Charles III, Duke of Bourbon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (September 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Charles III of Bourbon-Montpensier, Eighth Duke of Bourbon (February 17, 1490 – May 6, 1527 in Rome) was Count of Montpensier and Dauphin of Auvergne. His father, Gilbert, Count of Montpensier, died in 1496, and his elder brother Louis II, Count of Montpensier in 1501, at which time he inherited the family lands in Auvergne. On 10 May 1505 he married Suzanne, Duchess of Bourbon, the heir-general of the House of Bourbon (to which he was the heir-male), and became Duke of Bourbon in her right.

Already distinguished as a soldier in the Italian Wars, he was appointed Constable of France by Francis I of France in 1515, and was rewarded for his services at the Battle of Marignano (where he commanded the vanguard) with the Governorship of Milan. However, Francis was uneasy with the proud and wealthy duke, and soon recalled him from Milan and refused to honor his debts. Charles was further angered by the appointment of Charles IV of Alençon, the King's brother-in-law, as commander of the vanguard during the campaigns in the Netherlands, an office which should have been his.

The death of his wife in 1521 provoked the final breach. Suzanne had left all her estates to him, but the King's mother, Louise of Savoy, claimed them as the heir in proximity in blood, due to their previous entailments. She proposed to settle the question by marrying Charles; but he refused the proposal. On behalf of his mother, Francis confiscated a portion of the Bourbon estates before the lawsuit had even been settled. Seeing no hope of prevailing, Charles made a secret agreement to betray his King and offer his services to the Emperor Charles V. The Emperor, the Constable, and King Henry VIII of England devised a grand plan to partition France, which came to nothing; the plot was discovered and Charles was stripped of his offices and fled into Italy in 1523. In 1524, he drove the French under Bonnivet from Lombardy, and fought at the Battle of Pavia.

The Emperor gave Duke Charles command of a mixed Spanish-German army (which included a number of Lutherans) sent to chastise Pope Clement VII. He neglected to supply this army with money or food, and Charles was only able to keep it together by promises of loot. Though Clement arranged a truce with the Emperor, the army continued its advance, reaching Rome in May, 1527. The death of Duke Charles —reportedly at the hands of the goldsmith Cellini— outside the walls removed the last restraints from the army, which proceeded to mercilessly sack the city.

By Suzanne, Charles was the father of a pair of twins and Francis of Bourbon, Count of Clermont. Since none of them survived a year of age, the senior line of the Dukes of Bourbon was extinct in male line with his death in battle, and the junior line (Dukes of Vendôme) were not allowed to inherit, because Charles had forfeited his fiefs because of his treason. However, the county of Montpensier and dauphinate of Auvergne were later returned to his sister Louise.

In conspiracy theories, such as the one promoted in The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, he has been alleged to be the thirteenth Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, although he is only listed by his title.

Preceded by Louis II	Count of Clermont-en-Auvergne and Montpensier Dauphin d'Auvergne 1501–1523	Succeeded by to royal domain
Preceded by François	Duke of Châtellerault 1515–1523
Preceded by Suzanne	Duke of Auvergne and Bourbon Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis, Forez, Gien and La Marche 1521–1523