Louis I, Duke of Bourbon

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 illegitimate 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.

• de la Thaumassière (sieur du Puy-Ferrand), Gaspard Thaumas, Histoire de Berry, Vol.3, (Imprimerie et Lithographie de A. Jollet, 1868), 226-227.

Ancestors

Patrilineal descent

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.