Louis I, Duke of Bourbon


Louis I, called the Lame was a French prince du sang, Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis and La Marche and the first Duke of Bourbon, as well as briefly the titular King of Thessalonica from 1320 to 1321.

Early life

Louis was born in 1279 in the County of Clermont. He was the son of Robert, Count of Clermont, who was himself the youngest son of King Louis IX of France. Louis's mother was Beatrix of Burgundy, the heiress to the Lordship of Bourbon and a granddaughter of Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy, through her father, John of Burgundy.

Military career

In his early military career, Louis fought for the French army in its defeat at the Battle of the Golden Spurs and at the Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle, surviving both engagements. In 1310, King Philip IV appointed him to the prestigious office of Grand Chamberlain of France. Louis took a formal crusading vow in 1316, becoming a crucesignatus, and in connection with this pledge, he founded a chivalric confraternity, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.
Louis's crusading ambitions grew when, on September 13, 1318, King Philip V designated him captain-general of a planned crusade. However, this effort was brought to a halt in 1319 when the Ghibelline-controlled navy of Genoa destroyed the Franco-Papal fleet being assembled for the expedition. In 1320, Louis attempted to purchase the purely titular rights to the "Kingdom of Thessalonica" from Odo IV, Duke of Burgundy, for 40,000 livres. Philip of Taranto intervened with an identical offer that Odo accepted. To resolve the political tension from this, a subsequent agreement was made to betroth Louis's daughter, Beatrice, to Philip's son.
In 1327, King Charles IV arranged a strategic exchange with Louis, persuading him to cede the County of Clermont to the crown in return for the County of La Marche and the elevation of his primary holding, Bourbon, to a duchy-peerage. After Charles IV's death, Louis's crucial support for Philip VI's claim to the throne was rewarded in 1331 when the new king restored the County of Clermont to him, which he held in addition to La Marche and his new duchy. Louis remained central to French crusading plans until 1336, when Pope Benedict XII cancelled the venture due to the impending outbreak of the Hundred Years' War with England.
Duke Louis is reported by chroniclers to have suffered from a debilitating psychological condition, with historical accounts noting episodes of severe mental infirmity. This trait is believed by many modern historians to have been hereditary. Similar patterns of recurring mental illness were documented in his granddaughter, Joanna of Bourbon; her son, King Charles VI of France, who famously suffered from bouts of psychosis; and Charles's grandson, King Henry VI of England, who experienced periods of complete catatonic breakdown.

Family and children

In 1310, Louis married Mary of Avesnes, daughter of John II of Avesnes, Count of Hainaut and Holland by Philippa of Luxembourg. They had:
With Jeanne de Bourbon-Lancy, dame de Clessy, Louis had several illegitimate children:
  • Jean, "bâtard de Bourbon", knight, seigneur of Rochefort, Ébreuil, Beçay le Guérant, Bellenave, Jenzat, Serrant and la Bure, advisor to the dukes of Berry and Bourbon, lieutenant du Forez, married Agnès Chaleu for his third wife;
  • "N", "bâtarde de Bourbon", married in 1317 to Girard of Châtillon-en-Bazois;
  • Guy, "bâtard de Bourbon", seigneur of Clessy, la Ferté-Chauderon and Montpensier. Married in 1315 Agnès of Chastellus, then between 1330 and 1333 Isabelle of Chastelperron;
  • Jeannette, "bâtarde de Bourbon", married in 1310 to Guichard of Chastellus.

Death and burial

Duke Louis I died in 1341.
He was buried in the church of the Couvent des Jacobins in Paris. The priory was suppressed during the French Revolution, and the church was demolished in the early 19th century, at which time his tomb was lost or destroyed.