Créquy family
Encyclopedia
Origins
Créquy is a FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
family which originated in Artois
Artois
Artois is a former province of northern France. Its territory has an area of around 4000 km² and a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras , Saint-Omer, Lens and Béthune.-Location:...
, and took its name from a small lordship of Créquy
Créquy
Créquy is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:One of many small villages in Artois, Créquy gives it name to the small stream, the Créquoise, that rises in the nearby hills and is one of the waterways of the 'Seven Valleys' tourist...
, in the present Pas-de-Calais. Considering some authors, its genealogy would go back to the 9th century, but a real lineage can only be drawn with acts and proofs from the end of the 12th century with their alliances with the Saint-Omer and Aire noble houses.
The Crequy family originated the noble houses of Blanchefort, Bonne, Ricey, Blécourt, Canaples, Bernieulles, Hesmond, Tilly, Heilly, and Royon and some bastard branches, such as Lorins, Winnezeele and Oudekerque. The Crequy lineage seems to have engendered a lot of small branches in villages of the Haut-Pays area such as Ambricourt, Coupelle-Vieille, Fruges, Reclinghem, Wandonne, Rimboval, Dennebroeucq, Douriez, Capelle-lès-Hesdin, Guigny, La Loge, Montreuil, Sempy, Verchocq.
Notable members
Raoul de Créquy took the cross and was arrested at Battle of Mount CadmusBattle of Mount Cadmus
The Battle of Mount Cadmus took place near Laodicea on January 6, 1148, during the Second Crusade. The French crusader army, led by Louis VII of France, was defeated by the Seljuks of Rum.- Background :...
. His wife Mahaut, believing her husband was dead, was going to marry the Sire of Renty
Renty
Renty is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Renty lies about 13 miles southwest of Saint-Omer, on the D129 road, by the banks of the river Aa.-Population:-Places of interest:...
whom Raoul found in his domains when he came back in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. His wife recognized him thanks to the bridal half-wedding ring which he had, where from the famous romance of the Sire of Créquy in hundred and seven quatrains He died in 1181.
Henri de Créquy was killed at the siege of Damietta
Damietta
Damietta , also known as Damiata, or Domyat, is a port and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the intersection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile, about north of Cairo.-History:...
in 1240; Jacques de Créquy, marshal of Guienne, was killed at Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
with his brothers Jean and Raoul; Jean de Créquy
Jean de Créquy
Jean de Créquy was born in 1395 into the military Créquy family, dating back to the 10th century, the son of Jean IV and Jeanne de Roye]] ....
, lord of Canaples, was in the Burgundian service, and took part in the defence of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
against Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
in 1429, received the Order of the Golden Fleece
Order of the Golden Fleece
The Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. It evolved as one of the most prestigious orders in Europe...
in 1431, and was ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
; Antoine de Créquy was one of the boldest captains of Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
, and died in consequence of an accident at the siege of Hesdin
Hesdin
Hesdin is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.-Geography:The N39, from Arras to Montreuil, used to be the main thoroughfare of the town. In the 1950s, a circular route was created to help traffic flow...
in 1523. Jean VIII, sire de Créquy, prince de Poix, seigneur de Canaples (died 1555), left three sons, the eldest of whom, Antoine de Créquy (1535-1574), inherited the family estates on the death of his brothers at St. Quentin in 1557. He was raised to the cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
ate, and his nephew,and heir, Antoine de Blanchefort, assumed the name and arms of Créquy.
Charles I de Blanchefort, son-in-law of the connetable of Lesdiguieres (last connetable of France), prince de Poix, seigneur de Créquy, de Fressin et de Canaples, marquis de Vizille et de Treffort, comte de Sault, baron de Vienne-le-Chastel et de La Tour d'Aigues, duc de Lesdiguieres (1578-1638), marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
, and peer of France, son of the last-named, saw his first fighting before Laon
Laon
Laon is the capital city of the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-History:The hilly district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance...
in 1594, and was wounded at the capture of Saint-Jean-d'Angély
Saint-Jean-d'Angély
Saint-Jean-d'Angély is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France.The commune has its historical origins in the Abbey of Saint-Jean-d'Angély.-Royal abbey:...
in 1621. In the next year he became a marshal of France. He served through the Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
ese campaign in aid of Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
in 1624 as second in command to the constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
, François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguires, whose daughter Madeleine he had married in 1595. He inherited in 1626 the estates and title of his father-in-law, who had induced him, after the death of his first wife, to marry her half-sister Françoise. He was also lieutenant-general of Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
. In 1633 he was ambassador to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and in 1636 to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. He fought in the Italian campaigns of 1630, 1635, 1636 and 1637, when he helped to defeat the Spaniards at Monte Baldo
Monte Baldo
Monte Baldo is a mountain in the Italian Alps, located in the provinces of Trentino and Verona. Its ridge spans mainly northeast-southwest, and is bounded from south by the highland ending at Caprino Veronese, from west by Lake Garda, from north by the valley joining Rovereto to Nago-Torbole and,...
. He was killed on 17 March 1638 in an attempt to raise the siege of Crema, a fortress in the Milanese
Milanese
Milanese is the central variety of the Western Lombard language spoken in the city and province of Milan....
. He had a quarrel extending over years with Philip, the bastard of Savoy, which ended in a duel fatal to Philip in 1599; and in 1620 he defended Saint-Aignan, who was his prisoner of war, against a prosecution threatened by Louis XIII
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
. Some of his letters are preserved in the Bibliothque Nationale in Paris, and his life was written by N. Chorier (Grenoble, 1683).
His eldest son, François, comte de Sault, duc de Lesdiguires (1600-1677), governor and lieutenant-general of Dauphin, took the name and arms of Bonne. His younger son, Charles II de Créquy, seigneur de Canaples, was killed at the siege of Chambry
Chambry
Chambry is the name of two communes in France:* Chambry, Aisne, in the Aisne département* Chambry, Seine-et-Marne, in the Seine-et-Marne département...
in 1630, leaving three sons-Charles III, sieur de Blanchefort, prince de Poix, duc de Créquy (1623?-1687); Alphonse de Créquy, comte de Canaples (d. 1711), who became on the extinction of the elder branch of the family in 1702 duc de Lesdiguires, and eventually succeeded also to his younger brother's honors; and François, chevalier de Créquy and marquis de Marines, marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
(1625-1687).
The last-named was born in 1625, and as a boy took part in the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, distinguishing himself so greatly that at the age of twenty-six he was made a maréchal de camp, and a lieutenant-general before he was thirty. He was regarded as the most brilliant of the younger officers, and won the favor of Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
by his fidelity to the court during the second Fronde
Fronde
The Fronde was a civil war in France, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The word fronde means sling, which Parisian mobs used to smash the windows of supporters of Cardinal Mazarin....
. In 1667 he served on the Rhine, and in 1668 he commanded the covering army during Louis XIV's siege of Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
, after the surrender of which the king rewarded him with the marshalate. In 1670 he overran the Duchy of Lorraine. Shortly after this Turenne, his old commander, was made marshal-general, and all the marshals were placed under his orders. Many resented this, and Créquy, in particular, whose career of uninterrupted success had made him over-confident, went into exile rather than serve under Turenne. After the death of Turenne and the retirement of Condé, he became the most important general officer in the army, hut his overconfidence was punished by the severe defeat of Conzer Bruck (1675) and the surrender of Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
and his own captivity which followed. But in the later campaigns of the Franco-Dutch war
Franco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, often called simply the Dutch War was a war fought by France, Sweden, the Bishopric of Münster, the Archbishopric of Cologne and England against the United Netherlands, which were later joined by the Austrian Habsburg lands, Brandenburg and Spain to form a quadruple alliance...
he showed himself again a cool, daring and successful commander, and, carrying on the tradition of Turenne and Condé, he was in his turn the pattern of the younger generals of the stamp of Luxembourg
François Henri de Montmorency-Bouteville, duc de Luxembourg
François Henri de Montmorency-Bouteville, duc de Piney, called de Luxembourg was a French general, marshal of France, famous as the comrade and successor of the great Condé.-Early years:...
and Villars. He died in Paris on 3 February 1687.
Alphonse de Créquy had not the talent of his brothers, and lost his various appointments in France. He went to London in 1672, where he became closely allied with Saint Evremond, and was one of the intimates of King Charles II of England
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
.
Charles III de Créquy served in the campaigns of 1642 and 1645 in the Thirty Years' War, and in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
in 1649. In 1646, after the siege of Orbitello, he was made lieutenant-general by Louis. By faithful service during the king's minority he had won the gratitude of Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth...
and of Mazarin, and in 1652 he became duc de Créquy and a peer of France. The latter half of his life was spent at court, where he held the office of first gentleman of the royal chamber, which had been bought for him by his grandfather. In 1659 he was sent to Spain with gifts for the infanta Maria Theresa of Spain
Maria Theresa of Spain
Maria Theresa of Austria was the daughter of Philip IV, King of Spain and Elizabeth of France. Maria Theresa was Queen of France as wife of King Louis XIV and mother of the Grand Dauphin, an ancestor of the last four Bourbon kings of France.-Early life:Born as Infanta María Teresa of Spain at the...
, and on a similar errand to Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
in 1680 before the marriage of the dauphin. He was ambassador to Rome from 1662 to 1665, and to England in 1677; and became governor of Paris in 1675. He died in Paris on 13 February 1687. His only daughter, Madeleine, married Charles de la Trémoille (1655-1709).
The marshal Francois de Créquy had two sons, whose brilliant military abilities bade fair to rival his own. The elder, François Joseph, marquis de Créquy (1662-1702), already held the grade of lieutenant-general when he was killed at Luzzara
Battle of Luzzara
The Battle of Luzzara was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession, which was fought on 15 August 1702 near Luzzara, Italy.-Prelude:In the summer of 1702, after taking Guastalla, the French under Louis Joseph, duc de Vendôme turned north, with the intention to besiege Borgoforte...
on 13 August 1702; and Nicolas Charles, sire de Créquy, was killed before Tournai
Tournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
in 1696 at the age of twenty-seven.
A younger branch of the Créquy family, that of Hesmont, was represented by Louis Marie, marquis de Créquy (1705-1741), author of the Principes philosophiques des saints solitaires d'Egypte (1779), and husband of the marquise separately noticed below, and the branch became extinct with the death in 1801 of his son, Charles Marie, who had some military reputation.
Renée Caroline de Roullay, marquise de Créquy (1714-1803),was born on 19 October 1714, at the château of Monfleaux (Mayenne
Mayenne
Mayenne is a department in northwest France named after the Mayenne River.-History:Mayenne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. The northern two thirds correspond to the western part of the former province of Maine...
), the daughter of Lieutenant-General Charles François de Froullay. She was educated by her maternal grandmother, and married in 1737 Louis Marie, marquis de Créquy (see above), who died four years after the marriage. Madame de Créquy devoted herself to the care of her only son, who rewarded her with an ingratitude which was the chief sorrow of her life. In 1755 she began to receive in Paris, among her intimates being D'Alembert
Jean le Rond d'Alembert
Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. He was also co-editor with Denis Diderot of the Encyclopédie...
and J. J. Rousseau. She had none of the frivolity generally associated with the women of her time and class, and presently became extremely religious with inclinations to Jansenism
Jansenism
Jansenism was a Christian theological movement, primarily in France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. The movement originated from the posthumously published work of the Dutch theologian Cornelius Otto Jansen, who died in 1638...
. D'Alembert's visits ceased when she adopted religion, and she was nearly seventy when she formed the great friendship of her life with Sénac de Meilhan, whom she met in 1781, and with whom she carried on a correspondence (edited by Édouard Fournier, with a preface by Sainte-Beuve in 1856). She commented on and criticized Meilhan's works and helped his reputation. She was arrested in 1793 and imprisoned in the convent of Les Oiseaux until the fall of Robespierre (July 1794). The well-known Souvenirs de la marquise de Créquy (1710-1803) (a reliable description of the French royal court under Louis XV), printed in 7 volumes, 1834-1835, and purporting to be addressed to her grandson, Tancrède de Créquy, was the production of a Breton
Breton people
The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...
adventurer, Cousin de Courchamps. The first two volumes appeared in English in 1834 and were severely criticized in the Quarterly Review.
Auguste-Ferdinand de Beaucorps de Créquy (1789-1875) was allowed by king Louis XVIII (1815) to add his grandmother's maiden name to his and became the first count de Beaucorps-Créquy. Geoffroy de Beaucorps-Créquy (1908-1986) was the last count de Beaucorps-Créquy. He had a daughter born in 1941 who still lives in France. It seems the last male branch of this family is the one existing in the USA. This American family is named "de Beaucorps-Crequy" following their ancestor Geoffroy de Beaucorps-Créquy (their father, grandfather or great-grandfather). But this does not follow French Nobility rules as they are not in his descent through lawful marriage. They have a right to the name, family crest and motto and other things but they have no right to be considered proper French nobles (more details in French: Wikipedia Famille de Créquy).
Other references
See- the notice prefixed by Sainte-Beuve to the Lettres
- P. L. Jacob, Enigmes et découvertes bibliographiques (Paris, 1866)
- Quérard, Superchéries littéraires, under Créquy;
For a detailed genealogy of the family and its alliances see Louis Moréri
Louis Moréri
Louis Moréri was a French encyclopaedist.His encyclopaedia, Le grand Dictionaire historique, ou le mélange curieux de l'histoire sacrée et profane was first published in Lyon in 1674. The encyclopaedia focused particularly on historical and biographical articles...
, Dictionnaire historique: Annuaire de la noblesse française (1856 and 1867). There is much information about the Créquys in the Mémoires of Saint-Simon
Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon
Louis de Rouvroy commonly known as Saint-Simon was a French soldier, diplomatist and writer of memoirs, was born in Paris...
; L'Ombre de la marquise de Créquy aux lecteurs des souvenirs (1836) exposes the forgery of the Mémoires.