How did Michel de Montaigne’s family gain wealth and nobility?

Michel de Montaigne’s family fortune was established through commerce by his great-grandfather, who successfully acquired the family estate and a title of nobility.1

Following this foundation, Montaigne’s grandfather and his father, Pierre Eyquem, expanded the family's standing by entering the realm of public service. Through these efforts, they established the family within the noblesse de robe, which was the administrative nobility of France. Pierre Eyquem further solidified this social position by serving as the mayor of Bordeaux, a role that Michel de Montaigne would also later hold.1