Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé

Louis of Bourbon-Condé (Louis I, Prince of Condé) (May 7, 1530 – March 13, 1569) was a prominent Huguenot leader and general, the founder of the House of Condé, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon.

Life

He was the fifth son of Charles de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme, the younger brother of Antoine de Bourbon who married Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre; their son, Condé's nephew, became Henry IV of France.

As a general in the French army, Condé fought at the siege of Metz in 1552, when Francis, Duke of Guise successfully defended the city from the forces of Emperor Charles V, and again at the Battle of St. Quentin in 1557. After his conversion to Protestantism, he is suspected to have become involved in the Conspiracy of Amboise in 1560, a plot by the Huguenots and members of the House of Bourbon to abduct the adolescent King Francis II and usurp the power of the House of Guise, who were the leaders of the Catholic party. The plot failed, leading to the massacre of many Huguenots.

Condé commanded the Huguenots in the Wars of Religion and was captured at Dreux in 1562. At Orléans, Francis, Duke of Guise, was assassinated, and when the Queen's fears that the war might drag on led her to negotiate a truce, Condé negotiated the Peace of Amboise with the Catholic party in 1563, which gave the Huguenots some religious toleration. After war broke out again in 1567, Condé was killed at the Battle of Jarnac, 1569.

His son Henri, prince de Condé, also became a Huguenot general.

Children

He married in 1551, Eléanor de Roucy de Roye (1536-1564) [http://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00001623&tree=LEO Louis de Bourbon, 1.Prince de Condé ] ] , heiress of Charles de Roye, who had married Madeleine de Maillé, a half-sister of Coligny. [André Ducastel, "Chroniques de l'histoire de Roye", ] She brought as her dowry the château and small town of Conti-sur-Selles, southwest of Amiens, which would pass to their youngest son, progenitor of the princes de Bourbon-Conti. They had issue:

* Henri I de Bourbon, prince de Condé
* Marguerite de Bourbon b. 8 Nov 1556
* Charles de Bourbon b. 3 Nov 1557
* François de Bourbon, prince de Conti b. 19 Aug 1558
* Charles de Bourbon, Cardinal, Archbishop of Rouen, b. 30 Mar 1562, Gandelu en Brie
* Louis de Bourbon b. 30 Mar 1562
* Madeleine de Bourbon b. 7 Oct 1563
* Catherine de Bourbon b. 1564

On 8 Nov 1565 he married Francoise d'Orleans, Mademoiselle de Longueville, their children:
* Charles de Bourbon, comte de Soissons b. 3 Nov 1566, Nogent le Rotrou
* Louis de Bourbon b. 1567
* Benjamin de Bourbon b. 1569

See also

* Bourbon family tree
* Château de Condé

Notes

References

* [http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/COM_COR/CONDE_LOUIS_DE_BOURBON_PRINCE.html "Encyclopaedia Britannica" 1911:] Condé, Louis de Bourbon, Prince de"

Prince de Condé