Some years ago, I wondered if there were reliable lists of
the names and dates of the Grand Priors of the various Langues
of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Some of these Grand
Priors appear to be historically well documented in an admirable
fashion (e.g. W.K.R. Bedford (1902), Appendix C, gives a
complete list of all the Grand Priors and titular Grand Priors
of England, as well as other dignitaries of the Order in Ireland
and Scotland, with their approximate dates though emendations
may be required based on more current research).
But, other national Grand Priors were scarcely ever listed
and their dates and succession seem to be no closer to being
clarified in any of the sources I then consulted (e.g. the Conde
de Campo Bello (1931) gives a list of the Priors of Crato
[Portugal] but, unfortunately, neither dates nor other data about
their careers, families or heraldry. Still, Campo Bello is to
be commended for his efforts to preserve the names and
succession of these Grand Priors. Since his time, apart from the
good efforts of Dailliez (1977) there have been few published
efforts to clarify the situation for Portugal).
Lists of names and dates by themselves, of course, are pretty
dry things, giving none of the colour or personality of human
lives nor the challenges faced by the individuals named nor by
the Order to which they belonged. I wanted to know which
families these Grand Priors came from, what kind of career did
they have within the Order and possibly within their realms, what
their armorial ensigns were and what ranks and honours within
the Order had they attained among other things?
Recently, the Grand Priories of Rome and the National
Association of Spain of the SMOM have published lists of
the names and dates of various Grand Priors (see Annibale
Ilari, I Gran Priori di Roma del Sovrano Ordine de Malta,
Rome, 2001 and Alfonso de Ceballos-Escalera y Gila y
Antonio, Marqués de la Floresta, Antonio Sánchez de León
y Cotoner, Dolores Palermo Pérez, La Orden de Malta en
España (1802-2002), Madrid, 2002, pp. 39-43 for lists of
the Grand Priors of Castile-León [which still displays some
disarray] and the Castellans of Amposta).
Lists of the Grand Priors of Austria-Bohemia and Germany are also available and appear fairly reliable with just minor variations (see Der Johaniter-Order Der Malteser Orden, Der ritterliche Ordens des Hl. Johannes vom Spital zu Jerusalem, Herausgegeben Adam Wienand, Wienand Verlag, Köln, 1977, pp. 624-630; Robert Dauber, Die Marine des Johaniter-Malteser Ordens:500 Jahre Seekreig zur Verteidigung Europas, Graz, 1989, pp. 333-6; Der Souveräne Malteser-Ritter-Orden in Österreich, Herausgegeben von Christian Steeb un Birgit Strimitzer, Leykam Buchverlagsgesellschaft m.b.H., Graz, 1999, pp. 550-1).
As an enthusiastic heraldist, one of my interests was to identify the many shields carved on the Dodocanese islands and in various Priories elsewhere, which seem likely to pertain to Grand Priors or other dignitaries of the Order. Some of these arms have been identified, but many remain obscure or unidentified (see Gerola, 1913 et seq.). Many surviving commanderies have heraldic remains, which testify to those Priors or Commanders who improved buildings or had new structures erected (e.g. Miguet, 1995). So, a list of the Grand Priors and knowledge of their arms might yet prove useful for identifying architectural remains or other objets d’art. It would also illuminate the social relationships among families within the Order in different periods as well as the social strata of the knights, who often made brilliant careers within the Order or within their realms, though coming from relatively modest backgrounds.
Many historians of the Order today justifiably take a greater interest in the socio-economic relationships the Order had with local communities than in their personnel. While I have no argument with that obviously useful historical approach, it strikes me that there is a real need also for a knowledge of the human actors, within the Order, whose personalities often meant the difference between the success or failure of an enterprise or the viability of a commandery/ priory. In any event, knowing the Grand Priors and eventually the Commanders might clarify many inter-relationships, and also be serve to explain relationships within the socio- economic sphere. So, I believe, work begun by Delaville le Roux, needed to be continued. After reflection on the matter, it struck me that “recollection”, a calling back into one well-ordered whole all the diffuse data concerning the various Grand Priors, was itself what needed to happen. Why, after all, should those Knights or Dames of the Order, who had often played such heroic and distinguished roles in its history be lost to memory?
I set out to discover, where possible, the names, dates, arms and various details of the careers of the Priors of the Order, as well as seal and heraldic information, grounded in its records and critical scholarly sources. This was because the literature on the Order is of uneven quality, some works reached the highest historical standards, but yet others were much more popular and scarcely reached a respectable standard of scholarship.
I had been warned by several scholars not to get my hopes up, because consulting the records was a formidable task, requiring a knowledge of many languages and considerable knowledge of the Order’s history. Moreover, some of the records were not readily available and there was disagreement about who were the Grand Priors of various Langues.
But, while appreciating this sage advice, I took the point to be, let us see what can be discovered from our inquiries and researches. “Seek and you shall find! Knock and it shall be opened to you!” seemed to capture the approach. I would have to be content with what could be retrieved through diligent scholarship and research, critical thinking and cooperative communication with reputable scholars. For some reason, I was drawn especially to the Grand Priors of France. Perhaps, because France played such a significant role within the long history of the Order. France had three Grand Priories (France: including Champagne and Aquitaine; Auvergne and Saint Gilles [including Toulouse]), which were prominent. Some of these Grand Priories had scholarly works written about them. (1) But, many Grand Priories, such as that of Auvergne appeared regrettably not to have had much serious attention paid to the succession of its Grand Priors, nor clarifying their arms, dates or careers within the Order. Others such as the Grand Priory of France had several conflicting lists [e.g. those found in R. Borricand (1968), D. Jacquemin’s Gallia Christiana (1744) and Mannier (1987)] while yet others had, as far as my researches were then able to go, no lists whatsoever (e.g. Aquitaine and Champagne). The Grand Priory of St. Gilles (and the Priory of Toulouse), which covered most of meridional France and formed some of the earliest properties granted to the Order in christendom was relatively well-ordered and documented (see J. Raybaud, Histoire des Grand Prieurs et du Prieuré de St. Gilles, Tomes I and II, 1904 and M.A. du Bourg, Histoire du Grand Prieuré de Toulouse, 1883), so my attention turned to the Grand Priory of France (with Aquitaine and Champagne) first. Auvergne, despite the work of L. Niepce (Le Grand Prieuré d’Auvergne, 1883) requires greater study and research to give a less confusing list, though the main outlines seemed more or less clear.
I have now amassed, with able help from Comte Girard Michel de Pierredon (of whom more below) and others, what I believe are relatively reliable lists for these three Priories from their foundations to their collapse in the eighteenth century. Here, I present for consideration just the list for the Priory of Aquitaine. I am under no illusions as to its satisfactoriness. It cannot yet be called definitive, though I believe it is accurate based on several checks and balances, of which more below.
There is still much to discover about various individuals, but absence of sources with relevant genealogical, heraldic or sigillographic information in the libraries accessible to me have had their effect upon my efforts. Rather than simply wait until new researches reveal new leads, I thought it best to give some account, however imperfect, of my researches. Perhaps others with knowledge of sources unknown or inaccessible to me will be able to correct or add details which I cannot now give. In that way a still more reliable list can be given more definite shape.
In this connection, Alain Jacquet’s recent publication Templiers et Hospitaliers en Touraine, Sur les Traces des Moines Chevaliers 1193-2001 (Alan Sutton, 2002, Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire), must be used with caution. M. Jacquet’s otherwise admirable book is filled with useful information, but includes a set of Annexes listing the Priors of Aquitaine and the Commanders of Blizon, Fretay, Brizay-l’Ile-Bouchard, Ballan and Amboise and various dignitaries of the Order (Annexes 1-8; pp. 143-152). Professor Jacquet gives not only a list of the names and dates of the Grand Priors of Aquitaine, but suggests and illustrates a coat of arms for most of the Grand Priors. Unfortunately, some of the names (i. e. Raymond d’Oiselas, Joachim Marvilleau, Jean-Baptiste Lambert, and Charles Voisins) do not correspond to the lists from other reliable sources (whether in the Archives of the Order or other sources) and the arms he attributes to many of the Grand Priors do not correspond to those given in such sources as Vertot, which are based on the Grand Priory’s own records or sigillographic information available from other published sources (e.g. Grand Priors de Mailg, de Nanteuil, d’Oiselay, de Laigue, du Bois, de Cluys, de Francières, de Norroy, de Saint Simon, de Neuchèze, de Hesselin-Gacourt, de la Rama Plessis Hénault, de Regnier-Guerchy, de Gaillarbois- Marconville, Rouxel de Médavy, de Vieilbourg, Texier d’Hautefeuille, du Chastelet de Fresnières, Thibault de la Carte, Godet de Soudé, Foucault de Saint-Germain de Beaupré, Vion de Gaillon, de La Rue de Boisroger all show incorrect Arms if Vertot and sigillographic sources are to be relied on).
Sometimes too there are discrepancies in the dates of tenure with those mentioned in the Archives of the Order, and inevitably orthographic differences. For example, Jacquet lists Joachim Marvilleau as Grand Prior of Aquitaine between 1522-4, but professes no knowledge of his origins. But, the Archives of the Order do not mention Marvilleau’s appointment as Grand Prior anywhere between 1522-4. Indeed, during these years, Charles des Ursins is recorded as Grand Prior. It is possible that Marvilleau, a Commander of Blizon may have been a locum tenens because des Ursins may have been at Rhodes during the Great Siege under Grand Master Philippe de Villiers de l’Isle-Adam. Marvilleau’s arms are recorded in Vertot, (1735) V, p. 332 upon his entry into the Grand Priory of Aquitaine, and Jacquet gives an accurate rendition under the Annex concerning the Commanders of Blison though curiously not under the Grand Priors of Aquitaine. I can only assume that Prof. Jacquet did not have access to Vertot or to the Archives of the Order in his research. This mars an otherwise useful local contribution. For the heraldry, he seems to have relied upon such sources as Rietstap, which is a standard source, but often does not record the arms of extinct families.
Sometimes, in the list below, there are only approximate dates of tenure, because I did not have access to the records of the Order after 1600. Sometimes, the arms blazoned are probable rather than certain or the tinctures are unknown because all that remains is a seal and those armorial sources available to me do not record the tinctures (though they may exist in more specialized sources). Where possible, I have consulted various medieval French armorials to find the most probable families involved. I have cited them as probable when I have done so. There are several Plates with illustrations of the arms following the enumeration of the Grand Priors found in the text. I have standardized the shield shapes into the so-called French style of shield for convenience (usual from the fifteenth century) and tried to follow French heraldic style in the depictions of charges and shields.
In some cases, I have no genealogical record of a Prior, but do have considerable data on their careers in the Order simply by going though the Catalogue of the Records of the Order in the Royal Malta Library for the relevant dates of their activities. In still other situations, I know more about their genealogy and less about their career in the Order. Hence, the textured nature of the data presented.
A mere name of a Prior and his dates does not reveal much of his personality, or career within the history of the Order, so where possible, I have tried to provide this information and his genealogical connection to gentry, titled or bourgeois families. This gives us some idea of the Priors’ connections within the Order and within his national and regional milieux and eventually may permit a more fulsome proscopological analysis of their roles within the Order and connections with other French notables in, for example, the various Orders of Chivalry.
It would be most unfair to simply publish the list below as though it were simply the product of my efforts. For, in the world of scholarship, cooperation with recognized scholars is essential. I have been greatly assisted by Prof. Anthony Luttrell’s astute comments and by the most helpful researches of Dr. Jürgen Sarnowsky, with both of whom I have had some correspondence, though they ought not be held responsible for any of the possible errors of interpretation I may have made. But, doubtless the most helpful, indeed the most prolonged cooperation has been with comte Géraud Michel de Pierredon, who took the time and trouble to correspond and where necessary discuss the names, families and dates of various Grand Priors. I thank him here for all his seasoned assistance. Any mistakes that remain are not the responsibility of these fine scholars but my own. Late in my researches, I came across a list of the Grand Priors of Aquitaine in H. Beauchet-Filleau and Ch. de Chergé, Dictionnaire Historique et Généalogique des Familles du Poitou, (2nd ed. H. Beauchet-Filleau et Paul Beauchet-Filleau),
[Tome I (1891), Tome II (1895), Tome III (1905)], Poitiers, Société Française d’Imprimerie et de Libraire, II, pp. 789-791. Not surprisingly, it differs in minor ways from that given here. But, it was a confirmation of the majority of the Grand Priors and hence a welcome and independent check on the accuracy of my researches.The Priory (or Grand Priory as it is sometimes called) of Aquitaine was founded in 1317, under Pope John XXIII. This re-organization of the Grand Priory of France permitted a better extension of both the hospital and crusading work of the Order in Outre-Mer and France. It was likely undertaken in response to the dramatic fate of the Templars and the passing of Templar properties to the Hospital, though this acquisition actually took years to accomplish. It is probable that the first Grand Prior therefore, had few of the amenities which later became associated with the Grand Priory.
____________________________________________
Notes:
(1)L. Niepce’s list of the Grand Priors is rather confusing and sometimes downright impossible. Certain names are given which clearly refer to the same person, but with different spellings (orthography not always being standard- ized as it is today). At other times, he repeats a name long after the time the person in question served as Grand Prior. He and many others after him do not seem to have consulted the lists of the Archives of the Order to verify that the persons named were, in fact, Grand Priors when he claims that they were.
(2) De Francière’s Lieutenant Grand Prior was Guy de Melay, Commander of Bourgneuf (1476-1480). In 1480, de Melay was appointed to the dignity of Grand Hospitaller of the Order at the Convent at Rhodes. As such, his arms are the first known incorporating the Chief of Religion. These are found on the newly constructed Hospital at Rhodes, completed under Grand Master d’Aubusson. De Melay’s arms and name with the 1480 date appeared there. His personal arms are also known from several crude seals, see SOSJJ, p. 118. He is also mentioned in Legras, 1983, pp. 201-202 as having endowed two Masses to be regularly said at Bourgneuf, one in honour of St. Catherine’s day and the other in honour of the Blessed Virgin’s feast. Christian de Merindol, Les Fetes de Chevalerie à la cour de roi René, Éditions du C.T.H.S., Paris, 1993, p. 173, mentions a Méry de Melay as participating in the tournament called the Pas de Saumur bearing as a crest a deer’s head. Méry may be a close relative of Guy’s given the dates and Guy’s prominence as Commander of Bourgneuf in Aunis.
(4) In the works cited above, I have often obtained the date of reception into the Order (reçu) from abbé Vertot, who had unparalleled access to the rolls of the French Priories. Sometimes, Vertot is the sole source of the heraldic blazon, though, generally, I have tried to consult a number of sources for blazons. Vertot also makes mistakes (see Gaillarbois above). In cases where identifying the family in question has been difficult (e.g. Fougerolles, Saint-Ricquin), it follows that identifying the arms will be difficult, so I have tried to use probable inference, but also give some reason for my blazon. Lastly, respecting such customs as the Chief of Religion, I have not mentioned it unless there exists some example of a seal or other evidence (e.g. an illuminated ms. or objet d’art) showing it was used by the Prior in question. After 1480, virtually all the Priors were entitled to use the Chief of Religion as Grand Crosses and high dignitaries of the Order (see J.J.F. Kennedy, “Development of the Chief of Religion in the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem”, The Double Tressure , No. 25, The Heraldry Society of Scotland, Rosyth, Fife, 2002, pp. 33-44 and forthcoming).
Dates also are derived from a number of sources: Sarnowsky’s dates have the benefit of being checked with the Order’s Archives in Valetta and so are very strong evidence; other dates come directly from the Catalogues of the Archives of the Order and I have standardized them following the dating conventions there, e.g. 14.vi.1529 = the fourteenth day of June, 1529. In still other cases, the dates are given in de La Chesnaye-Desbois et Badier (CDB) or Vit(t)on de Saint-Allais. All these sources are fallible and I have, where possible, given priority to the Archival dates, then Vertot’s dates, only then CDB or Saint-Allais. In some cases, the dates are given as a range e.g. (c. 1725-1736). In such cases, I have no precise date and this range may not be perfectly accurate, but is inferred and approximate. It often seems as though redoubtable Commanders were rewarded for their derring-do and/or hard work by becoming Priors, but then occupied the Prior’s position for a relatively short term before their deaths.
1. Père Anselme de Sainte Marie, Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la Maison Royale de France et des Grands Officiers de la Couronne et de la Maison du Roy, revue, corrigée et augmentée par l’auteur, etc., Paris, MDCCXII (1712), Tomes I and II.2. H. Beauchet-Filleau and Ch. de Chergé, Dictionnaire Historique et Généalogique des Familles du Poitou, (2nd Ed., H. Beauchet-Filleau and Paul Beauchet-Filleau), Tome I (1891), Tome 2 (1895), Tome III (1905), Poitiers, Tome II, pp. 789-791.
3. W.K.R. Bedford, The Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, London, 1902
4. René Borricand, Histoire de l’Ordre Souverain Militaire et Hopitalier de Saint Jean de Jérusalem, de Rhodes et de Malte, Aix-en-Provence, 1968
5. D. Henrique Conde de Campo Bello, A Soberna Militar De Malta e a sus accao em Portugal, Porto, 1931.
6. Alfonso Ceballos-Escalera y Gila y Antonio, Marqués de Floresta, Antonio Sánchez de León y Cotoner and Dolores Palermo Pérez, La Orden de Malta en España (1802-2002), Madrid, 2002.
7. Laurent Dailliez, L’Ordre de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem Au Portugal XI-XIVe Siècles, Alpes-Mediterranée, Nice, 1977.
8. Robert Dauber, Die Marine des Johanniter-Malteser Ordens:500 Jahre Seekreig zur Verteidigung Europas, H. Weishaupt, Graz, 1989.
9. René d’Aubert, abbé de Vertot, Histoire des chevaliers hospitaliers de Saint Jean de Jérusalem, appellez depuis Chevaliers deRhodes, aujourd’hui Chevaliers de Malthe, Vol. V, Amsterdam, 1735.
10.J. Delaville le Roulx, Les Hospitaliers à Rhodes jusq’à la mort de Philibert de Naillac: 1310-1421, Paris, 1913 (Variorum Reprints, London, 1974).
11.Germain Demay, Inventaire des Sceaux de la Collection Clairambault à la Bibliothèque Nationale, Tome I (1886) & Tome II (1887), Paris, Imprimerie Nationale.
12.Giuseppe Gerola, “Gli stemmi superstiti nel monumenti Delle Sporadi appartente al cavalleri di Rodi”, Rivista del Collegio Araldico, Anno XI, N.12, Dicembre 1913 et seq.
13.H. Gourdon de Genouillac, Recueil d’Armoiries des Maisons Nobles de France, Paris, 1860.
14.Paul Gout, Le Mont-Saint-Michel, Tome I, Bruxelles, 1979.
15.Charles Grandmaison, Dictionnaire Héraldique, Paris, 1852.
16.Annibale Ilari, I Gran Priori di Roma del Sovrano Ordine de Malta, Roma, 2001.
17.Alain Jacquet, Templiers et Hospitaliers en Touraine sur Les traces des moines chevaliers 1193-2001, Alan Sutton, 2002, Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire.
18.John J. Fitzpatrick Kennedy, “ The Emergence of some Heraldic Customs in the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Cyprus, Rhodes and Malta”, The Coat of Arms, N.S. Vol. XI, No. 171, Autumn 1995, pp. 111-125.
19.ibid., “Development of the Chief of Religion in the Order of of St. John of Jerusalem”, The Double Tressure, Journal of the Heraldry Society of Scotland, No. 25, 2002, pp.33-43.
20.E.J. King, The Seals of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, London, 1932.
21.Anne-Marie Legras, Les Commanderies des Templiers et des Hospitaliers de Saint Jean de Jérusalem en Saintonge et en Aunis, Éditions du Centre de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, 1983. 22.P.S. Lewis, Écrits politiques de Jean de Juvenal des Ursins, III, Société de l’Histoire de France, 1982, pp. 201-202.
23.Eugène Mannier, Les Commanderies du Grand Prieuré de France, 3rd Ed., Paris, 1987. 24.Christian de Merindol, Les Fetes de Chevalerie à la cour du roi René, Éditions du C. T. H. S., Paris, 1993.
25.Michel Miguet, Templiers et Hospitaliers en Normandie, Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques, Paris, 1995.
26.Claude Petiet, Ces Messieurs de la Religion, Paris, 1992, Annex XII, pp. 292-3.
27.M. Prevost, R. d’Amat, H. Tribout de Morembert, Dictionnaire de Biographie Française, Paris, Librarie Letouzy et Ané, 1979.
28.Ulrich von Richenthal, Das Konzil zu Konstanz, Faksimile, Kommentar, Text bearbeitet Otto Feger, Starnberg, 1964.
29.Jean Baptiste Rietstap, Armorial Général, Vols I: A-K and II: L-Z and Supplement, Reprint of 1950 edition, Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1965.
30.Jean-Marc Roger, <<Aymé d’Oiselay, Prieur d’Aquitaine et et sa brigue du Prieuré de France en 1416>>, in Bulletin de la Société des Antiquaires de l’Ouest, 5e série, T. VI, 2e trim., 1992, 1993, pp. 91-124.
31.Jean Roman, Inventaire des Sceaux de la Collection des Pièces Originales du Cabinet des Titres àla Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1909, Tome I.
32.Jürgen Sarnowsky, Macht und Herrschaft im Johanniterorden Des 15. Jahrhunderts, Verfassung und Verwaltung der Johanniter auf Rhodes (1421-1522), LIT Verlag, Münster, 2001.
33.Sir Hannibal Publius Scicluna, The Church of St John in Valletta:Its history, architecture and monuments with a brief history of the Order from its inception, Casa M. Danedi, San Martin, Malta, 1955.
34.La Sigillographie dan l’Ordre de Saint Jean de Jérusalem, Publications de la Société Héraldique Pictave, Niort, 2000 (SOSJJ in citations above).
35. Nicolas Viton de Saint Allais, Nobilaire universel de France, ou Receuil general des genealogies Historiques des maisons nobles de ce Royaulme, Librarie Bachelin-Deflorenne [1872- 1877], Paris, 21 Vols. (Saint Allais above)
36. Catalogue of the Records of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem in the Royal Malta Library, Vol. I, Archives 1-72, compiled by Canon Anthony Zammit Gabarretta, D.D., B.A., and Joseph Mizzi, Malta, 1964 (indicated as RML,
37. “ “ “, Vol. I, Part 1, Archives 73-83, compiled by Rev. Joseph Mizzi, Malta, 1970.
38. “ “ “, Vol. II, Part 2, Archives 84-87, ibid., Malta, 1973.
39. “ “ “, Vol. II, Part 3, Archives 88-90, ibid., Malta, 1978.
40. “ “ “, Vol. II, Part 4, Archives 91-93, ibid., Malta, 1978.
41. “ “ “, Vol. II, Part 5, Archives 94-96, compiled by Rev. F. Azzopardi, ofm cap., Malta, 1979.
42. “ “ “, Vol. II, Part 6, Archives 97-99, ibid., Malta, 1982.
43. “ “ “, Vol. II, Part 7, Archives 100, compiled by Rev. George Aquilina, ofm, Malta, 19--.
44. “ “ “, Vol. II, Part 8, Archives 101-102, compiled by Rev. Joseph Mizzi, Canon Anthony Zammit Gabarretta, D.D., B.A. and Canon V. Borg, D.D., Malta, 1991.
GP= Grand Prior;
Cmd=Commander;
Hosp=Hospitaller;
Tres=Treasurer;
LHosp=Lieutenant Hospitaller;
LTres=Lieutenant
Treasurer;
Proc=Procurator;
Com. Aer=Common Treasury;
Capt=Captain;
GM=Grand Master;
LGM=Lieutenant Grand Master;
LGP=Lieutenant Grand Prior,
s=son; d=daughter;
Priors:
1. Pierre de Mailg, GP 1317:
2.
Guillaume de Mailg, GP 1330-40: His seal has a shield with
a cross recerclée, dated 1344
(1).
3.
Ferri de Fougerolles, Mars 1330-1335, GP Champagne 1335-
1337, GP Aquitaine 1337-1340, then GP Champagne again
1340(2): It is possible that he was from the Fouquesolles family
of the Boulogne area and bore: Argent, three cinquefoils
Gules
(3).
4.
Jean de Nanteuil, GP 1349-59, LGP France, he also appears
to have been “amiral de la Mer (after 1350), Conseillier du
Roi, Capt. de la Rochelle, de Xaintonge”, d.1356 whereupon
Charles V of France sent to Jean Duison, Lieutenant of the
Priory of France in 1358, 64 Marcs d’argent and 1,000 Écus
for GP Guillaume de Mailg
(4): A fragment of a seal with
shield charged with two bars wavy, upheld by a Savage man,
within a Gothic rose design
(5).
5.
Robert de Saint Ricquin
(or Saint Ricquier), Cmd de Beauvais
-sur-Marthe, GP 1366-7, Cmd de Ballan 1375: Not much
evidence about this GP
(6).
6.
Renault de Nanteuil, GP 1368-86: His seal shows a shield
barry wavy within a bordure, penché, with the helmet crested
with a representation of St. Michael the Archangel, dtd. 1351,
(7).
7.
Girard de Fougerolles, Cmd de Chalon 1374, de Beaune 1385,
GP 3.viii.1386-90, Hosp. 8.viii,1389-1391
(8): see no. 3 above.
8.
Philibert de Naillac, from a family of Berry, Gén Capt des
Galères 1394, GP 1390-1396, he fought with other French
nobles against Sultan Bajazet at Nicopolis in 1396, where
those supporting Sigismund of Luxembourg, king of
Hungary, were utterly routed, but unlike them he escaped
capture, GM 6.v.1396 -__.vi.1421; he purchased the Morea
from its despot, Thomas Paleologos, but lost Smyrna to
Tamerlane in 1401: Azure, two lions passant in pale Or
(9);
(10),
(11).
9.
Girard de Fougerolles, Cmd de la Romagne 1390, GP again
1396-1408
(12): See 3. above.
10.
Aymé d'Oiselay (d’Oiselet,d’Oyselas), Cmd. de la Romagne,
GP 4.vii.1408-1421: Gules, a bend vivrée Or.
(13),
(14),
(15),
(16).
11.
Jean de Vivonne, possibly the 2nd son of Guillaume, Sgr. de la
Tour-Chabot and his wife, Catherine de Sainte-Flaive, GP
7.v.1421-3.ii.1429: Ermine, a chief Gules
(17),
(18).
12.
Philibert de Laigue, Cmd de Blison 1411, GP 8.ii.1433-d.
7.ix.1452. The family of Laigue (Berry) bore: Chequey Argent
and Gules
(19). His seals are given in
(20) and dates in
(21)
13.
François du Bois, GP 7.ix.1452-26.xi.1462, from the du Bois de
Saint-Mandé of Poitou
(22). His seal in
(23): Or, three roundels
Sable. His
dates are given in (24).
14.
Bertrand de Cluys (or de Cluix), of a family of Berry, GP
23.ii.1464-30.xi.1466
(25), then GP of France 1467 (q.v.):
Argent, a lion rampant Azure, armed and langued Gules (His
seal is in
(26); and Vertot blazons his arms
(27). Possibly he
was related to Jean de Cluys, bishop of Tulle c. 1426-1444,
(28).
15. Jean de Francières, of an old family of Oise, Ile-de-France, he
served in the Convent at Rhodes before becoming Cmd of
Choisy-le-Temple
(29), Bailli of Morea 9.xi.1464-25.ix.1466
(30); GP 17.viii.1469-24.xi.1479, d. 1488
(31). He composed
toward the end of his life a treatise on falconry based on
Italian and Syrian sources at the request of Jacques Du Fou,
Grand Veneur of France. His arms are: Argent, a bend Sable.
(32).
16.
Charles de Norroy
(Noray or Nouroy), Commissarius
sanitatis at Rhodes 15.xi. 1473
(33), Bailli of Morea
12.ii.1476-23.xii.1479
(34), Thes 26.viii.1465-30.xi.1466
and again 23.ii.1476-12.ii.1479
(35), Hosp 23.xii.1479-
3.xii.1483
(36), GP 3.xii.1483-d. 22.x.1499
(37): From a
family of Berry which bore: Argent, issuant from
a fess Gules, a demi-lion issuant rampant Sable.
(38); His
seal is also known
(39),
(40).
17.
Regnault de Saint-Simon, Cmd de Beauvais, Thes Gen
8.iv.1486-30.ix.1491
(41), Bailli of Morea 30.ix.1491-
16.ii.1499
(42), Capt. Trireme 1493 (43), Capt.of St. Peter’s,
Bodrum 29.vii.1488 and again 13.iii.1495-1.v.1497
(44),
Hosp. 16.ii.1499
(45), GP 22.x.1499-1521 (46), Proc. Com.
Thes. 26.v.1505
(47), Cmd of Chamgillon: His seal shows
a shield charged with a pale between six lozenges, 2 and 1
on either side, tinctures unknown. The helmet in profile has
for a crest the head and neck of a bird between two wings
elevated. Two lions rampant combatant are used as
supporters, dated 10.vi.1513,
(48).
18.
Charles des Ursins, reçu c.iii.1480 (then 17 years old),
probably a nephew or cousin of Jean de Juvénal des Ursins,
Duke-Archbishop of Rheims, probably the son of Jean,
Sgr de La Chapelle and his wife Louise de Varye
(49),
Procurator of the Parlement of Paris and Cmd de Saint-Jean
Latran (Paris) 1.x.1505
(50), and d’Oisemont 1509 (51),
Thes 27.iii.1518
(52), GP 1.x.1521-1535(53): Bendy of six
Argent and Gules, on a Chief Argent, a Rose Gules, seeded
Or, slipped Vert, sustained by a bar Or, (Vertot adds to the
bar a serpent ondoyant Azure, i.e. the traditional arms of the
Italian family of Orsini, from which the des Ursins claimed
some kinship, but portraits of the family from the late
fifteenth century in the Musée national du Moyen Age,
Hotel de Cluny do not show it)(54),
(55), (56), (57).
19.
Jacques Pelloquin, Cmd des Roches, 1523, LThes 2.i.1529
(58), LHosp 9.v.1533
(59), Thes Gen 25.ii.1534 (60),
Bailli of Morea 23.vii.1534
(61), Hosp 9.xii.1535 (62),
GP 21.i.1536, Viceregens and LGM 21.x.1536
(63): Gules,
a tower Argent, masoned Sable, port open of the field
(64). A drawing of his seal is shows a Chief of Religion
(65).
Footnotes:
(1) La Sigillographie dans l’Ordre de Saint Jean de Jérusalem (ordre de Malte), Sociéte Héraldique Pictave, Niort, 2000 (hereafter SOSJJ (2000)), p. 103.
(2) Joseph Delaville Le Roulx, Les Hospitaliers à hodes jusqu’à la mort de Philibert de Naillac (1310-1421), Paris, 1913, pp. 229, 278 and 302 (hereafter Delaville Le Roulx (1913)).
(3) J. Roman, Inventaire des Sceaux de la Collection des Pièces Originales du Cabinet des Titres à la Bibliothèque Nationale, Tome I, Paris, 1909, p.558, Seal no. 4785 (hereafter Roman, I, (1909)).
(4) Père Anselme de Sainte Marie, Histoire généalogique et chronologique De la maison royale de France, des grands officiers de la couronne et de La maison du roy, Paris, 1712, Tome II, pp.906-7.
(5) G. Demay, Inventaire des Sceaux de la Collection Clairambault à la Bibliothèque Nationale, Tome II (1886), Paris, p. 4, seal no. 6650 (hereafter Demay I (1886)) and SOSJJ (2000), p. 114.
(6) Alain Jacquet, Templiers et Hospitaliers en Touraine, Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire,
2002, pp. 145 and 150.
(7) SOSJJ (2000), pp. 116.
(8) Delaville Le Roulx (1913), p. 278, note 6.
(9) SOSJJ (2000), pp. 114-5.
(10) Giuseppe Gerola, «Gli stemmi superstiti noi monumenti delle Sporadi
appartente al cavalieri di Rodi», in Revista del Collegio Araldico,
Anno XI, no. 12, Dicembre 1913 et seq., Roma, p.170.
(11) Ulrich von Richethal, Das Konzil zu Konstanz, Faksimile, Kommentar, Text bearbeiter Otto Feger, Starnberg, 1964, plate 103a shows Grand Master de Naillac crowning Pope Nicholas V at the Council of Constance, which sought to end the Great Schism in the Church.
(12) Delaville Le Roulx (1913), pp. 229, 278 and 302.
(13) SOSJJ (2000), p. 115.
(14) Delaville Le Roulx (1913), pp. 229, 278 and 302.
(15) De La Chesnaye-Desbois et Badier, Tome 15 (1869), pp. 138-141 (hereafter CDB, Tome no., year, page).
(16) Jean-Marc Roger, «Aymé d’Oiselay, Prieur d’Aquitaine et sa brigue du Prieuré de France en 1416», in Bulletin de la Société des Antiquaries de L’Ouest, 5e série, T. VI, 2e trim., 1992, pp. 91-124.
(17) CDB 19 (1876), pp. 909-913.
(18) Jürgen Sarnowsky, Macht und Herrschaft in Johanniterorden des 15. Jahrhunderts, Verfassung und Verwaltung der Johanniter auf Rhodes
(1421-1522), LIT Verlag, Münster, 2001, p. 679 (hereafter Sarnowsky
(2001), page).
(19) Christian de Merindol, Les Fetes de Chevalerie à la cour du roi René,
Éditions du C.T.H.S., Paris, 1993, p.165.
(20) SOSJJ (2000), p. 115. He may have reversed the tinctures of his chequey shield, as was common, in which case the cross Moline in the first chequer would be Argent and similar to other early Hospitallers, who added a cross
moline to their shields to mark a connection with the Order see my “Development of the Chief of Religion in the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem” , The Double Tressure, Rosyth, Fife, No. 25 (2002), pp.32-44.
(21) Sarmowsky (2001), p. 679.
(22) Viton de Saint-Allais, Tome XV (1876), pp.27-34.
(23) SOSJJ (2000), p. 116.
(24) Sarnowsky (2001), p. 679.
(25) Sarnowsky (2001), p. 679.
(26) E.J. King, The Seals of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, London, 1932, p. 72, plate XIII.
(27) René d’Aubert, abbé de Vertot, Histoire des chevaliers hospitaliers de Saint Jean de Jérusalem, appellez depuis Chevaliers des Rhodes, aujourd’hui Chevaliers de Malthe, Tome V, Amsterdam, 1735, p. 334 (herafter Vertot (1735), V, page).
(28) M. Prevost, R. d’Amat, H. Tribout de Morembert, Dictionnaire de Biographie Française, Tome 14 (1979), p. 982 (hereafter DBF, tome,
Page).
(29) DBF, 14 (1977), P. 982 gives a biographic sketch.
(30) Sarnowsky (2001), p. 688.
(31) Sarnowsky (2001), pp.679.
(32) Vertot (1735), V, p. 330.
(33) Rev. J. Mizzi (Compiler), Catalogue of the Records of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem in the Royal Malta Library, Vol. II Part 1 (1970), p. 27 (hereafter this and subsequent volumes will be cited as RML, (compiler if different), volume and part (year), page).
(34) RML, II Part 1 (1970), p. 41.
(35) Sarnowsky (2001), p. 659.
(36) RML, II Part 1 (1970), p.43.
(37) RML, II Part 1 (1970), p. 53.
(38) Vertot (1735), V, p. 330.
(39) SOSJJ (2000), p. 116.
(40) Jean Baptiste Rietstap, Armorial général, Gouda 1884-9, reprint Baltimore, 1965, Vol. II, p. 327 confirms Vertot.
(41) RML, II Part 1 (1970), p. 57.
(42) RML, II Part 1 (1970), p. 69.
(43) RML, II Part 1 (1970), p. 75.
(44) Sarnowsky (2001), p. 674.
(45) RML, II Part 2 (1973), p. 87.
(46) RML, II Part 2 (1973), p. 88.
(47) RML, II Part 2 (1973), p. 110.
(48) SOSJJ (2000), p. 116.
(49) P.S. Lewis, (ed.), Écrits politiques de Jean de Juvenal des Ursins, III, (1982), Paris, pp. 201-2.
(50) RML, II Part 1, p. 156.
(51) Eugène Mannier, Les Commanderies du Grand Prieuré de France, Paris, 3rd éd., 1987, p. 612. Hereafter, Mannier (1987), page.
(52) Sarnowsky (2001), p. 660.
(53) RML, II Part1 (1970), p. 163.
(54) Vertot (1735), V, p.333; Jean Favier, Dictionnaire de la France Médiévale, Paris, 1993 in the colour plates between pp 528-529 Shows a lovely painting with the caption, Jean Jouvenal des Ursins et sa famille. École Française du XVe Siècle Musée national du Moyen Age. Hotel de Clugny which shows the men of the family
wearing heraldic tabards bearing the arms without the serpent on the golden bar
(55) CDB 11 (1867), pp. 121-5.
(56) Sarnowsky (2001), pp. 660 and 679.
(57) Mannier (1987), pp. 47 and 612.
(58) RML, II Part 2 (1973), p. 211.
(59) RML, II Part 2 (1973), p. 211.
(60) RML, II Part 2 (1973), p. 247.
(61) RML, II Part 2 (1973), p. 233.
(62) RML, II Part 2 (1973), p. 247.
(63) RML, II Part 2 (1973), p. 248.
(64) Vertot (1735), V, p. 331 gives blazon and date of reception.
(65) SOSJJ (2000), p. 117. Shows a drawing of his seal with a chief of Religion.
(66) RML, II Part 2 (1973), p. 295.
(67) RML, II Part 2 (1973), p. 296.
(68) RML, II Part 2 (1973), p.301.
(69) RML, II Part 2 (1973), p.315.
(70) RML, II Part 3 (1978), p. 337.
(71) RML, II Part 3 (1978), p. 353.
(72) RML, II Part 3 (1978), p. 354.
(73) RML, II Part 3 (1978), p. 376.
(74) RML, II Part 3 (1978), p. 421.
(75) RML, II Part 3 (1978), p. 424.
(76) Rietstap, II, (1965), p. 435.
(77) CDB 15 (1869), p. 825 gives an incomplete genealogy of the family.
(78) RML, II Part 3 (1978), p. 337.
(79) RML, II Part 3 (1978), p. 421.
(80) RML, II Part 3 (1978), p. 462.
(81) Vertot (1735), V, p. 330.
(82) Viton de Saint-Allais, Tome 16 (1876), pp. 417-438 gives a genealogy.
(83) CDB 15 (1869), pp. 84-5 also gives genealogy.
(84) RML, II Part 4 (1978), p. 501.
(85) RML, II Part 4 (1978), p. 510.
(86) Mannier (1987), pp 636 and 612 gives his Commanderies.
20.
François de Piedefer, reçu 1536 of a Beauvais family,
LThes 7.xii.1543
(66), LHosp 27.iii.1544 (67), Castellan
of Malta 5.xii.1544
(68), LThes again 2.x.1546 (69),
LHosp again 31.i. 1549
(70), still LThes 21.ii.1550, Patron
of his own Galère 12.i.1551
(71) LHosp again 16.ii.1551
(72), and Cmd de Boncourt, elected Hosp 18.ix.1553
(73),
demits Hosp and de Boncourt to become GP Aquitaine,
2.vi.1557
(74), elected GP Champagne 10.ix.1557 (75)
(q.v.): Chequey, Or and Azure
(76), (77).
21.
Jean de Nuchèze, reçu 1523, 4th son of Guillaume IV de
Nuchèze, Seigneur de Baudimont, de Francs, de Brain,
Chincé et de Batresse (who served in the armies of
Charles VII and Louis XI of France, d. c. 1505) and
Catherine, daughter of Louis des Francs et Baudimont
and his wife Bartholomée de Tove. Cmd de Balan and
Auditor of France 17.iii.1548, Thes Gen 26.i.1549
(78),
Bailli of Morea 10.vi.1557
(79), resigns Tres, Boncourt
and Bailli of Morea to become GP 2.xii.1559-d. 1562
(80): Gules, nine spur rowels of five rays Argent, 3, 3
and 3. Supporters: Two lions. Crest: A lion passant
guardant proper
(81), (82), (83).
22.
Charles Hesselin de Gacourt, from a family of Picardy,
perhaps the son of Jean-Baptiste Hesselin, Sgr de Gacourt,
reçu 1525, Tres. 19.viii.1562
(84), Bailli of Morea
12.v.1563
(85), Cmd de Beauvoir (1531), d’Oisemont
(1563)(86), GP 29.iv.1563
(87): Or, two bars Azure,
semée of crosses fleuronnés overall counterchanged
(88),
(89),
(90), (91), (92).
23.
Jacques d'Arquembourg (or d’Erquembourg) de Tourville,
of the family of the Sieurs de Flottemanville (Caen),
Normandy, reçu 1529, Cmd de La Croix de Brie 1545,
Thes Gen 13.v.1563
(93), Bailli of Morea 26.v.1563 (94),
Hosp 19.x.1564
(95), GP Champagne 6.iv.1571 (96),
Hosp again 14.xii.1573, demits Hosp to become GP
Aquitaine, 30.iv.1576 (97): Argent, a chevron between
three Roses Gules
(98), (99),
24.
Charles de la Rama Plessis Hénault, reçu 1532
(100), Cmd
de Beauvoir (Ponthieu) 14.vii.1559
(101), LThes 23.x.1565
(102), LHosp 22.iv.1572
(103), Hosp and Cmd de Boux et
Merlan 19.v.1581
(104), Proc Com Aer 22.ix.1581 (105),
GP France 4.vii.1586
(106), but demitted the same year,
succeeded by Charles, Prince d’Orléans 13.iv.1587
(107),
whereupon de la Rama became GP Aquitaine 18.v.1587
(108): Chequey Or and Azure, overall a lion rampant
Sable
(109), (110).
25.
Robert de Chazé, reçu 1555, of a family of Brittany,
originally of Anjou, Cmd de Nantes and de La
Lande de Verché, GP c. 1594
(111): Gules, a lion
rampant Or; but
(112) blazons this family’s arms as:
Gules, six eaglets Argent 3, 2 and 1, under the name
Chassé as does
(113). The real problem is that GP de la
Rama was still actively litigating in 9.ii.1593
(114) and
the next GP mentioned in the Catalogue is Georges
Regnier de Guerchy, elected only six months later. De Chazé is not mentioned as elected in the Catalogue between these dates, so it seems unlikely that he ever
was Grand Prior.
26.
Georges Regnier de Guerchy, Cmd de Maison-Neuve
et Coulommiers 1583 and again 1630
(115), LHosp
28.ii.1592
(116), GP 9.viii.1593 (117), from an old,
noble family, but exchanges priories with Bertrand
Pelloquin, GP France 1.xii.1599
(118) (q.v.): Quarterly,
1st and 4th, Azure, six plates, 3, 2 and 1; 2nd and 3rd,
Azure, a cross indented Argent, between four spur
rowels Or
(119), (120).
27.
Bertrand Pelloquin de la Plesse, Cmd de Montgauger
15--, Hosp 6.ii.1587
(121), GP France 10.v.1591 (122),
but, exchanges priory of France with Georges Regnier
de Guerchy, GP Aquitaine 1.xii.1599
(123): Gules, a
tower Argent, masoned Sable, port open of the field, a chief of Religion
(124), (125).
28.
Henri d'Applevoisin de la Bodinatière, 2nd
son of Hardy d’Appelvoisin, Seigneur de la Bodinatière and Marie
Petit, d. of Jaques Petit, Écuyer, Sgr. de St.-Chartres and
his wife Catherine de la Chaussée. Reçu 1560, Cmd
d’Auzon from 1566-1604, LTres 9.i.1593
(126), LHosp
10.x.1595
(127), Hosp 2.xii.1595 (128), 30.iii.1599
elected a Commissar/Inspector over the triremes of the
Order
(129), Cmd de Corie 16.v.1600, Cmd d’Oson et
Prailles 13.viii.1602, Cmd de Mauleon et Villedieu
7.x.1602-1608, Thes Gén 21.i.1602-1608
(130), GP c.
1611-1613. He died 28.iii.1613 at Changillon: Gules, a
herse Or
(131), (132), (133),
(134).
29.
Simon Cheminée de Boisbenest, of a Breton family of
Nantes, reçu 1570, LThes and Infirmian 23.vi.1595
(135),
Hosp 12.ii.1601
(136), Bailli of Morea 16.iii.1601 (137),
GP c. 1613-1616: Argent, a lion passant guardant Azure,
crowned Or, on a chief Gules, three lions’ faces in profile
Argent, crowned and langued Or
(138).
30.
Jean-Jacques Gaillarbois de Marconville, diocese of Rouen,
Normandy, reçu 15--, Cmd de Boncourt 1554, LHosp
and Castellan of Malta 27.ix.1574
(139), Hosp 20.v.1577
(140), Thes Gen 30.iv.1576
(141), Cmd de Sommereux
1608, GP c. 1619-1640: Argent, six annulets 3, 2 and 1
Sable
(142). But, (143) and (144)
give “tourteaux de
sable”, i.e. pellets.
(145) describes seals of members of
this family whose arms did bear annulets and not
“tourteaux”.
(146) also gives annulets. (147) also confirms
the annulets.
31.
Guy Turpin de Crissé, 3rd son of Charles II Turpin
de Crissé, comte de Vihers, baron de Montorion,
Chevalier des Ordres du Roi and his wife, Éléonor,
eldest daughter and heiress of Claude de Cravant,
Chevalier de l’Ordre du Roi, Seigneur de la Mothe et
de Noastre and his wife, Marguerite Hallwin. Reçu
1592 in the Diocese of Poitou, GP c. 1640-1644:
Lozengy Or and Gules (sometimes Lozengy Argent
and Gules).
(148) gives the dates of reception and the
blazon,
(149) gives a genealogy.
32.
Jacques Rouxel de Médavy, of an illustrious family of
Normandy, reçu 1595, Cmd de Colours 1639, Bailli of
Morea 16??, GP c. 1644-1647, perhaps Jacques III,
comte de Grancey and de Médavy, who first entered
the Religion, but left it to embrace the career of arms,
becoming Maréchal of France and Gov of Thionville
in 1651 and a Chevalier des Ordres du Roi 1661 and
d. 20.xi.1680: Argent, three roosters Gules, membered,
beaked and crested Or
(150), (151), (152).
33.
Pierre Fouquerand de la Noue, family of Bas-Poitou. He
was 3rd son of Nicholas Fouquerand, Écuyer and Sgr de
la Noue and Marie Thomasset, d. of Jean Thomasset,
Sgr de la Treullière and his wife Louise Prévost. Reçu
1596, Cmd de Beauvais, GP c. 1647-1663: Argent, three
porc-épics, 2 and 1 Sable
(153), (154), (155).
34.
Gilbert de Vieilbourg, 3rd son of Jean de Vieilbourg and
Jeanne de Fontenay. His nephew, René de Vieilbourg
had the lands of Myennes erected into a Marquisate in
1661. Reçu 1607, Cmd de Mont de Soissons 1650,
Cmd de Sommereux 1675, GP 1663-1675; Capt de
Galère “Santa Maria” 28.iv.1647; As GP he had the
the seat of the Priory moved from Saint Georges les
Baillargeaux to Poitiers c.1668: Azure, a fess Argent
charged on the dexter with a “T” (or a Tau cross) and
on the sinister with a mullet both Sable
(156), (157),
(158).
(159) spells the name Vieuxbourg and gives a
different blazon. But,
(160) and (161) both confirm
Vertot’s blazon.
(162), (163).
35.
Gabriel de Dauvet des Maretz, 3rd son of Gaspard Dauvet,
Chevalier, Comte and Seigneur des Maretz, de Berneuil,
Fraucourt, Governeur of Beauvais, Cons D’État,
Ambassador to England 1614, and his wife Elisabeth,
daughter of Nicolas Brulart, Sgr and Chev. de Sillery,
Chancellor of France; reçu 14.v.1619, Capt. de Galère
“San Pietro” 20.xii.1655, Cmd d’Avalterre 1660, Cmd de Saint-Étienne de Renneville 1680, GP c. 1676-1691:
Bendy of six Gules and Argent, the second bend charged
with a lion rampant Sable.
(164), (165), (166),
(167).
36.
Etienne Texier d'Hautefeuille, le “bailli d’Hautefeuille”,
Capitaine de la Compagnie Écossaise dans le Gendarmerie,
reçu 1632 or 1636, GC, Bailli 1669, Ambassador of the
Order to France 1671, Cmd de Villedieu La Montagne et
des Roches 1676, Cmd de la Croix en Brie 1684, GP
23.ix.1691- 3.v.1703, Gov and Capt of the Town and
Castle of the Abbey of Mont St.-Michel, Normandy (i.e.
Abbé commendataire): Gules, a greyhound courant Argent,
collared Or, with a crescent of the last in chief and a chief
of Religion
(168), (169), (170),
(171).
37.
Gabriel du Chastellet, 3rd son of Laurent du Chastellet,
Chevalier, Sgr de Fresnières, Levigni and le Taulette,
Gentilhomme ordinaire du Chambre du Roi Louis XIII
and his wife Catherine Fauyer, dau. of Jacques Fauyer,
Conseillier du Roi, Baron de Merry, Sgr. de Mondevigne
and his wife Marie Charlet (of a family of Artois); Reçu
1643, Cmd de La Braque 1683, Cmd de Saint-Étienne de
Renneville 1700, GP c. 1703- d. 1708: Gules, a fess
Argent, between three castles with conical towers all Or,
crenellated and masoned Sable
(172), (173). His seal
(174) describes him as Cmd de la Braque, dtd 4.vii.1685.
The shield has a coronet and is surrounded by a ribbon
and cross of the Order, with the Grand Cross of the Order
behind the shield,
(175).
38.
Gabriel Thibault de la Carte, from a family of Anjou, reçu
in GP Aquitaine 20.iv.1649, probably a relative of
François Thibault, Sgr de la Carte et de la Chaounière,
near Niort, Poitou; Cmd des Épeaux et Loudon 1709-1721,
GP c. 1708-1723: Azure, a tower crenellated Argent,
masoned Sable
(176), (177), (178).
39.
Antoine Théodoric Godet de Soudé, of a family from the
Diocese of Chalons in Champagne, reçu 1662, Cmd of
Metz, Capt. de Galère “San Paulo” 7.xii.1685, GP 1723-
1729: Azure, a chevron Argent between three inverted
pine cones, 2 and 1, Or.
(179), (180), (181),
(182).
40.
Philippe-Joseph de Lesmerie d'Éschoisy, de Lucé, of a
family of the Diocese of Angouleme, reçu 3.vi.1668,
Cmd du Blison 1726 and de Fretay 1725, Bailli, GC,
Cmd de Beauvais sur Marthe 17--, GP c. 1729-1754:
Argent, three Oak leaves erect, 2 and 1Vert.
(183), (184)
(185),
(186), (187).
41.
Armand Foucault de Saint Germain de Beaupré,
b. 6.ix.1680, 2nd son of Louis Foucault, Sgr et Marquis
de Saint Germain de Beaupré, Comte de Dun-le
Palleteau, Gov de la Marche 1674, Mestre de Camp de
Regt. de Cavalerie and his wife Hélène Ferrand, dau.
and heiress of Pierre de Ferrand, Sgr de Janory, Cons
de Paris and his wife Hélène Gillot; Cmd de Fieffes
1740, d’Abbéville 1746, de Beauvoir 1747, GP c. 1754-
d.14.x.1767: Azure, semé de fleurs de lys sans nombre
d’Or.
(188), (189), (190),
(191), (192).
42.
Paul de Vion de Gaillon, 2nd son of Jean de Vion,
Chevalier, Sgr de Gaillon and d’Huanville, and his
wife, Marie-Françoise du Mesnil-Jourdain, d of
François Chevalier, Sgr de Bercagny and his wife
Marie de Cavoisin; b. 11.vi.1687, reçu 1701,
Cmd de Villedieu-Les-Bailleul 1747, de Colours 1754,
de Fieffes 1764, GP 1767-1770, d. 24.v.1770: Gules,
three eagles displayed Argent, beaked and armed
Or
(193), (194), (195).
43.
Jean-Charles Guy de la Rué Bois Roger Rupierre, reçu
1706, Cmd de Saint-Étienne de Renneville 1767,
GP 1770: Argent, three leaves of Rhue, 2 and 1,
Vert, (possibly quartering de Ruppierre: Paly of
eight Or and Azure), reçu 25.iv.1706
(196), (197).
44.
Pierre d'Alsace de Hénin-Liétard, Seigneur de
Bléincourt, b. 1705, reçu en minorité 17.iii.1708,
Cmd de Laon and de Castillon 1752, Bailli de
Saint Jean Latran 1779, GC, Ambassador of the
Order to France, Capt-Gén des Éscadres
13.viii.1746, GP 1770-1787: Gules, a bend Or
(198),
(199), (200).
45.
Louis Joseph des Éscotais de Chantilly, 2nd son
of Michel-Séraphin des Écotais, Seigneur de
Chantilly et d’Armilly, l’Ile Oger, Sarigny, etc.,
Capt des Vaisseaux du Roi (d. 3.v.1736) and his
wife, Louise-Elisabeth de Laval-Montmorency,
d of Gabriel de Laval-Montmorency, comte
de Laval and Renée-Barbe de la Forterie. Called
“le Bailli des Écotais”, he had been a Brigadier
of the Infantry in 1758 and Maréchal de Camp in
1761, and later a Lieutenant General, GP 1787-
1792, d. 1796: Argent, three cinquefoils, 2 and 1,
Gules, buttoned Argent. Count’s coronet and two
lions as supporters
(201), (202).
46.
Eugène Hercule Camille de Rohan, 2nd s of Charles,
Prince de Rohan-Montaubin, Comte de Rochefort=
1722 Éléanore Éugènie de Bethisy de Mézières,
b. 6.iv.1737, Abbé d’Homblières (Diocese de
Noyon), Chanoine de Strasbourg, Tres de l’Église
de Liége, reçu 27.v.1765, Gén. des Galères 1767,
GP 1796: Gules, nine mascles conjoined fesseways
Or
(203), (204).
