The House of Clermont-Tonnerre is a French noble family, members of which played some part in the

history of France The first written records for the history of France appeared in the Iron Age France, Iron Age. What is now France made up the bulk of the region known to the Romans as Gaul. Greek writers noted the presence of three main ethno-linguistic grou ...

, especially in

Dauphiné The Dauphiné ( , , ; or ; or ), formerly known in English as Dauphiny, is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was ...

, from about 1100 to the French Revolution (1789–99).

History

Sibaud, lord of Clermont in Viennois, who first appears in 1080, was the founder of the family. His descendant, another Sibaud, commanded some troops which aided Pope Calixtus II in his struggle with the Antipope Gregory VIII. In return for this service, it is said that the pope allowed him to add certain emblems, two keys and a tiara to the arms of his family. A direct descendant, Ainard (died 1349), called Viscount of Clermont, was granted the dignity of captain-general and first baron of Dauphiné by his suzerain Humbert, dauphin of Viennois, in 1340; and in 1547 Clermont was made a county for Antoine (died 1578), who was governor of Dauphiné and the French king's lieutenant in

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

. In 1572, Antoine's son Henri was created a duke, but as this was only a brevet title it did not descend to his son. Henri was killed before

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

in 1573. In 1596 Henri's son, Charles Henri, count of Clermont (died 1640), added Tonnerre to his heritage; but in 1648 this county was sold by his son and successor, François (died 1679). A member of a younger branch of Charles Henri's descendants was Gaspard de Clermont-Tonnerre (1688–1781). This soldier served his country during a long period, fighting in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

and

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

, and then distinguishing himself greatly at the battles of Fontenoy and Lawfeldt. In 1775, he was created Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre, and made a

peer of France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...

. As the senior marshal (c. 1747) of France, he assisted as constable at the Coronation of Louis XVI in 1775. His son and successor, Charles Henri Jules, governor of Dauphiné, was

guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...

d in July 1794, a fate which his grandson, Gaspard Charles, had suffered at

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

in the previous year. A later duke, Aimé Marie Gaspard (1779–1865), served for some years as a soldier, afterwards becoming minister of marine and then

minister of war A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

under

Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...

during the last days of the Bourbon Restoration, in the cabinet of the Count de Villèle. He retired to private life after the revolution of 1830. Aimé's grandson, Roger, duke of Clermont-Tonnerre, was born in 1842. Among other distinguished members of this family was Catherine (c. 1545 – 1603), daughter of Claude de Clermont-Tonnerre. This lady, ''dame d'honneur'' to

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

's queen,

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...

, and afterwards wife of Albert de Gondi, duc de Retz, won a great reputation by her intellectual attainments, being referred to as the tenth muse and the fourth grace. One of her grandsons was the famous Cardinal de Retz. Other noteworthy members of collateral branches of the family were:

François François () is a French language, French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis (given name), Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * Voltaire, Fran ...

(1629–1701), bishop of Noyon from 1661 until his death, a member of the

French Academy French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, notorious for his inordinate vanity; Stanislas Marie Adelaide, comte de Clermont-Tonnerre; and Anne Antoine Jules (1749–1830), cardinal and

bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

, who was a member of the states-general in 1789, afterwards retiring to

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, and after the return of the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. A branch descended from ...

to France became

Archbishop of Toulouse The Archdiocese of Toulouse (–Saint Bertrand de Comminges–Rieux) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the Department of Haute-Garonne and its seat is Toulouse Cathedral. Archb ...

. In 1909,

Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist and geographer known as a proponent of anarchist communism. Born into an aristocratic land-owning family, Kropotkin attended the Page Corps and later s ...

tells the story of one military commander, Clermont-Tonnerre, who in 1788 promulgated the edict which dissolved the ''parlement'' of the people of Grenoble during the French Revolution. The

tocsin A Tocsin is an alarm or other signal sounded by a bell or bells. It may refer to: Cold War *TOCSIN, the codeword attached by the Royal Observer Corps to any reading on the Bomb Power Indicator after a nuclear strike on the United Kingdom during t ...

was rung, and the alarm spreading quickly to the neighboring villages, the peasants hastened in crowds the town. There was combat between civilians and soldiers, and many were killed. After street skirmishing, the commander's guard was rendered helpless, and Clermont-Tonnerre's palace was sacked. Clermont-Tonnerre, with an axe held over his head, had to revoke the royal edict.

Titles

* Count of Clermont in Viennois, 24 December 1547, by letter from the King

. * Duke of Clermont and

Peer of France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...

, by patent 1 May 1571, by King Charles IX, confirmation on 10 June 1572. * Marquis of Cruzy and Vauvillers, in 1620. * Duke of Clermont and

, by letters patent of June 1755, given at Versailles. * Baron of the Empire, by letters patent of 2 April 1812. * Count of the Empire, for Louis, Baron of Clermont-Thoury. * Hereditary Peer, by letter patent of 19 August 1815. * Hereditary Duke-Peer, by letter patent of 31 August 1817. * Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre, in a personal capacity by Cardinal Jules de Clermont-Tonnerre, by order of 8 January 1823. * Roman Prince, by pontifical brief of 1825, for Duke , confirmation of the title on 1 August 1811. * Hereditary Marquis, by letters patent of King Charles X, on 4 August 1829, on the institution of the increase in the land of Bertangles. * Marquis of Mont-Saint-Jean ( St-Pierre-de-Soucy), by letters patent of the Duke of Savoy on 26 September 1681.

Other titles

* Marquis of Mont-Saint-Jean (1681) (according to Father Anselme and his successors, the Chevalier de Courcelles) * Viscount of Clermont-en-Trièves (today Monestier-de-Clermont), Premier Baron,

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. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

and Hereditary Grand Master of

(1340) * Viscount of Tallard (1439) * Count of Thunder (1496) * Count of Thoury (1629) * Marquis of Montoison (1630) * Duke of Piney-Luxembourg, Peer of France (1631) * Prince of Tingry (1631) * Baron and Count of Dannemoine (1651) * Count of

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; , ; ) was a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and French Cerdagne, part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the region of ' ...

(1670) * Marquis of La Bâtie d'Albanais (1681) * Count of Saint-Cassin (1681) * Marquis of

Chaste Chaste refers to practicing chastity. Chaste may also refer to: * Aymar Chaste (1514–1603), Catholic French admiral * Chaste (Marvel Comics), a fictional Marvel Comics martial arts enclave * Chaste (canton) - see List of townships in Quebec, Ca ...

(1688) * Count of Épinac (1719) * Marquis of Clermont-Tonnerre (1750) (confirmed in 1830) * Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre, Peer of France (1775) (the duchy is based on the marquisate of Vauvillers) * Baron de Courcelles * Baron of Maupertuis * Count of Mannevillette * Marquis of Crèvecœur * Count of

Morges Morges (; , Plurale tantum, plural, probably Ablative (Latin), ablative, else dative; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud and the seat of the Morges District, distri ...

* Lords of Aiguebelette-le-Lac (1305), of Clermont (1305). Note that certain titles, coming from other families, appeared thanks to women, such as those of Duke of Retz (and Barons of Surgères, Dampierre, Vivonne) and Duke of Uzès.

Branches

* Branch of the lords of Clermont, then counts of Clermont and Tonnerre * Branch of the Marquises of Cruzy, then Dukes of Clermont-Tonnerre * Branch of the Counts of Thoury then Marquis of Clermont-Tonnerre (Lord of Bertangles) * Branch of the Marquises of Montoison * Branches of the lords of Hauterives and Surgères * Branch of the lords of Chaste, then marquis of Charpey and Chaste * Branch of the lords of Chaste-Gessans * Branch of the marquises of Clermont-Mont-Saint-Jean (in Saint-Pierre-de-Soucy), established in Savoy, and of the Lords of Rubaud. Most of these branches have died out, only the branch of the dukes and that of the marquises remain today. All descend from Siboud I, Baron of Clermont, and Adélaïs d'Albon who lived in 1080.

Châteaux and mansions

Châteaux

* Château d' Achy (Oise) * in Aiguebelette-le-Lac * Château d'Ancy-le-Franc (

Yonne Yonne (, in Burgundian: ''Ghienne'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight con ...

) * Château de Bertangles (

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) * in

Bressieux Bressieux () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Isère department The following is a list of the 512 communes in the French department of Isère. The communes cooperate ...

* * Château de Château-Neuf in Cessens * Château de Château-Vieux in Cessens * Château de Clermont in Chirens * Château de Clermont in

Saint-Geoire-en-Valdaine Saint-Geoire-en-Valdaine is a Communes of France, commune in the Isère departments of France, department in southeastern France. The village is known for its charm and picturesque beauty. There are no less than seven castles (chateaux or maiso ...

* Château de Crépol in Crépol * * * Château de Glisolles (Eure) * * * Château de Maupertuis * Château de Maulnes (

) * * * in Passage * * * in Tallard * * * Château de Virieu in Virieu

Hôtels

* (rue de Bac) * (place des Vosges) * Hôtel de Clermont-Tonnerre (27 quai de La Tournelle) * Hôtel de Clermont-Tonnerre (12 rue François); headquarters of

Groupe Artémis Groupe Artémis is a French investment holding company, holding with a portfolio in fashion (Kering), wine ( including Château Latour), art (Christie's, Pinault Collection), sports (Stade Rennais FC) and entertainment (Creative Artists Agency). ...

List of dukes of Clermont-Tonnerre

First creation (1571 and 1572)

* Henri de Clermont (1540–1573), Viscount of Tallard, Duke of Clermont (created 1571), then Duke of Tonnerre (created 1572) and

Second creation (1775)

* Gaspard de Clermont-Tonnerre (1688–1781), Marquis of Cruzy and Vauvillers (known as Clermont-Tonnerre), then 1st Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre (created in 1775) and

Marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

* (1720–1794), son of the previous, 2nd Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre and peer of France . * (1769–1837), grandson of the previous, 3rd Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre and peer of France . * (1753–1842), uncle of the previous, 4th Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre and peer of France, Roman Prince of Clermont-Tonnerre. * Aimé Marie Gaspard de Clermont-Tonnerre (1779–1865), son of the previous, 5th Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre and peer of France, minister. * Gaspard Louis (1812–1889), son of the previous, 6th Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre and peer of France. * Gaspard Aimé Charles ''Roger'' de Clermont-Tonnerre (1842–1910), son of the previous, 7th Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre. * Aimé François ''Philibert'' de Clermont-Tonnerre (1871–1940), son of the previous, 8th Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre. * Marie Joseph Victor Fernand Aynard de Clermont-Tonnerre (1884–1967), first cousin of the above, 9th Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre. * Marie Joseph Charles Aimé Jean de Clermont-Tonnerre (1885–1970), brother of the previous, 10th Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre. * Charles Henri Marie Gérard Gabriel de Clermont-Tonnerre (1934–1999), son of the previous, 11th Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre. * Aynard Jean Marie Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre (b. 1962), son of the previous, 12th Duke of Clermont-Tonnerre.

References

External links

{{Commons category, House of Clermont-Tonnerre
Official family website
French noble families