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.
Dauphin of France, originally Dauphin of Viennois, was the title given to the heir apparent to the throne of France from 1350 to 1791, and from 1824 to 1830. The word dauphin is French for dolphin and was the hereditary title of the ruler of the Dauphiné of Viennois. While early heirs were granted these lands to rule, eventually only the title was granted.
The Duchy of Burgundy emerged in the 9th century as one of the successors of the ancient Kingdom of the Burgundians, which after its conquest in 532 had formed a constituent part of the Frankish Empire. Upon the 9th-century partitions, the French remnants of the Burgundian kingdom were reduced to a ducal rank by King Robert II of France in 1004. Robert II's son and heir, King Henry I of France, inherited the duchy but ceded it to his younger brother Robert in 1032.
Charles III, Duke of Bourbon was a French military leader and noble. He was the count of Montpensier, Clermont-en-Auvergne, and dauphin of Auvergne from 1501 to 1525, and then duke of Bourbon and Auvergne, count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis, Forez and La Marche, and lord of Beaujeu from 1505 to 1521. He was also the constable of France from 1515 to 1521. Also known as the Constable of Bourbon, he was the last of the great feudal lords to openly oppose the king of France. Bourbon and Francis I of France finally fell out over disputes concerning inheritance. Bourbon commanded the troops of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in what became known as the Sack of Rome in 1527, where he was killed.
The counts of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis first appeared in the early 11th century. Their principal town was Clermont, now in the Oise department but then within the ancient county of Beauvaisis in the province of Île-de-France.
Dalfi d'Alvernha was the Count of Clermont and Montferrand, a troubadour and a patron of troubadours. He was born around 1150 and died in 1234 or 1235. He is sometimes called Robert IV, but there is no solid evidence for the name Robert, and the name can cause confusion, since his first cousin once removed was Robert IV, Count of Auvergne, who died in 1194.
Guigues VII (1225–1269), of the House of Burgundy, was the dauphin of Vienne and count of Albon, Grenoble, Oisans, Briançon, Embrun, and Gap from 1237 to his death. He was the son of Andrew Guigues VI and Beatrice of Montferrat. When his father died, his mother helped guide the leadership of the new Dauphin.
Humbert II de la Tour-du-Pin was the Dauphin of the Viennois from 1333 to 16 July 1349. Humbert was the last dauphin before the title went to the French crown, to be bestowed on the heir apparent.
Andrew Guigues VI, known as André de Bourgogne, Dauphin of Viennois, was the Count of Albon, Briançon, Grenoble, and Oisans from 1228 until his death. He was the son of Hugh III of Burgundy and Béatrice of Albon. He took his regnal name after and inherited the titles and lands of his maternal grandfather, Guigues V.
The crown lands, crown estate, royal domain or domaine royal of France were the lands, fiefs and rights directly possessed by the kings of France. While the term eventually came to refer to a territorial unit, the royal domain originally referred to the network of "castles, villages and estates, forests, towns, religious houses and bishoprics, and the rights of justice, tolls and taxes" effectively held by the king or under his domination. In terms of territory, before the reign of Henry IV, the domaine royal did not encompass the entirety of the territory of the kingdom of France and for much of the Middle Ages significant portions of the kingdom were the direct possessions of other feudal lords.
Amadeus III was the Count of Geneva from 1320 until his death. He ruled the Genevois, but not the city of Geneva proper, and it was during his time that the term "Genevois" came to be used as it is today. He was the eldest son and successor of William III and Agnes, daughter of Amadeus V of Savoy. He played a major rôle in the politics of the House of Savoy, serving consecutively as regent and president of the council, and also sitting on the feudal tribunal—one of three tribunals of the Audiences générales—of the Duchy of Aosta.
Raoul II/III of Clermont-Nesle was Seigneur (Lord) of Nesle in Picardy (de), Viscount of Châteaudun (de), Grand Chamberlain of France and Constable of France.
Count of Boulogne was a historical title in the Kingdom of France. The city of Boulogne-sur-Mer became the centre of the county of Boulogne during the ninth century. Little is known of the early counts, but the first holder of the title is recorded in the 11th century.
Beatrice of Savoy ruled as Lady of Faucigny, having succeeded her mother, Agnes of Faucigny. She was the only legitimate child of Peter II, Count of Savoy, but did not inherit the county, which passed instead to her uncle. Beatrice was also Dauphine of Viennois and Viscountess of Béarn by her two marriages.
Guigues IV, called le Dauphin, was the count of Albon from 1133. He was the first to take the name Dauphin, meaning "dolphin", which became a title among his successors.
The House of Clermont is a noble family of the French region of Picardy dating from the 10th century and included both the early counts of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis as well as many Constables of France. The house eventually merged with the House of Nesle with the marriage of Raoul II of Clermont and Gertrude of Nesle. The family is the sometimes referred to as the House of Clermont-Nesle.
Guy II of Auvergne was the Count of Auvergne between 1199 and 1222. Like his predecessors, he was a vassal of the King of England during the first phase of his reign. In the second part of his reign, his County was invaded twice in 1196 and in 1210, by his neighbor King Philip August of France, after which the majority of Auvergne was annexed by the King of France.
