Paul Francois - Vincent de Fleury
In the book LES DESSOUS D'UNE AMBITION POLITIQUE ( MATHIEU PAOLI), in the original 1973 publication it states on page 37 (in relation to Paul Francois - Vincent de Fleury):
'the nobility dictionary indicates that the family of the Fleury is a Languedocian familly, with obscure precise origins. In the Spainish archives, it is mentioned that a Fleury, was a commander of the Order of the Temple at Carcassonne, at the beginning of the 14th century'
The other information given was the 'arms' of this family. This was: d'or a trois roses de gueules, posees deux et un.
A search on the internet turned up this family with these arms: 'D’azur à trois roses d’or posées'.
This is said to be of a Fleury family which is listed in the 'L’Armorial de Languedoc '(i wonder if this is Paoli's Dictionary of Nobility reference?).
And top of the list is:
FLEURY DE BLANCHEFORT
Information given is as follows:
Pierre de Fleury, Sgr de Dio, au diocèse de Béziers, vivant en 1620, ép. Lucrèce de Rosset, dont il eut :
1. Jean qui suit ;
2. Pierre-Moïse, chev., baron de Pérignan. Jean de Fleury, écuyer, Sgr de Dio, Valquières, Vernazobres, conseiller d’État 1661, ép. Diane de la Treilhe, dont il eu :
1. André-Hercule, chanoine de Montpellier, évêque de Fréjus 1699, aumônier de Louis XIV et prérepteur de Louis XV 1715, archevêque de Paris, ministre d’État 1726, cardinal 1726, membre de l’Acadé-; 111ie française 1717 ;
2. Gabriel, baron de Pérignan ;
3. Henri, Sgr de Dio, Valquières, Vernazobres, Prades, qui testa le 5 1Hai 1713 et mourut sans enfants;;
4. Diane-Marie, supérieure des Ursulines de Lodève, morte au mois de janv.1732 ;
5. Marie, alliée le 24 janv. 1680 avec Bernardin de Rosset, Sgr de Bocozel et de Ceilhes. Jean-Hercule de Rosset, Marquis de Rocozel, qui naquit de cette union, fut élevé par lett. pat. de Louis XV en forme d’édit, mars 1736, à la dignité de duc et pair de France, sous 1a dénomination de duc de Fleury.
The Rosset de Fleury family is listed too.
D’azur à la fasce d’or accompagnée en chef d’une hermine accostée de trois croissants d’argent mal ordonnés, et d’un château d’argent ajouré et maçonné de sable en pointe.
La maison de Fleury est originaire de Savoie. Elle vint s’établir en France vers le milieu du XIIe siècle et fût maintenue dans sa noblesse, « déclarée noble et issue de noble race et lignée, » par arrêt de la cour des ajdes de Montpellier, le 24 novembre 1751. (Archiv. de la cour imp. de Montpellier) Sa filiation authentique a été établie par l’arrêt précité depuis.
Jean-Baptiste de Fleury, capitaine aux gardes du duc de Savoie, ép. N... d’Alphonse, dont il eut :
Jean de Fleury, colonel dans les troupes du duc de Savoie, chevalier du grand Ordre de Savoie, ép. le 6 mai 1593 Marguerite de Guicheneau, dont il eut:
III. Luc de Fleury, capitaine dans les troupes de S.A. le prince de Piémont, passa en la même qualité au service de la France, ép. le 13 sept. 1644 à Saint-Donat, en Dauphiné, Philippine de Belle, dont il eut:
1. Françoise ;
2. Henriette ;
3.Jean-Baptiste de Fleury, capitaine au régimentt de la Reine 1689, ép. le 8 janv. 1697 Marguerite de Rosset, dont il eut;
V. Paul-François de Fleury, co-Sgr de Caux, D. de Béziers, maintenu en cette qualité par la cour des aides de Montpellier du 24 novembre 1751, avait ép. le 26 juin 1731 Christine de Bedos de Celles, dont il eut:
1.Marie-Christine ; 2 Marie ; 3. Jeanne-Gabrielle ; 4. Paule-Henriette ; 5. Paul-François-Vincent qui suit; 6. Charles-Joseph.
VI. Paul-François-Vincent de Fleury, co-Sgr de Caux, Sgr de Rennes-les-Bains, Montferrand, Bézis, marquis de Blanchefort au diocèse d’Aleth, lieut. au régt de la Couronne, assista au siége de Maestricht, ép. le 13 sept. 1767 Marie-Anne-Gabrielle-Élisabeth d’Hautpoul, fille de François d’Hautpoul, baron de Rennes-les-Bains, Sgr de Montferrand, Bézis, marquis de Blanchefort, décédé sans postérité mâle. Il eut de son mariage:
1. Christine-Fortunée-Victoire-Élisabeth; 2. Paul-Luc-Melchior qui suit; 3.Jean-Baptiste-Vincent-Éléonor, mort en Espagne ; 4. Henri-Prosper-Guillaume, garde du corps du roi d’Espagne, chev. de Saint-Louis; 5. Justine-Victoire; 6. Paul-Urbain, qui a fait la Br. B.
VII. Paul-Luc-Melchior de Fleury, marquis de Blanchefort, chev. de Saint-Louis 1815, chef de bataillon, ép. à la Martinique en 1809 Suzanne-Claire-Rose d’Astorg, dont il eut:
VIII. Paul-François-Élie-Arnans-Prosper de Fleury, marquis de Fleury Blanchefort, officier de cavalerie, membre du comité consultatif des colonies, préfet de la Lozère, chev. de la Lég. d’honn., commandeur de Saint-Grégoire le Grand, ép. le 1er avril 1845 Claire-Hélène d’Hautpoul Félines;
dont: 1. Marie-Alexandrine-Sophie-Rose, née lé 11 janv. 1846 ; 2. Marguerite-Claire, née le 10 octobre 1841; 3. Prospérie-Gabrielle, née le 25 juin 1849; 4. Marie-Dominique-Olivier, né le 15 mars 1851;
Paul-Urbain de Fleury, ép. le 21 avril 1818 Henriette de Girous des -Ondes, dont il eut:
1. Henri-Paul-Elie qui suit; 2. Alexandrine-Guilhelmine; 3. Juliette; 4. Élie-Félix-Casimir; 5. Zoé-Gabrielle-Prospérie.
VIII. Henri Paul-Elie de Fleury, ép. le 1er déc. 1857 Anne-Henriette de Castillon de Saint-Victor.
As a commentator (Timothy Carmain) wrote;
“So the Fleurys of Blanchefort originated in Savoy, and from the looks of it were still in service to the Princes of Savoy until the mid-1600s. Look at the name of Paul-François-Vincent's grandmother -Marguerite de Rosset. A quick check of my big fat database reveals her to be the daughter of Bernardin de Rosset and Marie de Fleury, the sister of Cardinal Fleury. Ergo - although the two Fleury families have different origins, there was a union between them by marriage. Paul-François-Vincent was thus indeed the great-grandnephew of Cardinal Fleury - not via his Grandfather Fleury, but rather through his Grandmother Rosset! Very interesting!” (http://andrewgough.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3024&
In regards to Paul-François de Fleury,and Christine de Bedos de Celles;
The Coume Sourde stone has a strange history. De Sede for example said that "...it was [the Marquis de Fleury] who, before his departure caused another stone to be carved, which was discovered only by chance much later. It had been buried under an ilex oak tree. It was lost again, to be rediscovered in 1928. This time it had been hidden in a hollow rock on the mountain side of Coumesourde, near Rennes-les-Bains. This is also a strange tombstone"
Intriguing is it not that this Coumesourde stone should be called 'a strange tombstone'?
The diagram that De Sede provides in his book is alleged to come from the work of Ernest Cros. Bizarrely this stone associated with the Marquis de Fleury in a convoluted twist of fate may also be related to the lettering found on the reverse side of the Coume Sourde stone illustrated and published by De Sede in his 'Gold of Rennes'. The lettering here is CEIL BEIL.
Ceil is the ancient name for the town of Auriac in the Aude. Ceil (Ceilho) is the castle of Auriac not far from the town of Carcassonne, on the River of St. Jean. Antique ways of spelling the name were Sellanum (1101), Scelanum (1226), Ceillan (1318), Selie and Ceillio being more modern forms. Le prieuré of Saint Jean de Ceille (Ceilhes) is mentioned in Besse’s History of the Counts of Carcassonne.
There is, however, perhaps another Ceil[hes] which is more directly associated with the Fleury family, which in fact links back the Marquis de Fleury who de Sede has already said carved this Coume Sourde stone.
Ceilhes-and-Rocozels is a French commune located in the department of Hérault. The main chateau of Bouloc in the village was the refuge of the lords of Rocozels, who by marriage became associated with the family of the Lords of Rennes. These Lords of Rocozels, i.e. the Rosset de Rocozels were a family of noble origin from the Languedoc. They were an old feudal family evidenced in the area as early as 1025. In the Middle Ages, the family engendered two bishops: William IV of Rocozels (Bishop of Béziers from 1198 to 1205) and Raymond III of Rocozels (Bishop of Lodève 1262 and 1280). In the sixteenth century as a result of a marriage alliance with the Rosset's, a family originally from Rouergue (lords and barons Monpaon, Diocese of Vabre ), they became the descendants of Rocozels. In the 17th century the family obtained the small lordships of Rocozels of Bouloc and Ceilhes [CEIL on the Coume Source stone?] where they took up residence at the chateau Bouloc, abandoning the old castle of Rocozels. In 1680 Bernardin de Rosset of Rocozels married Marie de Fleury, sister of the famous CardinalFleury.
It is Paul-François-Vincent de Fleury who has two graves in the cemetery at Rennes-les-Bains and this Paul-François-Vincent de Fleury who de Sede alleges created the Coume Sourde stone.
Cherisey wrote elsewhere that:
"The BEAUSOLEIL couple managed to persuade Louis XIV that there was a gold depot dépôt in ROCKO-NEGRO near Rennes-les-Bains, where stood the ruins of the famous Blanchefort castle belonging to Blaise I d’HAUPOUL. Nothing should have allowed the Royal power to dig up someone else's property. By chance, however, Blaise d’Haupoul had asked to reclaim the title of marquis de Blanchefort. Everything was set to proceed quickly on one side and very slowly on the other. In 1644, owing to Colbert's efforts, a team of German or Scandinavian miners landed at Rocko-Negro and started digging long tunnels which are still visible today. These workers spoke a language unknown to the occitans and lived in camps on the spot: discretion was thus assured.
Meanwhile, Blaise d’Haupoul is informed that all is well regarding the marquisat of Blanchefort, but that he is discretely dispossessed of Rocko-Negro where stands the BLANCHEFORT castle. On January 4th 1669, the Haupouls are made Marquis de Blanchefort. The trick had been to baptise "château de Blanchefort" - a mere pillbox measuring 2 by 3m. at the top of a rock bearing the name Coume les Bains. The gold mining failed in 1667 and the miners decamped. In 1698, Abbé André-Hercule de Fleury, aged 46 and aumônier to the Queen, is offered Rocko-Negro with its mines and, as a bonus, the Bishopric of Fréjus. He will also become tutor to the future Louis XV and will thereafter be appointed Cardinal. His Eminence dies in 1743 and bequeathes all his estate to his sister Marie, wife of Bernardin de ROSSET, who receives the title of Duc de Fleury, as well as the land of Rocko-Negro.
There is thus still hope of reopening the antique gold mines. Through a deed signed in Limoux on June 1st 1750, André-Hercule de Rosset, duc de Fleury, Pair of France, lieutenant-general in the King's army, governor of the city and citadel of STENAY, lieutenant-general of Lorraine and Barrois, seneschal of Limoux and Carcassonne, passed on to Jean XVIII des PLANTARD this famous Rocko-Negro. This famous Jean Plantard, it must be said, had married his niece, Madeleine de Rosset. At the Révolution, through a deed signed in Limoux on February 6th 1792, the Plantards sell to the FLAMANDs the right to exploit the lands of ROC-NEGRE. Through another deed signed in Limoux on January 26th 1967, Pierre PLANTARD, buys back his property. In 1767, Gabrielle de Haupoul-Blanchefort marries Marquis Paul-Vincent de Fleury - just a homonym of Fleury, the Duke - who, through his wife, will come into possession of Bains de Rennes and Montferrand. So, the names of Stenay and Rennes are once more joined together through the Duke of FLEURY."
First posted Rhedesium 2017.