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Jean de Laforcade, Seigneur de La Fitte

Jean de Laforcade, Seigneur de La Fitte, aka Jean Laforcade, Seigneur de Lafitte, aka Jean Lafourcade, aka Jean II. de Forcade (before 1525 in Béarn – about December 1589 in Béarn, presumably in Pau), was a Protestant nobleman and a descendant of the noble family of Forcade of Béarn in Navarre.

He, like his ancestors and his descendants, was a member of court of the Albret family, the rulers of Lower Navarre. A soldier in early life, then a financial officer by occupation later, he was General Treasurer of the King and Queen of Navarre in their County of Armagnac (Trésorier général pour les roi et reine de Navarre en leur comté d'Armagnac), General Treasurer of Navarre (Trésorier général de Navarre), to Antoine of Navarre on his Conseil ordinaire, to Henry III of Navarre on his Conseil privé, President of Finance (Président aux Comptes), President of the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre in Pau then First President of the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre in Pau. Although he is referred to as a lawyer in at least one source, this is questionable due to his apparent illiteracy.

Jean de Laforcade, Seigneur de La Fitte notarized his testament at Ouzannet, Notary and Secretary of the commune of Laplume on 7 September 1571. Why this testament was made in September 1571, many years before his actual death about December 1589 is a matter of speculation, but one plausible explanation is the unrest and fighting in Auvillar in 1571-72, where he had been Captain of the Château d'Auvillar, perhaps also the Governor of the Château d'Auvillar, appointed by letters patent from Jeanne d'Albret, Queen regnant of Navarre. A brief look at the history of Auvillar highlights the unrest and fighting in this period.

Shortly before 8 January 1590, the sieur de Laforcade died during his term in office as First President of the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre (Premier président en la Chambre).

Brief History of Auvillar

Jean de Laforcade, Seigneur de La Fitte spent much of the period of 1555-72, and perhaps longer, in Auvillar, in various roles in the treasury and as Governor of the Château d'Auvillar, a territory of the Albret family since 1527. As such, he was a central figure in the strife between Protestant and Catholics in the territory.

Marguerite of Angoulême, aka Marguerite d'Orléans, married 9 October 1509 with Charles IV, Duke of Alençon, Count of Armagnac and, in June 1515, . He died in 1525 without descendance and she remarried with Henry d'Albret, King of Navarre in 1527 who therewith also became . He was succeeded by his daughter, Jeanne d'Albret in 1555 through her marriage to Antoine de Bourbon. The Protestants retained possession of Auvillar until June 1571, when the city was retaken by royalist troops. No sooner was Auvillar retaken by royalist troops, than the inhabitants of Auvillar, completely demolished the Viscountal castle to avenge the excesses and abuses of the Huguenots and to retaliate against Henry III of Navarre, their leader. Jeanne d'Albret was succeeded in 1572 as by her son, Henry III of Navarre, who Henry of Navarre retook Auvillar, where he stayed from 13 to 15 November 1574, but he decided against rebuilding the castle. In 1589 he became Henry IV, King of France.

Life and Occupation

Chambre des Comptes in Pau

The Chambre des Comptes of Navarre, and more specifically the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre in Pau, is the center of the career of Jean de Laforcade, Seigneur de La Fitte as well as for the next five generations of his direct descendants.

The Chambre des Comptes of Navarre was created by Henry II of Navarre on 4 January 1527, and was reconfirmed and authorized by his successor, Antoine of Navarre, on 11 September 1560, who made at the same time a number of laws to set out the powers of the officers, not only for the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre in Pau, but also for those of Nérac and Vendôme. Among these laws were those that determined the number of officers that each one had to have, namely one President, five Counselors/Auditors, a Registrar, a Huissier and a Patrimonial Prosecutor (a "Procureur Patrimonial"); the jurisdiction and knowledge were set forth for all matters concerning the types of income and expense accounting, and the circumstances and dependencies, all the same, and with the same authority and justice that had belonged to the King himself. By 28 October 1563, the number of huissiers had been increased to two. On 30 September 1569, the Queen Regnant Jeanne published new laws about religion with two main principles: the first being to suspend all officers who were not Huguenot and prohibit the Lieutenant General from enlisting Catholics, and the second being to seize the property and assets, ecclesiastical or layperson, of those who disobeyed her and to sell them on public auction. This latter is, in essence, the beginning of war in Béarn. The number of counselors/auditors was increased to six with the addition of a position of Supernumerary on 28 October 1563, but he was only installed in this office on 3 January 1568.

The Conseil Souverain of Navarre, on which Jean de Laforcade, Seigneur de La Fitte later served as a Counsellor, was created by Henry II of Navarre at the Château de Pau eight years before the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre, on 13 June 1519.

Whereas Protestant church records are very sparse and contain large time gaps, a variety of other sources are available. The most important sources, because of the family's position on the court of the Albret family and his responsibilities later in life, are the registers of the Conseil Souverain of Navarre and the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre in Pau. They shed some light on the life and career of Jean Laforcade, Seigneur de La Fitte, with specific dates and facts.

Historical Events in Chronological Order

  • 29 April 1554, Jean de Forcade is qualified as Noble and as a Squire in his marriage contract with Odette de Rey notarized at Ouzannet, the notary and secretary of the commune of Laplume.
  • 1556-57, Maître Jean Lafourcade was appointed General Treasurer of the King and Queen of Navarre in their County of Armagnac (Trésorier général pour les roi et reine de Navarre en leur comté d'Armagnac).
  • Between 1555 and 1566, a variety of financial records cite Jean de Lafourcade as Treasurer, in matters concerning the domaines of and Armagnac, including repairs to the Château d'Auvillar.
  • Johan de Forcade is named among many others in a notarized contract of governing the exchange between the House of Lescurre, in Pau, and the Seigneurie of Navailles and d'Angais, made between Arnaud de Colom and Monsignor de Laborde, Secretary and to Jeanne d'Albret on 10 November 1565. The contract was made by the Notary Fortaner de Lavie in Nay.
  • Jean de Forcade was named Governor of the Château d'Auvillar in Armagnac by letters patent from Jeanne d'Albret, Queen regnant of Navarre.
  • 7 September 1571, Jean de Forcade is qualified as Noble and as a Squire in his testament at Ouzannet, the notary and secretary of the commune of Laplume.
  • About 1572, act of sale of the Seigneurie de Lafitte in Pau, by Jean de Sabonnières, Seigneur de Juillac, Viguier from Isle-Jourdain, to Jean de Laforcade, Captain of Auvillar.
  • 1573, act of sale of the Seigneurie de Lafitte in Pau, by Jean de Laforcade, to Jean de Montgaurin, of Béarn, passed at the Coadjutors Pascal de Bonnevigne et Joanolet de Lanos in Monein.
  • 1576, payment of wages to de Lafourcade, member of the Conseil privé du roi de Navarre.
  • 1580, Jean de Lafourcade, sieur de Lafite, Treasurer, is named in the notarial minutes related to the sales of the forests of Périgord and Limousin.
  • 1580, Lafourcade is cited as the General Treasurer of the Royal House of Navarre ("Trésorier général de la maison royale de Navarre") in an original letter from Henry III of Navarre related to his compensation for this role.
  • 1579-80, in various payment records. of the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre in 1579, as well as in a letter from King Henri III of Navarre addressed to Jean de Lafourcade in 1580, he is qualified as the General Treasurer of Navarre (Trésorier général de Navarre).
  • Jean de Lafourcade is cited as a Member of the Council ("Membre du Conseil") established in Lectoure during the war.
  • On 22 July 1581, Jean de la Forcade, sieur de Lafite and Bernard Charon were given a power of attorney by the King of Navarre, to sell as a block or in parcels, the forests of Thiviers, Chalus, Château-Cherveix, etc. to the Sieurs du Teil and Faurichon.
  • 1582, award of a pension to Lafourcade, member of the Conseil privé de Navarre.
  • 1584, A Jean Laforcade, seigneur de Lafitte, is named as a captain of, or at, the Château d'Auvillar in Armagnac.
  • 1584, a written command by the King of Navarre, related to the payment of twenty écu sol made to Jean Lafourcade, sieur de Lafitte, , for a second trip to Maignoac, Barousse, Nestes and the Barony of Barbezan and Poeydarieux for a matter concerning the agreement and transaction made with the Viscount of Lavedan, concerning the basis of the usufruct of the lands of Aure, Maignoac, Barousse and Nestes that he owned as property, as well as the rights that he had in the County of Armagnac. - Signed: Henry.
  • Before 4 September 1586, the sieur de La Forcade was appointed to the King on his Conseil Ordinaire in Pau.
  • On 4 or 14 September 1586, the sieur de La Forcade was appointed President of Finance ("Président aux Comptes") in Pau and was installed in this office on 20 October 1586

The preceding appointment as President on the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre (French: "Président aux Comptes"), or more specifically the political infighting surrounding the appointment, reveals that he was either illiterate, or made out to appear as such, by his enemies on the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre, in particular the sieur Odet de Forbet, Procureur Patrimonial. An extract from one register, translated into English, reads:

Family

Parents

Notable genealogists Gabriel O'Gilvy and Chaix d'Est-Ange both alleged, without citing sources, that he is the son of Noble Gaston de Forcade. They were unable to verify his filiation and the spread of approximate birth years discredits this hypothesis.

Records available in the 21st century imply, without confirming, that he was instead the son of Maréchal Arnaudt de Forcade, who originally received the noble fief of La Fitte as a donation from Jeanne d'Albret in 1571.

Marriage

Records indicate that Jean de Laforcade, Seigneur de La Fitte may have married at least two times.

Noble Jean de Forcade, Squire, notarized his marriage contract with Odette de Rey at Ouzannet, Notary and secretary of the commune of Laplume on 29 April 1554. Odette de Rey, was the sister of Noble Jacques de Rey, seigneur de La Salle, who was a captain and the military commandant of the village of Laplume.

A pension in the amount of 100 écus in gold was established by the Chambre des Comptes of Navarre in favor of the widow of the sieur de La Forcade, Demoiselle Loyse d'Aboval, for the services rendered by her husband on 27 August 1591.

Louise d'Aboval, widow of Jean de Laforcade, Seigneur de Lafitte, Président des Comptes, notarized her testament about 1595 at the Notary Pérarnaud de Camps in Pau.

Children

In his 1571 testament, he names three sons and two daughters from his marriage, named in the following order: Pierre, Étienne, Bernard, Antoinette and Marie. At least two of these sons carried on the noble family lines. There were two additional sons who apparently were not named in this testament, Dominique (†1636), who married Agnes Ducosso de Bilheres-Projan, and Jean, who married a de Lucmajour, and who follows.

Other Family Branches

Several noble branches of the Forcade family claim a common descendance from the noble Forcade family of Orthez, where the family is recorded as early as the 12th century.

The vast pool of historical sources available now with search tools in the 21st century, tends to point to Jean de Laforcade, seigneur de La Fitte as the father of several branches of the noble family of Forcade. Circumstantial evidence from 17th century records tends to confirm his parentage of these family branches.

Notes

References

  • Haag, Eugène & Emile: La France protestante, ou Vies des protestants français qui se sont fait un nom dans l'histoire depuis les premiers temps de la réformation jusqu'à la reconnaissance du principe de la liberté des cultes par l'Assemblée nationale; ouvrage précédé d'une Notice historique sur le protestantisme en France; suivi des Pièces justificatives et rédigé sur des documents en grande partie inédits., Tome II Basnage - Brodeau, Joël Cherbuliez, Paris 1847, p. 415 (in French)