Charles IV of Alençon (2 September 1489 in

Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is fi ...

– 11 April 1525 in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

) was the son of

René of Alençon René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name ( Renée being the femini ...

and Margaret of Vaudémont. He succeeded his father in 1492 as

Duke of Alençon Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

and

Count of Perche The county of Perche was a medieval county lying between Normandy and Maine. It was held by an independent line of counts until 1226. One of these, Geoffroy V, would have been a leader of the Fourth Crusade had he not died before the assembled f ...

, and was also

Count of Armagnac The following is a list of rulers of the county of Armagnac: House of Armagnac *William Count of Fézensac and Armagnac ?– 960 * Bernard the Suspicious, First count privative of Armagnac 960– ? * Gerald I Trancaléon ? –1020 * Bernard ...

, Fézensac, Viscount of Rodez, Count of Fezensaguet, l'Isle-Jourdain, and Perdiac. In 1509 he married Margaret of Angoulême, sister to Francis, Duke of Valois, who would in 1515 become King Francis I of France. Their marriage was childless: his wife was allowed to retain most of his titles. As first prince of the blood, Charles was a prominent figure in the early part of his brother-in-law's reign. Made governor of Normandy, Charles fought at

Marignano The Battle of Marignano was the last major engagement of the War of the League of Cambrai and took place on 13–14 September 1515, near the town now called Melegnano, 16 km southeast of Milan. It pitted the French army, composed of the ...

in 1515, and in 1521 defended

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

against an imperial invasion. He accompanied his brother-in-law, King Frances I of France, on his second expedition to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in 1525, and after the disaster at

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the ...

, took command of the defeated French forces, leading them in retreat back to French territory. He was made a

scapegoat In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...

for the defeat and accused of abandoning the king, and died soon after. Although Charles had a sister, Françoise, who survived him, his widow took possession of his lands after his death.

Ancestors

References

Sources

*107 * * * 1489 births 1525 deaths House of Valois-Alençon 104 Counts of Perche Counts of Armagnac Counts of Fézensac Counts of Fezensaguet Counts of Isle-Jourdain Counts of Perdiac Viscounts of Rodez People from Alençon Heirs presumptive to the French throne Military leaders of the Italian Wars 15th-century peers of France 16th-century peers of France {{France-noble-stub