Louis I, Duke of Bourbon

Louis I
Duke of Bourbon
Born	1279
Died	1341 (aged 61–62)
Spouse	Mary of Avesnes
Issue	Peter I, Duke of Bourbon Joanna, Countess of Forez Margaret of Bourbon Marie, Latin Empress Philip of Bourbon James of Bourbon James I, Count of La Marche Beatrice, Queen of Bohemia
House	Bourbon
Father	Robert, Count of Clermont
Mother	Beatrix of Burgundy

Louis I, called the Lame (1279 – 22 January 1341) was Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis and La Marche and the first Duke of Bourbon.

Life

Louis was born in Clermont-en-Beauvaisis, the son of Robert, Count of Clermont, and a grandson of King Louis IX of France. Louis' mother was Beatrix of Burgundy, heiress of Bourbon and a granddaughter of Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy.

He fought on the losing side in the Battle of the Golden Spurs (1302) and in the Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle (1304), but managed to escape unharmed. In 1310, he was made Grand Chambrier of France. In 1327, Charles IV of France persuaded him to exchange the County of Clermont for that of La Marche, and elevated Bourbon to a duchy-peerage. However, Clermont was restored to him by Philip VI of France in 1331. He belonged to Philip VI's small circle of trusted advisors.

Duke Louis is reported to have been somewhat mentally unstable, in particular suffering from nervous breakdowns. The trait is believed to have been hereditary, with his granddaughter Joanna of Bourbon, her son, King Charles VI of France, and Charles' grandson, King Henry VI of England, all displaying similar symptoms.

He was buried in the now-demolished church of the Couvent des Jacobins in Paris.

Family and children

In 1310, Louis married Mary of Avesnes, daughter of John II of Avesnes, Count of Hainaut and Holland by Philippa of Luxembourg. They had eight children:

1. Peter I, Duke of Bourbon (1311–1356), married Isabella of Valois, had issue. Peter was killed at the Battle of Poitiers
2. Joanna (1312–1402), married in 1324 Guigues VII, Count of Forez
3. Margaret (1313–1362), married on 6 July 1320 Jean II de Sully, married in 1346 Hutin de Vermeilles
4. Marie of Bourbon, Latin Empress (1315–1387, Naples), married first in Nicosia in January 1330 Guy of Lusignan (d. 1343), titular Prince of Galilee, married second on 9 September 1347 Robert of Taranto, the titular Latin Emperor. Only her first marriage produced surviving children.
5. Philip (1316 – aft. 1327)
6. James (1318)
7. James I, Count of La Marche (1319 – 1362), killed at the Battle of Brignais, from whom the later royal Bourbons descend.
8. Beatrice of Bourbon (1320 – 23 December 1383, Danvillers), married first at Vincennes in 1334 John of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia as his second wife, married secondly c. 1347 Eudes II of Grancey (d. 1389)

From a relation to Jeanne de Bourbon-Lancy, dame de Clessy, he had several bastard children:

• Jean (ca. 1297-1375), "bastard de Bourbon"", knight, seigneur of Rochefort, Ébreuil, Beçay le Guérant, Bellenave, Jenzat, Serrant and la Bure, advisor to the dukes of Berry and of Bourbon, lieutenant du Forez, married Agnès Chaleu for his third wife;
• "N" (eldest daughter), married to Girard of Châtillon-en-Bazois in 1317;
• Guy (vers 1299-1349), seigneur of Clessy, la Ferté-Chauderon and Montpensier (Louis recognized him as his child in 1346, but the child was taken from him that same year). Married in 1315 Agnès of Chastellus, then between 1330 and 1333 Isabelle of Chastelperron;
• Jeannette, bâtarde de Bourbon, married in 1310 to Guichard of Chastellus.

Ancestors

Family of Louis I, Duke of Bourbon

16. Philip II of France 8. Louis VIII of France 17. Isabelle of Hainaut 4. Louis IX of France 18. Alfonso VIII of Castile 9. Blanche of Castile 19. Leonora of England 2. Robert, Count of Clermont 20. Alfonso II, Count of Provence 10. Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence 21. Garsenda of Forcalquier 5. Marguerite of Provence 22. Thomas I, Count of Savoy 11. Beatrice of Savoy 23. Marguerite of Geneva 1. Louis I, Duke of Bourbon 24. Eudes III, Duke of Burgundy 12. Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy 25. Alice of Vergy 6. John of Burgundy 26. Robert III of Dreux 13. Yolande of Dreux 27. Aénor of Saint-Valéry 3. Beatrix of Bourbon 28. Archambaud VIII of Bourbon 14. Archambaud IX of Bourbon 29. Guigone de Forez 7. Agnes of Dampierre 30. Guy de Châtillon 15. Yolande de Châtillon 31. Agnès de Donzy

Patrilineal descent

Patrilineal descent

Louis' patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son. Patrilineal descent is the principle behind membership in royal houses, as it can be traced back through the generations - which means that if Duke Louis were to choose an historically accurate house name it would be Robertian, as all his male-line ancestors have been of that house. Louis is a member of the House of Bourbon, a branch of the Capetian dynasty and of the Robertians. Louis' patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son. It follows the Kings of France and the Counts of Paris and Worms. This line can be traced back more than 1,200 years to the present day, through Kings of France & Navarre, Spain and Two-Sicilies, Dukes of Parma and Grand-Dukes of Luxembourg, Princes of Orléans and Emperors of Brazil. It is one of the oldest in Europe. Robert II of Worms and Rheingau (Robert of Hesbaye), 770 - 807 Robert III of Worms and Rheingau, 808 - 834 Robert IV the Strong, 820 - 866 Robert I of France, 866 - 923 Hugh the Great, 895 - 956 Hugh Capet, 941 - 996 Robert II of France, 972 - 1031 Henry I of France, 1008–1060 Philip I of France, 1053–1108 Louis VI of France, 1081–1137 Louis VII of France, 1120–1180 Philip II of France, 1165–1223 Louis VIII of France, 1187–1226 Louis IX of France, 1215–1270 Robert, Count of Clermont, 1256–1317 Louis I, Duke of Bourbon, 1279–1342

In fiction

Louis is a supporting character in Les Rois maudits (The Accursed Kings), a series of French historical novels by Maurice Druon. He was portrayed by Robert Nogaret in the 1972 French miniseries adaptation of the series, and by M. Radecu in the 2005 adaptation.

References

• de la Thaumassière (sieur du Puy-Ferrand), Gaspard Thaumas, Histoire de Berry, Vol.3, Imprimerie et Lithographie de A. Jollet, 1868.
• The Encyclopedia Americana: a library of universal knowledge, Vol.4, J.D.Lyon Company:Albany, New York, 1919.