- Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol
Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol (1418 –
12 December 1475 ) belonged to the Ligny branch of theHouse of Luxemburg and wasConstable of France .Saint-Pol was the eldest son of Peter of Luxembourg and Margueritte des Baux. His older sister Jacqueline, better known as
Jacquetta of Luxembourg , marriedJohn of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford , and Louis was initially a supporter of theLancastrian cause in theHundred Years' War .He was brought up by his uncle,
John II of Luxembourg, Count of Ligny , who named Louis as heir to his estates. However, KingCharles VII of France sequestrated the estates on John's death in 1441. As a result, Saint-Pol sought a rapprochement with the French king and duly had his inheritance restored to him. However, the county ofGuise was claimed by Charles, Count of Maine. The affair was settled by an agreement that Saint-Pol's sister Isabelle would marry the Count of Maine and receive the disputed lands as herdowry .Saint-Pol became a close friend of the Dauphin Louis, the future King
Louis XI of France and fought with him inFlanders and inNormandy . However, in 1465 Saint-Pol broke with his friend, now King, to join with Charles, Count of Charolais, the King's brother, Charles, Duke of Berry, and many other great noblemen, in theLeague of the Public Weal and the war that followed. In theTreaty of Conflans which ended the war, Saint-Pol was appointed Constable of France and received the hand of the King's sister-in-law, Maria of Savoy.After this, he was persistently disloyal to the King, conspiring with Charles, Count of Charolais, and with
Edward IV of England , his nephew by marriage. The final treason came in 1474 when Saint-Pol approachedCharles the Bold ,Duke of Burgundy , who had already entered into a compact with Edward IV of England to dismember France in a renewal of the Hundred Years War. The scheme envisaged the murder of Louis and the sub-division of France between Saint-Pol, the Dukes of Burgundy, Brittany, Bourbon and Namours, theCount of Maine and King Edward. Saint-Pol then proceeded to draw other magnates into the conspiracy.The whole thing started to unravel after Louis and Edward concluded the
Treaty of Picquigny in August 1475. Angered by this, Saint-Pol was imprudent enough to write to Edward, upbraiding him as a "cowardly, dishonoured and beggarly king". Edward promptly forwarded the letter to Louis, who now had all the proof he needed. A messenger was sent to the conspirator, in which he was informed that the King had 'need of a head such as his.' He was arrested in September 1475, and later imprisoned in theBastille . Execution followed in December.Philippe de Commynes , the chief chronicler of Louis' reign, was to write that Saint-Pol had been "abandoned by God because he had tried with all his might to prolong the hostilities between the King and the Duke of Burgunday."Louis de Luxembourg married twice, first to
Jeanne de Marle , Countess of Marle and Soissons (died 1462), and secondly toMaria of Savoy . He left at least nine legitimate children. From 1468-1472 hischaplain was the well-known translator, author and scribeJean Miélot .References
*The writings of
Philippe de Commines are a major source on the life of Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol.External links
* [http://www.r3.org/bookcase/de_commynes/ Philippe de Commynes: The Reign of Louis XI 1461-83] (
Richard III Society )
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