A Marquess is a nobleman of hereditary rank in Europe and Japan. In British peerage it ranks below a Duke and above an Earl. A woman with the rank of marquess, or the wife of a marquess, is a marchioness.
The word derives from the Middle French marquis (feminine, marquise), ultimately from a Germanic word for 'border'. This spelling marquis is still also used, though marquess is now preferred.
The first marquess in England was Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford, who was created Marquess of Dublin by Richard II on the 1 December 1385. On the 13 October 1386 the patent of this marquessate was recalled, Robert de Vere as was raised to Duke of Oxford. John de Beaufort, Earl of Somerset, the second legitimate son of John of Gaunt, was raised to the second marquessate as Marquess of Somerset and Marquess of Dorset on in September 1397. In 1399, he was disgraced and the king revoked his marquessate. The Commons petitioned Richard for his restoration but he himself objected stating "the name of marquess is a strange name in this realm". From that period the title appears to have been dormant till the reign of Henry VI; when it was revived in 1442.
Titles in the peerage of England, listed with the bestowing monarch and ordered by date of creation.
Peerage of England
(others exist in the peerages of Great Britain, Scotland, United Kingdom etc.)Reference