de L'Aubespine family

The de L'Aubespine family was a French family that rose to prominence through legal, administrative, ecclesiastical, diplomatic, and military service. Its recorded origins are associated with Claude de l'Aubespine, a lawyer from Orléans who served as bailiff of the Abbey of Saint Euverte at the beginning of the sixteenth century. The family's early advancement was therefore rooted less in hereditary military aristocracy than in the professional offices of law and royal administration. Several members attained influential positions during the reigns of Francis I and his successors. Sébastien de L'Aubespine, Claude's brother, pursued an ecclesiastical career and became abbot of Bassefontaine, commendatory abbot of Mozac, bishop of Vannes, and later bishop of Limoges. He also undertook diplomatic missions on behalf of the French crown in Germany, Hungary, England, the Low Countries, and Switzerland. His diplomatic career included service as France's plenipotentiary at the negotiations leading to the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis. Claude de L'Aubespine, another prominent member of the family, became baron of Châteauneuf-sur-Cher and served as a secretary of finance. He was involved in negotiations with England in 1555 and 1559 and was repeatedly commissioned to address matters involving the Huguenots on behalf of the king. His career illustrates the family's close connection with the machinery of French government and religious-political affairs during a period of intense institutional and confessional conflict. The next generation continued this pattern of public service. Guillaume de l'Aubespine de Châteauneuf served as a councillor of state and ambassador to England. His son, Charles de l'Aubespine, held a particularly prominent diplomatic and governmental career, representing France in Germany, the Low Countries, Venice, and England. He also served as Keeper of the Seals from 1630 to 1633 and again from 1650 to 1651. The family also produced cultural and military figures. Madeleine de l'Aubespine was a French poet who corresponded with Pierre de Ronsard. She married Nicolas de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy, linking her to another important French administrative family. François de L'Aubespine, marquis de Hauterive, served as a military officer in the Dutch struggle against Spain, later became a colonel in a French regiment, and rose to senior command. He served as general of the French infantry in Holland, governor of Breda, and eventually lieutenant-general of the king's armies. His political and military relationships included the confidence of Prince Frederick Henry of Orange. Through his marriage to Eleanor of Volvire, marquise de Ruffec, he became the father of Charlotte, later the mother of the Duc de Saint-Simon, the well-known diarist. Although the family achieved substantial influence through service to the French monarchy, church, diplomacy, and armed forces, its fortunes later declined. Historical accounts state that it fell into poor circumstances and became extinct during the nineteenth century. It is therefore best understood as a historical French family and lineage rather than as a contemporary commercial brand, operating company, or surviving corporate house.

The history of the de L'Aubespine family is tied to the expansion of professional and administrative elites in early modern France. The lineage descended from Claude de l'Aubespine, a lawyer of Orléans and bailiff of the Abbey of Saint Euverte at the beginning of the sixteenth century. These offices provided the foundation for the family's subsequent rise and helped place its members within the legal and governmental institutions of the French monarchy. Sébastien de L'Aubespine became one of the family's leading ecclesiastical and diplomatic figures. He held several important church offices, including the bishoprics of Vannes and Limoges, while also representing French interests abroad. His missions took him to Germany, Hungary, England, the Low Countries, and Switzerland. He was appointed plenipotentiary of France for the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis, an important diplomatic settlement of the mid-sixteenth century. His brother Claude de L'Aubespine, baron of Châteauneuf-sur-Cher, advanced through the royal financial administration. As secretary of finance, he participated in negotiations with England in 1555 and 1559 and was assigned several missions relating to the Huguenots. These activities placed him close to the crown's responses to both international diplomacy and the French Wars of Religion. Claude's son Guillaume de l'Aubespine de Châteauneuf continued the family's governmental service as a councillor of state and ambassador to England. The family's later prominence was especially visible in Charles de l'Aubespine, who served as ambassador to Germany, the Low Countries, Venice, and England. Charles subsequently became Keeper of the Seals, first from 1630 to 1633 and later from 1650 to 1651, giving the family a senior position within the royal administration. The lineage was not limited to official and diplomatic careers. Madeleine de l'Aubespine was a poet associated with the literary culture of sixteenth-century France and maintained correspondence with Ronsard. Her marriage to Nicolas de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy, connected the family with another notable political household. François de L'Aubespine, marquis de Hauterive, represented the family's military branch. He began his career in the Eighty Years' War while serving the Dutch States against Spain. His name was recorded among the officers at the siege of Jülich in 1610. By 1644 he was colonel of a French regiment. He later served as general of the French infantry in Holland, governor of Breda, and lieutenant-general of the king's armies. His opposition to Cardinal Richelieu helped earn him the confidence of Prince Frederick Henry of Orange. His marriage to Eleanor of Volvire, marquise de Ruffec, produced Charlotte, who became the mother of the Duc de Saint-Simon. Despite the prominence achieved by several members, the family did not remain economically secure. Historical summaries describe a later decline into poor circumstances and state that the family became extinct in the nineteenth century. Its historical significance consequently rests on the careers and connections of individual members rather than on a continuing institution or commercial identity.

• 1650

  Second term as Keeper of the Seals

  [1]L'Aubespineen.wikipedia.org

  Charles de L'Aubespine returned to the office of Keeper of the Seals for a second term.

• 1630

  Charles de L'Aubespine becomes Keeper of the Seals

  [1]L'Aubespineen.wikipedia.org

  Charles de L'Aubespine began his first term as Keeper of the Seals of France.

• 1582

  Death of Sébastien de L'Aubespine

  [1]L'Aubespineen.wikipedia.org

  Sébastien de L'Aubespine, bishop and diplomat, died after a career serving the French church and monarchy.

• 1559

  Further English negotiations

  [1]L'Aubespineen.wikipedia.org

  Claude de L'Aubespine was again involved in negotiations with England while serving the French crown.

• 1555

  Claude de L'Aubespine participates in negotiations with England

  [1]L'Aubespineen.wikipedia.org

  Claude de L'Aubespine served as a secretary of finance and was involved in French negotiations with England.

• Early sixteenth-century origins in Orléans

  [1]L'Aubespineen.wikipedia.org

  Claude de l'Aubespine, a lawyer of Orléans and bailiff of the Abbey of Saint Euverte, is identified as the ancestor from whom the family's documented descent began.

• Nineteenth-century extinction

  [1]L'Aubespineen.wikipedia.org

  The family is reported to have declined into poor circumstances and become extinct during the nineteenth century.

Historical French noble and administrative family; not a contemporary commercial brand.

1. 1L'Aubespineen.wikipedia.org