Jean (John) de Bourbon, Duke of Bourbon (1426 – 1 April 1488), sometimes referred to as John the Good and The Scourge of the English, was a son of
Charles I of Bourbon and
Agnes of Burgundy. He was
Duke of Bourbon and
Auvergne
Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...
from 1456 to his death.
Life
John earned his nicknames "John the Good" and "The Scourge of the English" for his efforts in helping drive out the English from France.
He was made
constable of France
The Constable of France (french: Connétable de France, from Latin for 'count of the stables') was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and ...
in 1483 by his brother
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
and sister-in-law
Anne
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
, to neutralize him as a threat to their regency.
In an effort to win discontented nobles back to his side,
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 ...
made great efforts to give out magnificent gifts to certain individuals; John was a recipient of these overtures. According to contemporary chronicles, the King received John in Paris with "honours, caresses, pardon, and gifts; everything was lavished upon him".
John is notable for making three brilliant alliances but leaving no legitimate issue.
First Marriage
In 1447, his father, the Duke of Bourbon, had John married to a daughter of
Charles VII, King of France
Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious (french: le Victorieux) or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461.
In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII inherited the throne of F ...
,
Joan of Valois. They were duly married at the Château de Moulins. They had no surviving issue.
Second marriage
In 1484 at
St. Cloud to Catherine of Armagnac, daughter of
Jacques of Armagnac, Duke of Nemours, who died in 1487 while giving birth to:
* John of Bourbon (Moulins, 1487 - 1487), styled Count of Clermont
Third marriage
In 1487 he married
Jeanne of Bourbon-Vendôme, daughter of
John of Bourbon, Count of Vendôme (from 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 ...
), by whom he had one son:
* Louis of Bourbon (1488 - 1488), styled Count of Clermont
Illegitimate issue
By Louise of Albret, daughter of
Jean I d'Albret (- 8 September 1494):
* Charles, Bastard of Bourbon (- 1502), Viscount of Lavedan ''jure uxoris'', married before 1462 Louise du Lion (- aft. 25 February 1505), Viscountess of
Lavedan
The Lavedan (; in Gascon eth/lo Lavedan, /et/lu laβedã/), or occasionally vallées des Gaves, denotes a mountainous natural region of France, located at the heart of the Pyrénées, and forms a group of valleys upstream of Lourdes.
The Lavedan ...
, and had issue, four sons
By Marguerite de Brunant:
* Mathieu, the Great Bastard of Bourbon (-
Château de Chambrou-en-Forez
A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
Nowaday ...
, 19 August 1505), Lord of
Botheon and Lord and Baron of
Roche-en-Régnier
Roche-en-Régnier (; oc, Ròcha de Renier) is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France. It is best known for a medieval castle and "Table d'orientation" which points out the other visible towns and hills of the Loire Vall ...
, unmarried and without issue
By unknown women:
* Hector, Bastard of Bourbon (- 1502, bur.
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
), 15th
Archbishop of Toulouse (1491 - 1502), 17th
Bishop of Lavaur (1497 - 1500)
* Peter, Bastard of Bourbon, died young, unmarried and without issue
* Marie, Bastard of Bourbon (- 22 July 1482), married at the
Château de Beseneins-en-Dombes in 1470 Jacques de Sainte Colombe, Lord of
Thil
* Marguerite, Bastard of Bourbon (1445 - 1482), legitimized in 1464, married in
Moulins in 1462 Jean de Ferrières (- 1497)
Death and aftermath
John died in 1488 at the
Château
A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
Now ...
de
Moulins and was succeeded by his younger brother
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
. However, this succession was strongly contested due to the political strength of Peter and Anne. Within a span of days, Charles was forced to renounce his claims to the Bourbon lands to Peter in exchange for a financial settlement.
Ancestry
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:John 02 Of Bourbon, Duke
House of Bourbon (France)
Dukes of Bourbon
Dukes of Auvergne
Constables of France
Counts of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis
Counts of Forez
Counts of Isle-Jourdain
1426 births
1488 deaths
Burials at Souvigny Priory
15th-century peers of France