Gerry's Collection
of Antique Wax Seal Stamps
The de Frézals de Bourfaud Family
A Provincial Nobility Devoted to the King, the Army, and Tradition
Frézals, a family from the noblesse d’épée.
In the long history of France, countless families contributed to the stability and continuity of the kingdom without ever seeking the limelight of great titles or vast fortunes. Among them stood the de Frézals de Bourfaud, a lineage of the Languedoc nobility whose members distinguished themselves through quiet constancy, military discipline, and loyalty to the crown.
Rooted in the rural provinces, their nobility was one of service rather than ostentation, an inheritance of duty passed from father to son across generations. Though little known today, their story illustrates the world of the noblesse d’épée, the hereditary class of warriors and officers who formed the backbone of the royal armies.
Through their devotion to the king and to the ideals of honor, they embodied that enduring provincial aristocracy which gave France much of its strength and moral cohesion.​
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Jean-Louis-Bernard de Frezals de Bourfaud (1708-1786)
The coat of arms of the de Frézals family
The King's bodyguards
A member of the Royal Household' King's bodyguards
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Félicité-Louise de Frézals (1765-1854),
Origins and Status of the Family.
The de Frézals family - later known in one of its branches as de Frézals de Bourfaud - originated in the south of France, in the old province of Languedoc, between Tarn and Aveyron. Their name, drawn from the small seigneury of Frézals, is found in regional records from at least the 16th century. The addition “de Bourfaud” refers to another estate, probably acquired through marriage or inheritance, signifying the family’s gradual consolidation of local fiefs over generations.
By the 17th century, the de Frézals were recognized as nobles d’ancienne extraction, meaning their noble status derived from time immemorial rather than royal ennoblement. They held the rank of écuyer (squire) and, like many such families of the southern provinces, made their mark not at court but through military and administrative service to the king. They were part of that numerous but dignified stratum of rural nobles, neither rich nor obscure, but deeply conscious of honor and lineage.
Jean-Louis-Bernard de Frézals de Bourfaud.
The most distinguished representative of the family in the 18th century was Jean-Louis-Bernard de Frézals de Bourfaud, born in 1708. He pursued the traditional calling of his caste: the profession of arms. Rising steadily through the ranks, he achieved the title of brigadier des armées du Roi, a general officer rank situated between colonel and maréchal de camp. His portrait, painted around 1760 by Molinet and preserved in the Musée de l’Armée in Paris, presents the archetype of a noble officer of the Ancien Régime, powdered hair, blue uniform, and composed bearing, the personification of loyal service.
The title of brigadier des armées du Roi placed him among the higher command of the royal army, a position requiring both noble birth and proven merit. Officers of this class directed regiments, supervised training, and sometimes governed fortified towns. The king rewarded such officers with pensions, the coveted Order of Saint Louis, and, for a few, entry into the elite of his Household troops. Jean-Louis-Bernard’s dedication ensured that his name would remain among those who carried the standards of the crown with honor through the long, uneasy peace that preceded the Revolution.
Service in the King’s Bodyguard and Armies.
Records and genealogies show that successive members of the de Frézals de Bourfaud family served in the King’s Bodyguard - the Garde du corps du Roi - as well as in the armées du Roi, the regular forces of the kingdom. The Garde du corps formed part of the Maison militaire du Roi, the king’s personal military household, which also included the Musketeers, the Gendarmes, and the Guards of the Gate.
Service in the Garde du corps was one of the highest honors a French noble could attain. Admission required proof of noble ancestry for at least four generations, impeccable conduct, and often recommendation from a powerful patron at court. The guards were divided into four companies, each commanded by a great noble. They attended the king in his palace, rode in his escort during travel, and stood guard at major ceremonies such as coronations or Te Deums.
Though their duties could seem ceremonial, these men were trained soldiers. In wartime they rode with the army, forming part of the royal cavalry reserve. A brigadier des gardes du corps ranked above a captain in ordinary service and often continued his career in the field armies, as Jean-Louis-Bernard himself did. Being both a brigadier and a chevalier of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis placed him among the proven professionals of his generation.
For provincial nobles, such appointments carried enormous prestige. To wear the blue and silver livery of the Maison du Roi meant proximity to the sovereign and recognition of ancient nobility. Many families of modest means but spotless lineage invested heavily to equip a son for such a post, seeing it as the fulfillment of their hereditary vocation.
The Order of Saint Louis and the Army Nobility.
The Ordre royal et militaire de Saint Louis, founded by Louis XIV in 1693, was France’s first decoration open exclusively to career officers who had demonstrated valor and long service. To be named a chevalier de Saint Louis was a hallmark of military distinction and a mark of royal favor.
Several de Frézals officers received this cross, including Jean-Louis-Bernard and his descendants. It linked them to a fraternity of soldiers who saw the army not merely as an occupation but as a sacred duty. Their correspondence and local records often repeat the same mottos: Fidelité et service, Honneur et Royauté, concise expressions of a world view in which faith and monarchy were inseparable.
Cross of the Order of
Saint Louis
Later Generations and the Family’s Social Position.
Through the 18th and early 19th centuries, the family remained loyal to the monarchy, even during the revolutionary storms that swept France. After the fall of the Ancien Régime, some members appear to have withdrawn to their estates in the south; others served under the restored Bourbons. The name continues to appear in registers of the King’s Household under Louis XVIII and Charles X, showing that at least one Frézals held the same bodyguard function under the later kings.
By the 19th century, the family was part of the provincial nobility of remembrance, respected for its pedigree and military traditions but no longer in the first rank of wealth or political influence. Like many families of its milieu, it preserved its heraldic identity and religious values, often sending its sons into the army or the clergy.
Félicité de Frézals de Bourfaud.
Among the later descendants was Félicité de Frézals de Bourfaud, who married General Pierre-Louis Charles de Failly of Lorraine, a celebrated commander under Napoleon III. Through this union, the southern nobility of the Frézals joined with the martial tradition of the de Failly family, uniting two venerable provincial lineages.
While specific records of Félicité’s life are scarce, her social position can be inferred. As a daughter of an old noble family with officers and knights among her forebears, she was educated for the responsibilities of a woman of rank, patronage, charity, and the preservation of family honor. The alliance coat of arms engraved on the couple’s seal stamp expresses visually this blending of courage and refinement.
Her marriage to a general who had received the Grand Cross of the Légion d’honneur perpetuated the long-standing connection between her family and the military ideals of France. In an age when aristocratic women often acted as custodians of lineage, Félicité embodied continuity: she transmitted the memory of the Frézals service to a new century.
Legacy and Reflection.
The story of the de Frézals de Bourfaud family is not one of grand titles or political power, but of sustained fidelity. From the garrisons of Languedoc to the bodyguards of Versailles, their members served the crown for generations. Their presence in the Garde du corps du Roi placed them among that elite of sword-bearing nobles whose very existence symbolized the monarchy’s martial and sacred character.
When revolution ended the royal bodyguards in 1792, it also ended a certain conception of noble life, one defined by duty rather than ambition. Yet families like the de Frézals preserved that ethos quietly in their homes and heraldic emblems.​
Gerry's Collection of Antique Seal Stamps.