The Sire de Bourbon or Seigneur de Bourbon, meaning Lord of Bourbon, was the
title
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
by which the
rulers of the
Bourbonnais
Bourbonnais () was a historic province in the centre of France that corresponds to the modern ''département'' of Allier, along with part of the ''département'' of Cher. Its capital was Moulins.
History
The title of the ruler of Bourbonnais ...
were known, from 913 to 1327, and from which the
cognomen
A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...
of the royal
House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...
of the same name derives.
Louis I, count of
Clermont, the ultimate holder, was created the 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 ...
" and made "
count of La Marche" by his cousin, King
Charles IV of France, in exchange for Clermont-en-Beauvaisis, thus absorbing the title.
This title dates to at least the early 10th century and
Aymar de Bourbon. Aymar lived under the reign of the
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippi ...
overlord
Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person ...
of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
who gave to him, in the year 913, several strongholds on the river
Allier
Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named after ...
, such as the
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
in the
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
town of
Bourbon-l'Archambault
Bourbon-l'Archambault is a spa town and a commune in the Allier department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in central France. It is the place of origin of the House of Bourbon.
Population
Personalities
In 1681, Louise Marie Anne de Bourbon, ...
. Of Aymar's ten successors all but three took the name "Archambault". His line ended in 1200 with the death of
Archambaud VII, whose granddaughter,
Mathilde of Bourbon
Mathilde of Bourbon (french: links=no, Mahaut de Bourbon; Theodore Evergates, ''The Aristocracy in the County of Champagne, 1100-1300'', (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007), 217. – 18 June 1228) was a French noblewoman who was the ruling ...
, then became the first ''dame de Bourbon'' (''dame'' being the feminine form of ''seigneur/sire''), as she was Archambaud's eldest living relative (the title being heritable by female family members). Mathilde's husband,
Guy II of Dampierre, added
Montluçon
Montluçon (; oc, Montleçon ) is a commune in central France on the river Cher. It is the largest commune in the Allier department, although the department's prefecture is located in the smaller town of Moulins. Its inhabitants are known a ...
to the possessions of the Lords of Bourbon, which had expanded to the river
Cher
Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...
during the 11th and 12th centuries. Their son,
Archambaud VIII "the Great", seigneur de Bourbon from the year 1216 to the year 1242, rose to
connétable de ("the constable of ...") France, the
commander-in-chief of the French
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
.
Following the death of
Archambaud IX in 1249 on
crusade
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...
, the title then passed through his daughters; first,
Matilda II (also known as "Mahaut"), Countess of
Nevers
Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the principal city of the ...
,
Auxerre and
Tonnerre, and second,
Agnes of Bourbon, whose husband,
John of Burgundy, was the second son of the Duke of Burgundy,
Hugh IV, and therefore a male-line descendant of
Hugh Capet. John, himself seigneur de
Charolais became lord of Bourbon as well upon the death of Matilda in 1262. He died five years later at the age of thirty-six and Agnes remained a widow. John's daughter by Agnes,
Beatrice, after the death of her mother in 1287, became his heir both in Charolais and Bourbonnais. Her spouse,
Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
of France, was the sixth son of saint
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 ...
, King of France, and the founder of the
line
Line most often refers to:
* Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity
* Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system
Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to:
Art ...
which was to reach the throne of France in the person of its 10th-degree descendant, King
Henry IV of France
Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monar ...
. The son of Robert and Beatrice, Louis, became the first Duke of Bourbon, superseding the previous rank of ''seigneur''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sire De Bourbon
Bourbon, Sire de
Bourbon, Sire de
Bourbon, Sire de
fr:Liste des seigneurs puis ducs de Bourbon
it:Elenco di signori e duchi di Borbone
pl:Władcy Burbonii
ru:Сеньоры и герцоги де Бурбон