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The County of La Marche (; oc, la Marcha) was a
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
French county, approximately corresponding to the modern ''
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...
'' of
Creuse
Creuse (; oc, Cruesa or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the eas ...
.
La Marche first appeared as a separate fief about the middle of the 10th century, when
William III, Duke of Aquitaine
William III (913 – 3 April 963), called Towhead (french: Tête d'étoupe, la, Caput Stupe) from the colour of his hair, was the "Count of the Duchy of Aquitaine" from 959 and Duke of Aquitaine from 962 to his death. He was also the Count o ...
, gave it to one of his vassals, Boson, who took the title of Count. In the 12th century, the countship passed to the
House of Lusignan
The House of Lusignan ( ; ) was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries du ...
. They also were sometimes
counts of Angoulême
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. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
and counts of
Limousin
Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...
.
With the death of the childless Count Guy in 1308, his possessions in La Marche were seized by
Philip IV of France
Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (french: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 12 ...
. In 1314, the king made La Marche an ''
appanage
An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...
'' for his youngest son the Prince, afterwards
Charles IV. Several years later in 1327, La Marche passed into the hands of the
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...
. The family of
Armagnac
Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni blanc, traditionally ...
held it from 1435 to 1477, when it reverted to the Bourbons.
In 1527 La Marche was seized by
Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to:
* Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407)
* Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450
* Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547
* Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...
and became part of the domains of the French crown. It was divided into ''Haute Marche'' and ''Basse Marche'', the estates of the former continuing until the 17th century. From 1470 until the Revolution, the province was under the jurisdiction of the
parlement of Paris
The Parliament of Paris (french: Parlement de Paris) was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. It was fixed in Paris by Philip IV of France in 1302. The Parliament of Paris would hold sessions inside the ...
.
Counts of La Marche
La Marche dynasty
*Boso I le Vieux (the Old), count of La Marche and
count of Périgord Count of Périgord ( Fr.: ''comte de Périgord'') is a noble title in the peerage of France. Originally known as "The sovereign house of the Counts of Périgord, princes by the grace of God" The first recorded sovereign Count was Emenon, who was a ...
(958–988)
*Aldebert I, count of La Marche and Périgord (988–997)
**Boso II, count of La Marche and Périgord (988–1010)
*Bernard I (1010–1041)
**His daughter,
Almodis, married firstly with
Hugh V of Lusignan
Hugh V (died 8 October 1060), called the Fair or the Pious, was the fifth Lord of Lusignan and Lord of Couhé. He succeeded his father, Hugh IV, sometime around 1026.
Marriage and children
Hugh married Almodis (990 or c. 1020 – murdered O ...
, and their son Hugh VI inherited later the county of Marche by her right.
*Aldebert II (1047–1088), son of Bernard I
**His daughter, also named Almodis, married before 1086 with
Roger the Poitevin
Roger the Poitevin (Roger de Poitou) was born in Normandy in the mid-1060s and died before 1140. He was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat, possessing large holdings in both England and through his marriage in France.
He was the third son of Roger of Mon ...
, of the
House of Montgomery.
*Boso III (1088–1091), son of Aldebert II
**Eudes I, son of Bernard I, probably ruled as regent for his nephew Boso III (1088)
Lusignan dynasty
*
Hugh I the Devil, son of
Hugh V of Lusignan
Hugh V (died 8 October 1060), called the Fair or the Pious, was the fifth Lord of Lusignan and Lord of Couhé. He succeeded his father, Hugh IV, sometime around 1026.
Marriage and children
Hugh married Almodis (990 or c. 1020 – murdered O ...
and
Almodis de la Marche
Almodis de la Marche ( 1020 – 16 October 1071) was a French noble. She was famed for her marriage career, in particularly for her third marriage to Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona, with whom she committed double bigamy in 1053, for whi ...
(1091–1102)
*
Hugh II (1102–1151)
*
Hugh III (1151–1165)
*
Hugh IV the Brown (1203–1219)
*
Hugh V Hugh V may refer to:
* Hugh V of Lusignan (died 1060)
* Hugh V, Count of Maine, ruled 1069–1072
* Hugh V, Viscount of Châteaudun (died 1180)
* Hugh V, Duke of Burgundy
Hugh V (1294 – 9 May 1315) was Duke of Burgundy between 1306 and 13 ...
(1219–1249)
*
Hugh VI (1249–1260)
*
Hugh VII (1260–1275)
*
Hugh VIII (1270–1303)
*
Guy (1303–1308)
*
Yolanda
Yolanda may refer to:
* Yolanda (name), a given name derived from the Greek ''Iolanthe''
Places
* Yolanda, California
* Yolanda Shrine, monument located at Barangay Anibong, Tacloban, Leyte
Film
* ''Yolanda'' (film), a 1924 film starring ...
(1308–1314)
*Annexed by
Philip IV of France
Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (french: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 12 ...
and given as an
appanage
An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...
to Philip's son
Charles the Fair
Charles IV (18/19 June 1294 – 1 February 1328), called the Fair (''le Bel'') in France and the Bald (''el Calvo'') in Navarre, was last king of the direct line of the House of Capet, King of France and King of Navarre (as Charles I) from 132 ...
Capetian dynasty
*
Charles the Fair
Charles IV (18/19 June 1294 – 1 February 1328), called the Fair (''le Bel'') in France and the Bald (''el Calvo'') in Navarre, was last king of the direct line of the House of Capet, King of France and King of Navarre (as Charles I) from 132 ...
(1314–1322)
*On Charles' succession to the throne in 1322, he exchanged the county with Louis of Bourbon for the
County of Clermont.
Capetian-Bourbon dynasty
*
Louis I of Bourbon
Louis I, called the Lame (1279 – 22 January 1341) was a French '' prince du sang'', Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis and La Marche and the first Duke of Bourbon, as well as briefly the titular King of Thessalonica from 1320 to 1321.
Life
L ...
(1322–1341)
*
James I of Bourbon (1341–1362)
*
Peter II of Bourbon-La Marche (1362)
*
John I of Bourbon-La Marche (1362–1393)
*
James II James II may refer to:
* James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade
* James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier
* James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily
* James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...
(1393–1438), married
Joan II of Naples
Joanna II (25 June 1371 – 2 February 1435) was reigning Queen of Naples from 1414 to her death, upon which the Capetian House of Anjou became extinct. As a mere formality, she used the title of Queen of Jerusalem, Sicily, and Hungary.
Earl ...
Armagnac dynasty
*
Bernard
Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname.
The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...
, count of Pardiac and of Marche, duke of Nemours (1438–1462) (''in right of his wife'',
Eleanor
Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages.
The name was introd ...
, ''daughter of'' James II)
*
Jacques d'Armagnac, 4th Duc de Nemours
Jacques d'Armagnac (4 August 1477), duke of Nemours, was the son of Bernard d'Armagnac, count of Pardiac, and Eleanor of Bourbon-La Marche.
As the Count of Castres, Jacques served under Charles VII of France in Normandy in 1449 and 1450, and afte ...
, count of Pardiac and of Marche, duke of Nemours (1462–1477)
*In 1477, Jacques was convicted of treason and his territories were confiscated by
Louis XI of France
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII.
Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revo ...
.
Capetian-Bourbon dynasty
*
Peter II of Bourbon
Peter II, Duke of Bourbon (1 December 1438 – 10 October 1503 in Moulins), was the son of Charles I, Duke of Bourbon, and Agnes of Burgundy, and a member of the House of Bourbon. He and his wife Anne of France ruled as regents during the minor ...
(1477–1503)
*
Charles III of Bourbon
Charles III, Duke of Bourbon (17 February 1490 – 6 May 1527) was a French military leader, the count of Montpensier, Clermont and Auvergne, and dauphin of Auvergne from 1501 to 1523, then duke of Bourbon and Auvergne, count of Clermont-e ...
,
count of Montpensier
The French lordship of Montpensier (named after the village of Montpensier, département of Puy-de-Dôme), located in historical Auvergne, became a countship in the 14th century.
It changed hands from the House of Thiern, to the House of Beauj ...
, Beaujeu, Marche, and Forez;
duke of Bourbon
Duke of Bourbon (french: Duc de Bourbon) is a title in the peerage of France. It was created in the first half of the 14th century for the eldest son of Robert of France, Count of Clermont and Beatrice of Burgundy, heiress of the lordship of B ...
(1505–1525)
Orleanist pretenders to Count of La Marche
The title was granted to Thibaut, a younger son of
Henri
Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry (given name), Henry.
People with this given name
; French noblemen
:'' See the 'List_of_rulers_named_Henry#France, List of rulers named Henry ...
, the
Orléanist
Orléanist (french: Orléaniste) was a 19th-century French political label originally used by those who supported a constitutional monarchy expressed by the House of Orléans. Due to the radical political changes that occurred during that centu ...
claimant to the throne of France.
*Prince Thibaut, Count of La Marche (1948–1983)
*Prince Robert, Count of La Marche (b. 1976, r. 1983- )
See also
*
Marches
In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...
*
Provinces of France
The Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until the National Constituent Assembly adopted a more uniform division into departments (''départements'') and districts in late 1789. The provinces continued to exist administratively until 2 ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:County Of La Marche
Former provinces of France
Creuse
La Marche
958 establishments
States and territories established in the 10th century
History of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
History of Centre-Val de Loire
History of Charente
History of Creuse
History of Haute-Vienne
History of Indre
History of Vienne
10th-century establishments in France
Former counties of France