The

marquessate A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

of La Garde de Chambonas was a French noble family whose origins are located in

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

and

Gévaudan Gévaudan (; oc, Gavaudan, Gevaudan) is a historical area of France in Lozère ''département''. It took its name from the Gabali, a Gallic tribe subordinate to the Arverni. History After the conquest of Gaul, the Romans preserved the cap ...

. The family La Garde is first quoted as a lordship in 1152 and created marquessate in 1683. The ascertained filiation started in the 14th century. The last marquess died in 1927 and his only son was killed at war in 1918. The name is still worn by the descendants.

Main personalities

Victor Scipion Charles Auguste de La Garde de Chambonas Victor Scipion Charles Auguste de La Garde de Chambonas (1750–1830) was a mayor of Sens, brigadier general, and French foreign minister, at the beginning of the French Revolution. He was born in Paris, the son of Scipion Louis Joseph de La ...

(1750 in

Chambonas Chambonas () is a commune in the Ardèche department in southern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the ...

-1830 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

), a general who embraced the ideas of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, first constitutional mayor of

Sens Sens () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km from Paris. Sens is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the second city of the d ...

, and one of the last

foreign minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

(June-July 1792). Guy Azaïs de La Garde de Chambonas (1942), navy officer, diplomat, deputy chief of the French secret services (1993-1997), ambassador of France to Benin (1989-1992), Columbia (1997-2000), and Angola (2004-2007).

Posterity

According to the traditional principles of

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

in France the title and the noble character of the family definitely end up in 1927. However, the French law to lost surnames due to war causes (1923) allowed the grandsons of the war hero to raise the surname. Hence two branches of the family: # Rollin de La Garde de Chambonas # Azaïs de La Garde de Chambonas

Heraldry

''Azure, a chief Argent'' Its motto is ''"Deus, Rex, Amici"'' (''"the Lord, the King, our Friends"'').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Garde De Chambonas French noble families