Editing Duke (section)

=== Franks ===
The Franks employed dukes as the governors of Roman provinces, though they also led military expeditions far from their duchies. The dukes were the highest-ranking officials in the realm, typically Frankish (whereas the counts were often Gallo-Roman), and formed the class from which the kings' generals were chosen in times of war. The dukes met with the king every May to discuss policy for the upcoming year, the so-called [[May field|Mayfield]].

In [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundy]] and [[Duchy of Provence|Provence]], the titles of [[Patrician (post-Roman Europe)|patrician]] and [[prefect]] were commonly employed instead of duke, probably for historical reasons relating to the greater Romanization of those provinces. But the titles were basically equivalent.

In late [[Merovingian]] Gaul, the [[mayors of the palace]] of the [[Arnulfing]] clan began to use the title [[Duke of the Franks|''dux et princeps Francorum'']]: 'duke and prince of the Franks'. In this title, ''duke'' implied supreme military control of the entire nation (''Francorum'', the Franks) and it was thus used until the end of the [[Carolingian]] dynasty in France in 987.