House of Maillé

Contents

The House of Maillé is a surviving French noble family of knightly origin, originating from Touraine and later established in Anjou and Maine. The family has produced notable figures, including a Marshal of France, a Grand Master of Navigation,[1] an Archbishop of Tours, a Bishop of Rennes, and the beatified Jeanne-Marie de Maillé.[2]

Origin

The Maillé family's documented lineage dates back to 1069 with Gilduin de Maillé.[3] The family derives its name from the lordship of Maillé in Indre-et-Loire, which passed through marriage around 1501 to Gilles de Laval and was later renamed Luynes when it was elevated to a duchy-peerage in 1619 for Charles d'Albert de Luynes, who purchased it that year.[4]

Senior branch

According to the genealogy provided by Anselme de Sainte-Marie in Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la Maison Royale de France[5] and reiterated by Henri Jougla de Morenas in 1939,[3] the documented lineage begins with:

  • Gilduin, Lord of Maillé (d. 1069), married Agnès de Vendôme, producing:

Brézé and Bénéhard branch

Payen I de Maillé (1289–c. 1347), Seneschal of Périgord (recorded 1339, 1341),[6] younger brother of Hardouin VI, married Jeanne de Lestang, Lady of Brézé, in 1318. Their descendants include:

  • Payen II de Maillé-Brézé (1318/1319–1396/1397), married Jeanne Bouchard d'Aubeterre.[7]
  • Payen III de Maillé (1379–1420/1428), married his cousin Marie de Maillé, daughter of Hardouin VII.[7]
  • Jeanne de Maillé, married Thibault de Laval-Loué.[7]
  • Gilles de Maillé, married Anne Aménard in 1440, producing: Hardouin XII de Maillé (d. 1508), married Ambroise de Melun.[7]; Guy de Maillé (d. 1551), followed by:; Artus de Maillé, followed by:; Claude de Maillé (1550–1587), followed by:; Charles de Maillé (1570–1615), father of: Urbain de Maillé-Brézé (1598–1650), Marshal of France.[7]; Jean Armand de Maillé (1619–1646), Marquis of Brézé, Duke of Fronsac.[7]; Claire-Clémence de Maillé (1628–1694), married Louis II de Bourbon-Condé.[7]
  • Hardouin XI de Maillé, married Anne de Villiers, Lady of Bénéhard, producing: Jacques I de Maillé, married Jeanne Berruyer.[7]; Jacques II de Maillé, Lord of Bénéhard, married Marie de Villebresme.[7]; Jacques III de Maillé, Marquis of Bénéhard, married Renée de Pincé in 1573.[7]; René I de Maillé-Bénéhard, Captain of the Maine Hunts, married Dorothée Clausse in 1621.[7]; René II de Maillé-Bénéhard, married twice: Gabrielle Guillebert in 1655 and Jacqueline de Billes.[7]; René-François de Maillé-Bénéhard, married Anne-Madeleine de La Luzerne in 1720.[7]; Philippe-François de Maillé (1722–1745), Marquis of Maillé in 1737, died unmarried.[7]; René-César-Francis de Maillé (1726–1750), Marquis of Bénéhard and Maillé, officer in the King's Infantry Regiment, died unmarried.[7]

La Forest branch

The Breton branch of the Maillé family, based at the Château de Maillé in Plounévez-Lochrist (Finistère), was granted the title of Count of Maillé in 1626.[7]

La Tour-Landry branch

Hardouin X de Maillé (1462–1524), Lord of Benais, married Françoise de La Tour-Landry on 30 July 1494, inheriting her family's name and the lordship of La Tour-Landry.[8] Sébastien de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (b. 1972), Marquis of Maillé, is the current head of the family.[2]

Notable members

  • Jeanne-Marie de Maillé (1331–1414), French nun beatified by the Catholic Church, celebrated on 28 March.[7]

Brézé branch

  • Urbain de Maillé, 2nd Marquis of Brézé (1597–1650), Marshal of France (1632). Captured Heidelberg and Speyer (1635) and, with the Duke of La Meilleraye, retook Bapaume from the Spanish (1641). Appointed Viceroy of Catalonia (1641), he failed to capture Collioure or Perpignan and resigned in 1642. Retired from military service in 1645. Married Nicole du Plessis-Richelieu, making him the brother-in-law of Cardinal Richelieu.[7]
  • Jean Armand de Maillé, Marquis of Brézé, Duke of Fronsac (1619–1646), son of Urbain. Named colonel at 15, general of the galleys at 20, and Grand Master of Navigation at 24. Participated in eight naval campaigns, securing French dominance in the western Mediterranean under Louis XIII. Died at the Battle of Orbetello at age 27.[7] His name honored his uncle and godfather, Cardinal Richelieu.[9]
  • Claire-Clémence de Maillé (1628–1694), sister of Jean Armand, married Louis II de Bourbon-Condé. Born at Brézé, died in 1694.[7]

La Tour-Landry branch

  • Jean-Baptiste-Marie de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1743–1804), successively Bishop of Gap, Saint-Papoul, and Rennes.[7]
  • Charles de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1770–1837), general and politician.[7]
  • Claire de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1796–1861), married the Duke of Castries; a noted mistress of Honoré de Balzac.[10]
  • Armand-Urbain de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1816–1903), politician.[7]
  • Louis Armand Joseph de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1860–1907), 4th Duke of Plaisance (1872), descended from Charles-François Lebrun, 1st Duke of Plaisance.[7]
  • Gilles de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1893–1972), cavalry officer, colonel, and administrator of the SCTT.[7]

Dukes of Maillé

The Duchy of Maillé, a peerage of France, was created in 1784 for Charles René de Maillé de La Tour-Landry, from the junior La Tour-Landry branch. The title remains extant.[7]

  1. 1784–1791: Charles René de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1732–1791), 1st Duke of Maillé;
  2. 1791–1837: Charles François Armand de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1770–1837), 2nd Duke of Maillé;
  3. 1837–1874: Jacquelin Armand Charles de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1815–1874), 3rd Duke of Maillé;
  4. 1874–1926: Artus Hippolyte Jean de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1858–1926), 4th Duke of Maillé;
  5. 1926–1972: Gilles de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1893–1972), 5th Duke of Maillé;
  6. 1972–1996: Stanislas de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1946–1996), 6th Duke of Maillé;
  7. Since 1996: Geoffroy de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (b. 1972), 7th Duke of Maillé;

Dukes of Plaisance

  1. 1872–1907: Louis Armand Joseph de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1860–1907), 4th Duke of Plaisance (a Napoleonic title created in 1808), via his mother's descent from Charles-François Lebrun, 1st Duke of Plaisance.[7]
  2. 1907–1913: Armand Louis Joseph François de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1892–1913), 5th Duke of Plaisance, son of the previous, died without issue.[7]
  3. 1913–1926: François Charles Edmond Marie de Maillé de La Tour-Landry (1862–1926), 6th Duke of Plaisance, uncle of the previous.[7]

Titles

The Maillé family held the following titles:

  • Marquis of Brézé (extinct);[5]
  • Duke by brevet of Fronsac (1643, personal, for Jean Armand de Maillé, extinct);[5]
  • Count of Maillé (1626, extant, Anjou branch);[5]
  • Duke of Plaisance (1872, for Louis Armand Joseph de Maillé de La Tour-Landry, extinct);[5]
  • Duke of Maillé (duke and peer, 1784, extant, La Tour-Landry branch);[5]

Legacy

The Maillé name appears in several French locales:

  • Chemillé-en-Anjou: Rue de Maillé;[7]
  • Créteil: École and Collège de Maillé;[7]
  • Montlhéry: Rue de Maillé;[7]
  • Tours: Rue de Maillé;[7]

Arms

  • D'or à trois fasces nébulées de gueules;[11][12]
  • Motto: Stetit Unda Fluens (Reste au-dessus des flots);

Upon the marriage of Françoise de La Tour-Landry to Hardouin de Maillé on 30 July 1494, Hardouin agreed to adopt the La Tour-Landry arms (d'or à une fasce de gueules crénelée de 3 pièces et maçonnée de sable). The king later relieved him of this obligation, but his descendants have since been styled de Maillé de La Tour-Landry.[7]

ArmsDescription
Arms of the Maillé family: D'or à trois fasces nébulées de gueules[11][12]
Arms of Urbain de Maillé, Marquis of Brézé, Marshal of France (1597–1650)
Arms of the La Tour-Landry family: D'or à une fasce de gueules crénelée de 3 pièces et maçonnée de sable. Extinct in the Maillé family via marriage in 1494.[7]
Arms of Claire-Clémence de Maillé, Princess of Condé
Arms of Jean-Baptiste-Marie de Maillé de La Tour-Landry, Bishop of Gap, Saint-Papoul, and Rennes
Arms of the Maillé de La Tour-Landry, Dukes of Plaisance: Quartered, 1st and 4th Maillé, 2nd and 3rd Lebrun de Plaisance.[7]

References

  1. 1.Equivalent to the title of Grand Admiral of France.
  2. 2.[2.2]Valette, Régis (2007). Catalogue de la noblesse française au XXIe siècle [Catalog of French nobility in the 21st century] (in French). Paris: Robert Laffont. p. 132. ISBN 978-2-221-10875-8.
  3. 3.[3.2]Morenas (1939, p. 504)
  4. 4.Société archéologique de Touraine (1883). Mémoires de la Société archéologique de Touraine [Memoirs of the Archaeological Society of Touraine] (in French). Vol. 31. p. 376. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  5. 5.[5.2][5.3][5.4][5.5][5.6]Sainte-Marie (1733, p. 498)
  6. 6.Port, Célestin (1965). Dictionnaire historique, géographique et biographique de Maine-et-Loire [Historical, Geographical, and Biographical Dictionary of Maine-et-Loire] (in French). p. 518. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  7. 7.[7.2][7.3][7.4][7.5][7.6][7.7][7.8][7.9][7.10][7.11][7.12][7.13][7.14][7.15][7.16][7.17][7.18][7.19][7.20][7.21][7.22][7.23][7.24][7.25][7.26][7.27][7.28][7.29][7.30][7.31][7.32][7.33][7.34][7.35][7.36]Ledru, Denis & Vallée (1905, p. 498)
  8. 8.Le Page, M. (1777). Dictionnaire topographique, historique, généalogique et bibliographique de la province et du diocèse du Maine [Topographical, Historical, Genealogical, and Bibliographical Dictionary of the Province and Diocese of Maine] (in French). Vol. 1. pp. 249–250.
  9. 9.Sometimes recorded as Armand-Jean.
  10. 10.Meininger, Anne-Marie; Citron, Pierre (1991). La Comédie humaine [The Human Comedy] (in French). Vol. 12. Paris: Bibliothèque de la Pléiade. p. 1647. ISBN 978-2-07-010877-0.
  11. 11.[11.2]Popoff, Michel (1996). Armorial de l'Ordre du Saint-Esprit [Armorial of the Order of the Holy Spirit] (in French). Paris: Le Léopard d'or. p. 204. ISBN 978-2-86377-140-2.
  12. 12.[12.2]Rietstap, Johannes Baptist (1861). Armorial général [General Armorial] (in French). G.B. van Goor. p. 1171. Retrieved May 6, 2025.