Roquelaure - Encyclopedia

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

ROQUELAURE, a title derived from a small commune in France (dep. of Gers), and borne by a French family of Armagnac, one member of which was Antoine, baron de Roquelaure (1544-1625), who was in the service of Henry IV. before he became king, and after his accession was made master of the wardrobe, lieutenant-general in Auvergne (1576) and Guienne (1610), and marshal of France in 1614. His son, Gaston Jean Baptiste de Roquelaure (1617-1683), a celebrated wit, was created duke and peer of France in 1652, and was appointed governor of Guienne in 1679. Gaston's son, Antoine Gaston Jean Baptiste de Roquelaure (1656-1738), carried on the family reputation for wit, and, in spite of his military incapacity, received the marshal's baton in 1724.