John of Bourbon (John I/VII, Count of La Marche and of Vendôme), (1344 – 11 June 1393,

Vendôme Vendôme (, ) is a subprefecture of the department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019). It is one of the main towns along the river Loir. The river divides itself at the ent ...

) was French '' prince du sang'' as the second son of James I, Count of La Marche and Jeanne of Châtillon.

Life

John was captured as a young man at the Battle of Poitiers, but ransomed. Following the deaths of his father and elder brother at the Battle of Brignais, John succeeded them as Count of La Marche. John took an active part in the

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

, and became

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

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 ...

after helping reconquer it from the English. Later he joined

Bertrand du Guesclin Bertrand du Guesclin ( br, Beltram Gwesklin; 1320 – 13 July 1380), nicknamed "The Eagle of Brittany" or "The Black Dog of Brocéliande", was a Breton knight and an important military commander on the French side during the Hundred Years' W ...

in his campaign of 1366 in Castile. In 1374, his brother-in-law

Bouchard VII, Count of Vendôme Bouchard, a Norman name with German elements means "fort" (bourgh) and "brave," "strong" (heard), see Burkhardt. It is also a French nickname for someone with a big mouth, "bouche" being French for mouth. Notable people with the name include: * Se ...

died, and John became Count of Vendôme and Castres in right of his wife. John joined the campaign of Charles VI 1382 in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

(which culminated in the Battle of Roosebeke) and fought in 1392 in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...

. John rebuilt the castles of

and Lavardin.

Marriage and children

On 28 September 1364, John married Catherine of Vendôme, countess of Vendôme (d. 1412) and daughter of John VI, Count of Vendôme. He had seven children by Catherine: *

James II, Count of La Marche James II of Bourbon-La Marche (1370 – 1438 in Besançon) was count of La Marche. He was captured at the battle of Nicopolis in 1396, later being ransomed. In 1403, James led an attack on English soil and burned Plymouth. He married Joanna o ...

and Castres (1370–1438). * Isabelle (b. 1373), a nun at

Poissy Poissy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Inhabitan ...

. *

Louis, Count of Vendôme Louis de Bourbon (Louis I, Count of Vendôme) (1376 – December 21, 1446), younger son of John I, Count of La Marche and Catherine de Vendôme, was a French '' prince du sang'', as well as Count of Vendôme from 1393, and Count of Castres from 142 ...

(1376–1446). * John,

Lord of Carency The lordship of Carency belonged to a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon. From the 15th century onwards they were known as princes of Carency, even if their fiefdom does not seem to have been promoted to a princedom. In the 16th century Carency ...

(1378–1457), married c. 1416 Catherine, daughter of Philip of Artois, Count of Eu, without issue, married in 1420 at

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

, his mistress Jeanne de Vendômois, with whom he had issue. * Anne (c. 1380 – September 1408,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

), married in 1401 John of Berry, Count of Montpensier (d. 1401), married in Paris in 1402

Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria Louis VII (c. 1368 – 1 May 1447), called the Bearded (German: ''Ludwig der Bärtige'') was the Duke of Bavaria-Ingolstadt from 1413 until 1443. He was a son of Duke Stephen III and Taddea Visconti. Biography As brother of Isabella of Bavar ...

. * Marie (1386 – aft. 11 September 1463), Lady of Brehencourt, married Jean de Baynes, Lord of Croix. *

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

(1388 – 15 January 1422), married in 1411 at Nicosia King Janus of Cyprus.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:John I, Count Of La Marche Bourbon-La Marche, John I of Bourbon-La Marche, John I of House of Bourbon Bourbon-La Marche, John I of La Marche, John I of Bourbon, comte de Bourbon, John I of Counts of Castres 14th-century peers of France French prisoners of war in the Hundred Years' War