Château Lafite-Rothschild: The Seigneurs of Lafite
Regardless of its uncertain origins, within a hundred years or so of Gombaud de Lafite’s stewardship of the abbey at Vertheuil, Lafite was indeed documented as being a seigneurie. The seigneurial system was, in essence, Medieval French feudalism; seigneurs – knightish characters of a robust nature – held sway over their particular domaine, or fiefdom, perhaps controlling other nearby lesser fiefs, and paying homage to grander or more noble estates nearby.
For evidence of this we turn again to the writings of the aforementioned Abbé Jacques Baurein. Baurein was a member of the Académie de Bordeaux and the archivist for the Chapitre Saint André, one of the most powerful Roman Catholic institutions in Bordeaux. In penning his Variétés Bordeloises Baurein called upon the archives at his disposal, which included a wealth of ancient correspondence between priests, bishops and the archbishop, using the documents to describe elements of life in Bordeaux during medieval times.
As already mentioned, he tells us of the existence of one Gombaud de Lafite during the 13th century. Delving further into the pages of his text, he also writes of Jean de Lafite (again translated by me):
Lafite is the name of the Lordship upon which the High Court of Pauillac depends. This seigneurie is ancient, and seigneurs of this name are found mentioned in ancient documents, among others, in one dated March 8th, 1355, in which there is mention of a Jean de Lafite, who is stated there as an inhabitant of the Parish of Pauliac.
This Jean de Lafite is the most likely ‘first proprietor’ of Lafite, and is presumably a relative of the abbot Gombaud, with some shared ancestor.
