The Sire de Bourbon or Seigneur de Bourbon, meaning Lord of Bourbon, was the
title by which the
rulers of the
Bourbonnais were known, from 913 to 1327, and from which the
cognomen
A ''cognomen'' (; : ''cognomina''; from ''co-'' "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 hereditar ...
of the royal
House of the same name derives.
Louis I, count of
Clermont, the ultimate holder, was created the first "
Duke of Bourbon" 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 rde Bourbon. Aymar lived under the reign of the
Carolingian 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.
Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
who gave to him, in the year 913, several strongholds on the river
Allier, such as the
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
in the
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
town of
Bourbon-l'Archambault. 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, 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 to the possessions of the Lords of Bourbon, which had expanded to the river
Cher 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.
Following the death of
Archambaud IX in 1249 on
crusade, the title then passed through his daughters; first,
Matilda II (also known as "Mahaut"), Countess of
Nevers,
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 of France, was the sixth son of saint
Louis IX, King of France, and the founder of the
line which was to reach the throne of France in the person of its 10th-degree descendant, King
Henry IV of France. 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