Stem Duchies in France
German historians have commonly restricted the term "stem duchy" to the Eastern kingdom with its variety of Germanic tribes, in contrast to the romanized and more unified Western kingdom, whose duchies were considered regional units of administration without ethnic cohesion. However, according to Flach and Kienast, the duchies of France (Brittany, Normandy, Gascony, Aquitaine, and Burgundy) also had an ethnic basis before the French kings began creating dukes in the 14th century. The nature and role of Germanic stem duchies are now often characterized by contrasting them with the oldest duchies of Francia.
The twelve paladins of Charlemagne are said to have inspired the creation of twelve ancient pairies (peers) in France: six temporal geographical units (Normandy, Burgundy, Aquitaine, Flanders, Toulouse, and Champagne) plus six ecclesiastic geographical units (Noyon, Rheims, Laon, Langres, Beauvais, and Châlons). This system was imported to the Crusader states, as the custom was known and prevalent among the Franks.
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