Robert of Clermont (1256 – 7 February 1317) was a French '' prince du sang'' who was created Count of Clermont in 1268. He was the sixth and last son of King

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the House of Capet, Direct Capetians. He was Coronation of the French monarch, c ...

(Saint Louis) and

Margaret of Provence Margaret of Provence (french: Marguerite; 1221 – 20 December 1295) was Queen of France by marriage to King Louis IX. Early life Margaret was born in the spring of 1221 in Forcalquier. She was the eldest of four daughters of Ramon Berenguer IV ...

.''Bourbon'', John Bell Henneman Jr., Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, Ed. William W. Kibler, (Routledge, 1995), 138. Although he played a minor role in his lifetime due to a head injury which left him handicapped at a young age, he had an important dynastic position as the founder 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 Spani ...

, to which he passed the rights to the throne of France from his father when all male-line branches descended from his elder brothers died out in 1589, nine generations after him.

Early life

Robert was born in 1256 as the sixth and youngest son of King

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...

(Saint Louis) and

. Robert's godfather, chosen by Louis IX, was

Humbert of Romans Humbert of Romans (, Romans-sur-Isère – 14 July 1277, Valence, Drôme, France) was a French Dominican friar who served as the fifth Master General of the Order of Preachers from 1254 to 1263. Early career Nothing is known of his early life ...

, the Dominican Master of the Order at the time of Robert's birth.

Marriage and children

In 1272, Robert married Beatrice of Burgundy, heiress of Bourbon''Bourbon'', John Bell Henneman Jr., Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, 138. and had the following issue: * Louis I, ''le Boiteux'' (1279–1342), first

Duke of Bourbon Duke of Bourbon (french: Duc de Bourbon) is a title in the peerage of France. It was created in the first half of the 14th century for the eldest son of Robert of France, Count of Clermont and Beatrice of Burgundy, heiress of the lordship of ...

. *Blanche of Clermont (1281–1304); married in 1303 in

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. Si ...

Robert VII, Count of Auvergne This is a list of the various rulers of Auvergne. History In the 7th century Auvergne was disputed between the Franks and Aquitanians. It was later conquered by the Carolingians, and was integrated for a time into the kingdom of Aquitaine. The c ...

and

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the C ...

, grandmother of Joan I, Countess of Auvergne. * John of Clermont (1283–1316), Baron of Charolais; married c. 1309 Jeanne d'Argues, widow of

Hugh, Count of Soissons Hugh of Nesle (d. after October 1305), son of John IV, Count of Soissons, and his wife Marguerite of Rumigny. Count of Soissons. Hugh became count after the death of his brother John in 1304. Hugh married Jeanne de Dargies (Johanna of Argies), ...

, and had issue. *Mary of Clermont (1285–1372, Paris), Prioress of Poissy *Peter of Clermont (1287 – aft. 1330), Archdeacon of Paris *Margaret of Clermont (1289–1309, Paris); married firstly, in 1305,

Raymond Berengar of Andria Raymond Berengar of Anjou (between 1279 and 1282–1307) was the count of Andria and possibly Count of Provence and Prince of Piedmont. Raymond Berengar was the fifth son of King Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary. He was born in Provenc ...

, and secondly, in 1308,

John I, Marquis of Namur John I (1267 – 31 January 1330) was the count of Namur from 1305 to 1330. He was a member of the House of Dampierre, the son of Guy of Dampierre, Count of Flanders and Marquis of Namur, and his second wife Isabelle of Luxembourg. John was the ...

Health problems

During his first

joust Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying to strike the opponen ...

, in 1279, Robert suffered head injuries which rendered him an invalid for the remainder of his life.

Written records

Robert is mentioned in the prologue of the '' Coutumes de Beauvaisis'' by Philippe de Beaumanoir.

Death

He was buried in the now-demolished church of the Couvent des Jacobins in

Depictions in fiction

Robert is a supporting character in '' Les Rois maudits'' (''The Accursed Kings''), a series of French

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

s by Maurice Druon. He was portrayed by

Alexandre Rignault Alexandre Rignault (14 February 1901 – 2 April 1985) was a French actor. He appeared in more than a hundred films between 1931 and 1985. Selected filmography External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rignault, Alexandre 1901 births 1985 deaths ...

in the 1972 French miniseries adaptation of the series, and by Ioan Siminie in the 2005 adaptation.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robert, Count of Clermont 1256 births 1317 deaths 13th-century French people 14th-century French people Counts of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis House of Bourbon (France) Sons of kings Children of Louis IX of France