François de Bourbon,

Duke of Châtellerault Duke of Châtellerault (french: duc de Châtellerault) is a French noble title that has been created several times, originally in the Peerage of France in 1515. It takes its name from Châtellerault, in the Vienne region. The first title was cre ...

(1492 – 13 September 1515) was a French '' prince du sang'' from the House of Bourbon-Montpensier, a

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, title ...

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 ...

(itself a cadet branch of the

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

). He was the brother of Louis II, Count of Montpensier, Charles III, Duke of Bourbon (also known as ''The Constable of Bourbon''), Louise de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier, and

Renée of Bourbon Renée of Bourbon, Duchess of Lorraine (1494 – 26 May 1539), also called, Renée, Lady of Mercœur, was a Duchess consort of Lorraine. She was a daughter of Gilbert de Bourbon, Count of Montpensier by Clara Gonzaga, and sister of Charles de ...

(who became

Duchess of Lorraine The royal consorts of the rulers of the Lorraine region have held varying titles, over a region that has varied in scope since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established r ...

on 26 June 1515, less than three months before François's untimely death).

Life

Gilbert de Bourbon-Montpensier - Vizekönig von Neapel

François de Bourbon was the third and youngest son of Gilbert de Bourbon, the Count of Montpensier, and his noble Italian wife Clara Gonzaga, with both of François's parents dying before he even became a

teenager Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

. François fought loyally under the command of his elder brother Charles in Guyenne and

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

and was rewarded and compensated for his services by

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

(through

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

) with the Duchy of Châtellerault (named after the French

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Châtellerault Châtellerault (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Châteulrô/Chateleràud''; oc, Chastelairaud) is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. It is located in the northeast of the former province Poitou, and the re ...

, alternatively spelled ''Chatellraud'', in

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by t ...

) in February 1514. François de Bourbon was killed in action on 13 September 1515 at the Battle of Marignano (in what is now the

northern Italian Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

city of

Melegnano Melegnano (formerly Marignano; lmo, Meregnan ) is a town and ''comune'' in Italy, in the province of Milan, region of Lombardy. The town lies southeast of the city of Milan. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on 2 ...

, in

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

) against the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

during the

Italian Wars The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...

. After François's untimely death, his elder brother Charles, who was already

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 ...

, inherited the Duchy of Châtellerault. After Charles's death in 1527 during the Sack of Rome, French King Francis I's mother Louise of Savoy inherited the Duchy of Châtellerault, with it reverting to the

royal domain Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it ...

after Louise's death in 1531. Subsequently, the Duchy of Châtellerault was given to

Charles II de Valois, Duke of Orléans Charles II of Orléans (22 January 1522 – 9 September 1545) was the third son of Francis I and Claude of France. Duke of Orléans From his birth until the death of his oldest brother Francis, Dauphin of France (Francis I's eldest son), in 1 ...

, the third and youngest son of Francis I of France. François de Bourbon never married but was nevertheless rumored to have had an illegitimate daughter (or ''natural daughter'') named Isabelle de Bourbon (who alleged married a

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ind ...

named Laurent Suarez, the Count of Corunna), but this has never actually been proven.

References

{{s-end 1492 births 1515 deaths House of Bourbon House of Bourbon-Montpensier House of Capet Capetian dynasty French royalty 16th-century peers of France Dukes of Châtellerault Military leaders of the Italian Wars Military personnel killed in action