The de Forcade family, sometimes written Forcade (de la), Fourcade (de) and Fourcade (de la), belongs to the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

Guyenne Guyenne or Guienne ( , ; ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of '' Aquitania Secunda'' and the Catholic archdiocese of Bordeaux. Name The name "Guyenne" comes from ''Aguyenne'', a popular transform ...

,Chaix d'Est-Ange (1922), Tome 18, p. 31
(in French)
/ref> France.

History

The

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

of ''de Forcade'' and ''de la Forcade'', from the town of

Orthez Orthez (; ; , ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, and region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies 40 km NW of Pau on the Southern railway to Bayonne. The town also encompasses the small village of Sai ...

, in

Béarn Béarn (; ; or ''Biarn''; or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Northern Basque Country, ...

, is one of the oldest families of the province, with one of its members in the 12th century, figuring among those Lords of

possessing

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

s and giving

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

s to the church in

. It always held rank at the Order of Nobility of the States of

, as evidenced in a judgment by the Court of Aids of

. They served as the

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

s of

Foix Foix ( , ; ; ) is a commune, the former capital of the County of Foix. It is the capital of the department of Ariège as it is the seat of the prefecture of that department. Foix is located in the Occitanie region of southwestern France ...

and

during the English Wars; participated during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, in the oversight of proofs and reviews of

; and later continued into the 19th century providing

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

with

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

s of jurisdictions and distinguished military

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

, many of whom were killed on the battlefield in the service of their country. The family's

was reconfirmed through numerous judgments by the stewards responsible for the royal administration of

(''"les intendents"''), by judgments of the Court of Aids (''the

Court of Appeals An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

'') of

and the

Conseil d'Etat (France) Conseil may refer to: Government * Conseil d'État (disambiguation), various governments or governmental organizations * Conseil des Etats, the smaller chamber of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland * Conseil de l'Entente, a West African regiona ...

. The ''Seigneur de Forcade'', ''Seigneur de Baylens'' and ''Seigneur de Cando'' were three

ais

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

s, who, circa 1170, gave the tithes of the parish of Castetarbe, in

, to Guillaume-Bertrand,

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Dax The DAX (''Deutscher Aktienindex'' (German stock index); ) is a stock market index consisting of the 40 major German blue chip companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It is a total return index. Prices are taken from the Xetra t ...

, son of ''Bertrand,

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

de Labour'' and brother of

Viscounts A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is so ...

Pierre and Arnaud.

Members

* Ferdinand Heinrich von Forcade de Biaix (1787-1835), Royal Prussian Major, Commandant of the 10th Prussian Division's Garrison Company, Knight of the Iron Cross 2nd Class*

Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix Friedrich Wilhelm Quirin von Forcade de Biaix,Lehmann, Band 1, Page 34, Nr. 24(in German)/ref> baptized ''Quirin Frideric de Forcade,'' aka ''Friedrich Quirin von Forcade,'' aka ''Frédéric Quérin de Forcade''Tollinen, Band III, Abteilung 1B, P ...

(1698-1765), Prussian Lieutenant General, Regimentschef of the 23rd Prussian Infantry Regiment, recipient of Prussia's highest military order of merit, the ''Pour le Mérite'', Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle, ''Domherr von Havelberg'', ''Drost zu Neuenrade'' in the County of Mark, ''Amtshauptmann von Zinna'' and Lieutenant Governor of Breslau * Friedrich Wilhelm Leopold Konstantin Quirin von Forcade de Biaix (1784-1840), Royal Prussian Chamberlain, retired Royal Prussian Captain, Knight of the Cross of the Royal Prussian Order of Saint John Bailiwick of Brandenburg ''(der alte Balley Brandenburg des Ritterlichen Ordens Sankt Johannis vom Spital zu Jerusalem)'', and Knight of the Iron Cross 2nd Class for his heroic actions on 26 August 1813 defending the so-called ''red house near Dresden'' against a vastly superior enemy, ''Drost zu Neuenrade'' in the County of Mark * Isaac von Forcade de Biaix aka Peter Isaak von Forcade de Biaix (1702–1775), Prussian Major General, Hofmarschall to the Princes of Prussia * Jean de Forcade, Seigneur de Biaix (ca. 1624–1684), ''Fermier des monnaies de Béarn et Navarre'' * Jean de Forcade de Biaix ''aka'' Johann von Forcade de Biaix (1663-1729), Royal Prussian Lieutenant General, Regimentschef of the 23rd Prussian Infantry Regiment, Commandant of the Royal Residence in Berlin during the reign of King Frederick William I of Prussia, ''Gouverneur militaire de Berlin'' and Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle

References

{{reflist French noble families