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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
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 collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...
'' of
Creuse.
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. 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.
With the death of the childless Count Guy in 1308, his possessions in La Marche were seized by
Philip IV of France. In 1314, the king made La Marche an ''
appanage'' 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 family of
Armagnac 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.
Counts of La Marche
La Marche dynasty
*Boso I le Vieux (the Old), count of La Marche and
count of Périgord (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 Oc ...
, 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, 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 Oc ...
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 whic ...
(1091–1102)
*
Hugh II (1102–1151)
*
Hugh III (1151–1165)
*
Hugh IV the Brown (1203–1219)
*
Hugh V (1219–1249)
*
Hugh VI (1249–1260)
*
Hugh VII (1260–1275)
*
Hugh VIII (1270–1303)
*
Guy (1303–1308)
*
Yolanda (1308–1314)
*Annexed by
Philip IV of France and given as an
appanage 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 1322 ...
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 1322 ...
(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 (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 (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, 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 intro ...
, ''daughter of'' James II)
*
Jacques d'Armagnac, 4th Duc de Nemours, 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.
Capetian-Bourbon dynasty
*
Peter II of Bourbon (1477–1503)
*
Charles III of Bourbon,
count of Montpensier, Beaujeu, Marche, and Forez;
duke of Bourbon (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.
People with this given name
; French noblemen
:'' See the ' List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.''
* Henri I de Mon ...
, the
Orléanist 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
*
Provinces of France
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