#Claude Laurent | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

harbinger-0f-spring · 2 months ago

Text

Here is a continuation of the family tree collaboration project with @konstantynowitz. Originally, my main focus was on the Rosier family, but before we get into that side of the tree, I'm going to introduce you to earlier generations of the Volants. I have been connected to the French branch of the Lestrange family through a Volant ancestor, and this might be a long shot, but just bear with me. Benouét Volant was born in 1794 as the nephew of Jodelle Lestrange (née Volant) who married Floxel Lestrange. In the year 1782, Jodelle had one daughter with her husband: Quintilla Lestrange, the mother of Nozéa Lestrange. Benouét was taken in by his aunt and uncle as a child when his parents died of a dragon pox outbreak. He was raised by Jodelle and Floxel, growing up alongside Quintilla as if she were his elder sister. Benouét later named his son Floxel Volant (I) in honor of his uncle.

For the time being, I do not have a name for Benouét's spouse, but I suspect that I'll make her a close relative of Floxel maybe through his mother Luminosa. Floxel Volant's mother may be a descendant from the Trouche family as I'm sure Benouét must've interacted with his uncle's extended family growing up, perhaps developing a close relationship with a potential bride through the Trouches.

I believe that Jodelle would have arranged for Benouét to marry a relative of her husband so that he could stay closely connected with the family. Floxel and Jodelle cared for Benouét as if he were their own child, so I think they thought that marrying him off to a Trouche was almost like an affectionate way of officially recognizing their nephew as an adoptive son of sorts.

Floxel Volant (I) was born in 1826 to Benouét Volant and his wife, his father was thirty-two at the time of his birth. Floxel remained a bachelor for the majority of his adulthood, enjoying the luxuries and privileges of his family's wealth. He was quite the lady-killer in his youth, so if he did have any children they'd be unacknowledged bastards that he never involved himself with, even if he was aware of their existence. Within the year 1870, at the age of forty-four, an unmarried Floxel impregnated his young mistress at the time, but the only difference between his current mistress and his mistresses of the past was that she also came from an influential French pure-blood family. Because of this, Floxel would be forced to marry his mistress who would later give birth to their only son Étienne Volant.

Something that needs to be acknowledged: I cannot take credit for this next half of the tree, as I had the help of @lazyreinelle when coming up with the backgrounds and names of the characters about to be mentioned. Of course, I've made a few little tweaks of my own when it comes to birth dates and certain aspects of their backstories, but really it is all thanks to the creative mind of @lazyreinelle that I was able to fill in the blanks of the tree.

Étienne Volant was born in 1870 and married Clotilde de Trefle-Picques, a seemingly mild-mannered girl, yet popular because of her family. She is betrothed off to Étienne during her penultimate year at Beauxbatons. Despite being ten years her senior, Étienne often acted like a man-child and was incredibly irresponsible. So, when it came to raising children, he would mostly never be around, goofing around in bars or sleeping with any veela he met. Clotilde had to raise her children: an elder daughter Eglantine (b. 1904), and two younger twin sons Floxel (II) and Claude (b. 1906), all by herself naturally instilling them with rather harsh views of blood purity.

In spite of his absence, Étienne was closest to his daughter Eglantine, who inherited his free-spirit, although it was much more reigned in than her father's was. Even so, she was frequently challenging authority and diving headfirst into escapades that left her mother exasperated. Clotilde always cursed her husband for passing on such a wild spirit to Eglantine, wishing instead that their daughter possessed a more measured temperament that would ease her worries and keep her out of trouble. Eglantine did not want to follow the expected societal norms for young witches of the time, nor did she wish to conform to the wishes and expectations of a future spouse, believing that her personal freedoms should be valued if she were to find herself married one day. Eglantine Volant harbored a fondness for her father, as he was the only one who could ever understand her. He never saw her as being unreasonable when voicing her standards for a hypothetical husband. Clotilde always believed that her daughter was being ridiculous when forming these ideas of a marriage of compromise, dismissing them as fanciful daydreams. Whenever Étienne was around he'd spoil his little daughter with small gifts and let her skip piano lessons or her early homeschooling to spend time "adventuring" with him on the estate's property. She grew up knowing that her father was not a dependable man, but that did not make him a bad parent to his children, at least during the times he occasionally visited them.

The Volants were deeply in debt because of Étienne's tendencies to gamble away a lot of his inheritance at the bars he frequented at. Clotilde, who came from a family who specialized in concealment charms, was able to hide the decline in the Volant's wealth by casting mirages that could make a simple lump of coal appear to be a bar of gold or some type of jewel. These charms especially helped in regard to paying off Étienne's debts, often conning the people he owed money to with his wife's illusions. Although, after a while, the charm of their fabricated wealth began to wear off and those who Étienne paid his debts to with these charmed objects would find out that they were tricked once the enchantments wore off.

As a result, one night when Étienne was drunk at a bar, he was confronted by one of the men he conned. Étienne was challenged in a magical duel by the man, but ultimately lost and was killed. This is why Clotilde was overjoyed when Eglantine got a proposal from the Rosier family, especially Laurent Rosier. The Rosiers, having already established themselves long back in France, were practically akin to wizarding nobility, matching the Blacks. Eglantine's marriage ensured that the Volants would not go bankrupt and reinstated stability within the family.

Featured at the top, is a tree which connects the Rosier family to the French branch of the Lestrange family. As I mentioned in my first post for the tree, Laurent Rosier is the great-great-nephew of Minette Rosier, making him third cousins with Leta Lestrange and her younger half-brother Corvus V. In addition to this, Laurent's father was first cousins with Fèlicule Lestrange (née Rosier), also known as F. Lestrange, the grandmother of Radolphus Lestrange II.

To give you guys a little bit more background of Clotilde Volant (née de Trefle-Picques), she was born to Adélard Duc de Trefle-Picques, a descendant of Vincent Duc de Trefle-Picques, a French nobleman and wizard active around the time of the French Revolution. Her mother was originally introduced as Faustine Escoffier-Floquet, but I changed my mind and renamed her as Touènette de Trefle-Picques (née Beaufort). There is not much I have to tell you about them right now, but soon I will post another update on this tree and hopefully by that time I'll have a little more to share on them. As for their grandsons, Eglantine's younger brothers that were created by @lazyreinelle: Floxel II and Claude Volant, I do have a bit more to share about them.

Floxel Volant II married Pascaline Volant (née Perrott), a classmate of his elder sister during her years at Beauxbatons. Floxel had a few children with Pascaline, namely their daughter Ghislaine Volant. There are a few more which I will be sharing in the near future, but right now Ghislaine is the only one who will be mentioned at the moment since the other children have more expanded and complex trees in regard to their future descendants.

Before Floxel's marriage to Pascaline, Clotilde started to be a lot more harsh with him, scrutinizing every move of his, and forcibly making him meet potential brides for him yet not allowing him to choose. The Volant heir longed to be free like his twin, Claude without any worry in the world, without someone constantly breathing down your neck. Being the older twin by five minutes was perhaps the only thing Floxel could uphold Claude over. The younger had all the other luxuries to bed, flirt with any one he liked, regardless of blood-status. As the second son, Claude was the spare and therefore didn't have as much responsibility to the family. Claude could often cross the line, becoming even worse than his father Étienne.

Claude Volant was notorious for philandering about, oftentimes bedding attractive veela ballerinas. He would later be disowned by his family for impregnating his veela mistress, leading to a bitter estrangement that would cause him to lose contact with his elder sister and twin brother.

Well, that's it for now! The next post I make will probably be more focused on the Rosier-Volant descendants, and maybe I'll give a little more insight on the Rosier family itself, especially Laurent and Vinda Rosier's parents.

23 notes · View notes

konstantynowitz · 20 days ago

Note

Can you tell me about the Volant sisters? And what is the name of Cantankerous Nott’s son?

Ségolène Volant was the salvation of her family after her father’s cousin Étienne Volant gambled away their fortune. She was arranged to marry Marceau Leroy, his great-grandfather being the nephew of Balbine and Pucine Lestrange. Amongst many influential pure-blood families, the Leroy family had a prestigious position within the wizarding community and had long been a cornerstone amongst the inner circle of prominent French pure-blood lineages.

Being the eldest of her sisters, it was Ségolène who her parents depended on to unify the Leroys and the Volants through bonds of matrimony. The arrangement was not the girl’s choice, however. Ségolène had always been pliant under the orders of her parents, allowing them to control her like a puppet on strings. She never voiced her own feelings or opinions to her family, thinking them irrelevant compared to those of her authoritative parents, who taught her to obey and respect their wishes.

Throughout her life, she was prohibited from having dreams and beliefs of her own, and so she lived suffocated underneath the thumb of her father and mother. Ségolène was weighted by the expectations of her family, especially once the prospect of marriage came into play. There wasn’t anything the Volant girl could do to prevent her marriage to Marceau, and so the only thing left for her to do was accept her fate for the sake of her family.

The union between Ségolène and Marceau Leroy ended up being an unexpected love match. Out of the three sisters, Ségolène was the only one who lived out her life with love and joy. Marceau was not in a rush to have children, in spite of the fact that heirs would help to officially tie the families together. It wasn’t until six years after their marriage that Ségolène and Marceau finally had their first child, as well as a second one two years after. Together the couple had two daughters: Capucine (b. 1925) and Odelette (b. 1927).

Ségolène died in 1975 at the age of seventy-three, a few years after Marceau who died in 1968, aged sixty-seven. Their daughters Capucine and Odelette lived to have children of their own but that’s a story for another day.

Orphélie Volant was a promising bride for Brutus Malfoy (II), managing to capture the attention of the Malfoy heir with her grace and intelligence. Orphélie was known for her keen mind and competitive nature when it came to debates on certain subjects she was passionate about. She was very knowledgeable for a woman of her time, which was often viewed as dangerous and intimidating to high society as women were expected to adhere to more traditional roles.

The girl’s ability to articulate her thoughts eloquently made her a formidable opponent in discussions, and she relished in the opportunity to challenge traditional views. Orphélie was not afraid to challenge men; which was probably a contributing factor to Brutus’ attraction towards her. He found her intellectually stimulating and refreshing in a world where many women were content to remain silent.

The Malfoy heir was completely smitten with her, practically worshipping the ground she walked on. When he proposed, Orphélie originally declined for she valued her independence and was hesitant to step into a role that society and predefined for her. When her parents had heard of the rejected proposal, there was a complete uproar amongst the Volants, as they hoped for a union that would solidify their family’s influence in the wizarding world after Étienne squandered the fortune away. It was not enough that Ségolène married a Leroy, for that may have helped the family financially, although it did little for their reputation.

Orphélie’s mother, always one to uphold tradition, was particularly incensed. She had envisioned her daughter as the perfect bride for the Malfoy heir, a match that would restore prestige to the Volant family name.

“Orphélie, you need to understand the implications of your decision,” Lady Volant urged one evening, her voice heavy with disappointment. “Brutus Malfoy is not just any suitor; he represents a legacy that could enhance our standing.”

But Orphélie was adamant on her decision not to marry Malfoy. And so, her family went so far as to call upon Eglantine, Orphélie’s elder cousin who had been married off to Laurent Rosier shortly after Ségolène’s marriage to Marceau. Within the family, Eglantine with her experience and persuasion was thought to have the ability to coax Orphélie into reconsidering her stance.

“Cousin,” Eglantine began, her tone warm yet firm. “You must understand the position you’re in. Marrying Brutus could open doors for you that you might not even realize exist. You have a chance to not just elevate yourself, but our entire family if you do this.”

In spite of Eglantine’s efforts, Orphélie wouldn’t budge. She didn’t want to be a pawn in her family’s game like her sister was. The second eldest Volant sister didn’t understand why both Eglantine’s marriage into the Rosier family, and Ségolène’s marriage to Marceau just wasn’t enough for the Volants. Wasn’t there enough prominence and prestige being provided through both unions already? Why did she have to make the same sacrifice that her cousin and sister did?

After a while the subject of Brutus’ denied proposal to Orphélie was dropped and her parents moved on from their disappointment, attempting to encourage their daughter to find herself a husband by officially inducting her into society with Eglantine’s help. The two would attend balls and social gatherings together, in attempts to find Orphélie a husband that perhaps offered more than Brutus Malfoy ever could.

Eglantine, having already been married into the prestigious Rosier family, was seen as the perfect guide for Orphélie. She took her cousin under her wing, introducing her to the intricacies of high society—the principles of conversation, the importance of social graces, and the delicacies of courtship. And so, it was not long after that Orphélie found herself engaged to Aldéric Avery, who ironically was a peer of Eglantine’s husband when they attended Beauxbatons together.

When Brutus had heard of Orphélie’s engagement to Avery he was completely beside himself. Without any hesitance at all, Malfoy made the trip to France just in time for the engagement ball, eager to stop the inevitable from happening as he knew that a man like Avery could not make her happy.

The night of the ball, Brutus managed to smuggle himself inside Avery manor, the sound of laughter and clinking glasses filled the air, but all he could focus on was the sight of Orphélie, radiant in her sparkling gown, with a detached expression on her face as if she didn’t want to be there. Avery stood at her side, a smug smile plastered across his face, and Brutus felt a surge of anger rush through him.

Finally, he reached her. Orphélie turned, her eyes widening in surprise. “Brutus! What are you doing here?”

His voice trembled as he responded, “I had to see you. I had to understand.”

Before she could answer, he continued, “You can’t honestly believe this is right. Not with him.”

The room fell silent, turning their attention to the two of them. Orphélie's expression shifted from surprise to concern. “Brutus, it’s not what you think. Avery and I—”

“Is it?” he interrupted, his voice rising slightly, raw with emotion. “Is it what you want? Because it feels like a mistake to me, one that could cost you everything.”

At that moment everyone in the room went silent as they noticed what was transpiring right in front of them. They noticed the look of uncertainty on Orphélie’s face as she realized that this marriage isn’t what she wanted at all, although she felt trapped by the weight of her family’s expectations and her desire to live the way she wanted. It was then that Orphélie remembered that she did not want to submit to the wills of her parents like her elder sister did, and that by marrying Avery she wouldn’t have the life she wanted for herself.

It didn’t matter who she married now, although if she were to cut off her engagement with Avery then that would bring shame to the Volants. Orphélie now regretted not accepting Brutus’ proposal in the first place, for now she found herself trapped in a position she no longer wanted to be in. Looking into Brutus’ eyes, she knew that he was the one that she wanted, not Avery.

The engagement to Aldéric was cut off, much to the dismay of her parents. It frustrated them that their daughter’s indecisiveness had led to yet another bump in the road for the family, but they were relieved now that Orphélie was finally settling for Malfoy.

Brutus and Orphélie would be happily married for two years, the couple expecting a child within the short time of being together. It wasn’t until tragedy struck that the second eldest Volant sister would fall gravely ill after the birth of her son Nicholas Armand Malfoy, who was a stillborn. Only a day after giving birth Orphélie died, leaving Brutus widowed and without an heir.

Adélaïse Volant met Cantankerous Nott during one of her performances in England. The young ballerina managed to capture the older man’s attention, in spite of his reputation for being cold-hearted and incapable of love. Nott was known to have many affairs, but none of them ever lasted, many of the women disappearing shortly after their departure from the man. Cantankerous always had an eye for pretty things, especially when they fell so easily into his lap.

The two began a relationship together, causing the tabloids to go into a frenzy. No matter where they were Adélaïse would always be at the center of attention, a renowned French ballerina from a prominent and influential pure-blood family that was disgraced by a late member who gambled away their fortune, leaving them with nothing but debts hidden by a good name. Now she is with a well-known English wizard who has a reputation for being a ladykiller—figuratively and quite possibly literally, according to rumors. Reporters are just gobbling it all up.

It was overwhelming to say the least, and the Volants did not appreciate the spectacle their daughter was creating through her relationship with Nott. They had always prided themselves on their dignified reputation, and now, their daughter’s romance was splashed across every gossip column, casting shadows over their already tarnished name.

“Adélaïse, this is simply unacceptable,” her mother exclaimed during an evening visit to the girl’s hotel suite during her stay in England. “You’re drawing attention to us for all the wrong reasons. Nott’s reputation is hardly one to admire.”

Her father, usually more reserved, added, “We’ve worked so hard to restore our family’s honor. This relationship could undo everything! Nevermind your cousin Claude’s affair with that Veela woman! Nevermind your sister’s engagement to Avery! This could be the final straw that unravels everything!”

No matter what her parents thought, the second eldest Volant sister remained with Cantankerous. The downfall of their relationship came when Adélaïse found she was pregnant with Nott’s baby, which was the biggest scandal the Volant has ever faced since the disownment of her second cousin Claude Volant who impregnated a Veela. To say that Adélaïse’s parents were furious would be an understatement, for even they had considered the possibility of disowning their daughter if she did not marry Nott.

Reluctantly, for the sake of his reputation, as well as Adélaïse’s honor, Cantankerous married her. The two would have a son together named Theobald Nott born in 1928, only a few years after the death of his aunt Orphélie who passed away in 1926. The couple became quite distant towards each other afterwards, with Adélaïse focusing mainly on her son while Cantankerous seemed to despise the child his wife burdened him with.

Things within the Nott household began to become unstable as Adélaïse’s relationship with Cantankerous took a turn for the worse. It was obvious the two had grown apart and that Cantankerous’ affections for the boy he helped bring into the world were limited to superficial gestures. Fights between husband and wife became more frequent and family dinners in the dining hall together became infrequent.

Usually it was just Theobald and Adélaïse present during evening meals while Cantankerous locked himself away in his study, or was out on business. There were a lot of rumors in the paper that Cantankerous was abusing his wife and that his “business trips” consisted of visits to another woman’s bed. These rumors remained unconfirmed, but one thing can be said for certain: Adélaïse never sustained one bruise on her body, not matter how heated arguments between her and Cantankerous got; Nott would never lay a hand on his wife.

But as far as everyone else was concerned he would…. So when one day in 1932 when Adélaïse disappeared and was confirmed dead a few days later, everyone just assumed he killed her.

Sorry that the writing for Ségolène was so short. The dialogue and story bits I did for her sisters actually come from a short fanfic me and @theblackswan-and-thewhiterose did for them a little while back. All of it is just a mess tbh 😅

The original character Claude Volant is the son of Clotilde de Trefle-Picques and her husband, the disgraced Étienne Volant. He was created by @lazyreinelle.

Theobald Nott is an original character created by @knights-0f-walpurgis who has allowed us to use this character for the storyline we created.

14 notes · View notes

josefavomjaaga · 2 months ago

Text

"Me too" in January 1813

Except that this time, it was after Murat had left the remnants of the Grande Armée on 16 January that apparently everybody lined up in front of Eugène's headquarters and demanded "Going home? Me too, please, and asap."

And to be fair, with this they merely preempted Napoleon's orders. Since at least 9 January Napoleon had written to Berthier (directly and through Clarke) repeatedly to send to France everybody who was sick or wounded and also all superfluous marshals, generals and staff officers still with the army, while keeping only those who were truly necessary for the small amount of soldiers still under arms.

Except that Berthier had fallen gravely ill at the time, and with all the disorder during the hasty retreat that preceded Murat's departure, it's quite possible that Napoleon's orders were never received, or at least not read.

It was only after some calm had returned, that the new (very reluctant) commander of the (very reduced) Grande Armée managed to file through all those probably unopened letters of the last weeks. On 23 January, Eugène wrote to Napoleon:

In accordance with Your Majesty's orders, I have instructed a large number of wounded, sick or tired generals to make themselves and their staffs available to the Minister of War. I gave the same authorisation to Marshals Ney, Macdonald and Mortier. I have kept in the army only the Marshals Prince d'Eckmühl [Davout], Duke of Bellune [Victor], Duke of Istrie [Bessières - of course he would stay to look after the kid] and Saint-Cyr. The Prince Major-General [Berthier] is a little better today, but his condition still gives rise to the same fears.

This apparently led to a flurry of activity and was reflected in various newspaper reports:

Le Moniteur Westphalien, 27 January 1813

Berlin, 23 January: His Excellency the Imperial Marshal Duke of Taranto and His Excellency the Imperial Marshal Duke of Elchingen as well as about 2o Imperial French generals of various ranks, and among them adjutants of His Majesty the King of Naples and the Prince of Neuchatel, arrived here yesterday and the day before yesterday from the army and in some cases passed through here for their further destination.

Berlinische Nachrichten von Staats- und gelehrten Sachen, 28 January 1813:

His Excellency the Imperial French Imperial Marshal Duke of Treviſo (Mortier) arrived here the day before yesterday; His Excellency the Imperial French Imperial Marshal Duke of Elchingen (Ney) left here for Paris. A large number of Imperial French generals and senior staff officers are constantly returning from the army through here to Paris.

Bayreuther Zeitung, 28 January 1813:

Berlin, 21 January. Arrived here from the Oder on the 19th and 20th: Their Excellencies the Imperial Marshals, Dukes of Elchingen (Ney) and of Tarentum (Macdonald); the Imperial French Division and Brigade Generals Pujol, Defrance, Monnet, Bouvier, Chonard, Benard, Poultier, Dunier, Faure, Corbineau, Roussel, Grouchy, together with several colonels and officers of all grades.

Augsburgische Ordinari-Postzeitung, 3 February 1813:

Leipzig, 30 January. On the 28th of this month, Their Excellencies the Imperial French Imperial Marshals, the Dukes of Treviso (Mortier), of Elchingen (Ney), and of Abrantes (Junot), arrived here from the army and immediately continued their journey to France.

And so on, and so on. The funny part: At the same time - in order to hide what was going on, probably - somebody launched reports in the newspaper about a 40,000-strong army under Ney assembling in Posen. People reading those papers must have been quite confused.

#napoleon's marshals #joachim murat #michel ney #edouard mortier #louis nicolas davout #laurent de gouvion saint cyr #jean baptiste bessieres #claude-victor perrin #napoleon's family #eugene de beauharnais #jean andoche junot #napoleon's generals #napoleonic era #posen 1813 #prussia 1813 #louis alexandre berthier

9 notes · View notes