Duchy of Bouillon

The Duchy of Bouillon () was a duchy comprising Bouillon and adjacent towns and villages in present-day Belgium.

The state originated in the 10th century as property of the Lords of Bouillon, owners of Bouillon Castle. Crusader Godfrey of Bouillon, later the first King of Jerusalem, sold Bouillon to the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, in 1095. The Prince-Bishops of Liège consequently became lords of Bouillon and eventually adopted the title of duke. The duchy was later claimed by members of the Houses of La Marck and La Tour d'Auvergne. From 1678, it was a sovereign duchy under French protection and ruled by La Tour. It was annexed by France in 1795. In accordance with the Treaty of Paris of 1815, the sovereignty of the former duchy was attributed to the king of Netherlands as grand duke of Luxemburg, and Bouillon was united to the grand duchy. In 1830, the territory of the former duchy of Bouillon, along with most of the grand duchy, rebelled and joined with Belgium. Bouillon is now a part of Belgium.

Geography

The Duchy of Bouillon was a sovereign duchy until 1795. In 1789, it had a population of 2,500. The largest town was Bouillon, situated on the Semois. It also consisted of the surrounding villages: Sugny, Corbion, Alle, Rochehaut, Ucimont, Botassart, Sensenruth, Noirefontaine, Gros-Fays, Fays-les-Veneurs, Bertrix, Carlsbourg, Paliseul, Jehonville, Opont, Anloy, Porcheresse, Gembes, Gedinne, Sart-Custinne, and Tellin.

Bouillon is located in a Walloon-speaking region.

History

The Duchy of Bouillon's origins are unclear. The first reference to Bouillon Castle comes in 988 and by the 11th century, Bouillon was a freehold held by the House of Ardennes, who styled themselves Lords of Bouillon. On the death of Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine in 1069, Bouillon passed to his nephew, Godfrey of Bouillon. In 1095, Godfrey of Bouillon sold Bouillon to Otbert, the Prince-Bishop of Liège, in order to finance his participation in the First Crusade. Godfrey later became first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The Prince-Bishop of Liège granted the châtellenie of Bouillon to the House of La Marck in 1415. In 1456, Louis de Bourbon, Bishop of Liège became the first individual to style himself "Duke of Bouillon". In 1482, the then Châtelain of Bouillon, William de La Marck, ordered the assassination of Louis in a plot to install his son, Jean de la Marck, as Prince-Bishop. This plot proved unsuccessful: John of Hornes was elected as successor of Louis de Bourbon as Prince-Bishop of Liège. John then fought a war with William that ended with the Treaty of Tongeren, signed May 21, 1484, with the de la Marck family relinquishing its claim on Liège, though they retained Bouillon Castle as a pledge for a loan of 30,000 livres and for their support for the Prince-Bishop against the emperor Maximilian I. In 1492 Robert II de la Marck began calling himself "Duke of Bouillon", but in 1521, Érard de La Marck, Prince-Bishop of Liège (and Robert's brother), with the backing of the troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, managed to regain Bouillon for the Prince-Bishopric.

On becoming chatelain in 1536 Robert Fleuranges III de La Marck also styled himself "Duke of Bouillon" and his successor Robert IV maintained the right to this title. During the Italian War of 1551–1559, Bouillon was occupied by the forces of Henry II of France to keep them free from Habsburg influence, but Henry confirmed Robert IV as Duke of Bouillon.

From 1560 to 1642, the Dukes of Bouillon were also the rulers of the independent Principality of Sedan.

With the death of Charlotte de La Marck in 1594, the duchy and the title passed to her husband Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne and thereafter became the possession of the House of La Tour d'Auvergne. France again invaded Bouillon in 1676 during the Franco-Dutch War, but Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne retained the title. From this point on, although the Duchy of Bouillon was officially still a part of the Holy Roman Empire, it was in actuality a French protectorate. This state of affairs was confirmed by the 1678 Treaties of Nijmegen.

In the wake of the French Revolution, the French Revolutionary Army invaded the Duchy of Bouillon in 1794, creating the short-lived Republic of Bouillon. In 1795, Bouillon was annexed to France. The last duke, Jacques Léopold de La Tour d'Auvergne, died in 1802 without any children (which was the extinction of the La Tour d'Auvergne family).

In 1815 the Congress of Vienna established an arbitral commission to determine the "Duke of Bouillon" and decided in favor of Charles Alain Gabriel de Rohan (the last duke's closest relative on his paternal side) over Philippe d'Auvergne (a postulated relative, who had been adopted and declared an heir by Jacques' father, Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne, when he was the duke). Meanwhile the Duchy of Bouillon was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, then in personal union with the Kingdom of the Netherlands (later becoming part of the Kingdom of the Belgians in 1830). The title, territory and the debt of Bouillon remained a bone of contention between the bishopric and the noble houses before and after the French annexation of Bouillon in 1795. Court rulings about claimants were not resolved until 1825.

List of dukes of Bouillon Prince bishops of Liege 1456–?

Picture Name Father Birth Marriage Became duke Death Spouse Louis de Bourbon 1438 unmarried 1456claimed title on accession to bishopric 30 August 1482 none John of Hornes around 1450 unmarried 1484 (accession)maintained ownership of Bouillon 1505 none Érard de La Marck 31 May 1472 unmarried 1505 (accession)maintained ownership of Bouillon 1538 none

House of La Marck, ?–1588

Picture Name Father Birth Marriage Became duke Death Spouse Robert I de La Marck 1430 15 June 1446 appointed chatelaine of Bouillon February 1487 Jeanne de Marley Robert II de la Marck 1465 25 December 1490 claimed title of Duke, 1492 March 1536 Catherine de Croÿ Robert Fleuranges de La Marck 1491 1 April 1510 claimed title of Duke, 1536 21 December 1537 Guillemette of Saarbrücken, Countess of Braine Robert IV de La Marck 5 January 1512 1 March 1539 confirmed in title by Henry II of France 15 February 1556 Françoise de Brézé, Countess of Maulevrier Henri-Robert de La Marck 7 February 1540 7 Feb 1558 15 February 1556father's death 2 December 1574 Françoise de Bourbon Charlotte de La Marcksuo jure 5 November 1574 19 May 1594 2 December 1574father's death 15 May 1594 Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne Picture Name Father Birth Marriage Became duke Death Spouse

House of La Tour d'Auvergne, 1588–1802

Picture Name Father Birth Marriage Became duke Ceased to be duke Death Spouse Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne 28 September 1555 19 November 1591 15 May 1594first wife's death 25 March 1623 Charlotte de La Marck 15 April 1595 Elisabeth of Nassau Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne 22 October 1605 2 January 1634 25 March 1623father's death 9 August 1652 Eleonora Catharina Febronis van den Bergh Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne 21 June 1636 19 April 1662 9 August 1652father's death 26 July 1721 Marie Anne Mancini Emmanuel Théodose de La Tour d'Auvergne 1668 1 February 1696 26 July 1721father's death 17 April 1730 Marie Armande Victoire de La Trémoille 4 January 1718 Louise Françoise Angélique Le Tellier 21 March 1725 Louise Henriette Françoise de Lorraine Charles Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne 16 July 1706 2 April 1724 17 April 1730father's death 24 October 1771 Maria Karolina Sobieska Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne 26 January 1728 27 November 1743 24 October 1771father's death 3 December 1792 Louise de Lorraine 14 May 1789 Marie Françoise Henriette de Banastre Jacques Léopold de La Tour d'Auvergne 15 January 1746 17 July 1766 3 December 1792father's death 1794Bouillon absorbed into the French First Republic 7 February 1802 Hedwig of Hesse-Rotenburg Picture Name Father Birth Marriage Became duke Ceased to be duke Death Spouse

House of Rohan, 1816–1975 In 1816, the Congress of Vienna restored the title of "Duke of Bouillon", giving it to Charles Alain Gabriel de Rohan, grandson of Marie Louise de La Tour d'Auvergne, who was the daughter of the former duke Charles Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne. In 1918 Austria became a republic so the ducal titles ceased to exist for the republican government. See also Duke of Montbazon (since 1816 the two ducal titles are united under one titular) and Albert Rohan, famous Austrian diplomat and de jure Duke between 1976 and 2019.

Picture Name Father Birth Marriage Became duke Death Wife Charles Alain Gabriel (Rohan) 18 January 1764 29 May 1781 1816accession 24 April 1836 Louise Aglaé de Conflans d'Armentières Louis Victor Mériadec (Rohan) 1766 24 April 1836accession 1841 Berthe de Rohan Camille Philippe Joseph Idesbald 19 December 1801 28 May 1826 1846accession 13 September 1892 Adelheid zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg Alain Benjamin Arthur 8 January 1853 10 October 1885 13 September 1892accession 24 February 1914 Johanna of Auersperg Alain Anton Joseph Adolf Ignaz Maria 26 Jul 1893 29 September 1921 24 February 191417 March 1975 Margarethe von Schönburg-Hartenstein Picture Name Father Birth Marriage Became duke Death Wife

Bibliography Jacques Marsollier (1647-1724): Histoire du maréchal duc de Bouillon; où l'on trouve ce qui s'est passé de plus remarquable sous les règnes de François II, Charles IX, Henry III, Henry IV, la minorité & les premières années du règne de Louis XIII Vol I (1726), online Vol II (1726), online Vol III (1726), online

See also

Duchess of Bouillon Prince of Sedan

Notes

References