Duke of Norfolk
Before the Dukes of Norfolk, there were the Bigod Earls of Norfolk, starting with Roger Bigod from Normandy (died 1107). Their male line ended with Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk, who died without an heir in 1307, so their titles and estates reverted to the crown. Edward II then granted his brother, Thomas of Brotherton, the title of Earl of Norfolk in 1312. It passed to Thomas's daughter (and granddaughter of Edward I), Margaret, and then to her grandson, Thomas Mowbray.
When Richard II made Thomas Mowbray the Duke of Norfolk in 1397, he conferred upon him the estates and titles (including Earl Marshal) that had belonged to the Earls of Norfolk. His elderly grandmother Margaret was still alive, and so at the same time she was created Duchess of Norfolk for life. Mowbray died in exile in 1399, some months after his grandmother, and his dukedom was repealed. His widow took the title of Countess of Norfolk.
Between 1401 and 1476, the Mowbray family held the title and estates of the Duke of Norfolk. John de Mowbray, 4th Duke of Norfolk, died without male issue in 1476, his only surviving child being the 3-year-old Anne Mowbray. At the age of 3, a marriage was arranged between Anne and Richard, Duke of York, the four-year-old son of Edward IV. She remained Richard's child bride until she died at the age of 8.
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