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Privilege has its obligations

In 1787, Pierre-Marc-Gaston de Lévis inherited a dukedom. He was only 23, the beneficiary of a noble title created as a reward to his father, a Marshal of France who commanded troops on both sides of the Atlantic. But the elevation of the young de Lévis, also a soldier, was not to last.

Three years later, as the regime of King Louis XVI was being dismantled, the newly created National Assembly declared that “hereditary nobility is for all time abolished.” No one could use “the titles of prince, duc, comte, marquis, vicomte, vidame, baron, chevalier … or any other similar title.” Family coats of arms and liveried servants were banned.

It was quite a comedown, given the nobility’s vast privileges. Simon Schama wrote in his book Citizens of one nobleman who owned 10 coaches and dined on fine food, served on “Sèvres porcelain laid on a green marble table … beneath a Bohemian crystal chandelier,” surrounded by paintings by Watteau and other masters.

The nobility was exempted from conscriptio…