Constable of France

The Constable of France (, from Latin for 'count of the stables') was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and chancellor) and the commander-in-chief of the Royal Army. He was, at least on paper, the highest-ranking member of the French nobility. The was also responsible for military justice and served to regulate the Chivalry. His jurisdiction was called the Constabulary (; or in modern French orthography which sticks closer to the correct pronunciation: ). The office was established by King Philip I in 1060 AD, with Alberic becoming the first Constable. The office was abolished in 1627, with an edict, by Cardinal Richelieu, upon the death of , in order to strengthen the immediate authority of the King over his army. The position was officially replaced by the purely ceremonial title "Dean of Marshals", who was in fact the most senior "Marshal of France"; as the word is used in French mainly in the sense of "the eldest".