Durfort is the name of a French noble family, distinguished in French and English history.

Durfort

Durfort

-Places:Durfort is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Durfort, Ariège, in the Ariège département* Durfort, Tarn, in the Tarn département* Durfort-et-Saint-Martin-de-Sossenac, in the Gard département...

 is a village of southwestern France, formerly in the province

Provinces of France

The Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département system superseded provinces. The provinces of France were roughly equivalent to the historic counties of England...

 of Guienne, now in the département of Tarn-et-Garonne

Tarn-et-Garonne

Tarn-et-Garonne is a French department in the southwest of France. It is traversed by the Rivers Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its name.-History:...

, 18 m. NW of Montauban

Montauban

Montauban is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse....

 by road. It was at one time the seat of a feudal lordship which gave its name to this family.

Middle Ages

Though earlier lords are known, the pedigree of the family is only clearly traceable to

• Arnaud de Durfort (fl.
  Floruit
  Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
  
   1305), who acquired the fief of Duras
  Duras
  -Places:* Obsolete French spelling of the Albanian city of Durrës* Duras, Lot-et-Garonne, a commune of the Lot-et-Garonne département in France* Duras, Belgium, a constituent village of the commune of Sint-Truiden in the Belgian province of Limburg-People:...
  
  by his marriage with a niece of Pope Clement V
  Pope Clement V
  Pope Clement V, born Raymond Bertrand de Got was Pope from 1305 to his death...
  
  .
• Gaillard de Durfort, his descendant, having embraced the side of the king of England, went to London in 1453, and was made governor of Calais and a Knight of the Garter.

17th century

The greatness of the family dates, however, from the 17th century.

Guy Aldonce (1605–1665), marquis de Duras and comte de Rozan, had, by his wife Elizabeth de la Tour d'Auvergne, sister of Marshal Turenne, six sons, three of whom played a distinguished part.

• Jacques Henri
  Jacques Henri de Durfort de Duras
  Jacques Henri de Durfort, Duke of Duras was marshal of France.-Life:Jacques Henri was the oldest son of Guy Aldonce de Durfort , marquis of Duras, count of Rozan and of Lorges, maréchal de camp and of Élisabeth de La Tour d'Auvergne, sister of Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, better known as...
  
  ,the eldest son (1625–1704), was governor of Franche-Comté
  Franche-Comté
  Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
  
   in 1674 and was created a 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...
  
   for his share in the conquest of that province (1675).
• Guy Aldonce
  Guy Aldonce de Durfort de Lorges
  Guy Aldonce de Durfort, duc de Lorges, marshal of France, , was a French nobleman and soldier.Guy Aldonce was the fourth son of Guy Aldonce de Durfort , marquis of Duras, count of Rozan and of Lorges, maréchal de camp, and Élisabeth de La Tour d'Auvergne, daughter of Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne and...
  
  , the second son (1630–1702), comte de Lorges and duc de Quintin (known as the duc de Lorges), became a marshal of France in 1676, commanded the army in Germany from 1690 to 1695, and captured Heidelberg
  Heidelberg
  -Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
  
   in 1693.
• Louis
  Louis de Duras, 2nd Earl of Feversham
  Louis de Duras, 2nd Earl of Feversham KG was a French nobleman who became Earl of Feversham in Stuart England.Born in France, he was marquis de Blanquefort and sixth son of Guy Aldonce , Marquis of Duras and Count of Rozan, from the noble Durfort family...
  
  , the sixth son (1640–1709), became Earl of Feversham under James II of England
  James II of England
  James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
  
  .

18th century

• Jean Baptiste (1684–1770), duc de Duras, son of Jacques Henri, was also a marshal of France. In 1733 he resigned the dukedom of Duras to his son, Emmanuel Felicité, himself receiving the brevet
  Brevet (military)
  In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
  
   title of duc de Durfort.
• Emmanuel Felicité (1715–1789), duc de Duras, took part in all the wars of Louis XV
  Louis XV of France
  Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
  
   and was made a marshal of France in 1775.
• His grandson, Amedée Bretagne Maio (1771–1838), duc de Duras, is mainly known as the husband of Claire Louise Rose Bonne de Coetnempren de Kersaint
  Claire de Duras
  Claire, Duchess of Duras was a French writer best known for her 1823 novel called Ourika, which examines issues of racial and sexual equality, and which inspired the 1969 John Fowles novel The French Lieutenant's Woman.-Biography:Claire de Duras left her native France for London during the French...
  
   (1778–1828), daughter of Armand Guy Simon de Coetnempren Kersaint, who, as duchesse de Duras, presided over a once celebrated salon
  Salon (gathering)
  A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
  
  and wrote several novels once widely read.

Durfort-Civrac

The family of Durfort is represented in France now by the branch of Durfort-Civrac, dating from the 16th century.

• Jean Laurent (1746–1826), marquis de Civrac, married his cousin, the daughter of the duc de Lorges; his son,
• Guy Emeric Anne (1767–1837), duc de Civrac, became afterwards duc de Lorges.
• Henri, marquis de Durfort-Civrac (1812–1884), was a well-known politician, and was several times elected vice-president of the chamber of deputies.