House of Rohan
The House of Rohan (Breton: Roc'han) is a Breton family of viscounts, later dukes and princes in the French nobility, coming from the locality of Rohan in Brittany. Their line descends from the viscounts of Porhoët and is said to trace back to the legendary Conan Meriadoc. Through the Porhoët family, the Rohans are related to the Dukes of Brittany, with whom the family intermingled again after its inception. During the Middle Ages, it was one of the most powerful families in the Duchy of Brittany. The Rohans developed ties with the French and English royal houses as well, and they played an important role in French and European history.
| House of Rohan Maison de Rohan | |
|---|---|
| Parent house | Porhoët |
| Place of origin | Duchy of Brittany |
| Founded | 1116 |
| Founder | Alan I, Viscount of Rohan |
| Current head | Charles VI Raoul de Rohan, Duke of Montbazon |
| Titles | See list |
| Connected families | Rohan-Chabot |
| Motto | A plus |
| Estate(s) | Rohan Castle Palais Rohan, Strasbourg Palais Rohan, Bordeaux Josselin Castle Château de Joyeuse Garde Château de Blain Saint-Étienne-du-Gué-de-l'Isle Sychrov Castle Hôtel de Soubise |
| Cadet branches |
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The only surviving line of the family is the branch of Rohan-Rochefort, Dukes of Montbazon, Dukes of Bouillon and Austrian Princes of Rohan, who migrated in the early 19th century to what is now Austria.
Following his marriage in 1645 with Marguerite de Rohan, only daughter of Henri II de Rohan, first Duke of Rohan (who died in 1638 with no male heir), Henri Chabot, a descendant of the eldest branch of the House of Chabot from Poitou, was made Duke of Rohan in 1648 and allowed to use the name of Rohan-Chabot instead of his own, thus giving rise to the House of Rohan-Chabot.