Duke of Bouillon

Duchy of Bouillon Duché de Bouillon
State of the Holy Roman Empire Fief of early modern France
← 1456? – 1794 →
Flag Coat of arms
The Duchy of Bouillon as at 1560, shown within the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle
Capital	Bouillon
Government	Principality
Historical era	Middle Ages
- Ardennes lords of Bouillon	by the 11th century
- La Marck châtelains	from 1415 the 15th century
- First style of Duke	1456
- Treaties of Nijmegen	1678
- Abolition of manorial     and feudal rights	26 May 1790
- Ducal constitution	23 March or 1 May 1792
- Proclamation of the     Republic	24 April 1794
- Annexed to France	26 October 1795 (4 Brumaire, Year IV)
Area
- 1790	230 km2 (89 sq mi)
Population
- 1790 est.	12,000
Density	52.2 /km2  (135.1 /sq mi)
Today part of	Belgium

The Duke of Bouillon (French: duc de Bouillon) is a title of nobility. Until the nineteenth century, the Duke of Bouillon was the ruler of the semi-sovereign Duchy of Bouillon (French: duché de Bouillon), a small state located between Luxembourg, Champagne, and the Three Bishoprics and centered on Bouillon.

History of the Duchy of Bouillon

Bouillon Castle

The Semois with Bouillon Castle in the background

History of the Low Countriesv · d · e
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Carolingian Empire after 800
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Flanders and Lotharingia in Kingdom of West Francia (870–880)
	County of Flanders (862–1384) and other principalities (10th–14th centuries)	Kingdom then Duchy of Lotharingia in East Francia ("Germany") (880-1190)
Prince-Bishopric of Liège (980-1794) Duchy of Bouillon (988-1795) Imperial Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy (1138-1795)		Duchy of Brabant (1183-1430) and other principalities (10th–15th centuries)	County/ Duchy of Luxembourg (963–1443)	County of Holland (880-1432) and other principalities (10th–15th centuries)
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Kingdom of Belgium (since 1830)			Gr Duchy Luxembourg (personal union)	Kingdom of the Netherlands (since 1830)
			Gr Duchy Luxembourg (since 1890)

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 the Prince-Bishop of Liège, Otbert of Liège in order to finance his participation in the First Crusade.

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 Châtelain of Bouillon, William de La Marck, ordered the assassination of Louis de Bourbon, Bishop of Liège in a plot to install his son, Jean de la Marck, as Prince-Bishop of Liège. This plot proved unsuccessful: John of Hornes was elected as successor of Louis de Bourbon as Prince-Bishop of Liège. John of Hornes then fought a war with William de La Marck that ended with the Treaty of Tongeren, signed May 21, 1484, with the de la Marck family relinquishing its claim on Liège, though the de la Marcks retained Bouillon Castle as a pledge. Robert II de la Marck began calling himself "Duke of Bouillon" in 1492, but in 1521, the Prince-Bishop of Liège, Erard de La Marck (a fellow member of the House of La Marck), with the backing of the troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, managed to regain Bouillon for the Prince-Bishopric.

Robert Fleuranges III de La Marck began styling himself "Duke of Bouillon" in 1526 and all of his successors 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 II confirmed Robert IV de la Marck 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, Duke of Bouillon 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 remained Duke of Bouillon. From this point on, although the Duchy of Bouillon was technically 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.

At the Congress of Vienna, in 1815, the title of "Duke of Bouillon" was restored to Charles Alain Gabriel de Rohan. The Duchy of Bouillon, however, was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, then in personal union with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, becoming part of the Kingdom of the Belgians in 1830.

Geography of the Duchy of Bouillon

The Duchy of Bouillon was a sovereign duchy in many ways until 1795, but it was very tiny, the smallest territory within the Holy Roman Empire.^{[dubious – discuss]} 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.

List of Dukes of Bouillon

House of La Marck, ?–1588

See also: House of La Marck

Picture	Name	Father	Birth	Marriage	Became duke	Death	Spouse
	Robert I de La Marck	Jean de La Marck	1430	15 June 1446	? Bouillon raised to a Duchy	February 1487	Jeanne de Marley
	Robert II de La Marck	Robert I	1465	25 December 1490	February 1487 fathers death	1536	Catherine de Croÿ
	Robert Fleuranges de La Marck	Robert II	1491	1 April 1510	March 1667 fathers death	21 December 1536	Guillemette of Saarbrücken, Countess of Braine
	Robert IV de La Marck	Robert Fleuranges	5 January 1512	1 March 1539	21 December 1536 fathers death	15 February 1556	Françoise de Brézé, Countess of Maulevrier
	Henri Robert de La Marck	Robert IV	7 February 1540	7 Feb 1558	15 February 1556 fathers death	2 December 1574	Françoise de Bourbon
	Charlotte de La Marck suo jure	Henri Robert	5 November 1574	19 November 1591	2 December 1574 fathers 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

See also: House of La Tour d'Auvergne

Picture	Name	Father	Birth	Marriage	Became duke	Ceased to be duke	Death	Spouse
	Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne	François de La Tour d'Auvergne	28 September 1555	19 November 1591	15 May 1594 first wife's death	25 March 1623		Charlotte de La Marck
				15 April 1595				Elisabeth of Nassau
	Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne	Henri	22 October 1605	2 January 1634	25 March 1623 fathers death	9 August 1652		Eleonora Catharina Febronis van den Bergh
	Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne	Frédéric Maurice	21 June 1636	19 April 1662	9 August 1652 fathers death	26 July 1721		Marie Anne Mancini
	Emmanuel Théodose de La Tour d'Auvergne	Godefroy Maurice	1668	1 February 1696	26 July 1721 fathers 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	Emmanuel Théodose	16 July 1706	2 April 1724	17 April 1730 fathers death	24 October 1771		Maria Karolina Sobieska
	Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne	Charles Godefroy	26 January 1728	27 November 1743	24 October 1771 fathers death	3 December 1792		Louise de Lorraine
	Jacques Léopold de La Tour d'Auvergne	Godefroy	15 January 1746	17 July 1766	3 December 1792 fathers death	1794 Bouillon 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, since 1816

In 1816, the Congress of Vienna restored the title of "Duke of Bouillon", giving it on Charles Alain Gabriel de Rohan, son of Marie Louise de La Tour d'Auvergne, who was the daughter of the former duke Charles Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne.

Picture	Name	Father	Birth	Marriage	Became duke	Death	Wife
	Charles Alain Gabriel [1][2][3]	Henri Louis, Prince of Guéméné (Rohan)	18 January 1764	29 May 1781	1816 accession	24 April 1836	Louise Aglae de Conflans d'Armentieres
	Louis Victor Mériadec [1][2][3][4]	Henri Louis, Prince of Guéméné (Rohan)	1766		24 April 1836 accession	1841	Berthe de Rohan
	Camille Philippe Joseph Idesbald [1][2][3]	Charles-Louis-Gaspard de Rohan-Rochefort Adopted by Louis Victor Mériadec	19 December 1801	28 May 1826	1846 accession	13 September 1892	Adelheid zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg
	Alain Benjamin Arthur [1][2][3][5][6]	Arthur de Rohan (1826–1885), son of Camille Philippe	8 January 1853	10 October 1885	13 September 1892 accession	24 February 1914	Johanna of Auersperg
	Alain Anton Joseph Adolf Ignaz Maria [1][2][3][5][6]	Alain Benjamin Arthur	26 Jul 1893	29 September 1921	24 February 1914 uncles death	17 March 1975	Margarethe von Schönburg-Hartenstein
	Karl-Alain Albert Maria [1][2][3][5][6]	Alain Anton	1934	5 October 1963	2 September 1976 accession	2008	Ingeborg Irnberger
	Albert Marie [1][2][3][5][6]	Alain Anton	12 May 1936		2008 accession	Incumbent
Picture	Name	Father	Birth	Marriage	Became duke	Death	Wife

See also

• Duchess of Bouillon
• Prince of Sedan

References and notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Also Prince of Rohan.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Also Prince of Guéméné.
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Also Duke of Montbazon.
4. ^ Also Count of Saint-Pol
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Also Princess of Rochefort.
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Also Princess of Montaubon.