties in the ] that appeared in the 9th century, in addition to the ], included ], ] and ].
In the early ninth century, Charlemagne issued his new kind of land grant the '']'', which redisposed land belonging to the Imperial '']'' in deserted areas, and included special rights and immunities that resulted in a range of independence of action. Historians interpret the ''aprisio'' both as the basis of ] and in economic and military terms as a mechanism to entice settlers to a depopulated border region. Such self-sufficient landholders would aid the counts in providing armed men in defense of the Frankish ]. ''Aprisio'' grants (the first ones were in ]) emanated directly from the Carolingian king, and they reinforced central loyalties, to counterbalance the local power exercised by powerful marcher counts.


But communications were arduous, and the power center was far away. Primitive ] entities developed, self-sufficient and agrarian, each ruled by a small hereditary military elite. The sequence in Catalonia exhibits a pattern that emerges similarly in marches everywhere. The Count is appointed by the king (from 802), the appointment settles on the heirs of a strong count (Sunifred) and the appointment becomes a formality, until the position is declared hereditary (897) and then the County declares itself independent (by Borrell II in 985). At each stage the ''de facto'' situation precedes the ''de jure'' assertion, which merely regularizes an existing fact of life. This is ] in the larger landscape. Communications were arduous, and the power centre was far away. Primitive ] entities developed, self-sufficient and agrarian, each ruled by a small hereditary military elite. The sequence in the County of Barcelona exhibits a pattern that emerges similarly in marches everywhere: the count is appointed by the king (from 802), the appointment settles on the heirs of a strong count (Sunifred) and the appointment becomes a formality, until the position is declared hereditary (897) and then the count declares independence (by Borrell II in 985). At each stage the ''de facto'' situation precedes the ''de jure'' assertion, which merely regularizes an existing fact of life. This is ] in the larger landscape.{{citation needed|date=August 2014}}


Certain of the Counts aspired to the characteristically Frankish (Germanic) title "] of the Hispanic March, a "margrave" being a ''graf'' ("count") of the march. Some counts aspired to the characteristically Frankish (Germanic) title "] of the Hispanic March", a "margrave" being a ''graf'' ("count") of the march.{{citation needed|date=August 2014}}


The early ] provides a fairly typical career of another such buffer state, the only modern survivor in the Pyrenees of the Hispanic Marches. The early ] provides a fairly typical career of another such march county, the only modern survivor in the Pyrenees of the Hispanic Marches.{{citation needed|date=August 2014}}
*


=== Marches set up by Charlemagne ===
===Denmark===


* The ] (sometimes regarded as just a series of forts rather than a march) between the ] and ] rivers, against the ];
* The march of the ].
* the ] or ] march between the ] and ] rivers in modern ], against the ];
* the ] or ] on the ] river, against the ] dwelling behind the ''] sorabicus'';
* the ], ], ] and ];
* the ] in modern ], against the ];
* the ] between ] river and ] (the later ] that became the Margraviate of Austria);
* the ] east of ] (divided into ''Upper'' and ''Lower'');
* the ];
* ], established under Charlemagne from a part of ] (]), erected as a border territory against the ] and Slavs;
* the ];
* the ] against the Muslims of ]


===France=== ===France===


The ] called ] ({{lang-oc|la Marcha}}), sometimes ''Marche Limousine'', was originally a small border district partly of ] and partly of ]. The ] called ''']''' ({{langx|oc|la Marcha}}), sometimes ''Marche Limousine'', was originally a small border district between the Duchy of Aquitaine and the domains of the Frankish kings in central France, partly of ] and partly of ].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|pp=689–690}}


Its area was increased during the ] and remained the same until the ]. Marche was bounded on the north by ], on the east by ] and ]; on the south by Limousin itself and on the west by Poitou. It embraced the greater part of the modern '']'' of ], a considerable part of the northern ], and a fragment of ], up to ]. Its area was about 1900 m².; its capital was ] and later ], and among its other principal towns were ], ] and ]. Its area was increased during the 13th century and remained the same until the ]. Marche was bounded on the north by ], on the east by ] and ]; on the south by Limousin itself and on the west by Poitou. It embraced the greater part of the modern '']'' of ], a considerable part of the northern ], and a fragment of ], up to ]. Its area was about {{convert|1900|mi2|km2}} its capital was ] and later ], and among its other principal towns were ], ] and ].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=690}}


Marche first appeared as a separate fief about the middle of the ] when ], gave it to one of his vassals named ], who took the title of ]. In the ] it passed to the family of ], sometime also counts of Angoulême ], until the death of the childless ] in ], when it was seized by King ]. In ] it was made an ] for his youngest son the Prince, afterwards King ] and a few years later (]) it passed into the hands of the ]. The family of ] held it from ] to ], when it reverted to the Bourbons, and in ] it was seized by King ] and became part of the domains of the French crown. It was divided into Haute-Marche (i.e. "Upper Marche") and Basse-Marche (i.e. "Lower Marche"), the estates of the former being in existence until the ]. From ] until the Revolution the province was under the jurisdiction of the '']'' of Paris. Marche first appeared as a separate fief about the middle of the 10th century when ], gave it to one of his vassals named ], who took the title of ]. In the 12th century it passed to the family of ], sometimes also ], until the death of the childless ] in 1303, when it was seized by King ]. In 1316 it was made an ] for his youngest son ] and a few years later (1327) it passed into the hands of the ].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=690}}


The family of ] held it from 1435 to 1477, when it reverted to the Bourbons, and in 1527 it was seized by King ] and became part of the domains of the French crown. It was divided into Haute-Marche (i.e. "Upper Marche") and Basse-Marche (i.e. "Lower Marche"), the estates of the former being in existence until the 17th century. From 1470 until the Revolution the province was under the jurisdiction of the '']'' of Paris.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=690}}
See ].

{{1911}}


Several communes of France are named similarly: Several communes of France are named similarly:
Line 59: Line 64:


===Germany and Austria=== ===Germany and Austria===
The Germanic tribes that Romans called ], who battled the Romans in the 1st and 2nd centuries were simply the "men of the borderlands." The Germanic tribes that Romans called ], who battled the Romans in the 1st and 2nd centuries, were simply the "men of the borderlands".


]}} was an unfortified ] or border between the ] and the Slavic ], established about 810]]
'''Marches''' were territorial organisations created as borderlands in the ] and had a long career as purely conventional designations under the ]. In modern German, "Mark" denotes a piece of land that historically was a borderland, as in the following names: '''Marches''' were territorial organisations created as borderlands in the ] and had a long career as purely conventional designations under the ]. In modern German, "Mark" denotes a piece of land that historically was a borderland, as in the following names:

====Marches set up by ]====

* The ] (sometimes regarded as just a series of forts rather than a march) between the ] and ] rivers, against the ];
* the ] or ] march between the ] and ] rivers in modern ], against the ];
* the ] or ] on the ] river, against the ] dwelling behind the ''] sorabicus'';
* the ] in modern ], against the ];
* the ] between ] river and ] (the later ]), against the ];
* the ] east of ] (divided into ''Upper'' and ''Lower'');
* the ];
* ], the ] ("border county") of Styria was established under Charlemagne from a part of ] (]), erected as a border territory against the ] and Slavs.
* the ].


====Later medieval marches==== ====Later medieval marches====
*], the "Northern March", the ]'s territorial organisation on the conquered areas of the ]. In ], in the wake of a German crusade against the Wends, the German magnate ] was granted the ] by the ] ]. *], the "Northern March", the ]'s territorial organisation on the conquered areas of the ]. In 1134, in the wake of a German crusade against the Wends, the German magnate ] was granted the ] by the ] ].
* the ] on the ], stretching approximately from ] (Szczecin) to ]; * the ] on the ], stretching approximately from ] (Szczecin) to ];
* ] (''march of Gero''), a precursor of the ], later divided into smaller marches (the ], which later was reestablished as ]; the ] and the ] in modern ]; the ]; the ]; the ] around ]); * ] (''march of Gero''), a precursor of the ], later divided into smaller marches (the ], which later was reestablished as ]; the ] and the ] in modern ]; the ]; the ]; the ] around ]);
* ] (''marcha Orientalis'', the "Eastern March" or "Bavarian Eastern March" ({{lang-de|Ostmark}}) in modern lower Austria); * ] (''marcha Orientalis'', the "Eastern March" or "Bavarian Eastern March" ({{langx|de|Ostmark}}) in modern lower Austria);
* the ]
* the ] or ] (Steiermark); * the ] or ] (Steiermark);
* the ] (] and ]); * the ] (] and ]);
* the ] (]); * the ] (]);
* the Krain or ], also ] and ] (''White March''), in modern ]. * the Krain or ], also ] and ] (''White March''), in modern ].
* three marches were created in the ]: ], ], ].


====Other==== ====Other====
*The ], its ruler designated {{lang|de|Markgraf}} (margrave, literally "march-count"). It was further divided into regions also designated "Mark":

*The ], was further divided into regions also designated "Mark":
**] ("Old March"), the western region of the former margraviate, between ] and ]. **] ("Old March"), the western region of the former margraviate, between ] and ].
**] ("Central March"), the area surrounding Berlin. Today, this region makes up for the bulk of the German ] of ], and thus in modern usage is referred to as Mark Brandenburg. **] ("Central March"), the area surrounding Berlin. Today, this region makes up for the bulk of the German ] of ], and thus in modern usage is referred to as Mark Brandenburg.
**] ("New March") since the 1250s was Brandenburg's eastern extremity between ] and ]. Since 1945, the area is a part of Poland. **] ("New March") since the 1250s was Brandenburg's eastern extremity between ] and ]. Since 1945, the area is a part of Poland.
**], the Brandenburg-Pomeranian borderland. The name is still in use for the region as well as for a ]. **], the Brandenburg–Pomeranian borderland. The name is still in use for the region as well as for a ].
*], a medieval territory that is recalled in the ] district (formed in 1975) of today's ]. The northern portion (north of the ]) is still called '''Hohe Mark''' ("Higher Mark"). The former "Lower Mark" (between Ruhr and Lippe rivers) is the present ] and is no longer called "Mark". The title, in the form "Count of the Mark", survived the territory as a subsidiary title of the Dukes of ] *], a medieval territory that is recalled in the ] district (formed in 1975) of today's ]. The northern portion (north of the ]) is still called '''Hohe Mark''' ("Higher Mark"). The former "Lower Mark" (between Ruhr and Lippe rivers) is the present ] and is no longer called "Mark". The title, in the form "Count of the Mark", survived the territory as a subsidiary title of the Dukes of ]
*] ("Eastern March") is a modern rendition of the term ''marchia orientalis'' used in Carolingian documents referring to the area of ] that was later a ''markgraftum'' (] or "county of the mark"). ''Ostmark'' has been variously used to denote Austria, the ], or, as '' ]'', the territories Prussia gained in the ]. *] ("Eastern March") is a modern rendition of the term ''marchia orientalis'' used in Carolingian documents referring to the area of ] that was later a ''markgraftum'' (] or "county of the mark"). ''Ostmark'' has been variously used to denote Austria, the ], or, as '' ]'', the territories Prussia gained in the ].


===Hungary=== ===Habsburg Empire===
{{See|Military Frontier|Croatian Military Frontier|Slavonian Military Frontier}}
In medieval Hungary the system of ''gyepű'' and ''gyepűelve'', effective until the mid-], can be considered as marches even though in its organisation it shows major differences from Western European feudal marches. For one thing, the ''gyepű'' was not controlled by a Marquess.
] against incursions from the ] in the middle of the 19th century (marked with a red outline)]]


===Italy===
The ''Gyepű'' was a strip of land that was specially fortified or made impassable, while ''gyepűelve'' was the mostly uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land beyond it. The ''gyepűelve'' is much more comparable to modern ]s than traditional European marches.
{{Expand section|date=June 2008}}
{{For|the modern Italian region|Marche}}


From the Carolingian period onwards the name ''marca'' begins to appear in Italy, first the ] for the mountainous part of ], the Marca Camerinese for the district farther north, including a part of ], and the Marca Anconitana for the former ] (]). In 1080, the ''marca Anconitana'' was given in investiture to ] by ], to whom the ] ceded the marches of ] and ].
The portions of the ''gyepű'' was usually guarded by tribes who joined the Hungarian nation and were granted special rights for their services at the borders, such as the ], ] and ]. These ethnic groups merged into the Hungarian ] and identity also taking up the ] at different times ranging from as before the tenth century (the ]) to as late as the seventeenth century (some ]).
The Hungarian ''gyepű'' originates from the ] ''yapi'' meaning '']''.


In 1105, the ] invested ] with the whole territory of the three marches, under the name of the ]. It was afterwards once more recovered by the Church and governed by papal legates as part of the ]. The Marche became part of the ] in 1860. After ] in the 1860s, ] still controlled territory Italian nationalists ]. One of these territories was ], which Italian nationalists began to call the ] because of its positioning and as an act of defiance against the hated Austro-Hungarian empire.
===Italy===
{{Expand-section|date=June 2008}}
:''For the modern Italian region, see ].''
From the Carolingian period onwards the name ''marca'' begins to appear in Italy, first the Marca Fermana for the mountainous part of ], the Marca Camerinese for the district farther north, including a part of ], and the Marca Anconitana for the former ] (]). In 1080, the ''marca Anconitana'' was given in investiture to ] by ], to whom the ] ceded the marches of ] and ]. In 1105, the ] invested ] with the whole territory of the three marches, under the name of the ]. It was afterwards once more recovered by the Church and governed by papal legates as part of the ]. The Marche became part of the ] in 1860.


''Marche'' were repeated on a miniature level, fringing many of the small territorial states of pre-] Italy with a ring of smaller dependencies on their borders, which represent territorial ''marche'' on a small scale. A map of the ] in 1702 (Braudel 1984, fig 26) reveals the independent, though socially and economically dependent arc of small territories from the principality of ] in the northwest across the south to the duchy of ] southeast of ]: the lords of ], ], ], ], the count of ]. ''Marche'' were repeated on a miniature level, fringing many of the small territorial states of pre-] Italy with a ring of smaller dependencies on their borders, which represent territorial ''marche'' on a small scale. A map of the ] in 1702 (Braudel 1984, fig 26) reveals the independent, though socially and economically dependent arc of small territories from the ] in the northwest across the south to the duchy of ] southeast of ]: the lords of ], ], ], ], the count of ].


===Japan=== ==Hungary==
], ] and ]) in the late 13th century]]
The European concept of ''marches'' applies just as well to the fief of ] on the southern tip of Hokkaidō which was at Japan's northern border with the ] of ], known as ] at the time. In ], this land was granted to the Kakizaki clan, who took the name Matsumae from then on. The Lords of Matsumae, as they are sometimes called, were exempt from owing rice to the ] in tribute, and from the '']'' system established by ], under which most lords ('']'') had to spend half the year at court (in the capital of ]).
In medieval ] the system of ''gyepű'' and ''gyepűelve'', effective until the mid-13th century, can be considered as marches even though in its organisation it shows major differences from Western European feudal marches. For one thing, the ''gyepű'' was not controlled by a Marquess.


The ''Gyepű'' was a strip of land that was specially fortified or made impassable, while ''gyepűelve'' was the mostly uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land beyond it. The ''gyepűelve'' is much more comparable to modern ]s than traditional European marches.
By guarding the border, rather than conquering/colonizing Ezo, the Matsumae, in essence, made the majority of the island an Ainu reservation. This also meant that Ezo, and the ] beyond, were left essentially open to Russian colonization. However, the Russians never did colonize Hokkaidō/Ezo, and the marches were officially eliminated during the ] in the late 19th century, when the Ainu came under Japanese control, and Ezo was renamed Hokkaidō, and annexed to Japan.


Portions of the ''gyepű'' were usually guarded by tribes who had joined the Hungarian nation and were granted special rights for their services at the borders, such as the ], ] and ]. A ban on settlement north of ] by the ] in the twelfth century helped to establish uninhabited marchland between the empire's territory and Hungary.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stephenson |first1=Paul |title=Byzantium's Balkan Frontier: A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900-1204 |date=2004 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=0-521-77017-3 |page=124}}</ref>
===China===
''See ] and ]''


The Hungarian ''gyepű'' originates from the ] ''yapi'' meaning '']''. During the 17th and 18th centuries these borderlands were called Markland in the area of Transylvania that bordered with the Kingdom of Hungary and was controlled by a Count or Countess.<ref>Carleton, D., & Phillipps, T. (1841). Sir Dudley Carleton's State Letters, during his Embassy at the Hague, AD 1627. first edited by ]. Typis Medio-Montanis, impressit C. Gilmour.</ref>
===]===
In Norse, "mark" meant "borderlands" and "forest", while it in present-day Norwegian has adapted the meaning "ground".


==Iberia==
The Norwegian county ], "the borderlands (or, the ]s) of the ]" (known to the ] as ''Finns''). Also, ] ("the borderlands of ]") and ] ("the borderlands of the Þela tribe" <ref> Navnet Telemark og Grenland (The name Telemark and Grenland) by Alexander Bugge, 1918</ref>).
In addition to the Carolingian ''Marca Hispanica'', Iberia was home to several marches set up by the native states. The future kingdoms of ] and ] were founded as marcher counties intended to protect the ] from the ], to the south and east respectively.


Likewise, Córdoba set up its own marches as a buffer to the Christian states to the north. The ] (''al-Tagr al-A'la''), centered on ], faced the eastern ''Marca Hispanica'' and the western ], and included the Distant or Farthest March (''al-Tagr al-Aqsa''). The ] (''al-Tagr al-Awsat''), centred on ] and later ], faced the western Pyrenees and Asturias. The ] (''al-Tagr al-Adna''), centred on ] and later ], facing León and Portugal. These too would give rise to Kingdoms, the ]s of ], ], and ].
The forests surrounding Norwegian cities are called "]" - the marches, e.g. the forests surrounding ] are called Nordmarka, ] and Vestmarka - i.e. the northern, eastern and western marches.


==Scandinavia==
] was the ] name of an area in North America discovered by Norwegian ]s.
] means "the march of the ]".


In ], "mark" meant "borderlands" and "forest"; in present-day Norwegian and Swedish it has acquired the meaning "ground", while in Danish it has come to mean "field" or "grassland".
===Persia (])===


] was the Norse name of an area in North America discovered by Norwegian ]s.
See also مرزبان ].


The forests surrounding Norwegian cities are called "Marka"&nbsp;– the marches. For example, the ] are called ], ] and ]&nbsp;– i.e. the northern, eastern and western marches.
===Roman Empire===

In Norway, there are – or have been – the counties:

* ], "the borderlands of the ]" (known to the ] as '']s'')
* ], "the borderlands of ]"
* ], "the borderlands of the ]"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.slekt.org/books/aars/1918tele_gren.htm |title=Navnet Telemark og Grenland |trans-title=The name Telemark and Grenland |author=Alexander Bugge |date=1918}}</ref>


In Finland, ''mark'' occurs in the following placenames in ]:
''See ]''
* ] (Swedish: Norrmark), a former municipality of Finland
* ] (Swedish: Påmark), a municipality of Finland
* {{ill|Söörmarkku|fi}} (Swedish: Södermark), a village in Noormarkku, Finland


In ] in ], ] was the frontier area near the border to Norway. Almost all of it is now a part of ]. In the Middle Ages the area was called ''Nordmarkerna'' and was a part of ] and not of Värmland.
===Russia===
{{seealso|Krai}}
''See ] and ]''


===United Kingdom=== ==British Isles==
{{refimprove section|date=November 2010}}
:''See ] and ].''
{{further|Welsh Marches|Scottish Marches}}


The name of the ] kingdom in the midlands of England was ]. The name "Mercia" comes from the ] for "boundary folk", and the traditional interpretation was that the kingdom originated along the frontier between the ] and the Anglo-Saxon invaders, although P. Hunter Blair has argued an alternative interpretation that they emerged along the frontier between the Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria and the inhabitants of the ] valley. The name of the ] kingdom in the midlands of England was ]. The name "Mercia" comes from the ] for "boundary folk", and the traditional interpretation was that the kingdom originated along the frontier between the ] and the Anglo-Saxon invaders, although P. Hunter Blair has argued an alternative interpretation that they emerged along the frontier between the Kingdom of Northumbria and the inhabitants of the ] valley.


Latinizing the Anglo-Saxon term ''mearc'', the border areas between England and Wales were collectively known as the ] (''marchia Wallia''), while the native Welsh lands to the west were considered Wales Proper (''pura Wallia''). The ] lords in the Welsh Marches were to become the new ]s. Latinizing the Anglo-Saxon term ''mearc'', the border areas between England and Wales were collectively known as the ] (''marchia Wallia''), while the native Welsh lands to the west were considered Wales Proper (''pura Wallia''). The ] lords in the Welsh Marches were to become the new ]s.


The title ''']''' is at least two distinct ]s: one, created 1328, held by the powerful border families of ] (in the ]), in the west ] and one, ], in the northern marches (in the ]). The title '']'' is at least two distinct ]s: one in the northern marches, as an alternative title for the ] (c. 1290 in the ]); and one, that was held by the family of ] (1328 in the ]), in the west ].


The ] is a term for the border regions on both sides of the border between England and Scotland. From the ] of England until the reign of ], who also became ], border clashes were common and the monarchs of both countries relied on ] to defend the frontier areas known as the Marches. They were hand-picked for their suitability for the challenges the responsibilities presented. The ] is a term for the border regions on both sides of the border between England and Scotland. From the ] of England until the reign of ], who also became ], border clashes were common and the monarchs of both countries relied on ] to defend the frontier areas known as the Marches. They were hand-picked for their suitability for the challenges the responsibilities presented.


], a descendant of the ] was recognized in the end of 13th century to use the name March as his earldom in Scotland, otherwise known as Dunbar, Lothian, and Northumbrian border. ], a descendant of the ] was recognized in the end of the 13th century to use the name March as his earldom in Scotland, otherwise known as Dunbar, Lothian, and Northumbrian border.


], ] of England during the minority of ] and usurper who had supplanted Edward II, was created an earl 1328. He was married to Joan of Joinville, whose mother was one of the heiresses of French Counts of La Marche and Lusignan. His family, ] Lords of ], had been border lords and leaders of defenders of Welsh marches for centuries. He selected ''March'' as the name of his earldom for several reasons: Welsh marches referred to several counties, whereby the title signified superiority compared to usual single county-based earldoms. Mercia was an ancient kingdom. His wife's ancestors had been Counts of March in France. ], ] of England together with ] during the minority of her son, ], was a usurper who had deposed, and allegedly arranged the murder of, King Edward II. He was created an earl in September 1328 at the height of his '']'' rule. His wife was ], whose mother, ] was one of the heiresses of the French ] and ].


His family, ] Lords of ], had been border lords and leaders of defenders of Welsh marches for centuries. He selected ''March'' as the name of his earldom for several reasons: Welsh marches referred to several counties, whereby the title signified superiority compared to usual single county-based earldoms. Mercia was an ancient kingdom. His wife's ancestors had been Counts of La Marche and Angouleme in France.
==Titles==

* ], Marchese and ] (''Markgraf'') all had their origins in feudal lords who held trusted positions in the borderlands. The English title was a foreign importation from France, tested out tentatively in 1385 by ], but not naturalized until the mid 15th century, and now more often spelled "]."<ref>The styling ''marquis'' or ''marquess'' is a peculiarity of each title.</ref>
In ], a hybrid system of marches existed which was condemned as barbaric at the time.{{efn|"In distant Westminster, where it was impossible to imagine the stress of life in the Irish marches, march law (like Irish law, which Edward I had once described as 'detestable to God and contrary to all laws') was outrightly condemned," notes James F. Lydon {{sfn|Lydon|1998 |p=81}} }} The Irish marches constituted the territory between English and Irish-dominated lands, which appeared as soon as the English did and were called by King John to be fortified.{{sfn|Neville|p={{page needed|date=August 2014}} }} By the 14th century, they had become defined as the land between ] and the rest of Ireland.{{sfn|Lydon|1998 |p={{page needed|date=August 2014}}}} Local Anglo-Irish and Gaelic chieftains who acted as powerful spokespeople were recognised by the Crown and given a degree of independence. Uniquely, the keepers of the marches were given the power to terminate indictments. In later years, wardens of the Irish marches took Irish tenants.{{sfn|Gwyn|p={{page needed|date=August 2014}} }}{{sfn|Moore|p={{page needed|date=August 2014}} }}{{sfn|Otway-Ruthven|p={{page needed|date=August 2014}} }}

== Titles ==
], marchese and ] (''Markgraf'') all had their origins in feudal lords who held trusted positions in the borderlands. The English title was a foreign importation from France, tested out tentatively in 1385 by ], but not naturalized until the mid-15th century, and now more often spelled "]".{{efn|The styling ''marquis'' or ''marquess'' is a peculiarity of each title.}}

==Related concepts==
{{Off topic|date=November 2010}}

===Abbasid Caliphate===
{{Further|Al-'Awasim}}

===Armenia===
The specific ] are each called '']'' (pl. "marzer, մարզեր"), a loanword from ].

===The Balkans===
See ] and ].

===Byzantine Empire===
{{Further|Akritai|Kleisoura (Byzantine district)}}

===China===
The Chinese concept of March is called ''Fan'' (藩), referring to feudatory domains and petty kingdoms on the borderlands of the empire.

In their initial development during the ], the ] (''jùn'', 郡) functioned as marches, ranking below the ]s' and ]s' ] and below the more secure and populous ] (''xiàn''). As the commanderies formed the front lines between the ], however, their military strength and strategic importance were typically much greater than the counties'. Over time, however, the commanderies were eventually developed into regular provinces and then discontinued entirely during the ] reforms.

===Japan===
{{See also|Han system}}
The European concept of ''marches'' applies just as well to the fief of ] on the southern tip of Hokkaidō which was at Japan's northern border with the ] of ], known as ] at the time. In 1590, this land was granted to the Kakizaki clan, who took the name Matsumae from then on. The Lords of Matsumae, as they are sometimes called, were exempt from owing rice to the '']'' in tribute, and from the '']'' system established by ], under which most lords ('']s'') had to spend half the year at court (in the capital of ]).

By guarding the border, rather than conquering or colonizing Ezo, the Matsumae, in essence, made the majority of the island an Ainu reservation. This also meant that Ezo, and the ] beyond, were left essentially open to Russian colonization. However, the Russians never did colonize Ezo, and the marches were officially eliminated during the ] in the late 19th century, when the Ainu came under Japanese control, and Ezo was renamed Hokkaidō, and annexed to Japan.

===Persia (Sassanid Empire)===
{{See also|Marzban}}

===Roman Empire===
{{See also|Limes Romanus}}

===Ukraine===
{{See also|Krai|Zasechnaya cherta|Cossacks}}
] in the 17th century]]
'']'', from the Moscow-centric Russian viewpoint,
functioned as a "borderland" or "march" and arguably could have gained its current ], which is derived from a Slavic term that can take on the same meaning (see above for similar in Slovenia, etc.), ultimately from this function.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} This, though, was merely a continuation of a semi-formal arrangement with the Poles, before escalating feuds, political infighting in Poland, and religious differences (mainly Eastern Orthodox vs. Roman Catholic) saw a loose coalition of Ukrainian lords and independent landowners collectively known as the Cossacks shift to ally with the Russian Empire.

The ] became a significant part of Russian military history in their role as military border/buffer-troops in the ] of Ukraine. The ] brought considerable devastation and depopulation to this area prior to the rise of the ]. As settlement advanced and the borders moved, the Tsars transferred or formed Cossack units to perform similar functions on other borderlands/marches further south and east in (for example) the Kuban and in Siberia, forming (for example) the ], the ] and the ].


==See also== ==See also==
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]
*]


==Notes== ==Notes==
{{reflist}} {{notelist}}
{{reflist|24em}}


==References==
{{Types of administrative country subdivision}}
*{{cite book |last=Gwyn |first=Stephen |title=The History of Ireland }} {{Full citation needed|date=August 2014}}
*{{cite book |last=Lewis |first=Archibald R. |year=1965 |chapter=Chapter 5:Southern French and Catalan Society (778-828) |title=The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718-1050 |edition=Prin |publisher=University of Texas Press |url=http://libro.uca.edu/lewis/sfc5.htm }}
*{{cite book |last=Lydon |first=James F. |year=1998 |title=The Making of Ireland: from ancient times to the present |pages=81 }}
*{{cite book |last=Moore |first=Thomas |title=The History of Ireland from the Earliest Kings }} {{Full citation needed|date=August 2014}}
*{{cite book |last=Neville |first=Cynthia J. |title=Violence, custom and law: the Anglo-Scottish border lands in the later Middle Ages }} {{Full citation needed|date=August 2014}}
*{{cite book |last=Otway-Ruthven |first=J.A. |title=A History of Medieval Ireland }}{{Full citation needed|date=August 2014}}


'''Attribution:'''
]
]
]


*{{EB1911 |wstitle=Marche (France) | display=Marche |volume=17 |pages=689–690}} Endnote:
]
**A. Thomas, ''Les États provinciaux de la France centrale'' (1879).
]

]
{{Terms for types of administrative territorial entities}}
]

]
{{DEFAULTSORT:March (Territory)}}
]
]
]
]
]
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] ]
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Latest revision as of 00:16, 11 November 2024

Medieval European borderland or buffer zone "Marches" redirects here. For the commune in France, see Marches, Drôme. For other uses, see March (disambiguation) and Marche (disambiguation).

In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which different laws might apply. In both of these senses, marches served a political purpose, such as providing warning of military incursions or regulating cross-border trade.

Marches gave rise to the titles marquess (masculine) or marchioness (feminine).

Etymology

The word "march" derives ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root *mereg-, meaning "edge, boundary". The root *mereg- produced Latin margo ("margin"), Old Irish mruig ("borderland"), Welsh bro ("region, border, valley") and Persian and Armenian marz ("borderland"). The Proto-Germanic *marko gave rise to the Old English word mearc and Frankish marka, as well as Old Norse mǫrk meaning "borderland, forest", and derived from merki "boundary, sign", denoting a borderland between two centres of power.

In Old English, "mark" meant "boundary" or "sign of a boundary", and the meaning only later evolved to encompass "sign" in general, "impression" and "trace".

The Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia took its name from West Saxon mearc "marches", which in this instance referred explicitly to the territory's position on the Anglo-Saxon frontier with the Romano-British to the west.

During the Frankish Carolingian dynasty, usage of the word spread throughout Europe.

The name "Denmark" preserves the Old Norse cognates merki ("boundary") mǫrk ("wood", "forest") up to the present. Following the Anschluss, the Nazi German government revived the old name "Ostmark" for Austria.

Historical examples of marches and marks

Further information: List of marches

Frankish Empire and successor states

Marca Hispanica

Main article: Marca Hispanica

In the early ninth century, Charlemagne issued his new kind of land grant, the aprisio, which redisposed land belonging to the Imperial fisc in deserted areas, and included special rights and immunities that resulted in a range of independence of action. Historians interpret the aprisio both as the basis of feudalism and in economic and military terms as a mechanism to entice settlers to a depopulated border region. Such self-sufficient landholders would aid the counts in providing armed men in defense of the Frankish frontier. Aprisio grants (the first ones were in Septimania) emanated directly from the Carolingian king, and they reinforced central loyalties, to counterbalance the local power exercised by powerful marcher counts.

After some early setbacks, Emperor Louis the Pious ventured beyond the province of Septimania and eventually took Barcelona from the Moorish emir in 801. Thus he established a foothold in the borderland between the Franks and the Moors. The Carolingian "Hispanic Marches" (Marca Hispanica) became a buffer zone ruled by a number of feudal lords, among them the count of Barcelona. It had its own outlying territories, each ruled by a lesser miles with armed retainers, who theoretically owed allegiance through a count to the emperor or, with less fealty, to his Carolingian and Ottonian successors. Such territory had a catlá ("castellan" or lord of the castle) in an area largely defined by a day's ride, and the region became known, like Castile at a later date, as "Catalunya". Counties in the Pyrenees that appeared in the 9th century, in addition to the County of Barcelona, included Cerdanya, Girona and Urgell.

Communications were arduous, and the power centre was far away. Primitive feudal entities developed, self-sufficient and agrarian, each ruled by a small hereditary military elite. The sequence in the County of Barcelona exhibits a pattern that emerges similarly in marches everywhere: the count is appointed by the king (from 802), the appointment settles on the heirs of a strong count (Sunifred) and the appointment becomes a formality, until the position is declared hereditary (897) and then the count declares independence (by Borrell II in 985). At each stage the de facto situation precedes the de jure assertion, which merely regularizes an existing fact of life. This is feudalism in the larger landscape.

Some counts aspired to the characteristically Frankish (Germanic) title "Margrave of the Hispanic March", a "margrave" being a graf ("count") of the march.

The early history of Andorra provides a fairly typical career of another such march county, the only modern survivor in the Pyrenees of the Hispanic Marches.

Marches set up by Charlemagne

France

The province of France called Marche (Occitan: la Marcha), sometimes Marche Limousine, was originally a small border district between the Duchy of Aquitaine and the domains of the Frankish kings in central France, partly of Limousin and partly of Poitou.

Its area was increased during the 13th century and remained the same until the French Revolution. Marche was bounded on the north by Berry, on the east by Bourbonnais and Auvergne; on the south by Limousin itself and on the west by Poitou. It embraced the greater part of the modern département of Creuse, a considerable part of the northern Haute-Vienne, and a fragment of Indre, up to Saint-Benoît-du-Sault. Its area was about 1,900 square miles (4,900 km) its capital was Charroux and later Guéret, and among its other principal towns were Dorat, Bellac and Confolens.

Marche first appeared as a separate fief about the middle of the 10th century when William III, duke of Aquitaine, gave it to one of his vassals named Boso, who took the title of count. In the 12th century it passed to the family of Lusignan, sometimes also counts of Angoulême, until the death of the childless Count Hugh in 1303, when it was seized by King Philip IV. In 1316 it was made an appanage for his youngest son Charles and a few years later (1327) it passed into the hands of the family of Bourbon.

The family of Armagnac held it from 1435 to 1477, when it reverted to the Bourbons, and in 1527 it was seized by King Francis I and became part of the domains of the French crown. It was divided into Haute-Marche (i.e. "Upper Marche") and Basse-Marche (i.e. "Lower Marche"), the estates of the former being in existence until the 17th century. From 1470 until the Revolution the province was under the jurisdiction of the parlement of Paris.

Several communes of France are named similarly:

Germany and Austria

The Germanic tribes that Romans called Marcomanni, who battled the Romans in the 1st and 2nd centuries, were simply the "men of the borderlands".

The Limes Saxoniae was an unfortified limes or border between the Saxons and the Slavic Obotrites, established about 810

Marches were territorial organisations created as borderlands in the Carolingian Empire and had a long career as purely conventional designations under the Holy Roman Empire. In modern German, "Mark" denotes a piece of land that historically was a borderland, as in the following names:

Later medieval marches

Other

  • The Margraviate of Brandenburg, its ruler designated Markgraf (margrave, literally "march-count"). It was further divided into regions also designated "Mark":
  • Mark, a medieval territory that is recalled in the Märkischer Kreis district (formed in 1975) of today's North Rhine-Westphalia. The northern portion (north of the Lippe River) is still called Hohe Mark ("Higher Mark"). The former "Lower Mark" (between Ruhr and Lippe rivers) is the present Ruhr area and is no longer called "Mark". The title, in the form "Count of the Mark", survived the territory as a subsidiary title of the Dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
  • Ostmark ("Eastern March") is a modern rendition of the term marchia orientalis used in Carolingian documents referring to the area of Lower Austria that was later a markgraftum (margraviate or "county of the mark"). Ostmark has been variously used to denote Austria, the Saxon Eastern March, or, as Ostmarkenverein, the territories Prussia gained in the partitions of Poland.

Habsburg Empire

Further information: Military Frontier, Croatian Military Frontier, and Slavonian Military Frontier
Map of the Military Frontier against incursions from the Ottoman Empire in the middle of the 19th century (marked with a red outline)

Italy

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008)
For the modern Italian region, see Marche.

From the Carolingian period onwards the name marca begins to appear in Italy, first the Marca Fermana for the mountainous part of Picenum, the Marca Camerinese for the district farther north, including a part of Umbria, and the Marca Anconitana for the former Pentapolis (Ancona). In 1080, the marca Anconitana was given in investiture to Robert Guiscard by Pope Gregory VII, to whom the Countess Matilda ceded the marches of Camerino and Fermo.

In 1105, the Emperor Henry IV invested Werner with the whole territory of the three marches, under the name of the March of Ancona. It was afterwards once more recovered by the Church and governed by papal legates as part of the Papal States. The Marche became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1860. After Italian unification in the 1860s, Austria-Hungary still controlled territory Italian nationalists still claimed as part of Italy. One of these territories was Austrian Littoral, which Italian nationalists began to call the Julian March because of its positioning and as an act of defiance against the hated Austro-Hungarian empire.

Marche were repeated on a miniature level, fringing many of the small territorial states of pre-Risorgimento Italy with a ring of smaller dependencies on their borders, which represent territorial marche on a small scale. A map of the Duchy of Mantua in 1702 (Braudel 1984, fig 26) reveals the independent, though socially and economically dependent arc of small territories from the principality of Castiglione in the northwest across the south to the duchy of Mirandola southeast of Mantua: the lords of Bozolo, Sabioneta, Dosolo, Guastalla, the count of Novellare.

Hungary

Local autonomies (including Cumania, Székely Land and Transylvanian Saxons) in the late 13th century

In medieval Hungary the system of gyepű and gyepűelve, effective until the mid-13th century, can be considered as marches even though in its organisation it shows major differences from Western European feudal marches. For one thing, the gyepű was not controlled by a Marquess.

The Gyepű was a strip of land that was specially fortified or made impassable, while gyepűelve was the mostly uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land beyond it. The gyepűelve is much more comparable to modern buffer zones than traditional European marches.

Portions of the gyepű were usually guarded by tribes who had joined the Hungarian nation and were granted special rights for their services at the borders, such as the Székelys, Pechenegs and Cumans. A ban on settlement north of Niš by the Byzantine Empire in the twelfth century helped to establish uninhabited marchland between the empire's territory and Hungary.

The Hungarian gyepű originates from the Turkish yapi meaning palisade. During the 17th and 18th centuries these borderlands were called Markland in the area of Transylvania that bordered with the Kingdom of Hungary and was controlled by a Count or Countess.

Iberia

In addition to the Carolingian Marca Hispanica, Iberia was home to several marches set up by the native states. The future kingdoms of Portugal and Castile were founded as marcher counties intended to protect the Kingdom of León from the Cordoban Emirate, to the south and east respectively.

Likewise, Córdoba set up its own marches as a buffer to the Christian states to the north. The Upper March (al-Tagr al-A'la), centered on Zaragoza, faced the eastern Marca Hispanica and the western Pyrenees, and included the Distant or Farthest March (al-Tagr al-Aqsa). The Middle March (al-Tagr al-Awsat), centred on Toledo and later Medinaceli, faced the western Pyrenees and Asturias. The Lower March (al-Tagr al-Adna), centred on Mérida and later Badajoz, facing León and Portugal. These too would give rise to Kingdoms, the Taifas of Zaragoza, Toledo, and Badajoz.

Scandinavia

Denmark means "the march of the Danes".

In Norse, "mark" meant "borderlands" and "forest"; in present-day Norwegian and Swedish it has acquired the meaning "ground", while in Danish it has come to mean "field" or "grassland".

Markland was the Norse name of an area in North America discovered by Norwegian Vikings.

The forests surrounding Norwegian cities are called "Marka" – the marches. For example, the forests surrounding Oslo are called Nordmarka, Østmarka and Vestmarka – i.e. the northern, eastern and western marches.

In Norway, there are – or have been – the counties:

In Finland, mark occurs in the following placenames in Satakunta:

  • Noormarkku (Swedish: Norrmark), a former municipality of Finland
  • Pomarkku (Swedish: Påmark), a municipality of Finland
  • Söörmarkku [fi] (Swedish: Södermark), a village in Noormarkku, Finland

In Värmland in Sweden, Nordmark Hundred was the frontier area near the border to Norway. Almost all of it is now a part of Årjäng Municipality. In the Middle Ages the area was called Nordmarkerna and was a part of Dalsland and not of Värmland.

British Isles

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Further information: Welsh Marches and Scottish Marches

The name of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the midlands of England was Mercia. The name "Mercia" comes from the Old English for "boundary folk", and the traditional interpretation was that the kingdom originated along the frontier between the Welsh and the Anglo-Saxon invaders, although P. Hunter Blair has argued an alternative interpretation that they emerged along the frontier between the Kingdom of Northumbria and the inhabitants of the River Trent valley.

Latinizing the Anglo-Saxon term mearc, the border areas between England and Wales were collectively known as the Welsh Marches (marchia Wallia), while the native Welsh lands to the west were considered Wales Proper (pura Wallia). The Norman lords in the Welsh Marches were to become the new Marcher Lords.

The title Earl of March is at least two distinct feudal titles: one in the northern marches, as an alternative title for the Earl of Dunbar (c. 1290 in the Peerage of Scotland); and one, that was held by the family of Mortimer (1328 in the Peerage of England), in the west Welsh Marches.

The Scottish Marches is a term for the border regions on both sides of the border between England and Scotland. From the Norman conquest of England until the reign of King James VI of Scotland, who also became King James I of England, border clashes were common and the monarchs of both countries relied on Marcher Lords to defend the frontier areas known as the Marches. They were hand-picked for their suitability for the challenges the responsibilities presented.

Patrick Dunbar, 8th Earl of Dunbar, a descendant of the Earls of Northumbria was recognized in the end of the 13th century to use the name March as his earldom in Scotland, otherwise known as Dunbar, Lothian, and Northumbrian border.

Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Regent of England together with Isabella of France during the minority of her son, Edward III, was a usurper who had deposed, and allegedly arranged the murder of, King Edward II. He was created an earl in September 1328 at the height of his de facto rule. His wife was Joan de Geneville, 2nd Baroness Geneville, whose mother, Jeanne of Lusignan was one of the heiresses of the French Counts of La Marche and Angouleme.

His family, Mortimer Lords of Wigmore, had been border lords and leaders of defenders of Welsh marches for centuries. He selected March as the name of his earldom for several reasons: Welsh marches referred to several counties, whereby the title signified superiority compared to usual single county-based earldoms. Mercia was an ancient kingdom. His wife's ancestors had been Counts of La Marche and Angouleme in France.

In Ireland, a hybrid system of marches existed which was condemned as barbaric at the time. The Irish marches constituted the territory between English and Irish-dominated lands, which appeared as soon as the English did and were called by King John to be fortified. By the 14th century, they had become defined as the land between The Pale and the rest of Ireland. Local Anglo-Irish and Gaelic chieftains who acted as powerful spokespeople were recognised by the Crown and given a degree of independence. Uniquely, the keepers of the marches were given the power to terminate indictments. In later years, wardens of the Irish marches took Irish tenants.

Titles

Marquis, marchese and margrave (Markgraf) all had their origins in feudal lords who held trusted positions in the borderlands. The English title was a foreign importation from France, tested out tentatively in 1385 by Richard II, but not naturalized until the mid-15th century, and now more often spelled "marquess".

Related concepts

This section may contain material not related to the topic of the article. Please help improve this section or discuss this issue on the talk page. (November 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Abbasid Caliphate

Further information: Al-'Awasim

Armenia

The specific subdivisions of Armenia are each called marz, մարզ (pl. "marzer, մարզեր"), a loanword from Persian.

The Balkans

See Krajina and Military Frontier.

Byzantine Empire

Further information: Akritai and Kleisoura (Byzantine district)

China

The Chinese concept of March is called Fan (藩), referring to feudatory domains and petty kingdoms on the borderlands of the empire.

In their initial development during the later Zhou dynasty, the commanderies (jùn, 郡) functioned as marches, ranking below the dukes' and kings' original fiefs and below the more secure and populous counties (xiàn). As the commanderies formed the front lines between the major states, however, their military strength and strategic importance were typically much greater than the counties'. Over time, however, the commanderies were eventually developed into regular provinces and then discontinued entirely during the Tang dynasty reforms.

Japan

See also: Han system

The European concept of marches applies just as well to the fief of Matsumae clan on the southern tip of Hokkaidō which was at Japan's northern border with the Ainu people of Hokkaidō, known as Ezo at the time. In 1590, this land was granted to the Kakizaki clan, who took the name Matsumae from then on. The Lords of Matsumae, as they are sometimes called, were exempt from owing rice to the shōgun in tribute, and from the sankin-kōtai system established by Tokugawa Ieyasu, under which most lords (daimyōs) had to spend half the year at court (in the capital of Edo).

By guarding the border, rather than conquering or colonizing Ezo, the Matsumae, in essence, made the majority of the island an Ainu reservation. This also meant that Ezo, and the Kurile Islands beyond, were left essentially open to Russian colonization. However, the Russians never did colonize Ezo, and the marches were officially eliminated during the Meiji Restoration in the late 19th century, when the Ainu came under Japanese control, and Ezo was renamed Hokkaidō, and annexed to Japan.

Persia (Sassanid Empire)

See also: Marzban

Roman Empire

See also: Limes Romanus

Ukraine

See also: Krai, Zasechnaya cherta, and Cossacks
Map of the Wild Fields in the 17th century

Ukraine, from the Moscow-centric Russian viewpoint, functioned as a "borderland" or "march" and arguably could have gained its current name, which is derived from a Slavic term that can take on the same meaning (see above for similar in Slovenia, etc.), ultimately from this function. This, though, was merely a continuation of a semi-formal arrangement with the Poles, before escalating feuds, political infighting in Poland, and religious differences (mainly Eastern Orthodox vs. Roman Catholic) saw a loose coalition of Ukrainian lords and independent landowners collectively known as the Cossacks shift to ally with the Russian Empire.

The Cossacks became a significant part of Russian military history in their role as military border/buffer-troops in the Wild Fields of Ukraine. The Tatar slave raids in East Slavic lands brought considerable devastation and depopulation to this area prior to the rise of the Zaporozhian Cossacks. As settlement advanced and the borders moved, the Tsars transferred or formed Cossack units to perform similar functions on other borderlands/marches further south and east in (for example) the Kuban and in Siberia, forming (for example) the Black Sea Cossack Host, the Kuban Cossack Host and the Amur Cossack Host.

See also

Notes

  1. "In distant Westminster, where it was impossible to imagine the stress of life in the Irish marches, march law (like Irish law, which Edward I had once described as 'detestable to God and contrary to all laws') was outrightly condemned," notes James F. Lydon
  2. The styling marquis or marquess is a peculiarity of each title.
  1. Chisholm 1911, p. 689.
  2. ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary". www.etymonline.com.
  3. Lewis 1965.
  4. Chisholm 1911, pp. 689–690.
  5. ^ Chisholm 1911, p. 690.
  6. Stephenson, Paul (2004). Byzantium's Balkan Frontier: A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900-1204. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 124. ISBN 0-521-77017-3.
  7. Carleton, D., & Phillipps, T. (1841). Sir Dudley Carleton's State Letters, during his Embassy at the Hague, AD 1627. first edited by Thomas Phillipps. Typis Medio-Montanis, impressit C. Gilmour.
  8. Alexander Bugge (1918). "Navnet Telemark og Grenland" [The name Telemark and Grenland].
  9. Lydon 1998, p. 81.
  10. Neville, p. .
  11. Lydon 1998, p. .
  12. Gwyn, p. .
  13. Moore, p. .
  14. Otway-Ruthven, p. .

References

  • Gwyn, Stephen. The History of Ireland.
  • Lewis, Archibald R. (1965). "Chapter 5:Southern French and Catalan Society (778-828)". The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718-1050 (Prin ed.). University of Texas Press.
  • Lydon, James F. (1998). The Making of Ireland: from ancient times to the present. p. 81.
  • Moore, Thomas. The History of Ireland from the Earliest Kings.
  • Neville, Cynthia J. Violence, custom and law: the Anglo-Scottish border lands in the later Middle Ages.
  • Otway-Ruthven, J.A. A History of Medieval Ireland.

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