Louis, Duke of Joyeuse (1694–1724)
Encyclopedia
Louis de Melun, Duke of Joyeuse (October 1694 – 31 July 1724) was a French noble man. He was the Prince of Epinoy
, Baron then Duke of Joyeuse
(1714) and Peer of France, Baron of Cysoing
, Antoing
and Wiers, Earl of Saint-Pol, Viscount of Gand, châtelain de Bapaume, Lord of Villemareuil, of Vaucourtois and of Saint-Jean-les-Deux-Jumeaux.
was born in 1694 and was an ancestor of the future maréchal de Soubise, princesse de Condé
Madame de Guéméné
and the murdered duc d'Enghien.
His father died in 1704 of smallpox making the infant Louis the Prince of Epinoy. Ten years later he was also made ducal-peer of Joyeuse
.
On 23 February 1716 he married Armande de La Tour d'Auvergne, daughter of Emmanuel Théodose de La Tour d'Auvergne and a grand daughter of the famous Marie Anne Mancini
.
Despite having been married, its was well known that he also contracted a secret marriage to Marie Anne de Bourbon in 1719. Marie Anne, known as Mademoiselle de Clermont was a daughter of Louis de Bourbon
and Louise Françoise de Bourbon
who was in turn an illegitimate daughter of Louis XIV
and Madame de Montespan
. Marie Anne was also the head of the future Queens household.
Louis died in 1724, during a hunting party at Marie Anne's ancestral home, the Château de Chantilly
. Naturally distraught, Marie Anne never married again. She was never to have any children.
As Louis had no children with Armande as well, the county of Saint-Pol
, as well as the principality of Joyeuse went to his eldest nephew, the young Duke of Rohan, who was a son of his sister Anne Julie
.
to be precise. It had belonged to the Melun since 1327. François de Melun, hereditary constable and first peer of Flanders, was made Count of Epinoy on 28 November, 1514. He then passed to the service of Charles V of France
when the latter acquired Flanders; his son Hugues was made Prince of Epinoy in 1545 by Charles V.
Épinoy
Épinoy is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming village situated southeast of Arras at the junction of the N43 and D21 roads.-Population:-Places of interest:* Traces of an old castle....
, Baron then Duke of Joyeuse
Joyeuse
Joyeuse , was the name of Charlemagne's personal sword. The name translates as "joyful".-Joyeuse in legend:Some legends claim that it was forged to contain the Lance of Longinus within its pommel; others state it was smithed from the same materials as Roland's Durendal and Ogier's Curtana.The 11th...
(1714) and Peer of France, Baron of Cysoing
Cysoing
Cysoing is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It is southeast of Lille.-Heraldry:-References:*...
, Antoing
Antoing
Antoing is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Hainaut. It consists of the former municipalities of Antoing, Maubray, Péronnes-lez-Antoing, Bruyelle, Calonne and Fontenoy.-History:...
and Wiers, Earl of Saint-Pol, Viscount of Gand, châtelain de Bapaume, Lord of Villemareuil, of Vaucourtois and of Saint-Jean-les-Deux-Jumeaux.
Biography
Louis was the only son born to his parents. His sister Anne Julie Adélaïde de MelunAnne Julie de Melun
Anne Julie de Melun was a French noblewoman and mother of Charles de Rohan, the famous general of Louis XV as well as Madame de Marsan. She died of smallpox in her twenties.-Biography:...
was born in 1694 and was an ancestor of the future maréchal de Soubise, princesse de Condé
Charlotte Élisabeth Godefride de Rohan
Charlotte de Rohan was a French aristocrat who married into the House of Condé, a cadet branch of the ruling House of Bourbon, during the Ancien Régime. She was Princess of Condé by her marriage...
Madame de Guéméné
Victoire Armande Josèphe de Rohan
Victoire de Rohan, Princess of Guéméné was a French aristocrat who was the governess of the children of Louis XVI of France. She is known better as Madame de Guéméné...
and the murdered duc d'Enghien.
His father died in 1704 of smallpox making the infant Louis the Prince of Epinoy. Ten years later he was also made ducal-peer of Joyeuse
Joyeuse
Joyeuse , was the name of Charlemagne's personal sword. The name translates as "joyful".-Joyeuse in legend:Some legends claim that it was forged to contain the Lance of Longinus within its pommel; others state it was smithed from the same materials as Roland's Durendal and Ogier's Curtana.The 11th...
.
On 23 February 1716 he married Armande de La Tour d'Auvergne, daughter of Emmanuel Théodose de La Tour d'Auvergne and a grand daughter of the famous Marie Anne Mancini
Marie Anne Mancini
Marie Anne Mancini, duchesse de Bouillon , was the youngest of the five famous Mancini sisters, who along with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, were known at the court of King Louis XIV of France as the Mazarinettes because their uncle was the king's chief minister, Cardinal...
.
Despite having been married, its was well known that he also contracted a secret marriage to Marie Anne de Bourbon in 1719. Marie Anne, known as Mademoiselle de Clermont was a daughter of Louis de Bourbon
Louis III, Prince of Condé
Louis de Bourbon, , was Prince of Condé for less than a year, following the death of his father Henry III, Prince of Condé in 1709...
and Louise Françoise de Bourbon
Louise-Françoise de Bourbon
Louise Françoise de Bourbon, Légitimée de France was the eldest surviving legitimised daughter of Louis XIV of France and his maîtresse-en-titre, Madame de Montespan. She was said to have been named after her godmother, Louise de La Vallière, the woman that her mother had replaced as the king's...
who was in turn an illegitimate daughter of Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
and Madame de Montespan
Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan
Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, marquise of Montespan , better known as Madame de Montespan, was the most celebrated maîtresse en titre of King Louis XIV of France, by whom she had seven children....
. Marie Anne was also the head of the future Queens household.
Louis died in 1724, during a hunting party at Marie Anne's ancestral home, the Château de Chantilly
Château de Chantilly
The Château de Chantilly is a historic château located in the town of Chantilly, France. It comprises two attached buildings; the Grand Château, destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870s, and the Petit Château which was built around 1560 for Anne de Montmorency...
. Naturally distraught, Marie Anne never married again. She was never to have any children.
As Louis had no children with Armande as well, the county of Saint-Pol
Counts of Saint-Pol
This page is a list of rulers of the county of Saint-Pol....
, as well as the principality of Joyeuse went to his eldest nephew, the young Duke of Rohan, who was a son of his sister Anne Julie
Anne Julie de Melun
Anne Julie de Melun was a French noblewoman and mother of Charles de Rohan, the famous general of Louis XV as well as Madame de Marsan. She died of smallpox in her twenties.-Biography:...
.
Epinoy
This châtellenie was located in Belgium, HainautCounty of Hainaut
The County of Hainaut was a historical region in the Low Countries with its capital at Mons . In English sources it is often given the archaic spelling Hainault....
to be precise. It had belonged to the Melun since 1327. François de Melun, hereditary constable and first peer of Flanders, was made Count of Epinoy on 28 November, 1514. He then passed to the service of Charles V of France
Charles V of France
Charles V , called the Wise, was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380 and a member of the House of Valois...
when the latter acquired Flanders; his son Hugues was made Prince of Epinoy in 1545 by Charles V.
Ancestry
Sources
- M.-Fr. Dantine, Ch. Clémencet et al., L'art de vérifier les dates..., vol. 12, impr. Valade, 1818 (réimpr. 4e), p. 413
- de la Chenaye-Desbois, Dictionnaire de la noblesse, contenant les généalogies, l'histoire..., vol. X, impr. Antoine Boudet, Paris, 1775 (réimpr. 2e), p. 22