Charles of Orléans (1459 – 1 January 1496) () was the
Count 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: ...
from 1467 until his death. He succeeded his father,
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
, and was initially under the regency of his mother,
Margaret of Rohan, assisted by Jean I de La Rochefoucauld, one of his vassals.
Charles commissioned the luxuriously illustrated ''
Heures de Charles d'Angoulême
The Heures de Charles d'Angoulême is a book of hours commissioned in the late 15th century, probably around 1480, by Charles, Count of Angoulême, father of king Francis I of France. It is now in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, und ...
''.
Family
Charles was a grandson of
Louis I, Duke of Orléans
Louis I (13 March 1372 – 23 November 1407) was Duke of Orléans from 1392 to his death in 1407. He was also Duke of Touraine (1386–1392), Count of Valois (1386?–1406) Blois (1397–1407), Angoulême (1404–1407), ...
, a younger son of King
Charles V of France
Charles V (21 January 1338 – 16 September 1380), called the Wise (; ), was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380. His reign marked an early high point for France during the Hundred Years' War as his armies recovered much of the terri ...
. He was thus a member of the Orléans cadet branch of the ruling
House of Valois
The Capetian House of Valois ( , also , ) was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. They succeeded the House of Capet (or "Direct Capetians") to the List of French monarchs, French throne, and were the royal house of France from 1328 to 1589. ...
. The Orléans came to the throne in 1498 in the person of Charles's cousin
Louis XII
Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), also known as Louis of Orléans was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples (as Louis III) from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, he succeeded his second ...
, who was followed in 1515 by Charles's own son
Francis I.
Marriage and issue
Charles married
Louise of Savoy
Louise of Savoy (11 September 1476 – 22 September 1531) was a French noble and regent, Duchess ''suo jure'' of Auvergne (province), Auvergne and House of Bourbon, Bourbon, Duchess of Nemours and the mother of King Francis I of France, Francis I ...
, daughter of
Philip the Landless and
Margaret of Bourbon, on 16 February 1488.
They had:
*
Marguerite of Angoulême (11 April 1492 – 21 December 1549)
*
François of Angoulême (12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547), who became
King of France
France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions.
Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...
as Francis I.
Charles also had two illegitimate daughters by his mistress Antoinette de
Polignac, Dame de Combronde (1470-1537), who was his wife's
lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...
. She is often mistakenly called Antoinette by confusion with a member of a quite distinct family by the same name. They had two daughters:
*
Jeanne d'Angoulême (c. 1490 – after 1531/1538), married firstly Jean Aubin, Seigneur de Malicorne, and secondly, Jean IV de Longwy, Baron of Pagny, by whom she had three daughters. The youngest,
Jacqueline de Longwy (died 28 August 1561), in her own turn married
Louis III de Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier.
* Madeleine d'Angoulême, Abbess of Fontevrault (died 26 October 1543)
He also had an illegitimate daughter by mistress Jeanne Le Conte:
* Souveraine d'Angoulême (died 23 February 1551), married Michel III de Gaillard, Seigneur de Chilly. In 1534 Married French Ambassador Louis de Perreau, Sieur de Castillon.
Ancestry
References
Sources
*
*
House of Valois-Angoulême
Counts of Angoulême
1459 births
1496 deaths
15th-century peers of France
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