Francis, Duke of Châtellerault
François de Bourbon (or Francis of Bourbon), Duke of Châtellerault (1492 – 13 September 1515) was a French prince from the House of Bourbon-Montpensier, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon (itself a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty).[1] He was the brother of Louis II, Count of Montpensier, Charles III, Duke of Bourbon (also known as The Constable of Bourbon), Louise de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier, and Renée of Bourbon (who became Duchess of Lorraine on 26 June 1515, less than three months before François's death).[1]
Life
François de Bourbon was the third and youngest son of Gilbert de Bourbon, the Count of Montpensier, and his noble Italian wife Clara Gonzaga, with both of François's parents dying before he even became a teenager.[1] François fought loyally under the command of his elder brother Charles in Guyenne and Navarre and was rewarded for his services by Francis I of France with the Duchy of Châtellerault in February 1514.[1] François de Bourbon was killed in action on 13 September 1515 at the Battle of Marignano (in what is now the northern Italian city of Melegnano, in Lombardy) against the Swiss during the Italian Wars.[1] After François's death, the Duchy of Châtellerault passed onto François's elder brother Charles, who was already Duke of Bourbon.[2] After Charles's death in 1527 during the Sack of Rome, French King Francis I's mother Louise of Savoy inherited the Duchy of Châtellerault, with it becoming a part of the French royal domain after Louise's death in 1531.[3] Later on, the Duchy of Châtellerault was given to Charles II de Valois, Duke of Orléans, the third and youngest son of Francis I of France.[2]
François de Bourbon never married but was rumored to have had an illegitimate daughter named Isabelle de Bourbon (who allegedly married a Spaniard named Laurent Suarez, the Count of Corunna), but this was never actually proven.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Achaintre, Nicolas Louis (6 May 2021). "Histoire Généalogique Et Chronologique de la Maison Royale de Bourbon". Mansut – via Google Books.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage". Burke's Peerage Limited. 6 May 2021 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Garrisson, Janine (14 June 1995). A History of Sixteenth Century France, 1483-1598: Renaissance, Reformation and Rebellion. Macmillan International Higher Education. ISBN 9781349240203 – via Google Books.[dead link]
| Preceded by Title created |
Duke of Châtellerault 1514-1515 |
Succeeded by Charles |