Located in the Pont de Beauvoisin district, these seigneuries came from the Montbel. Deceased childless, François de Montbel named his mother, Philippine de Lannoy, his heir, by will dated March 12, 1536. In spite of long lawsuits against Sébastien de Montbel, comte d'Entremont, who claimed Verel and Dullin because of substitutions inserted in his ancestors' wills, she kept the seigneuries and passed them on to Philibert de la Forest, baron de la Batie d'Albanais. In a deed of 1546, he calls himself lord of Verel and of Dullin as heir of François de Montbel, through Philippine de Lannoy, mother of this one. We do not know why François de Montbel had bequeathed these two fiefs to Philibert de la Forest. Was it to pay back a debt or a loan that he could not have honored in another way, or because of family or relationship reasons of which we are not aware? It seems evident that old and strong links existed between these branches of the Montbel and the la Forest. Philibert left to his son Charles de la Forest, chamberlain of duke Charles Emmanuel the first, these two seigneuries which, united to the jurisdiction of Pont de Beauvoisin and to the high, middle and low jurisdictions of La Bridoire, acquired by Charles from the ducal land on February 20, 1594, for 7,000 gold ECU, were elevated to earldom in his favor by patent letters of the penultimate day of February of that year, under the name and denomination of earldom of la Forest. Charles had only one daughter, Charlotte Emmanuelle, and made his second wife, Marguerite de Seyssel la Chambre, and his beneficiary heiress. She sold the lands, jurisdictions and mandates of Verel and Dullin to their nephew the marquis de Saint Severin, son of the count de Saint Severin and of Ennemonde de la Forest. Verel and Dullin were subsequently elevated to the status of earldom in favor of the above mentioned marquis. It does not seem that at that time, there was any castle on these seigneuries. Only old seigniorial places of residence, remodeled, and hardly recognizable, can be found there. They have been inhabited by the la Forest during their stays in the area, which did not seem to have been the center of their territorial or residence interests.
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