Forcade

Forcade, more fully the de Forcade family, is a historical noble house associated with Guyenne and particularly with Orthez in Béarn, in southwestern France. The name appears in several forms, including de Forcade, de la Forcade, Fourcade de, and Fourcade de la. The subject is a lineage and historical family name rather than a documented commercial consumer brand, corporation, product line, or presently operating business. Accordingly, there is no reliable evidence in the supplied reference material for a corporate headquarters, founder in the business sense, website, products, commercial markets, public listing, or current ownership structure. The family’s historical claims reach back to the medieval period. A member is described as appearing in the 12th century among the lords of Béarn who held fiefs and paid tithes to the church at Orthez. Around 1170, the Seigneur de Forcade, together with the Seigneurs de Baylens and de Cando, is recorded as transferring parish tithes from Castetarbe, near Orthez, to Guillaume-Bertrand, Bishop of Dax. This places the family within the feudal and ecclesiastical structures of Béarn during the high Middle Ages. The house is also associated with service to the Counts of Foix and Béarn during the English Wars. From the 14th through the 16th centuries, members participated in the examination and verification of noble status, a function connected with the political and social organization of the Estates of Béarn. The family’s position in the provincial nobility was later supported by a series of official judgments. These included decisions by royal intendants administering Béarn, the Court of Aids of Guyenne, and the French Conseil d’État. The references present these decisions as confirmations or reconfirmations of the family’s noble status over time. In later centuries, members of the family served France in administrative and military roles. The supplied material describes governors of jurisdictions and military officers, several of whom died in battle while serving their country. Another branch, associated with the designation von Forcade de Biaix, became prominent in Prussia. Its members held senior military, court, administrative, and ecclesiastical offices and received Prussian decorations including the Pour le Mérite, the Order of the Black Eagle, and the Iron Cross Second Class. Notable individuals include Jean de Forcade, Seigneur de Biaix, who lived approximately from 1624 to 1684 and served as a fermier des monnaies of Béarn and Navarre. Jean de Forcade de Biaix, also known as Johann von Forcade de Biaix, became a Royal Prussian lieutenant general, commander of the 23rd Prussian Infantry Regiment, military governor of Berlin, and commander of the royal residence in Berlin during the reign of Frederick William I. Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix served as a Prussian lieutenant general and regimental chief, while Isaac, or Peter Isaak, von Forcade de Biaix was a Prussian major general and court marshal to Prussian princes. Later members included Ferdinand Heinrich von Forcade de Biaix and Friedrich Wilhelm Leopold Konstantin Quirin von Forcade de Biaix, both associated with Prussian military or court service. The historical record therefore concerns genealogy, nobility, regional administration, and military service rather than brand management. The family's present legal status, surviving branches, heraldic usage, and any modern commercial use of the Forcade name are not established by the supplied sources.

The de Forcade family is described as one of the old noble houses of Béarn and Guyenne, with its principal association being the town of Orthez. The family name has appeared in multiple spellings and constructions, including de Forcade, de la Forcade, Fourcade de, and Fourcade de la. These variations reflect historical naming practices rather than separate documented commercial brands. The lineage is traced in the supplied historical account to at least the 12th century. A member of the family is said to have belonged to the group of lords of Béarn who possessed fiefs and paid tithes to the church at Orthez. Around 1170, the Seigneur de Forcade, alongside the Seigneurs de Baylens and de Cando, gave the tithes of the parish of Castetarbe to Guillaume-Bertrand, Bishop of Dax. The bishop is identified as a son of Bertrand, Viscount de Labour, and a brother of the Viscounts Pierre and Arnaud. This episode situates the family within the feudal landholding and ecclesiastical networks of medieval Béarn. The family is further associated with service to the Counts of Foix and Béarn during the English Wars. Between the 14th and 16th centuries, its members took part in the oversight of proofs and reviews of nobility. Such procedures concerned the verification of noble status and formed part of the institutional life of the Estates of Béarn. The family retained a recognized place in the Order of Nobility of those Estates. The family's noble status was subsequently the subject of repeated official confirmations. The supplied reference attributes these confirmations to royal intendants responsible for the administration of Béarn, to the Court of Aids of Guyenne, and to the Conseil d'État of France. These judgments are presented as evidence that the family’s claims to nobility were examined and reaffirmed through several layers of ancien régime and later French administrative and judicial authority. During the early modern and modern periods, members continued to hold public, military, and administrative positions. The reference describes governors of jurisdictions and distinguished officers who served France, with some dying in battle. A notable Béarnais figure was Jean de Forcade, Seigneur de Biaix, who lived circa 1624–1684 and worked as a fermier des monnaies of Béarn and Navarre. A branch using the form von Forcade de Biaix became established in Prussia. Jean de Forcade de Biaix, also called Johann von Forcade de Biaix, lived from 1663 to 1729 and rose to lieutenant general in the Royal Prussian service. He was regimental chief of the 23rd Prussian Infantry Regiment, military governor of Berlin, and commander of the royal residence under King Frederick William I. Isaac von Forcade de Biaix, also known as Peter Isaak von Forcade de Biaix, served as a Prussian major general and court marshal to Prussian princes. Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix became a Prussian lieutenant general and regimental chief and received the Pour le Mérite and the Order of the Black Eagle. Ferdinand Heinrich von Forcade de Biaix served as a Royal Prussian major and received the Iron Cross Second Class. Friedrich Wilhelm Leopold Konstantin Quirin von Forcade de Biaix held court and military offices, including that of chamberlain and captain, and was decorated for his actions near Dresden in 1813. The supplied material does not document a modern company, product portfolio, commercial campaign, or current institutional successor using Forcade as a brand. The subject is therefore best treated as a historical family and noble lineage rather than a conventional brand.

• 1813

  Defense near Dresden

  [1]De Forcade familyen.wikipedia.org

  Friedrich Wilhelm Leopold Konstantin Quirin von Forcade de Biaix was recognized for actions on 26 August 1813 while defending the so-called Red House near Dresden.

• 1702

  Birth of Isaac von Forcade de Biaix

  [1]De Forcade familyen.wikipedia.org

  Isaac von Forcade de Biaix, also called Peter Isaak von Forcade de Biaix, was born and later became a Prussian major general and court marshal.

• 1698

  Birth of Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix

  [1]De Forcade familyen.wikipedia.org

  Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix was born and later served as a Prussian lieutenant general and regimental chief.

• 1663

  Birth of Jean de Forcade de Biaix

  [1]De Forcade familyen.wikipedia.org

  Jean de Forcade de Biaix, also known as Johann von Forcade de Biaix, was born and later became a senior Royal Prussian officer and military governor of Berlin.

• 1624

  Approximate birth of Jean de Forcade, Seigneur de Biaix

  [1]De Forcade familyen.wikipedia.org

  Jean de Forcade, Seigneur de Biaix, was born around this year and later served as a fermier des monnaies of Béarn and Navarre.

• Recorded donation of Castetarbe parish tithes

  [1]De Forcade familyen.wikipedia.org

  The Seigneur de Forcade, together with the Seigneurs de Baylens and de Cando, is described as giving the tithes of Castetarbe parish to Guillaume-Bertrand, Bishop of Dax.

Historical noble family and lineage associated with Béarn, Guyenne, France, and later Prussian military and court service.

1. 1De Forcade familyen.wikipedia.org