Counts and dukes of Alençon
Encyclopedia
Several counts and then royal dukes of Alençon
Alençon
Alençon is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon .-History:...
have figured in French history. The title has been awarded to a younger brother of the French sovereign.
History
Two lines of Counts of Alençon became extinct before the title of Alençon was attached to the House of Valois that ruled France. Alençon was granted as an appanageAppanage
An apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
to Pierre, son of Louis IX of France
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
(1268) and then to Charles, count of Valois, brother of Philip IV
Philip IV of France
Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
(1293). A third house of Alençon counts descended from Charles
Charles II of Alençon
Charles II of Alençon, called the Magnanimous was the second son of Charles of Valois and his first wife Margaret, and brother of Philip VI, King of France...
, second son of the Count of Valois, who was killed at the Battle of Crécy
Battle of Crécy
The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France, and was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War...
in 1346.
The county of Alençon was raised to a dukedom in 1414. Jean, 1st Duc d'Alençon
John I of Alençon
John I of Alençon, called the Sage , was the son of Peter II of Alençon and Marie de Chamaillard. In 1404, he succeeded his father as Count of Alençon and Perche. He was made Duke of Alençon in 1414.He commanded the second division of the French army at the Battle of Agincourt...
, was killed at Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
, 1415, after having with his own hand slain the Duke of York
Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York
Sir Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York, 2nd Earl of Cambridge, Earl of Rutland, Earl of Cork, Duke of Aumale KG was a member of the English royal family who died at the Battle of Agincourt....
. His son, Jean, 2nd Duc d'Alençon
John II of Alençon
John II of Alençon was the son of John I of Alençon and Marie of Brittany. He succeeded his father as Duke of Alençon and Count of Perche as a minor in 1415, after the latter's death at the Battle of Agincourt.He saw action as a young man at the Battle of Verneuil on 17 August 1424, and was...
(who features in Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Henry VI
Henry VI, part 1
Henry VI, Part 1 or The First Part of Henry the Sixt is a history play by William Shakespeare, and possibly Thomas Nashe, believed to have been written in 1591, and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England...
), was dispossessed of his duchy in the Battle of Verneuil
Battle of Verneuil
The Battle of Verneuil was a battle of the Hundred Years' War, fought on 17 August 1424 near Verneuil in Normandy and was a significant English victory.-The black time:...
, August 17, 1424: the Duke was defeated and taken prisoner by English forces led by John, Duke of Bedford. Jean reconquered his domain in 1449.
In 1524 the dukedom of Alençon reverted to the crown, in consequence of the death of the childless Duke Charles IV, who was married to Marguerite, sister of Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
; Marguerite appears to have kept the title for life, as her second husband, Henry II of Navarre
Henry II of Navarre
Henry II was the eldest son of John III of Navarre and Catherine I of Navarre, sister and heiress of Francis Phoebus, King of Navarre; he was born at Sangüesa.-King of Navarre:...
, used it in 1540. The title was given as a jointure
Jointure
Jointure is, in law, a provision for a wife after the death of her husband. As defined by Sir Edward Coke, it is "a competent livelihood of freehold for the wife, of lands or tenements, to take effect presently in possession or profit after the death of her husband for the life of the wife at...
to Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen consort of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II of France....
in 1559, and as an appanage
Appanage
An apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
to her youngest son Francis
François, Duke of Anjou
Francis, Duke of Anjou and Alençon was the youngest son of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici.-Early years:...
in 1566.
The title was pawned by Henry IV to the duke of Wūrttemberg, and subsequently it passed to Gaston, Duke of Orléans
Gaston, Duke of Orléans
Gaston of France, , also known as Gaston d'Orléans, was the third son of King Henry IV of France and his wife Marie de Medici. As a son of the king, he was born a Fils de France. He later acquired the title Duke of Orléans, by which he was generally known during his adulthood...
, by grant of Louis XIII
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
; to Elizabeth of Orléans, duchess of Guise; to Charles, duke of Berry, grandson of Louis XIV (1710); and to Monsieur (later Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
), brother of Louis XVI.
The title of duc d'Alençon was last given to Ferdinand of Orléans, son of the duc de Nemours, and grandson of Louis-Philippe
Louis-Philippe of France
Louis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. His father was a duke who supported the French Revolution but was nevertheless guillotined. Louis Philippe fled France as a young man and spent 21 years in exile, including considerable time in the...
.
House of Bellême
- William I TalvasWilliam I TalvasWilliam I Talvas , seigneur of Alençon. He was a son of William of Bellême and Mathilde of Condé-sur-Noireau.He assumed the Bellême estates upon the murder of his brother Robert, by the Sor family in revenge for the deaths of their father and brothers...
- Roger of Montgomery, count of Alençon (died 1094)
- William TalvasWilliam III of PonthieuWilliam III of Ponthieu was son of Robert II of Bellême and Agnes of Ponthieu. He is also called William Talvas....
, lord of Bellême (until 1113), Count of PonthieuCount of PonthieuThe County of Ponthieu , centered on the mouth of the Somme, became a member of the Norman group of vassal states when Count Guy submitted to William of Normandy after the battle of Mortemer.....
, Sées, and Alençon (died 1171) - John I, count of Alençon
- John II, count of Alençon (died 1191)
- Robert I, count of Alençon (died c. 1217)
House of CapetHouse of CapetThe House of Capet, or The Direct Capetian Dynasty, , also called The House of France , or simply the Capets, which ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328, was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians. As rulers of France, the dynasty...
- Peter IPeter, Count of Perche and AlençonPeter of France or Peter I of Alencon was the son of Louis IX of France and Margaret of Provence. He became Count of Alençon in 1269 and in 1284, Count of Blois and Chartres, and Seigneur de Guise in 1272 and 1284.He was born in the Holy Land while his father headed the Seventh Crusade...
(died 1283), received the county of Alençon and part of the county of PerchePerchePerche is a former province of northern France extending over the départements of Orne, Eure, Eure-et-Loir and Sarthe, which were created from Perche during the French Revolution.-Geography:...
in appanageAppanageAn apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
from his father Louis IX of FranceLouis IX of FranceLouis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
House of Valois
- Charles of ValoisCharles of ValoisCharles of Valois was the fourth son of Philip III of France and Isabella of Aragon. His mother was a daughter of James I of Aragon and Yolande of Hungary. He was a member of the House of Capet and founded the House of Valois...
(died 1325), brother of Philip IV of FrancePhilip IV of FrancePhilip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
, was given the county of Alençon in appanage in 1291 - Charles II of AlençonCharles II of AlençonCharles II of Alençon, called the Magnanimous was the second son of Charles of Valois and his first wife Margaret, and brother of Philip VI, King of France...
(died August 26, 1346 at the Battle of CrécyBattle of CrécyThe Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France, and was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War...
) - Charles III of AlençonCharles III of AlençonCharles III of Alençon was the eldest son of Charles II of Alençon and Maria de la Cerda.He succeeded his father as Count of Alençon in 1346, but resigned the county to his brother Peter II of Alençon in 1361 to take up an ecclesiastical career.On 13 July 1365, he was made Archbishop of Lyon...
(1346–1361) - Peter II of AlençonPeter II of AlençonPeter II of Alençon, called the Noble , was the son of Charles II of Alençon and Maria de la Cerda. He was Count of Alençon 1361–1404 and Count of Perche 1377–1404....
(1361–1404) - John I of AlençonJohn I of AlençonJohn I of Alençon, called the Sage , was the son of Peter II of Alençon and Marie de Chamaillard. In 1404, he succeeded his father as Count of Alençon and Perche. He was made Duke of Alençon in 1414.He commanded the second division of the French army at the Battle of Agincourt...
(1404–1414)
Dukes of Alençon (1414 grant)
- John I of Alençon (died October 25, 1415 at the Battle of AgincourtBattle of AgincourtThe Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
) - John II of AlençonJohn II of AlençonJohn II of Alençon was the son of John I of Alençon and Marie of Brittany. He succeeded his father as Duke of Alençon and Count of Perche as a minor in 1415, after the latter's death at the Battle of Agincourt.He saw action as a young man at the Battle of Verneuil on 17 August 1424, and was...
(1415–1424; 1449–1474) - René of AlençonRené of AlençonRené of Alençon , was the son of John II of Alençon and Marie of Armagnac.-Restoration of title:...
(1478–1492) - Charles IV of AlençonCharles IV of AlençonCharles IV of Alençon was the son of René of Alençon and the Blessed Margaret of Vaudémont.He succeeded his father in 1492 as Duke of Alençon and Count of Perche, and was also Count of Armagnac, Fézensac, Viscount of Rodez, Count of Fezensaguet, l'Isle-Jourdain, and Perdiac.In 1509 he married...
(1492–1525) - Marguerite de NavarreMarguerite de NavarreMarguerite de Navarre , also known as Marguerite of Angoulême and Margaret of Navarre, was the queen consort of Henry II of Navarre...
(1525–1549?) (widow of Charles) - to French royal domainCrown lands of FranceThe crown lands, crown estate, royal domain or domaine royal of France refers to the lands, fiefs and rights directly possessed by the kings of France...
Dukes of Alençon (1646 grant)
- Gaston, Duke of OrléansGaston, Duke of OrléansGaston of France, , also known as Gaston d'Orléans, was the third son of King Henry IV of France and his wife Marie de Medici. As a son of the king, he was born a Fils de France. He later acquired the title Duke of Orléans, by which he was generally known during his adulthood...
(1646–1660) - Élisabeth Marguerite d'Orléans (1660–1696)
Dukes of Alençon (1710 grant)
- Charles de France, Duke of Berry (1710–1714)
Dukes of Alençon (1774 grant)
- Louis de France, Count of ProvenceLouis XVIII of FranceLouis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
(1774–1795)