What exactly was an archduchy?

by [deleted]

Austria referred to itself as an archduchy rather than just a duchy, or a kingdom or anything else. Is there a difference between a duchy and an archduchy? Or between a grand duchy and an archduchy? If not, why the special name?

PhiloSpo

Here is a comment by /u/mimicofmodes which should clear up the follow up quite sufficiently, and some other ambiguities can be further addressed here, for example, there was an Archduchy of Austria as a territory and territories of Inner Austria Innerösterreich typically comprised of Duchies of Carinthia, Styria, Carniola and the lands of Austrian Littoral under Habsburgs, and, this will be slightly confusing, Charles II, Archduke of Austria, was a Landesherr ( Territorial lord ) of Innerösterreich, and not of Archduchy of Austria as such, which was under lordship of Rudolf II, the Emperor. It is also not helpful that the territories went through reforms, so their various standings change through time. Point is, an Archduchy did not have the lordship over other Duchies, only in a sense that the same territorial lord of Archduchy of Austria was also an Emperor, and thus had imperial jurisdiction, but Landesherren as territorial lords ( Like of Duchies of Inner Austria ) had significant autonomy, and held ius de non appellando and ius evocandi, among other things, which gave them the ability to to evoke it over other manorial courts in the Duchy, for example, if a lord in some significant way failed to upheld his "duty", if we rather awkwardly simplify this, even to tenats, villeins, and numberless other property and legal relations at the time, in principle.

I think /u/mimicofmodes will also be wiling to further clarify some things if requested, as will myself, specially in relation to the Habsburg lands mentioned above.