This is a list of counts and dukes of Rethel. The first counts of

Rethel Rethel () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture and third-most important city and economic center in the department. It is situated on the river Aisne, near the northern border of Champagne and 37 ...

ruled independently, before the county passed first to the

Counts of Nevers The counts of Nevers were the rulers of the County of Nevers, which became a French duchy in 1539, with the rulers of the duchy calling themselves dukes. History The history of the County of Nevers is closely connected to the Duchy of Burgundy. ...

, then to the

Counts of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the co ...

, and finally to the

Dukes of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...

. In 1405 the County became part of the

Peerage of France The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...

, and in 1581 it was elevated to a duchy. In 1663 it became the Duchy of Mazarin. The county was active in the

crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

s. King

Baldwin II of Jerusalem Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Bourcq or Bourg (; – 21August 1131), was Count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118, and King of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death. He accompanied his cousins Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne to th ...

was the brother of Count Gervais and Countess Matilda of Rethel, while Beatrice of Rethel married

Leo I, Prince of Armenia Leo I ( hy, Լևոն Ա), also Levon I or Leon I, (unknown – Constantinople, February 14, 1140) was the fifth King of Cilicia, lord of Armenian Cilicia or “Lord of the Mountains” (1129/1130-1137). He learned to exploit the open, yet restra ...

Rethel Dynasty

*Manasses I * Manasses II (?–1032) * Manasses III (1032–1056) * Hugh I (1065–1118) * Gervais (1118–1124) *

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

(1124–1151)

Vitre Dynasty

Odo of Vitry Odo of Vitry (Eudes) (died 1158) was a French nobleman. Count of Rethel and Châtelain de Vitry. His parenthood is unclear. It is sometimes stated that he was a son of André, castellan of Vitré and of Agnès de Mortain, but this appears to be ...

(1124–1158), married Matilda of Rethel *Ithier (1158–1171) * Manasses IV (1171–1199) * Hugh II (1199–1227) *Hugh III (1227–1242) *John (1242–1251) *Walter (1251–1262) * Manasses V (1262–1272) * Hugh IV (1272–1285) *

Joan Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine * Joan (surname) Weather events *Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...

(1285–1328)

Dampierre dynasty

Louis I Louis I may refer to: * Louis the Pious, Louis I of France, "the Pious" (778–840), king of France and Holy Roman Emperor * Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia (ruled 1123–1140) * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois ...

(1285–1322; married Joan; also

count of Nevers The counts of Nevers were the rulers of the County of Nevers, which became a French duchy in 1539, with the rulers of the duchy calling themselves dukes. History The history of the County of Nevers is closely connected to the Duchy of Burgundy ...

) * Louis II (1322–1346; also count of Flanders and Nevers; married Margaret,

countess of Artois The count of Artois (French: Comtes d'Artois, Dutch: Graven van Artesië) was the ruler over the County of Artois from the 9th century until the abolition of the countship by the French revolutionaries in 1790. House of Artois *Odalric (c. 850s ...

) *

Louis III Louis III may refer to: * Louis the Younger, sometimes III of Germany (835–882) * Louis III of France (865–882) * Louis the Blind, Louis III, Holy Roman Emperor, (c. 880–928) * Louis the Child, sometimes III of Germany (893–911) * Louis I ...

(1346–1384; also count of Flanders, Nevers, and

Artois Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: ''Atrecht'') ...

) * Margaret (1384–1402; also countess of Flanders, Nevers, Artois, and

duchess of Burgundy This article lists queens, countesses, and duchesses consort of the Kingdom, County, Duchy of Burgundy. Queen consort of Burgundy Queen consort of the Burgundians (till 534) Frankish Burgundy (534–855) Merovingian dynasty (534–751) ...

)

Burgundian dynasty

Philip the Bold Philip II the Bold (; ; 17 January 1342 – 27 April 1404) was Duke of Burgundy and '' jure uxoris'' Count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy. He was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxembourg. Philip II was ...

(1384–1402; also duke of Burgundy; married Margaret of Dampierre) * Antoine (1402–1407; later

duke of Brabant The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Leuven (who was duke of Low ...

) *

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

(1407–1415; also count of Nevers) *

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

(1415–1464; also count of Nevers) *

John II John II may refer to: People * John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499) * John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672) * John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302) * John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318) * John II Komnenos (1087–1 ...

(1464–1491; also count of Nevers and Eu) *

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

(1491–1500)

Albret The lordship (''seigneurie'') of Albret (Labrit), situated in the Landes, gave its name to one of the most powerful feudal families of France in the Middle Ages. History Its members distinguished themselves in the local wars of that epoch; and d ...
dynasty

*John of Albret (1491–1500; also lord of Orval; married Charlotte of Rethel) *

Marie of Albret Marie d'Albret, Countess of Rethel, Countess of Nevers (25 March 1491 – 27 October 1549) was the suo jure Countess of Rethel, a title which she inherited at the age of nine upon the death of her mother, Charlotte of Nevers, Sovereign Countess of ...

(1500–1549)

Cleves Kleve (; traditional en, Cleves ; nl, Kleef; french: Clèves; es, Cléveris; la, Clivia; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century ...
dynasty

*Charles II (1500–1521; also count of Nevers; married

) *

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 ...

(1549–1561; also duke of Nevers) *Francis II (1561–1562; also duke of Nevers) *James (1561–1564; also duke of Nevers) *

Henriette of Cleves Henriette de La Marck (31 October 1542 – 24 June 1601), also known as Henriette of Cleves, was a French noblewoman and courtier. She was the 4th Duchess of Nevers, ''suo jure'' Countess of Rethel, and Princess of Mantua by her marriage with Lo ...

(1564–1601; also duchess of Nevers)

Gonzaga dynasty

* Louis IV (1566–1595; married

; first duke of Rethel) *

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

(1595–1637; also duke of Nevers,

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

Montferrat Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Province of Alessandria, ...

, and

Mayenne Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ill ...

) * Charles IV (1637–1659; also duke of Nevers, Mantua and Montferrat)

House of Mazarin

* Cardinal Jules Mazarin (1659–1661); minister of

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Versa ...

; purchased Rethel from Charles IV *

Hortense Mancini Hortense Mancini, Duchesse de Mazarin (6 June 1646 – 2 July 1699), was a niece of Cardinal Mazarin, chief minister of France, and a mistress of Charles II, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. She was the fourth of the five famous Mancini si ...

(1661–1699); the niece of Cardinal Mazarin, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye, mistress of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

* Paul-Jules de la Porte (1699–1731; also Duke of Meilleraye) * Paul de la Porte (1731–1738; also Duke of Meilleraye) * Louise Jeanne de Durfort (1738–1781; also Duchess of Mayenne and Meilleraye) * Louise d'Aumont (1781–1789; also Duchess of Mayenne and Meilleraye) Nowadays, the title is still claimed by her descendants, the Sovereign Princes of Monaco.

Bibliography

* Alan V. Murray, ''The crusader Kingdom of Jérusalem, A Dynastic History 1099-1125'', Linacre College Oxford, 2000, {{ISBN, 1-900934-03-5 Monegasque titles