Charles-Félix de Galéan (1620-1700) was a French aristocrat and Lieutenant-General. He was the first Duke of

Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne (; ) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. History The ''Félibrige'' was founded in Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne, at Font-Ségugne, in 1854. Geography Ch� ...

Early life

Charles-Félix de Galéan was born in 1620.Jules Courtet, ''Dictionnaire géographique, géologique, historique, archéologique et biographique du département du Vaucluse'', Nîmes: Christian Lacour, 1997, p. 150 On his paternal side, his family, who were from

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, settled near Avignon shortly circa 1350, at the time of the

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

. His mother's maiden name was Guadagni.

Career

At the age of fourteen, he served on the

Île Sainte-Marguerite Île Sainte-Marguerite (; , ) is the largest of the Lérins Islands, about half a mile offshore from the French Riviera city of Cannes, situated in the Bay of Cannes. The island is approximately in length (east to west) and across (north to so ...

. Artefeuil, Louis Ventre, ''Histoire héroique et universelle de la noblesse de Provence'', 1776, Avignon: Veuve Girard, Volume 2, pp. 591-59

/ref> Three years later, in 1637, he defeated the enemy Commander. He served as Lieutenant-General under King Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV (whose reign went from 1643 to 1715). He was an aide-de-camp to

Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (11 September 161127 July 1675), commonly known as Turenne (), was a French general and one of only six Marshal of France, marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. The most illus ...

in 1652. He served as Commander in the Battle of Jijel in

Jijel Jijel (), the classical Igilgili, is the capital of Jijel Province in north-eastern Algeria. It is flanked by the Mediterranean Sea in the region of Corniche Jijelienne and had a population of 131,513 in 2008. Jijel is the administrative and trad ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

in 1664. He acquired Châteauneuf for 68,000

Écu The term ''écu'' () may refer to one of several France, French coins. The first ''écu'' was a gold coin (the ''écu d'or'') minted during the reign of Louis IX of France, in 1266. The value of the ''écu'' varied considerably over time, and si ...

from descendants of

Giraud Amic de Sabran Giraud is a surname. It is a variant of the Proto-Germanic name ''Gerard'', meaning spear-strong. Notable people with this surname * Alain Giraud (born 1959), French chef * Albert Giraud (1860–1929), Belgian poet * Alexis Giraud-Teulon (1839� ...

(1170-1215) in 1669. Later that year,

Pope Clement IX Pope Clement IX (; ; 28 January 1600 – 9 December 1669), born Giulio Rospigliosi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 20 June 1667 to his death in December 1669. Giulio Rospigliosi was born into the noble Ro ...

made Châteauneuf a

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

. Drawing upon his mother's maiden name, it was renamed Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne. As a result, de Galéan became the Duke of Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne. He served as Commander in the Siege of Negroponte of 1688. The following year, in 1689, King Louis XIV allowed him to become

Generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ), also generalissimus, is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative ...

of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

Personal life

He married Jeanne de Gravé. They had no issue.

Death

He died on January 6, 1700, in Gadagne.

Legacy

His title was passed on to his widow's nephew, Louis-Achilles de Galéan, Marquess of Nerestang and

Vedène Vedène (; ) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is a northeastern suburb of Avignon, crossed by the A7 autoroute. It is home to the Regional 1 football club Athlétic Clu ...

in 1718. After he died in 1733, it was passed on to Pierre-François de Galéan, Duke of Gadagne, Marquess of Vedène.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Galean, Charles-Felix 1620 births 1700 deaths Military personnel from Avignon Dukes of Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne