Montesquiou family
The de Montesquiou family is a very old French nobility family from Gascony. Its motto is: "Deo duce et ferro comite". This translates from Latin as "God as guide and my sword as companion,"
The family divided in several branches, but nowaday only remains the branch of d'Artagnan
Through the centuries, the Montesquiou family produced one field marshals, one admiral, one Cardinal, one archbishop, four generals, four bishops, one minister, several diplomats.
In 1777 Louis XVI allowed the Montesquiou family to change its name as de Montesquiou-Fezensac.
In 2011 for certain members of the d'Artagnan changed their name as de Montesquiou-Fezesensac d'Artagnan.
The titles of the Marsan line (extinct) were:
- baron of the Empire (1809)[1]
- count of Montesquiou (1817)[2]).
- duke of Fezensac in 1821 and 1832 (title extinct in 1913 with Philippe André, third duke of Fezensac[2]).
The titles of the d'Artagnan line are:
The title of the Montluc family (now extinct) that came from the Montesquiou family were:
- count of Montluc (1563)
- prince of Chabanais (1598)
Notable members
- Bernard de Montesquiou (+1175) Bishop of Tarbes;
- Raymond V de Montesquiou (fl. 1190) lord of Montesquiou, participant of the Third Crusade and uncle of Gerard de La Barthe, Archbishop of Auch
- Pierre Cardinal de Montesquiou (+1262), Cardinal of Albi;
- Pictavin Cardinal de Montesquiou (+1355/6), Bishop of Albi;
- Jean de Lasseran de Massencome de Montluc (1502–1579), Archbishop of Bordeaux;
- Pierre de Montesquiou d'Artagnan, (1645–1725), musketeer and maréchal de France;
- Henri Jacques de Montesquiou de Puylobon (1710–1777), Bishop of Sarlat;
- Anne-Pierre de Montesquiou-Fézensac (1739–1798), general and politician, member of the French Academy, he joined the Third Estate during the French Revolution;
- François-Xavier-Marc-Antoine de Montesquiou-Fézensac (1756–1832), French politician;
- Raymond Aymeric Philippe Joseph de Montesquiou-Fezenzac, French soldier;
- Anatole de Montesquiou-Fezenzac (born in 1788), French soldier ;
- Bertrand de Montesquiou-Fézenzac (1837–1902), French admiral;
- Robert de Montesquiou (1855–1921), writer, poet, art collector;
- Léon de Montesquiou (1873–1915), essayist, French monarchist;
- Mathilde de Montesquiou-Fézenzac (1884–1960), wife of the composer Charles-Marie Widor;
- Aymeri de Montesquiou, contemporary French politician;
- Alfred de Montesquiou, contemporary French journalist;