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 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 de Bourbon. Aymar lived under the reign of the Carolingian overlord Charles III of France who gave to him, in the year 913, several strongholds on the river Allier, such as the castle in the medieval 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.
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The House of Bourbon is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. A branch descended from the French Bourbons came to rule Spain in the 18th century and is the current Spanish royal family. Further branches, descended from the Spanish Bourbons, held thrones in Naples, Sicily, and Parma. Today, Spain and Luxembourg have monarchs of the House of Bourbon. The royal Bourbons originated in 1272, when Robert, the youngest son of King Louis IX of France, married the heiress of the lordship of Bourbon. The house continued for three centuries as a cadet branch, serving as nobles under the direct Capetian and Valois kings.
Robert of Clermont 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 and Margaret of Provence.
Beatrice of Burgundy was ruling Lady of Bourbon from 1288 to 1310, and, through her mother, heiress of all Bourbon estates.
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.
Charles II, Duke of Bourbon, was Archbishop of Lyon from an early age and a French diplomat under the rule of Louis XI of France. He had a 2-week tenure as Duke of Bourbon in 1488, being ousted afterward by his younger brother and successor, Peter II, Duke of Bourbon.
Charolais is a historic region of France, named after the central town of Charolles, and located in today's Saône-et-Loire département, in Burgundy.
The counts of Nevers were the rulers of the County of Nevers, in France, The territory became a duchy in the peerage of France in 1539 under the dukes of Nevers.
Archambaud VIII of Bourbon, nicknamed the Great (1189–1242), was a ruler (sire) of Bourbonnais in the modern region of Auvergne, France. His parents were Guy II of Dampierre and Mathilde of Bourbon.
The 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.
Archambaud IX of Bourbon, called "Le Jeune", was a ruler (sire) of Bourbonnais in the modern region of Auvergne, France.
Yolande II or Yolande of Nevers, was ruling Countess of Nevers between 1262 and 1280.
Agnes of Dampierre was Lady of Bourbon and heiress of all Bourbon estates. She was the daughter of Archambaud IX de Dampierre and Yolande I, Countess of Nevers. She married John of Burgundy, the son of Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy. Their daughter, Beatrix of Bourbon, married Robert, Count of Clermont in 1272 and their eldest son Louis I, le Boiteux became the first Duke of Bourbon.
Margaret of Bourbon was Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne from 1234 until 1253 as the third wife of Theobald I of Navarre. After her husband's death, she ruled both the kingdom and the county as regent for three years in the name of their son, Theobald II of Navarre.
Guy I of Clermont-Nesle was a Marshal of France, Seigneur (Lord) of Offemont jure uxoris, and possibly of Ailly, Maulette and Breteuil. He might have been a Seigneur of Nesle also, or used the title "Sire of Nesle" due to his family. Difficulties about the seigneurie of Breteuil are present, and the status of Ailly and Maulette in relation to Breteuil.
John of Burgundy was a Count of Charolais and Lord of Bourbon. He was a younger son of Duke Hugh IV of Burgundy and his wife, Yolande of Dreux.
Simon IV, Count of Saarbrücken, Simon of Saarbrücken-Commercy. He was the Count of Saarbrücken (de) and Seigneur (lord) of Commercy (fr).
The House of Bourbon-Dampierre refers to a noble dynasty that emerged from the marriage of Guy II of Dampierre with Mathilde of Bourbon in 1197. The male line of this house ended in 1249, while the female line persisted until 1287.
John was a medieval French nobleman, Lord (seigneur) of Charolais and Saint-Just, who fought in Flanders. He is also known as John of Clermont.
Matilda I, Countess of Nevers or Mathilde de Courtenay, or Mahaut de Courtenay, (1188–1257), was a ruling countess of Nevers, Auxerre and Tonnerre. She was the only daughter of Peter II of Courtenay and of Agnes of Nevers, born from the Capetian House of Courtenay, she was married to Hervé IV of Donzy and then to Guigues IV of Forez.
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