The ennobling is a formal act of promotion of a person by the will of a sovereign, causing a change of social status by conferring on him the nobility.

The ennoblement by the kings of France is known since the thirteenth century, the first of ennoblement preserved being conferred by Philip III the Hardi in 1271 to his Paymaster Raoul and his barber Philippe Labrosse. With the first ennobles specified by a written act, the kings of France reserved the right to create the nobility and to erect fiefdoms in title.

From 1339, under Philip VI of Valois, the letters of ennoblement must be referred by the Chamber of Accounts, and later must be registered in Parliament and the Court of Helps

The last ennobles in France date from the reign of Napoleon III. Within the French nobility, one can distinguish in France families ennobled by letter, by office and function. Certain offices conferred the personal nobility on their holder, without being hereditary.

• Dictionary of ennobles and lists of families having their names changed from the Registers of the Court of Auditors and the Court of Help; by François Godet de Soudé, master of the Court of Auditors

Nominative directory of 9000 people ennobled by the kings of France since the 13th century