Damoiseau, Damoisel, Damoiselle.  [1] The significance of this word, like many others, has shifted over time. It used to be an inherited title, and it indicated a certain degree of majesty or lordship; these days, in colloquial speech, it means less a warrior than a coxcomb. During the second and third dynasties of our Kings—during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, that is—the title of damoiseau was reserved for the children of kings and important princes: both the French and the British (English as well as Scottish) so called the presumptive heirs to their crowns, and following their example, the Germans used it likewise. Turning to history, we encounter damoisel Pepin, damoisel Louis the Fat, damoisel Richard, Prince of Wales; and one of our former historians, Philippe de Monkes, calls Saint Louis the damoiseau of Flanders, because he was its sovereign; thus, the word can also mean overlord . It has persisted as an epithet of the lords of Commercy sur la Meuse, which is between Toul and Bar-le-Duc, because the commune is held by allodial title, which to a certain extent imitates sovereignty.

Over the course of time, this title was given to young nobles of both sexes, to the sons and daughters of knights and barons, and finally to the sons of gentlemen who had not yet been knighted.

Pasquier claims that damoisel and damoiseau are diminutive forms of dam in the same way that the feminine damoiselle is of dame [lady], and that dam , which these words derive from, means lord . This is attested by several ancient authors who write dam Dieu for Lord God, dam chevalier for lord knight, etc. As others would have it, the word comes from domicellus or domnicellus [lordling], the diminutive form of domnus [lord] , quasi parvus dominus [as it were a minor lord], a title that corresponds to dominger , which, as du Cange observes, can also mean the same thing. [2]

Monsieur de Marca notes that the nobility of Béarn is still divided into three groups: barons, cavers (knights), and damoiseaux or domicellos , who are still called domingers in the local dialect. [3]

The sons of the kings of Denmark and Sweden also bore this title, as histories of Denmark by Potanus (Books I, VII, and VIII) and Sweden by Henry of Uppsala (Book III) record.

We no longer use these titles today. However, we do use demoiselle to refer to all girls who are not yet married, provided they do not belong to the dregs of society. Under the entry for domicellus [lordling], the new du Cange includes several useful curiosities.

Demoiselle can also mean an apparatus that is tucked in the beds of old men to warm their feet. A demoiselle in this sense is a hollow cylinder, wrapped in linen, that contains a hot iron and stays warm for a long time. Others call it a monk , and the English refer to it by a word that in their language means religieuse , or nun . See Monk.

1. Given that the French forms are integral to the article, I have abstained from translating any, relying on the context to do so. In English, “crown prince” and “squire” would suffice at different points for the masculine forms ( damoiseau , damoisel ); for the feminine ( damoiselle , demoiselle ), “lady” or its etymological descendant, “damsel.”

2. Charles du Fresne, seigneur du Cange (1610 – 1688), author of Glossarium ad Scriptores Mediae et Infimae Latinitatis, a celebrated work of early modern Latin lexicography. The observation appears to come from Pierre de Marca (1594-1662), referred to below, not du Cange.

3. That is, Béarnese. Pierre de Marca discusses these degrees of nobility in his history of the province. Histoire de Béarn (Paris: Camuset, 1640), 546.