D'Estaing family

Arms of the d'Estaing family : D’azur aux trois fleurs de lys d'or et au chef d'or.^[1]

The d'Estaing family is one of the most notable noble families of the Rouergue and Auvergne regions of France. They originated from Estaing, in the modern Aveyron département where their châtelain has been traced to the start of the 11th century.^[2]

The house of d'Estaing became extinct with the death of Admiral Charles Henri d'Estaing (in 1794), and his half-sister Lucie Madeleine d'Estaing who died in 1826 and left numerous descendants to modern times.

The genealogy of the d'Estaing family has no link with the Giscard d'Estaing family who took the name in 1922.

History

In 1214, at the Battle of Bouvines, Déodat, known as Tristan, saved the life of King Philippe Auguste and gave hime his horse. In recognition, the king gave Déodat the right to adopt the arms of France, keeping the golden chef that covered his former arms.^[3] Recent works have considered this to be legend.

The family produced prelates, officers, Knights of Malta and a great number of notable personalities. It received the Honneurs de la Cour (a very prestigious honour granted only to the families of ancient nobility and allowing them to approach the King and the Queen) in 1750.

Principal personalities

• Guillaume I d’Estaing was a companion of Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade.
• Tristan Dieudonné d’Estaing saved the life of King Philippe Auguste at Bouvines in 1214. In recognition of this event, he received the right to place three fleurs de lys on his shield. This fact is today contested.
• Guillaume d'Estaing, lord of Estaing, married in 1319 Ermengarde de Peyre, lady of Valentines, daughter of Astorg IX of Peyre and de Maguerire of Murat, lady of Cheylade who gave him eight children, including :
  • Raymond d'Estaing married in 1350 Baranne de Castelnau;
  • Flore d'Estaing, married Aymeric d'Aurillac, lord of Conros;
  • Cardinal Pierre d’Estaing made part of the Pontifical Court at Avignon. He was pontifical legate for Gregory XI to the pontifical states in Italy;
  • Richarde d'Estaing, married in 1345 Géraud de Murat, lord of Lugarde, Allagnat and Ségur;
  • Marguerite d'Estaing, married Pierre IV, lord of Brezons
• Dieudonné d'Estaing, nephew of the cardinal, dean of Laon then bishop of Tricastin (1388–1411)
• Guillaume d'Estaing distingished himself in the fight against infidels (?).
• Jean d'Estaing ( -1495), chamarier of Lyon from 1480 to 1494, was named in 1484 governor of the county of Rodez and Montagnes de Rouergue.
• François d'Estaing, rector of Comtat Venaissin, from 1505 to 1509, bishop of Rodez from 1504 to 1529, built the bell tower at the Rodez Cathedral.
• Antoine d'Estaing (1455 - †28 February 1523), member of the grand council of Louis XII (1495), bishop of Angoulême (1506–1523), dean of the chapter of Lyon (1514).
• L'Abbé Charles d'Estaing (ca1595-1661), lord of Cheylade and Marchastel, Knight of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Violent, debauched and greedy, he tried to reestablish taxes that fallen out of use for more than a century, provoking a revolt. Tried in his absence and convicted by the Court of Grands Jours d'Auvergne to the dealth penalty, confiscation of his property and removal of his nobility. His sentence was commuted to service in a regiment serving in Germany where he distinguished himself by his courage and died rehabilitated in 1661, without having married. In his will, he mentioned a daughter, Marguerite, as his only natural child. He was regarded by the Giscard d'Estaing family as the first of the d'Estaing family of Puy-de-Dôme and it is from him that they took their name.
• Admiral d'Estaing (Ravel 1729 - Paris 1794), son of Charles-François and Marie-Henrielle de Colbert, played a significant part in the naval wars of the 18th century and in the American Revolutionary War. He was named an admiral in 1792 by the Legislative Assembly, but was nevertheless guillotined in 1794. Having lost his only son, he legitimised his half-sister Lucie-Madeleine and, on 25 February 1768, made her heir to his prperty, in particular the Château de Ravel. Known under the title Comte d'Estaing, he commanded the National Guard of Versailles during the October March in 1789.

The last d'Estaings

At the end of the 18th century, all the branches of the d'Estaing family were descended from a single couple: Jean d'Estaing (°/1540-1621), lord of Val, married in 1580 Gilberte de la Rochefoucauld (1560–1623), lady Ravel, they had four sons :

• 1° François II d'Estaing, founded the comtes de Ravel branch for three generations to :
  • François IV d'Estaing (Ravel 1693 - Paris 1729), count of Estaing, who died without heir and was succeeded by Admiral d'Estaing below ;
• 2° Père Louis d'Estaing, grand aumônier de France;
• 3° Jacques d'Estaing (+1657), lord of Terrisse, married Catherine du Bourg, lady of Saillant, fromm whom were decended after four generations :
  • Admiral d'Estaing and his half-sister
  • Lucie Madeleine d'Estaing (Paris 1743 - Clermont-Ferrand 1826), viscountes of Ravel in Auvergne, illegitimate half-sister of the admiral, mistress of Louis XV; married, she had numerous descendants including two daughters of Louis XV.
• 4° L'Abbé Charles d'Estaing (ca1595-1661), lord of Cheylade, Knight of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. He died in 1661 with a debauched reputation, having made tow wills in which he recognised a natural daughter but no son. However, the Giscard d'Estaing genealogy attributes paternity to one Joachim d'Estaing, lord of Réquistat, since there is no birth or other document concerning her.^[4]

Other Destaing or d'Estaing families

Destaing of Cantal

Notable legal family, established in the Carladès, with noble connections from the start of the 16th century, ending with :

• Zacharie Destaing (Aurillac 1764 - Paris 1802), general, son of Pierre Destaing and Marie-Gabrielle Delzons, seventh generation descendant of  :
  • Jehan Destaing, lord of Labouygues, royal notary in Marcolès, in the Cantal département, and Souveraine de Chivialle.

It could be a small branch of the d'Estaing family.

Destaing of Réquistat

Following a request, the G iscard family was authorised in 1922 to add to its name "d'Estaing". In effect :

• Edmond Giscard (1894–1982) is a descendant :
  • fourth generation of Lucie Madeleine d'Estaing (Saint-Babel 1769-1844);
  • ninth generation of Joseph Destaing (Jabrun 1648 - Jabrun 1711]), son of Joachim Destaing and Suzanne Paulet, self-styled noble, lord of Réquistat and of Boissière, with no known kinship with Jean d'Estaing who bought the Château de Réquistat around 1669 ti give to his daughter Marie-Claire in 1772. This Joachim was condemned as a usurper of nobility by a judgement of 5 May 1667. He is the ancestor from whom the Giscard d'Estaings took their name.

Castles

• Château d'Estaing
• Château de Murol
• Château de Ravel
• Château de Réquistat (-1590)
• Château de Saillans

Notes and references

1. ^ Popoff, Michel; (preface Pinoteau, Hervé) (1996). Armorial de l'Ordre du Saint-Esprit. Paris: Le Léopard d'or. 
2. ^ First mentioned in 1028.
3. ^ Merveilles des châteaux d'Auvergne et du Limousin (Réalités Hachette, 1971, p.23)
4. ^ Christian du Passage, Histoire et généalogie, 160-266, October 2001

Bibliography

• Hippolyte de Barrau, Documents historiques sur le Rouergue ... (French)

See also

• Famille Giscard d'Estaing
• Familles nobles du Rouergue

External links

• d'Estaing Genealogy, on the Généanet site{ (French)
• d'Estaing Genealogy on l'Armorial du Pays d'Oc (French)

This article incorporates information from this version of the equivalent article on the French Wikipedia.