Charles III of Alençon (1337 – 5 July 1375) was a French nobleman of the

Capetian The Capetian dynasty (; french: Capétiens), also known as the House of France, is a dynasty of Franks, Frankish origin, and a branch of the Robertians. It is among the largest and oldest dynasty, royal houses in Europe and the world, and cons ...

House of Valois The Capetian house of Valois ( , also , ) was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. They succeeded the House of Capet (or "Direct Capetians") to the List of French monarchs, French throne, and were the royal house of France from 1328 to 1589 ...

. He was

count of Alençon Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility.L. G. Pine, Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty'' ...

and

Perche Perche () (French: ''le Perche'') is a former province of France, known historically for its forests and, for the past two centuries, for the Percheron draft horse breed. Until the French Revolution, Perche was bounded by four ancient territorie ...

from 1346 until 1361, when he became a monk, and

archbishop of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (Latin: ''Archidiœcesis Lugdunensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Lyon''), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The Archbishops ...

from 1365 until his death.

Countship

Charles III, a prince of the blood of France, was born in 1337. A scion of the

, he was the eldest of the five children of Count

Charles II of Alençon Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

and

María de la Cerda Maria de la Cerda y de Lara (1319 – 13 March 1375) was the youngest daughter of Fernando de la Cerda and his wife Juana Núñez de Lara. Maria was a member of the Castilian House of Burgundy. By her second marriage she was Countess of A ...

. His father was the brother of King Philip VI. Countess María, originally a Spanish princess, raised her children in great piety. Charles II was killed on 26 August 1346 in the

Battle of Crécy The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King PhilipVI and an English army led by King EdwardIII. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France du ...

during France's

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

against the English. The younger Charles, then aged only nine, succeeded his fallen father as the

and

. Because of his youth, it was María who, as

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

, ruled the counties of

Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is firs ...

and

. Charles's domain was invaded multiple times by the English, causing serious damage. The armed bands of King

Charles II of Navarre Charles II (10 October 1332 – 1 January 1387), called Charles the Bad, was King of Navarre 1349–1387 and Count of Évreux 1343–1387. Besides the Pyrenean Kingdom of Navarre, Charles had extensive lands in Normandy, inherited from his father ...

, who ruled the neighbouring

County of Évreux A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, also pillaged the young count's lands. Perche was invaded after the

Battle of Poitiers The Battle of Poitiers was fought on 19September 1356 between a French army commanded by King JohnII and an Anglo- Gascon force under Edward, the Black Prince, during the Hundred Years' War. It took place in western France, south of Poi ...

in 1356. Charles's cousin King

John II of France John II (french: Jean II; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which kill ...

was captured in the battle; in order to secure the king's release, Charles's younger brother

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

was sent to England as a hostage.

Ecclesiastical career

In 1361, Charles renounced his counties and became a Dominican monk, choosing

Couvent des Jacobins de la rue Saint-Jacques The Couvent Saint-Jacques, Grand couvent des Jacobins or Couvent des Jacobins de la rue Saint-Jacques was a Dominican monastery on rue Saint-Jacques in Paris. Its complex was between what are now rue Soufflot and rue Cujas. Its teaching activities ...

in Paris.

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

, the eldest of Charles's younger brothers, had become

bishop of Beauvais The Diocese of Beauvais, Noyon, and Senlis ( la, Dioecesis Bellovacensis, Noviomensis et Silvanectensis; french: Diocèse de Beauvais, Noyon et Senlis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The di ...

in 1356, and so their mother obtained a permission from King John II to divide the counties between the remaining brothers,

and

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

. Peter received Alençon, while Perche was assigned to Robert. On 13 July 1365, Charles was made

at the insistence of his kinsman King

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

. The

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

was so determined to safeguard its right to elect the archbishop independently of the king or the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

that it took them three rounds of voting to agree on Charles. By 1366, Charles was patronizing a circle of scholars, including Nicholas de Mesereyo. Charles was among the more combative prelates, as were other archbishops of Lyon who originated from ruling families. He did not hesitate to use his influence at the royal court to maintain his rights, even if it involved the use of violence. Though all other archbishops of Lyon produced exclusively anonymous currency, Charles had coins minted with his name (or rather the initial K) on them. He did so by brazenly

counterfeiting the money Counterfeit money is currency produced without the legal sanction of a state or government, usually in a deliberate attempt to imitate that currency and so as to deceive its recipient. Producing or using counterfeit money is a form of fraud or fo ...

of his namesake the king. As archbishop, Charles firmly resisted royal encroachment on his rights as

primate of the Gauls The Primate of the Gauls is a title given since 1079 to the archbishop of Lyon, former capital of the Three Gauls then land of the Roman Empire, and has described the authority he has exercised in the past over the other bishops of France. The pri ...

. When the royal official, Archimbaud de Combort, tried to deprive him of his temporal power in 1372, Charles responded furiously with an

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits persons, certain active Church individuals or groups from participating in certain rites, or that the rites and services of the church are banished from ...

. The interdict remained in place until Charles's death on 5 July 1375. He was succeeded by

Jean de Talaru John de Talaru (died 1393) was a cardinal and archbishop of Lyon. Biography Born near Lyon he came from the influential Talaru family and was the uncle of Archbishop Amédée de Talaru. His career began when he was made canon of the Basilica o ...

References

Sources

* * * * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Charles 03 Of Alencon 1337 births 1375 deaths House of Valois-Alençon Counts of Alençon Counts of Perche Archbishops of Lyon 14th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in France 14th-century peers of France