County of Marche

The County of Marche was a medieval French county.

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 named Boso, who took the title of count. In the 12th century it passed to the family of Lusignan, sometime also counts of Angouleme and counts of Limousin, until the death of the childless Count Hugh in 1303, when it was seized by Philip IV of France. In 1316 it was made an appanage for his youngest son the Prince, afterwards Charles IV and a few years later (1327) it passed into the hands of the family of Bourbon. The family of Armagnac held it from 1435 to 1477, when it reverted to the Bourbons, and in 1527 it 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 being in existence until the 17th century. From 1470 until the Revolution the province was under the jurisdiction of the parlement of Paris.

See also Marches.

Counts of Marche

Marche dynasty

• Boso I the Old, count of Marche and Périgord (958-988)
• Aldebert I, count of Marche and Périgord (988-997)
  • Boso II, count of Marche and Périgord (988-1010)
• Bernard I (1010-1041)
• Aldebert II (1047-1088)
• Boso III (1088-1091)
  • Eudes I, son of Bernard I, probably ruled as regent for his nephew Boson III (1088)

Lusignan dynasty

• Hugh VI the Devil, son of Hugh V of Lusignan and Almodis de la Marche (1091-1102)
• Hugh VII (1102-1151)
• Hugh VIII (1151-1165)
• Hugh IX (1203-1219)
• Hugh X the Brown (1219-1249)
• Hugh XI (1249-1260)
• Hugh XII (1260-1275)
• Hugh XIII (1270-1303)
• Guy (1303-1308)
• Annexed by Philip IV of France and given as an appanage to Philip’s son Charles the Fair

Capetian dynasty

• Charles the Fair (1314-1322)
• On Charles’ succession to the throne in 1322, he exchanged the county with Louis of Bourbon for the County of Clermont.

Capetian-Bourbon dynasty

• Louis I of Bourbon (1322-1342)
• James I (1341-1361)
• John I (1361-1393)
• James II (1393-1438), married Joan II of Naples

Armagnac dynasty

• Bernard, count of Pardiac and of Marche, duke of Nemours (1438-1462)
• James of Armagnac, count of Pardiac and of Marche, duke of Nemours (1462-1477)
• In 1477, James was convicted of treason and his territories were confiscated by Louis XI of France.

Capetian-Bourbon dynasty

• Peter II of Bourbon (1477-1503)
• Charles III of Bourbon, count of Montpensier, Beaujeu, Marche, and Forez; duke of Bourbon (1505-1525)

See also

• Provinces of France