Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol
Encyclopedia
Constable of France
The Constable of France , as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France and Commander in Chief of the army. He, theoretically, as Lieutenant-general of the King, outranked all the nobles and was second-in-command only to the King...
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Saint-Pol was the eldest son of Peter of Luxembourg
Peter of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol
Peter of Luxembourg was a son of John of Luxembourg, Lord of Beauvoir and his wife Marguerite of Enghien. His inheritance included the counties of Brienne, Conversano and Saint-Pol.- Family :...
and Margaret de Baux
Margaret de Baux
Margaret de Baux, Countess of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, and of Conversano, sometimes known as Margherita del Balzo , was a member of the noble del Balzo family of the Kingdom of Naples, which had its origins in Provence dating back to the 11th Century...
. His older sister Jacqueline, better known as Jacquetta of Luxembourg
Jacquetta of Luxembourg
Jacquetta of Luxembourg was the elder daughter of Peter I, Count of St Pol, Conversano and Brienne and his wife Margaret de Baux...
, married John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, KG , also known as John Plantagenet, was the third surviving son of King Henry IV of England by Mary de Bohun, and acted as Regent of France for his nephew, King Henry VI....
, and Louis was initially a supporter of the Lancastrian
House of Lancaster
The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...
cause in the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
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He was brought up by his uncle, John II of Luxembourg, Count of Ligny
John II of Luxembourg, Count of Ligny
John II of Luxembourg, Count of Ligny was a French nobleman and soldier, a younger son of John of Luxembourg, Lord of Beauvoir and Marguerite of Enghien....
, who named Louis as heir to his estates. However, King Charles VII of France
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
sequestrated
Sequestration (law)
Sequestration is the act of removing, separating, or seizing anything from the possession of its owner under process of law for the benefit of creditors or the state.-Etymology:...
the estates on John's death in 1441. As a result, Saint-Pol sought a rapprochement with the French king and duly had his inheritance restored to him. However, the county of Guise
Guise
Guise is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-Population:-Sights:The ruins of the medieval castle of Guise, seat of the Dukes of Guise, are located in the commune.-Miscellaneous:...
was claimed by Charles, Count of Maine
Charles of Le Maine
Charles du Maine was the third son of Louis II of Anjou and Yolande of Aragon.In 1434, he married Cobella Ruffo Charles du Maine (Château de Montils-lez-Tours, 1414 – 1472, Neufvy-en-Touraine) was the third son of Louis II of Anjou and Yolande of Aragon.In 1434, he married Cobella Ruffo...
. The affair was settled by an agreement that Saint-Pol's sister Isabelle would marry the Count of Maine and receive the disputed lands as her dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
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Saint-Pol became a close friend of the Dauphin Louis, the future King Louis XI of France and fought with him in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
and in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
. However, in 1465 Saint-Pol broke with his friend, now King, to join with Charles, Count of Charolais, the King's brother, Charles, Duke of Berry, and many other great noblemen, in the League of the Public Weal
League of the Public Weal
The League of the Public Weal was an alliance of feudal nobles organized in 1465 in defiance of the centralized authority of King Louis XI of France...
and the war that followed. In the Treaty of Conflans
Treaty of Conflans
The Treaty of Conflans was signed on October 1465 between King Louis XI of France and Count Charles of Charolais. This treaty was signed months after the Battle of Montlhéry where the French dukes of Alençon, Burgundy, Berri, Bourbon, and Lorraine defeated King Louis' forces...
which ended the war, Saint-Pol was appointed Constable of France and received the hand of the King's sister-in-law, Maria of Savoy.
After this, he was persistently disloyal to the King, conspiring with Charles, Count of Charolais, and with Edward IV of England
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
, his nephew by marriage. The final treason came in 1474 when Saint-Pol approached Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...
, who had already entered into a compact with Edward IV of England to dismember France in a renewal of the Hundred Years War. The scheme envisaged the murder of Louis and the sub-division of France between Saint-Pol, the Dukes of Burgundy, Brittany, Bourbon and Namours, the Count of Maine and King Edward. Saint-Pol then proceeded to draw other magnates into the conspiracy.
The whole thing started to unravel after Louis and Edward concluded the Treaty of Picquigny
Treaty of Picquigny
The Treaty of Picquigny was a peace treaty negotiated on 29 August 1475 between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France. Louis XI of France paid Edward IV of England to return to England and not take up arms to pursue his claim to the French throne. Edward was provided with an immediate...
in August 1475. Angered by this, Saint-Pol was imprudent enough to write to Edward, upbraiding him as a "cowardly, dishonoured and beggarly king". Edward promptly forwarded the letter to Louis, who now had all the proof he needed. A messenger was sent to the conspirator, in which he was informed that the King had 'need of a head such as his.' He was arrested in September 1475, and later imprisoned in the Bastille
Bastille
The Bastille was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. The Bastille was built in response to the English threat to the city of...
. Execution followed in December. Philippe de Commynes, the chief chronicler of Louis' reign, was to write that Saint-Pol had been "abandoned by God because he had tried with all his might to prolong the hostilities between the King and the Duke of Burgunday."
From 1468-1472 his chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
was the well-known translator, author and scribe Jean Miélot
Jean Miélot
Jean Miélot, also Jehan, was an author, translator, manuscript illuminator, scribe and priest, who served as secretary to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy from 1449 to Philip's death in 1467, and then to his son Charles the Rash. He also served as chaplain to Louis of Luxembourg, Count of St....
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Louis de Luxembourg married twice, first to Jeanne de Bar, Countess of Marle and Soissons
Jeanne de Bar, Countess of Marle and Soissons
Jeanne de Bar, suo jure Countess of Marle and Soissons, Dame d'Oisy, Viscountess of Meaux, and Countess of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, de Ligny, and Conversano was a noble French heiress and Sovereign Countess...
(died 1462), and secondly to Marie of Savoy. He left at least nine legitimate children, including:
- Pierre II de LuxembourgPierre II de LuxembourgPeter II was Count of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, Marle and Soissons.In 1478 Peter was made a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece....
- Jacqueline of Luxembourg, married Philip I of Croy (died 1511)
Ancestry
External links
- Philippe de Commynes: The Reign of Louis XI 1461-83 (Richard III Society)