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NEW PHOTO\'S ADDED FOR CLARITY !**1733 Feudal Homage of the Seigneur d’Oloron
Chambre des Comptes de Navarre, Pau**
With Procuration of Jean Delbret (31 March 1733)
Fiefs in Burgui, High Navarre and Soule
This is an original 1733 feudal homage document issued under the authority of the Chambre des Comptes de Navarre, seated at Pau in the Kingdom of Navarre. It records the formal homage owed by the Seigneur d’Oloron, one of the major noble lines of Béarn and Navarre, for his lands and rights in Burgui (High Navarre) and Montagnon (Soule).
The noble did not appear personally. Instead he was represented by Jean Delbret, acting under a formally recorded special procuration dated 31 March 1733. The homage was entered into the registers on 28 June 1733, and the required fees were paid the same day.
The document is fully signed at the bottom by the royal officer of the Chambre des Comptes and is countersigned by the scribe Noble Charles de Celeray.
This is an early, well-preserved example of a pre-Revolution French feudal oath from a region with a unique semi-autonomous legal tradition. Documents tied directly to the Oloron line are uncommon.
Size
Approx. 18 x 12 inches (vellum).
Condition
Good for age. Expected toning, spotting, and faintness to some of the integrated handwritten text. All signatures strong and clear.
⭐ WHY THIS DOCUMENT IS IMPORTANT1. It is a feudal homage from a major noble house
The Seigneurs d’Oloron were tied to the ancient Viscounty of Oloron, one of the oldest powers in Béarn. Homage acts from this line rarely appear outside archives.
2. It is validated by the Chambre des Comptes de Navarre
This court handled sovereignty, taxation, noble rights, and feudal holdings. Documents from this court are prized by collectors of French legal and Basque history.
3. It names the exact fiefs
These can be mapped to the Pyrenean Basque frontier, where landholding history is exceptionally rich.
4. It includes a procuration with date and agent
The presence of a procuration is a legally significant detail showing the noble’s administration of distant holdings.
5. Complete signatures and fee accounting
The fee note confirms the act was fully executed and accepted by the crown’s legal officers.
⭐ BIOGRAPHIES OF INDIVIDUALS & FAMILIES1. The Seigneur d’Oloron
The title Seigneur d’Oloron refers to a noble attached to the ancient town and territory of Oloron-Sainte-Marie, located in Béarn, historically part of the Kingdom of Navarre.
Oloron served as an episcopal seat and a major regional authority from the Middle Ages onward.
Noble families holding Oloron lands included branches of:
the Oloron, d’Oloron, and later
the Béarnais families connected to Montaigu, Sault, and Navarrese episcopal networks.
In 17th–18th century records of Pau and Navarre, the title “Seigneur d’Oloron” appears in homage registers for nobles holding rights in Burgui, Cize, and Soule.
Homage documents for this house are uncommon on the open market.
2. Jean Delbret (or Delbreil)
The document identifies him as:
“Jean Delbret, procureur spécialle du 31 mars 1733”
This means he acted as legal procurator, a common role among educated notaries and lawyers of Béarn.
The surname Delbret / Delbreil is historically widespread in Navarre, Orthez, Pau, and Soule. Members of the family appear as:
royal notaries,
advocates in the Cour de Navarre,
tax officers (receveurs),
and municipal officials throughout the 1600s and 1700s.
Jean Delbret likely served as a trusted legal representative for nobles managing lands across the Pyrenees.
3. Noble Charles de Celeray
He appears clearly in the document as:
“Noble Charles de Celeray”
This name occurs in multiple 18th-century administrative acts in Pau.
The Celeray family belonged to the lesser Béarnais nobility and served in several clerical and administrative capacities.
Charles de Celeray likely functioned as:
clerk or registrar for the Chambre des Comptes, or
a royal secretary assisting with feudal registrations.
His role was to physically enter and validate the homage in the registers.
4. Officer of the Chambre des Comptes (signature at bottom)
The bottom signature corresponds to the judge or clerk who validated the act “Par le Roy en sa Chambre des Comptes de Navarre.”
Officers of this court held jurisdiction over:
Their signatures authenticate the homage as legally binding.
⭐ FULL TRANSCRIPTION (FRENCH)
Below is the handwritten text integrated into the printed form.
Header Notation28 juin 1733Inserted textSeigneur d’Oloron par le ministère de Jean Delbretprocureur spécialle du 31e mars 1733 retenue en la Ville de Foix.Lettre de la Chambre.Dateno, Cannaoue et Castelleet en haute Navarresituées à la paroisse de Burgui avec les biens droits et revenus en dépendants.Plus pour un terroir appelé d’Audenpartie sur le bord de Montagnon situé au Comté de Soulede six percheeurs environ.Clerk identification (upper right)Noble Charles de CelerayFee note (bottom left)Droits pour le présent hommage trois livres huit sols neuf deniersreçus le jourd’hui 28 juin 1733.Signature blockPar le Roy en sa Chambre des Comptes de Navarre[signature]⭐ FULL ENGLISH TRANSLATIONInserted text
**“Lord of Oloron, by the ministry (representation) of Jean Delbret,
special procuration of the 31st of March 1733, recorded in the Town of Foix.
Letter of the Chamber.
Dateno, Cannaoue, and Castelleet in Upper Navarre,
situated in the parish of Burgui with the lands, rights, and revenues depending therefrom.
Also a parcel of land called Auden,
part of the border of Montagnon situated in the County of Soule,
of about six percheurs in extent.”**
Clerk
“Noble Charles de Celeray.”
Fees
“Fees for the present homage: three livres, eight sols, nine deniers,
received this day the 28th of June 1733.”
Validation
“By order of the King in his Chamber of Accounts of Navarre.”
