Duke of Brissac

Theod Brissac in Anjou was acquired at the end of the 15th century by the French family of Cosse from the same province. Rene de Cosse (1460-1540) married a representative of the Gouffier family, which held strong positions at the royal court. He was awarded the title of chief baker by the king of France, Louis XII ^[1] .

The two sons of Rene de Cosse became prominent French military leaders and marshals of France. In 1560, Feud Brissack was given the status of a county. Charles de Cosse, Count de Brissac (1505-1563), the eldest son of Rene, was the chief commander of artillery, as well as the governor of Provence and Picardy. The second son of Rene was Arthus de Cosse-Brissac (1512-1582), who held the positions of the great fellow of France and the Minister of Finance, he distinguished himself during the Religious Wars in France ^[1] .

The youngest son of Charles de Cosse, Count de Brissac, was Marshal of France Charles II de Cosse (1550-1621). He fought for the Catholic League and, being the military governor of Paris , opened the gates of the capital to King Henry IV of Navarre , who granted him the rank of Marshal of France in 1594 . In 1611, the county of Brissac was elevated to the status of duchy and peerage of France ^[1] . Charles II de Cosse became in 1611 the first Duke de Brissac.

A famous member of the clan was Jean-Paul-Timoleon de Cosse-Brissac (1698–1784), who was the seventh duke of Brissac and the great pantier of France. He held the rank of general during the reign of King Louis XV and was notable for leading the French vanguard at the Battle of Minden in 1759 , after which he became Marshal of France. He was succeeded by his second son, Louis Hercule Timoleno de Cosse-Brissac, 8th Duke de Brissac (1734-1792), who was the commander of the constitutional guard of King Louis XVI . On September 9, 1792, he was killed during the September massacre at Versailles for his loyalty to the king, after which his body was mutilated and his head chopped off. His head was wrapped in cloth and brought to the Chateau de Louvigne by the crowd and thrown into the open window of the salon of the duke's mistress, Madame Dubarry .

After the death of Louis Hercule in 1792, which did not leave male descendants, the ducal title passed to Timolenou de Cosse-Brissac, 9th Duke of Brissac (1775–1848). He was the eldest son of Hyacinth-Hugo de Cosse-Brissac, Duke de Cosse (1746-1813), the son of Rene-Hugo de Cosse-Brissac, Count de Cosse (1702-1754). The latter was the third son of Arthus de Cosse-Brissac, 5th Duke of Brissac (1668-1709). After the death of Timoleon de Cosse-Brissac in 1848, the ducal title passed to his son, Maria Arthur Timoleon de Cosse, 10th Duke de Brissac (1813-1883).

The current holder of the ducal title is Francois de Cosse-Brissac, 13th Duke de Brissac (born 1929 ), the only son of Pierre de Cosse-Brissac, 12th Duke de Brissac (1900-1993). The heir to the title is his eldest son, Charles-Andre de Cosse-Brissac, Marquis de Brissac (born 1962 ), who has two sons and three daughters ^[2]

The family’s ancestral possession is the Brissac Castle (Château de Brissac) in the Loire Valley, which the Cosse-Brissac family still owns ^[3] .

• Rene de Cosse (1460-1540), son of Thibaut de Cosse (c. 1420-1503), Senor de Cosse, Senor de Brissac and de Cosse in Anjou, the chief baker and chief falconer of France , Knight of the Order of St. Michael. On May 26, 1502, Rene bought the Brissac Castle with surroundings from Louis de Breese
• Charles I de Cosse (1505-1563), 2nd Senior de Brissac, then (since 1560), 1st Earl of Brissac, Marshal of France . The eldest son of the previous
• Timoleon de Cosse (1545-1569), the eldest son of the previous, chief baker of France , 2nd Earl of Brissac
• Charles de Cosse (1550-1621), the younger brother of the previous, chief baker of France, Marshal of France, 3rd Earl de Brissac, then (from 1611), 1st Duke de Brissac

• 1611-1621: Charles II de Cosse (1550-1621), 1st Duke de Brissac
• 1621–1651: Francois de Cosse (1581–1651), 2nd Duke de Brissac, son of the previous
• 1651–1661: Louis de Cosse (1625–1661), 3rd Duke de Brissac, son of the previous
• 1661–1698: Henri Albert de Cosse (1645–1698), 4th Duke of Brissac, son of the previous
• 1698-1702: Louis Artus Timoleon de Cosse (c. 1668-1709) 5th Duke de Brissac, son of Timoleon de Cosse Brissac (c. 1626-1677), cousin of the previous
• 1702-1732: Charles Louis Timoleon de Cosse (1693-1732), 6th Duke de Brissac, son of the previous
• 1732–1756: Jean Paul Timoleon de Cosse-Brissac (1698–1780), 7th Duke de Brissac, younger brother of the previous
• 1756-1759: Louis Joseph Timoleon de Cosse (1733-1759), titular Duke de Brissac, eldest son of the previous
• 1759-1792: Louis Hercule Timoleon de Cosse-Brissac (1734-1792), 8th Duke de Brissac, younger brother of the previous one.

In June 1814, during the First Restoration, King Louis XVIII of France approved Timoleon de Cosse-Brissac (1775-1848), the eldest son of Hyacinth Hugo Timoleon de Cosse-Brissac, Duke de Cosse (1746-1813), as the Duke of Brissac. In 1817, Timoleon de Cosse-Brissac became the hereditary peer of France.

• 1814-1848: Augustine Marie Paul Petronille Timoleon de Cosse (1775-1848), 9th Duke de Brissac, son of Hyacinth-Hugo de Cosse Brissac, Duke de Cosse (1746-1813), cousin of the previous
• 1848-1888: Marie Arthur Timoleon de Cosse (1813-1888), 10th Duke de Brissac, son of the previous
• 1888-1944: Ann-Marie Francois Timoleon de Cosse (1868-1944), 11th Duke de Brissac, son of Roland de Cosse, Marquis de Brissac (1843-1871), grandson of the previous
• 1944-1993: Simon Charles Timoleon Pierre de Cosse (1900-1993), 12th Duke de Brissac, second son of the previous
• 1993 - present: Francois de Cosse-Brissac (born 1929), 13th Duke de Brissac, son of the previous
  • Heir to the title: Charles-Andre de Cosse-Brissac, Marquis de Brissac (born 1962), the eldest son of the previous one.

• Brissac (castle)
• Brissac (genus)

• Château de Brissac - official website
• Arms of the Dukes of Brissac - Héraldique européenne website