County of La Marche explained
| La Marche |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | France |
| Timezone: | CET |
The County of La Marche (in French pronounced as /maʁʃ/; Occitan (post 1500);: la Marcha) was a medieval French county, approximately corresponding to the modern département of Creuse and the northern half of Haute Vienne.[1]
La Marche first appeared as a separate fief about the middle of the 10th century, when William III, Duke of Aquitaine, gave it to one of his vassals, Boson, who took the title of Count. In the 12th century, the countship passed to the House of Lusignan. They also were sometimes counts of Angoulême and counts of Limousin.
With the death of the childless Count Guy in 1308, his possessions in La Marche were seized by Philip IV of France.[2] In 1314, the king made La Marche an appanage for his youngest son the Prince, afterwards Charles IV.[3] Several years later in 1327, La Marche passed into the hands of the House of Bourbon.[4] The family of Armagnac held it from 1435 to 1477, when it reverted to the Bourbons.
In 1527 La Marche was seized by Francis I and became part of the domains of the French crown. It was divided into Haute Marche and Basse Marche, the estates of the former continuing until the 17th century. From 1470 until the Revolution, the province was under the jurisdiction of the parlement of Paris.[5]
Counts of La Marche
La Marche dynasty
- Boso I le Vieux (the Old), count of La Marche and count of Périgord (958 - 988)
- Aldebert I, count of La Marche and Périgord (988 - 997)
- Boso II, count of La Marche and Périgord (988 - 1010)
- Bernard I (1010 - 1041)
- His daughter, Almodis, married firstly with Hugh V of Lusignan, and their son Hugh VI inherited later the county of Marche by her right.
- Aldebert II (1047 - 1088), son of Bernard I
- Boso III (1088 - 1091), son of Aldebert II
- Eudes I, son of Bernard I, probably ruled as regent for his nephew Boso III (1088)
Lusignan dynasty
Capetian dynasty
Capetian-Bourbon dynasty
Armagnac dynasty
- Bernard, count of Pardiac and of Marche, duke of Nemours (1438 - 1462) (in right of his wife, Eleanor, daughter of James II)
- Jacques d'Armagnac, 4th Duc de Nemours, count of Pardiac and of Marche, duke of Nemours (1462 - 1477)
- In 1477, Jacques was convicted of treason and his territories were confiscated by Louis XI of France.
Capetian-Bourbon dynasty
Orleanist pretenders to Count of La Marche
The title was granted to Thibaut, a younger son of Henri, the Orléanist claimant to the throne of France.
- Prince Thibaut, Count of La Marche (1948–1983)
- Prince Robert, Count of La Marche (b. 1976, r. 1983-)
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: Marche historical province, France Britannica. 2021-11-10. www.britannica.com. en.
- de Vasselot de Régné. Clément. 2019. Un succès méconnu des derniers Capétiens : l'annexion des domaines des Lusignan et l'usage du concept de lèse-majesté (1308-1327). Revue historique. 692. 4. 833–858. 10.3917/rhis.194.0833. 239070247 . 0035-3264.
- Web site: The Online Froissart. 2021-11-10. www.dhi.ac.uk.
- Web site: Branche des comtes de La Marche. https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110224053657/http://pagesperso-orange.fr/stephane.thomas/capetien/bourbon_marche.htm. 24 February 2011. 10 November 2021. live.
- Web site: Marche historical province, France Britannica. 2021-11-10. www.britannica.com. en.
