Duchy of Bouillon


The Duchy of Bouillon was a duchy comprising Bouillon and adjacent towns and villages in present-day Belgium. It existed from the 10th century until 1795, when, after centuries as a sovereign state, it was annexed by France. It was ruled by the Dukes of Bouillon.
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. After the French annexation of Bouillon in 1795, the heirs of the last reigning duke, Jacques Léopold de La Tour d'Auvergne, have continued claiming the title.

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 the Prince-Bishop of Liège, Otbert 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, Erard de La Marck, Prince-Bishop of Liège, 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.
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.
However the title, territory and the debt remained a bone of contention between the bishopric and the noble houses until after the French annexation of Bouillon in 1795. It was not resolved until 1825.

List of Dukes of Bouillon

Prince Bishops of Liege 1456–?

PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame dukeDeathSpouse
Louis de BourbonCharles I, Duke of Bourbon1438unmarried1456
claimed title on accession to bishopric		30 August 1482none
John of HornesJames of Hornesaround 1450unmarried1484
maintained ownership of Bouillon		1505none
Erard de la MarckRobert I de la Marck31 May 1472unmarried1505
maintained ownership of Bouillon		1538none

House of La Marck, ?–1588

PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame dukeDeathSpouse
Robert I de La MarckJean de La Marck143015 June 1446appointed chatelaine of BouillonFebruary 1487Jeanne de Marley
Robert II de la MarckRobert I146525 December 1490claimed title of Duke, 1492March 1536Catherine de Croÿ
Robert Fleuranges de La MarckRobert II14911 April 1510claimed title of Duke, 153621 December 1537Guillemette of Saarbrücken, Countess of Braine
Robert IV de La MarckRobert Fleuranges5 January 15121 March 1539confirmed in title by Henry II of France15 February 1556Françoise de Brézé, Countess of Maulevrier
Henri Robert de La MarckRobert IV7 February 15407 Feb 155815 February 1556
father's death		2 December 1574Françoise de Bourbon
Charlotte de La Marck
suo jure		Henri Robert5 November 157419 November 15912 December 1574
father's death		15 May 1594Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne
PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame dukeDeathSpouse

House of La Tour d'Auvergne, 1588–1802

House of Rohan, since 1816

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.
PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame dukeDeathWife
Charles Alain Gabriel
Henri Louis, Prince of Guéméné
18 January 176429 May 17811816
accession		24 April 1836Louise Aglae de Conflans d'Armentieres
Louis Victor Mériadec
Henri Louis, Prince of Guéméné
176624 April 1836
accession		1841Berthe de Rohan
Camille Philippe Joseph Idesbald
Charles-Louis-Gaspard de Rohan-Rochefort
Adopted by Louis Victor Mériadec		19 December 180128 May 18261846
accession		13 September 1892Adelheid zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg
Alain Benjamin Arthur
Arthur de Rohan, son of Camille Philippe8 January 185310 October 188513 September 1892
accession		24 February 1914Johanna of Auersperg
Alain Anton Joseph Adolf Ignaz Maria
Alain Benjamin Arthur26 Jul 189329 September 192124 February 1914
17 March 1975Margarethe von Schönburg-Hartenstein
Karl-Alain Albert Maria
Karl Anton19345 October 19632 September 1976
accession		2008Ingeborg Irnberger
Albert Marie
Alain Anton12 May 19362008
accession		Incumbent
PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame dukeDeathWife