Louis de Bourbon-Vendôme (2 January 1493, in Ham, Picardy, France – 13 March 1557), was the son of Francis, Count of Vendôme and Marie of Luxembourg and a French prince du sang and religious leader.

Life

He was the third son of François de Bourbon and Marie de Luxembourg, Countess of St. Pol, he was raised largely in the castle of La Fere, where his mother had come to reside after being widowed. He was godfather to Louis de Bourbon, Prince de la Roche-sur-Yon. He is sometimes called Francois-Louis, with Vendome Latinised as "Vendocimo".

He was the nephew of Cardinal Philippe de Luxembourg (1495) and Charles II of Bourbon (1476). He was the uncle of Cardinal Charles II of Bourbon (1548), and great-uncle of Cardinal Charles III of Bourbon (1583).

He studied at the College of Navarre, and became doctor of theology at the Sorbonne, he had become headmaster during the reign of Henry II. He was ordained priest in Faremoutiers by Cardinal Georges d'Amboise, Legate of France.

Elected Bishop of Laon on 24 April 1510 with an exemption because he had not reached the canonical age, he took his vows in front of King Francis I 9 June 1517 and was elevated to cardinal in the consistory of 1 July 1517 ; he was appointed as the first abbot of St. Denis in 1529, Archbishop of Sens in 1535, Father, Lord of Conde. He raised his nephew, Louis I de Bourbon, Prince de Conde.

He rebuilt the castle Anizy-le-Chateau, and build the Palais Bourbon. He was present at the coronation of Queen Claude of France in the abbey of Saint-Denis (10 May 1517), signed the marriage contract of Dauphin Francis with Mary of England.

He baptized Prince Francis (Fontainebleau, 2 February 1542) and Henry of Navarre (1554), celebrated the marriage of Madeleine of France (1520–1537) with James V of Scotland (Notre-Dame de Paris, 1 January 1536). He presided over the funeral of Louise of Savoy (18 August 1530) and of the king in the Abbey of St. Denis 23 May 1547. He crowned the queen Eleanor of Austria (5 March 1531) and Catherine de Medicis (Abbey of St. Denis, 10 June 1549).

He stood away from the elections of Pope Adrian VI (1521–22), Pope Clement VII (1523) and Pope Julius III (1549–1550), but was present at the election of Pope Paul III (1534), Pope Marcellus II (1555), and Pope Paul IV (1555). He took part in the war council of 18 February 1536 decided that the resumption of hostilities with Emperor Charles V. He presided over the convocation at Melun in 1548. In 1551 Henry II appointed him military governor of Picardy, and in 1552 Paris and the Ile-de-France.

He is buried in the chancel of the cathedral of Laon. Pierre Jumel pronounced his funeral oration.

References

Further reading

• https://web.archive.org/web/20100124103037/http://membres.multimania.fr/heratlas/Rodumna/bourbonnais/familles/Bourbon-Vendome.htm
• http://www.thepeerage.com/p11371.htm
• Miranda, Salvador. "BOURBON DE VENDÔME, Louis II de (1493-1557)". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Florida International University. OCLC 53276621.
• http://www.francebalade.com/vendome/bouvendom.htm
• http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bbouven.html

Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, often simply called Vendôme (1 July 1654 – 11 June 1712) was a French general and Marshal of France. One of the great generals of his era, he was one of Louis XIV's most successful commanders in the War of the Grand Alliance and War of the Spanish Succession.

Vendôme joined the French Army and was promoted Lieutenant General in 1688 after his distinguished combat record in the Franco-Dutch War. Further successes entitled him to his first army command in 1695, and soon after, he was rewarded with a promotion to Marshal of France.

Vendôme was one of the most aggressive and successful French army commanders during the wars of Louis XIV. His charisma, courage and skill won him the loyalty of his troops and the Spanish crown for the House of Bourbon.

Biography

Louis Joseph de Bourbon was born in Paris, the son of Louis, Duke of Vendôme and Laura Mancini. Orphaned at the age of fifteen, he inherited a vast fortune from his father that had been handed down from his great-grandmother, the duchesse de Mercœur et Penthièvre. Prior to succeeding his father in 1669, he was known as the duc de Penthièvre. He was raised by his aunt, Marie Anne Mancini, duchesse de Bouillon.

Entering the army at the age of eighteen, Vendôme soon distinguished himself by his vigour and personal courage in the Dutch wars, and by 1688, he had risen to the rank of lieutenant-general. In the Nine Years' War, he rendered conspicuous service under the duc de Luxembourg at the Battle of Steenkerke, and under Nicolas Catinat at Marsaglia. In 1695, he was placed in command of the army operating in Catalonia, where he took Barcelona in 1697.

Soon afterwards, Vendome was made a Marshal of France. In 1702, after the first unsuccessful campaign of Catinat and Villeroi, he was placed in command of the Franco-Spanish army in Italy. During three campaigns in that country, he proved himself a worthy antagonist to Prince Eugène of Savoy, whom he at last defeated in 1705 at Cassano in a magnificent show of courage and command over his troops, converting the impending defeat that his indolent brother Philippe had incurred, into a glorious success.

The next year, after holding his own as before, and gaining another victory at Calcinato, he was sent to Flanders to repair the disaster of Ramillies. Following the departure of Vendôme to shore up the shattered army in the Flanders, Prince Eugène and the Duke of Savoy inflicted a heavy loss on the French under the duc d'Orléans and Ferdinand de Marsin at the Battle of Turin, driving the French out of Italy by the end of the year. In Flanders, meanwhile, Vendôme quarrelled with the king's unenterprising grandson, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, and was unable to prevent the French defeat at the Battle of Oudenarde.

In disgust, Vendôme retired to his estates. It wasn't long, however, before he was summoned back to take command of the army of his cousin, Philip V of Spain. There, he won his last victories, crowning his work triumphantly in the battles of Brihuega and Villaviciosa. Before the end of the war, he died suddenly at Vinaròs on 11 June 1712 and was buried at El Escorial in Spain.

Assessment

Vendôme was one of the most remarkable soldiers in the history of the French army. He had, besides the skill and the fertile imagination of the true army leader, the brilliant courage of a soldier. The real secret of his continuous success, however, was his extraordinary influence over his men. He seldom made mistakes, and his opponent Eugene of Savoy praised the brilliance of some of his actions in his memoirs.

Marriage

Vendôme married Marie Anne de Bourbon, a daughter of Henri Jules, Prince of Condé and granddaughter of Le Grand Condé.

Marie Anne was unmarried at the time of her father’s death, and still had no marriage prospects when her brother, who became the Prince of Condé in 1709, died the next year. She could have married the duc du Maine in 1692, but Maine preferred Marie Anne's sister, Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon, and married her instead.

The marriage ceremony occurred at the chapel at the Château de Sceaux on 21 May 1710. Sceaux was the residence of Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon. Louis Joseph was fifty-five years old at the time. He was a Marshal of France and had been designated as the heir of his cousin, King Philip V of Spain. In the event that Philip should die childless, the House of Bourbon had decided that Louis Joseph would become the next king of Spain.

His marriage to Marie Anne remained childless though, perhaps due to the homosexual tendencies of Louis Joseph; Marie Anne died in 1718 without issue.

Although Louis XIV had given permission for the marriage, the manipulative duc and duchesse du Maine hurriedly arranged the details of the wedding, probably for mercenary reasons. Even though the Dowager Princess of Condé was not informed of the marriage, she was present at the bedding ceremony at Sceaux along with Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon, his wife Marie Anne de Bourbon, the Dowager Princess of Conti, and her children the Prince of Conti and Mademoiselle de La Roche-sur-Yon.

On his death, Louis Joseph left his wife the duchy of Étampes and its lands. She held this title in her own right. When she died, it went to her niece, the Princess of Conti.

Sexuality

The Duke was known to be homosexual. Other members of his family, including his brother Philippe and his grandfather César, Duke of Vendôme, were also known for their homosexuality/bisexuality, which led to the family mansion on Place Vendôme being called the Hôtel de Sodome in the 17th century. According to Saint-Simon, Louis-Joseph "plunged...more than anyone else" into sodomy, satisfying his desires with "his valets and officers". Saint-Simon wrote of the Duke's relationship with Louis XIV that, although the King "had always a singular horror of the inhabitants of the Cities of the Plain [homosexuals]...M. de Vendôme, though most odiously stained with that vice - so publicly that he treated it as an ordinary gallantry - never found his favor diminished on that account." Those who wished to curry favor with Vendôme would try and win over his lovers first. One contemporary account alleges that on his estate at the Chateau d'Anet, peasant men from the neighborhood would wait for the Duke in the woods when he went out hunting, hoping to be paid for sexual favors.

Louis-Joseph suffered from syphilis and lost part of his nose to the disease. He was the first courtier to seek leave from court to be treated for the disease with Mercury salts, known as the "Great Remedy" (le grand remède).

Ancestry

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

Sources

• Orr, Clarissa Campbell, ed. (2004). Queenship in Europe 1660-1815: The Role of the Consort. Cambridge University Press.

Charles de Bourbon (2 June 1489 – 25 March 1537) was a French prince du sang and military commander at the court of Francis I of France.

Biography

Charles was born at the Château de Vendôme, eldest son of Francis de Bourbon, Count of Vendôme and Marie of Luxembourg.

Charles succeeded his father as Count of Vendôme in 1495. Charles's first military service was in Italy, under King Louis XII of France. In 1514, he was created Duke of Vendôme when the county of Vendôme was elevated into a duchy. He fought at the Battle of Marignano (1515) and participated in the Flemish campaign. Because of his loyalty to the King, he was appointed head of the council when King Francis I was captured at the Battle of Pavia.

Marriage and issue

On 18 May 1513, Charles married Françoise d'Alençon, eldest daughter of René, Duke of Alençon and Margaret of Lorraine. They had:

1. Louis de Bourbon (1514–1516), died in infancy.
2. Marie de Bourbon (1515–1538), unmarried, prospective bride of King James V of Scotland in 1536.
3. Marguerite de Bourbon (1516–1559), married in 1538, Francis I, Duke of Nevers (1516–1561)
4. Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme (1518–1562), King of Navarre through his marriage (jure uxoris) in 1548 to Queen Jeanne III.
5. François de Bourbon, Count of Enghien (1519–1546), unmarried.
6. Madeleine de Bourbon (1521–1561), Abbess of Sainte-Croix de Poitiers.
7. Louis de Bourbon (1522–1525), died in infancy.
8. Charles de Bourbon (1523–1590), Archbishop of Rouen
9. Catherine de Bourbon (1525–1594), Abbess of Soissons.
10. Renée de Bourbon (1527–1583), Abbess of Chelles.
11. Jean de Bourbon, Count of Soissons and Enghien (1528–1557), married in 1557, his first cousin, Marie, Duchess of Estouteville (1539–1601)
12. Louis I de Bourbon, Prince of Condé (1530–1569), married in 1551 with Eléonore de Roye, daughter of Charles de Roye, Count of Royce then in 1565 with Francoise d'Orléans-Longueville.
13. Léonore de Bourbon (1532–1611), Abbess of Fontevraud.

Ancestors

References

Sources

• Boltanski, Ariane (2006). Les Ducs de Nevers et L'etat Royal: Genese d'un compromis (ca.1550 - ca 1600) (in French). Librairie Droz S.A.
• Busby, Keith; Freeman, M.J.; Houppermans, Sjef; Pelckmans, Paul, eds. (1993). Les Manuscrits de Chrétien de Troyes. Vol. 2. Rodopi.
• Holt, Mack P. (1999). The French Wars of Religion, 1562-1629. Cambridge University Press.
• Knecht, R.J. (1982). Francis I. Cambridge University Press.
• Pitts, Vincent J. (2009). Henri IV of France: His Reign and Age. Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Potter, David (1993). War and Government in the French Provinces, Picardy 1470-1560. Cambridge University Press.
• Potter, David (1995). A History of France, 1460-1560. St. Martin's Press.
• Shennan, J. H. (2007). The Bourbons: The History of a Dynasty. Bloomsbury Academic.

Louis de Bourbon (Louis I, Count of Vendôme) (1376 – December 21, 1446), younger son of John I, Count of La Marche and Catherine de Vendôme, was a French prince du sang, as well as Count of Vendôme from 1393, and Count of Castres from 1425 until his death.

Louis was a supporter of the duc d'Orléans, and obtained valuable posts at court, becoming Grand Chamberlain of France in 1408 and Grand Maître de France in 1413. As part of the Armagnac faction, he was at odds with the Burgundians, and was imprisoned by them twice, in 1407 and 1412.

In 1414, Louis married Blanche (d. 1421), daughter of Hugh II, Count of Roucy; but he was captured the next year by the English at the Battle of Agincourt, and held by them for some time. Freed, he was in command of French forces at Cravant and later captured, 31 July 1423.

In 1424, he married Jeanne de Laval (d. 1468), daughter of Guy XIII, Count of Laval and Anne de Laval, at Rennes. Their children were:

• Catherine de Bourbon (b. 1425)
• Gabrielle de Bourbon (b. 1426)
• John VIII, Count of Vendôme (1425–1477)

He also had an illegitimate son, fathered with the Englishwoman, Sybil Bostum, during his captivity:

• John de Bourbon, Bastard of Vendôme (c. 1420–1496), Seigneur de Preaux.

Faithful to the king, he subsequently joined Joan of Arc and many other French nobles at the defense of Orléans in 1429, commanded at the siege of Jargeau, and assisted in the coronation at Reims. He was later present at the Treaty of Arras (1435). He died in Tours.

References

Sources

• Askins, William (2000). "The Brothers Orleans and their Keepers". In Arn, Mary-Jo (ed.). Charles D'Orléans in England, 1415-1440. D.S. Brewer.
• Grammit, David (2010). "Battle near Crevant". In Rogers, Clifford J. (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press.
• Grummitt, David (2015). Henry VI. Routledge.
• Henneman, John Bell (1995). "Bourbon". In Kibler, William W. (ed.). Medieval France: An Encyclopedia. Routledge.
• Potter, David (1995). Keen, Maurice (ed.). A History of France, 1460–1560: The Emergence of a Nation State. Macmillan.
• Walsby, Malcolm (2007). The Counts of Laval: Culture, Patronage and Religion in Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-Century France. Ashgate.

Count of Vendôme and, later, Duke of Vendôme were titles of French nobility. The first-known holder of the comital title was Bouchard Ratepilate. The county passed by marriage to various houses, coming in 1372 to a junior branch of the House of Bourbon. In 1514, Vendôme was made a duchy-peerage.

In 1589, the then Duke of Vendôme came to the throne as Henry IV of France, and the title passed into the royal domain. It was re-granted to his illegitimate son César in 1598, and held by his descendants until the extinction of the legitimate male line in 1727.

The title was later revived by Orléanist claimants to the throne of France as a courtesy title.

Counts of Vendôme

Bouchardides

• Bouchard Ratepilate (c. 930 – 956...967)
• Bouchard I (956...967–1005), also Count of Paris and Count of Corbeil by marriage
• Renaud (1005–1017), Bishop of Paris 991–1017

House of Nevers

• Bodon of Nevers (1017–1023), by marriage to Adèle de Vendôme-Anjou, daughter of Fulk III of Anjou and Elisabeth de Vendôme, daughter of Bouchard I
• Bouchard II (1023–1028)
  • under the regency of Fulk III of Anjou (1023–1027)
• shared between Adèle de Vendôme-Anjou and Fulk de Vendôme (1028–1032)

House of Anjou

• Geoffrey I (1032–1056), also Count of Anjou (succeeded Adèle by cession and drove out Fulk)

House of Nevers

• Fulk de Vendôme (1056–1066), reinstated by Henry I of France
• Bouchard III (1066–1085)
  • under the regency of Guy of Nouastre (1066–1075)

House of Preuilly

• Geoffrey II (1085–1102), Lord of Preuilly, married Euphrosine, daughter of Fulk of Vendôme
• Geoffrey III (1102–1137)
  • under the regency (1102–1105) of Euphrosine
• John I (1137–1180)
• Bouchard IV (1180–1202)
• John II (1202–1211)
  • under the regency (1202–1211) of Geoffrey, son of John I
• John III 1211–1217

House of Montoire

• John IV (1217–1230), Lord of Montoire, grandson of Bouchard IV
• Peter I (1230–1249)
• Bouchard V (1249–1270)
• John V (1271–1315)
• Bouchard VI (1315–1354)
• John VI (1354–1364)
• Bouchard VII (1364–1371)
• Joanna (1371–1372)
  • under the regency of her grandmother Joanna of Ponthieu (1371–1372)
• Catherine (1372–1403)
  • with John I of Bourbon-La Marche (1372–1393)
  • with Louis I of Bourbon-Vendôme (1393–1403)

House of Bourbon

• Louis I (1403–1446)
• John II (1446–1477)
• Francis I (1477–1495)
  • under the regency of Louis of Joyeuse (1477–1484)
• Charles IV (1495–1514), title raised to Duke of Vendôme and entered the peerage in 1514

English Counts of Vendôme

• Robert Willoughby, 6th Baron Willoughby de Eresby (1424–1430), created Count of Vendôme by John, Duke of Bedford as regent for Henry VI of England as King of France

Dukes of Vendôme

House of Bourbon

• Charles IV (1514–1537), previously Count of Vendôme
• Antoine I (1537–1562), son of, King of Navarre from 1555
• Henry I (1562–1607), son of, King of France from 1589; the duchy became part of the royal domain after the Edict of 1607

House of Bourbon-Vendôme

• César (1598–1665), illegitimate son of Henry IV of France by Gabrielle d'Estrées, born in 1594 and legitimized in 1596 (founder of the second house of Bourbon-Vendôme)
• Louis (1612–1669), son of
• Louis Joseph I (1669–1712), son of
• Philip (1712–1727), brother of, Grand Prior of the Order of Malta in France

The Vendôme name was annexed into the royal domain by Louis XIV of France in 1712, on the pretext that Philip's membership in the Order of Malta as grand prior of France prevented him from holding it, but he retained the title.

Courtesy title

The title was revived by Orléanist claimants to the throne of France as a courtesy title. However, it is invalid in French law.

• Emmanuel (I) (1872–1931)
• John (IX) (born 1965), became Count of Paris in 2019 after the death of his father Henri, Count of Paris