Anne of Auvergne

Anne of Auvergne
Anne as Duchess of Bourbon
Spouse(s)	Louis II, Duke of Bourbon
Noble family	House of Auvergne
Father	Beraud II, Dauphin of Auvergne
Mother	Jeanne of Forez
Born	1358
Died	22 September 1417(1417-09-22) Moulins

Anne of Auvergne also known as Anna d'Auvergne (1358 – Moulins 22 September 1417) ^[1] was the only child of Beraud II, Dauphin of Auvergne and his first wife Jeanne of Forez. She was Dauphine of Auvergne and Countess of Forez as well as Dame de Mercoeur ^[2] in her own right and was Duchess of Bourbon by her marriage.

Life

Anne's mother died when she was around eleven years of age. Her father remarried two more times; she gained several half-siblings from her father's third marriage to Margaret of Sancerre.

Anne was betrothed to her cousin Louis when she was ten years old. The marriage contract was signed at Montbrison on 4 July 1368 and the pair were married in person at Ardes in January 1370. Due to the fact that the couple were cousins, a papal dispensation was required; this was granted to them by the Pope on 15 September 1370.^[3]

On 15 May 1372, Anne's uncle, John Count of Forez, died leaving no children. Anne was his heir, as all of John's siblings had died including Anne's mother Jeanne and she had been the only one to leave a child, namely Anne. At the time of her accession, Anne was still only a minor (aged fourteen) so her grandmother, Joan of Clermont, acted as regent until Anne reached her majority, at which time she ruled together with Louis.

Anne and Louis were married for forty years. They had four children:

1. Catherine of Bourbon (b. 1378), d. young
2. John of Bourbon (1381–1434), Duke of Bourbon
3. Louis of Bourbon (1388 – 1404), Sieur de Beaujeu
4. Isabelle of Bourbon (1384 – aft. 1451), engaged to Eric of Pomerania but eventually became a nun.

Of their four children, John and Isabelle reached adulthood; only John having had children of his own.

In 1400, Anne's father died and he left her the Dauphinate of Auvergne, which she ruled over for the next seventeen years. Anne also founded an anniversary for her stepmother Margaret ^[4] Ten years after the death of her father, Anne was widowed; her husband, Louis, died in 1410 at Montlucon and their older son John succeeded him as duke. Anne ruled over her Dauphinate for another seven years, until her own death at Moulins on 22 September 1417. She was outlived by her son John and daughter Isabelle; her son inherited Forez and her grandson, Louis I, Count of Montpensier, eventually inherited the Dauphinate.

References