Charles III de Bourbon, Count de Montpensier, then Duke of Bourbon (17 February 1490 – 6 May 1527) was a French military commander, governor, prince of the royal blood and rebel during the early Italian Wars. The son of Gilbert de Bourbon and Clara Gonzaga, he was born into a junior branch of the royal house of France. The early death of his father and elder brother meant that he became the comte de Montpensier (count of Montpensier) in 1501. He then secured a very advantageous marriage in 1505 to Suzanne de Bourbon, the heiress to the senior line of the house of Bourbon. By this means he became the greatest feudal lord in the French kingdom. He participated in the expeditions of king Louis XII seeing combat at Genoa in 1507 and at the famous battle of Agnadello in 1509. In 1512, he was established as the governor of Languedoc, and in the final years of Louis XII's reign he would fight the Spanish in Navarre and the English in Picardy. With the death of Louis XII in 1515, he would receive great honour from his successor Francis I when he was established as the Constable of France, the greatest office of the crown, which made him the head of the royal army. Francis was keen to see the French reconquer the duchy of Milan and undertook a campaign to this end in the first year of his reign. The duc de Bourbon (duke of Bourbon) had a key role to play in this campaign, leading the royal vanguard in the victory of Marignano. With Milan reconquered, Bourbon was established as the military governor of the duchy, though he would only hold this charge until May 1516. Back in France, Bourbon had limited involvement in the affairs of the next few years, joining the King for various occasions. At this time he and Suzanne were attempting to produce an heir, but their children all died young. In 1521, France entered war with the Holy Roman Empire which was led by the young new emperor Charles V. In the campaign on the northern frontier of the kingdom, Bourbon was denied the role of commander of the vanguard which was his by right, embittering him. During this year, his wife Suzanne also died. This created two crises of relations with the French crown, the one because of his plans for remarriage, the other because of her extensive inheritance, which she had willed to him. King Francis, and his mother Louise disputed her will, arguing the inheritance rightfully defaulted to them. A lengthy legal battle began, which was prejudiced when Francis accepted his mother doing homage for most of the lands that were disputed. In August 1523, all the disputed lands were sequestered from Bourbon. Concurrent to this legal battle, Bourbon began exploring betraying the French crown in favour of service to Charles V, entering a treaty with the Emperor in July 1523. With the sequestering of his lands, Bourbon broke with the French crown and fled the French kingdom, joining with the Imperial commanders in Italy. Now a commander for the Holy Roman Emperor, Bourbon helped rebuff a new French attempt to secure Milan in 1523. He then followed this up by leading an invasion of the French province of Provence, though this invasion stalled out before the walls of Marseille and he was forced to retreat back into Italy. The royal French army pursued him into the peninsula, but was delivered a crushing defeat at the battle of Pavia at which Bourbon fought, and at which the French king was made prisoner. Bourbon and Charles V looked to extract heavy concessions from the French, with Bourbon hoping to gain a marriage with the sister of the Emperor Eleanor, regain all his lands in France as a sovereign lord, and be made the comte de Provence. The treaty of Madrid would grant him some of these concessions but not all, and upon his release, Francis would honour none of the concessions made to the duc de Bourbon. Instead, the French king entered into a new alliance to oppose the Holy Roman Emperor known as the league of Cognac. Bourbon took charge of the effort to combat this league in Italy. He conquered Milan for the Emperor, who had offered to make him the duke of Milan and then led a mutinous army south to Rome which he put to siege on 6 May 1527. He would be killed trying to scale the walls, but the city was successfully taken, and subject to a brutal sack. After his death, he was posthumously declared guilty of various crimes in France. The legal dispute over the lands confiscated from him would not be entirely settled until the reign of Charles IX over thirty years later.
Family and personal life
Parentage and siblings
Charles de Bourbon was born on 17 February 1490, the son of Gilbert de Bourbon, the comte de Montpensier (count of Montpensier) and Clara Gonzaga. Charles' father Gilbert would serve as the French viceroy of Naples for the king Charles VIII but would die of the plague after his army was forced to surrender in November 1496. Through his mother Clara, Charles was the grandson of the marquis of Mantua, ruler of an Italian polity. Gilbert and Clara had married in 1481. Charles was the second son of the marriage. His elder brother Louis de Bourbon, succeeded their father as comte de Montpensier before his early death in August 1501. He also had a younger brother, François de Bourbon, who would become duc de Châtellerault before his early death in 1515. Charles also had an elder sister Louise de Bourbon who would live until 1561 and who married the prince de La Roche-sur-Yon. Their union would form the foundation of the second house of Bourbon-Montpensier after the extinction of the first with the death of Charles in 1527. Another sister of Charles, Renée would marry the duc de Lorraine in 1515, thereby binding the house of Bourbon with that of Lorraine.
=== House of Bourbon === The House of Bourbon descended from Robert de Bourbon, comte de Clermont, a younger son of king Louis IX. Several branches of the Bourbon family existed at the start of the sixteenth-century: the Bourbon-Beaujeu (otherwise known as Bourbon proper) which became extinct with the death of Suzanne de Bourbon, Charles' wife, in 1521, the Bourbon-Montpensier (of which Charles de Bourbon was a member) and the Bourbon-Vendôme. As an agnatic (through the male line) descendant of Louis IX, Charles de Bourbon was a prince du sang (prince of the royal blood). This term denoted legitimate direct male descendants of the French king Hugh Capet through the male line, i.e. if a daughter of the King had a son, that son would not be a prince du sang. During Charles' lifetime the primacy of the concept of the prince du sang was not yet without competing conceptions of French royalty, and it would not be until 1560 that it was definitively established. At the birth of Charles de Bourbon in 1490, the royal house of France was the direct house of Valois. There were several cadet houses of Valois. The last direct Valois king, Charles VIII would die in 1498 without a son and would therefore be succeeded by the head of the cadet branch of the Valois-Orléans, the duc d'Orléans who took the regnal name Louis XII. Louis XII would also fail to produce a male heir, and thus the Valois-Orléans in turn became extinct in 1515 upon his death and the line of Valois-Angoulême unified with the crown in the figure of the comte d'Angoulême who took the throne as Francis I (otherwise known as François I). The final cadet branch of the Valois was the Valois-Alençon whose last head, the duc d'Alençon, premier prince du sang (first prince of the blood) during the reign of Francis I, died without children in 1525.α
Unification of Montpensier and Bourbon
Shortly after the ascension to the throne of Louis XII, on 12 May 1498, the new king assured Pierre II, the duc de Bourbon (head of the house of Bourbon-Beaujeu), he would be able to transmit the rights to all his extensive territories to his daughter and heiress Suzanne who would in turn be able to pass those rights on to her children. This included royal appanage lands like the duché d'Auvergne (duchy of Auvergne) and the comté de Clermont-en-Beauvaisis (county of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis) which would have otherwise reverted to the crown in the absence of a male heir. By this means, ill feeling between king Louis and the duchesse de Bourbon might be quashed, and the Bourbon family rallied to the crown. This was a matter of importance as the new king looked to annul his marriage around this time. Without a son, all hopes for the Bourbon-Beaujeu line rested on Suzanne. There was disagreement between Pierre II, duc de Bourbon and his wife Anne de Valois, duchesse de Bourbon (the daughter of the French king Louis XI) as to the right marriage strategy to follow for their daughter. The duc, Pierre, favoured a match for Suzanne with the duc d'Alençon, Charles de Valois. The duchesse, Anne, favoured a match for Suzanne with the comte de Montpensier, Louis II (elder brother of Charles de Bourbon). The preference of the duc de Bourbon for the Alençon match could be seen as retaliation for the prior actions of the Bourbon-Montpensier family to attempt to sabotage the transmission of the Bourbon inheritance rights through Suzanne. David-Chapy ultimately dismisses the argument that the ducs aversion to a Bourbon-Montpensier match was driven by spite, proposing instead that it was royal pressure towards Alençon, who was favoured by the King in the hopes of avoiding a consolidation of Bourbon lands at the heart of the kingdom, a 'mutual reinforcement'. By contrast the lands of the duc de Bourbon and those of Alençon were separated widely from one another across the kingdom. It was this very prospect of consolidation and the strengthening of the Bourbon principality at the heart of the kingdom that excited the duchesse de Bourbon towards the Montpensier match. After the death of Louis II de Bourbon in August 1501, the target of her marriage plans transferred to his younger brother, Charles de Bourbon, the new comte de Montpensier. On 21 March 1501 the engagement of the duc d'Alençon and Suzanne de Bourbon was celebrated in the presence of the King at Moulins, capital of the duché de Bourbon. Upon the death of Charles de Bourbon's mother in 1503, the duchesse de Bourbon received the young comte de Montpensier at her court in Moulins. Clara Gonzaga's death was followed soon thereafter by that of the duchesse de Bourbon's husband Pierre in October 1503. With her husband dead, the duchesse de Bourbon moved to annul the engagement of her daughter to Alençon to pursue the match with Charles de Bourbon. According to the historian Crouzet, with the Bourbon's subjects won over by the young comte de Montpensier they pushed the duchesse de Bourbon towards a match with the comte de Montpensier that she did not want for her daughter. The historian David-Chapy sees this situation differently. They argue instead that pressure from her subjects was simply a convenient pretext for the duchesse de Bourbon to annul the Alençon engagement which she wished to terminate herself. By this means the engagement could be ended with tact in such a way as to not cause discord between the house of Bourbon and that of Alençon. David-Chapy places the Montpensier match in the context of matches arranged by the duchesse de Bourbon since the 1480s and finds it in keeping with prior policy and strategy.
=== Marriage === A marriage contract between Charles de Bourbon and Suzanne de Bourbon was established on 26 February 1505. By its terms the dowager duchesse surrendered all her property to the couple, and they were likewise to bequeath all their properties to one another. This thus realised Anne's ambition to keep the Bourbon territories united. David-Chapy thinks it possible that the dowager duchesse de Bourbon may have commissioned a stained glass window of Saint Anne educating her daughter the Virgin Mary for the occasion from the artist Jean Hey. Louis XII demonstrated his goodwill towards the family by permitting the match to go ahead. On 10 May 1505, the fifteen-year-old Charles de Bourbon married the fourteen-year-old Suzanne de Bourbon. As concerns the personality of Charles' young bride, the historians Hamon describes Suzanne as 'self effacing'. As for Charles de Bourbon, the historian Knecht describes him as 'handsome'.
=== Children === The couple would have three children:
François de Bourbon, comte de Clermont (July 1517 – ?), died young. Unnamed twins, died young. The baptism of their son transpired on 29 October 1517. The French court, and king Francis were at Moulins for the occasion, Francis being the young boy's godfather. According to the contemporary historian (and secretary of the duc de Bourbon) de Marillac, jousts and other festivities commemorated the occasion. In the actual ceremony, Bourbon's maternal uncle, the vicomte de Thouars carried the gold baptismal font. After the baptism, the court departed down the river Allier to the Loire. King Francis would again serve as godfather to a child of Charles de Bourbon in 1519. The child over which Francis was godfather, died after only a few months. After the early death of their children, Suzanne drew up her will which was in universal favour of her husband on 15 December 1519.
Domains
Bourbon would in his life hold the comté (county) de Montpensier, the duchés (duchies) de Bourbon, Auvergne and Châtellerault; the comtés (counties) de Forez, La Marche, Beaujolais, and Clermont-en-Beauvaisis; the dauphiné d'Auvergne, the principality of Dombes; and the seigneuries de Combrailles, La Roche-en-Régnier, Bourbon-Lancy, Mercœur and Annonay. Bourbon enjoyed a great deal of independence in his various territories. He was able to raise soldiers, employed his own fiscal and judicial officers, and held many fortresses. David-Chapy describes his agglomeration of territories as making him the last feudatory able to oppose royal power. By the unification of the Bourbon-Beaujeu and Bourbon-Montpensier branches of the royal house an immense territory in the heart of the French kingdom was consolidated. Control of this bloc afforded its holder a troubling power, that would be to the alarm of king Francis. By his agglomeration of territories, Bourbon was a peer of France five times over. Though her daughter was now married to Charles de Bourbon, the dowager duchesse de Bourbon Anne continued to exercise administration in the Bourbon-Beaujeu territories brought to the marriage. For example, in 1518, it was the dowager duchesse de Bourbon who mandated the use of French for all procedural documents as related to the seigneurie (lordship) de Beaujolais. She also made various appointments to offices in the duché de Bourbon between 1505 and her death in 1522. Due to their control by a great feudatory, neither the duché de Bourbon or duché d'Auvergne would have a royal military governor who represented the King in them. Later in the century they would receive one. One of the territories in Bourbon's possession was the principality of Dombes which was located on the left bank of the river Saône to the south of the Franche-Comté. This territory was part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a sovereign domain, with the rights to mint its own money, levy taxes and enjoy separate justice (a parlement for the little territory was established in Lyon in 1523). The territory would be confiscated by Francis I, but returned to the Bourbon-Montpensier family in 1560. Dissatisfied with a 1484 marriage contract they had secured with the Bourbon-Montpensier, the house of La Trémoille brought a lawsuit against Charles' father Gilbert. In 1489, Gilbert agreed to compensate the La Trémoille family with the receipt of three seigneuries in lower-Auvergne (Fromental, Saurier and Champeix). The Bourbon-Montpensier would have the right to redeem these territories from the La Trémoille for a period of 20 years for the sum of 30,000 livres tournois (the Tours pound, monetary unit of account in early modern France). Charles de Bourbon would redeem the territories in September 1508 for 30,000 livres. As a result of the arbitrage reached on 8 June 1514 between Charles de Bourbon and the seigneur de Boisy, Charles ceded to Boisy control of the parts of the seigneurie de Roanne that the latter had lacked control of. Charles' wife Suzanne thus granted this territory to the seigneur de Boisy on 16 September 1515. This terminated a legal dispute which had arisen almost fifty years prior between Charles' maternal uncle and the seigneur de Boisy's father. With the confiscation of Bourbon's lands after his betrayal, the parts of Roanne donated to Boisy would be taken over by the crown. Charles de Bourbon also enjoyed possession of a library. After he betrayed the French kingdom, the library was seized, and merged with the royal library at Blois.
=== Governance === The administration of Bourbon's territories is described by the historian Jouanna as having been 'quasi-royal'. His territories were governed by many councils, a chief cour des comptes (court of accounts) with secondary courts in Montbrison for the Forez, Villefranche for the Beaujolais, Riom for the Auvergne and Moulins for the duché de Bourbon. There was also a high court of justice whose appeals went straight to the parlement, and many other officers.
Residences
Of the many fortresses in his domains, that of Chantelle was the most formidable. His château de Moulins was home to a brilliant court life. The households of the greats in this era could be extensive, with many dependants including chambellans, écuyers and maîtres d'hôtel (chamberlains, squires, masters of the house) among others. Charles de Bourbon enjoyed a household of several hundred people. In addition to his châteaux, Bourbon held a grand urban mansion called the hôtel du Petit-Bourbon. In later times this hôtel would come into the possession of Galiot de Genouillac.
=== Clients, servants and allies === In his service were to be found captains of the gendarmerie (i.e. the aristocratic heavy-cavalry of the French army), such as the seigneur de Saint-Vallier and the seigneur de Montpoupon. Among those in Charles de Bourbon's service was a certain bourgeois named Pierre Filhol, who would go on to become the archbishop of Aix-en-Provence. Hamon highlights that some sources suggest that Gilbert Bayard, who would go on to the be the French kings chief secretary served as a secretary and contrôleur-général (controller general) of Bourbon's household. The historian cautions that we lack certainty in this, and that Bayard would not play any role in Charles de Bourbon's betrayal of Francis. The father of the future chancellor of France Michel de L'Hôpital, Jean de L'Hôpital served as Charles' doctor and advisor. His relationship with Bourbon would force both he and his son to flee from France after Bourbon's betrayal, the future chancellor therefore spending his early years as an exile in Italy. Charles de Bourbon was close with his Bourbon-Vendôme cousins: the duc de Vendôme, Charles and the comte de Saint-Pol, François.
=== Incomes === In terms of incomes, at one point in Charles de Bourbon's life, he would enjoy an income of between 250,000 and 300,000 livres, of which around 75,000 comprised pensions and wages. Bourbon would devote significant financial resources towards the French campaigns in Italy that the kings undertook in this period. The historian Hamon puts the amount he devoted towards this cause at 280,000 livres. In the same way, in the fighting on the northern French frontier in 1521, Charles de Bourbon would offer up his silver collection. This theoretically vast income he enjoyed can be deceptive, as relations between Charles and Francis deteriorated after 1515 the King ceased to pay Charles his pensions or wages. In part due to his financing of the foreign expeditions, and in part due to the cutting off of royal funds, Charles would experience cash flow troubles. The royal fiscal officer Jehan Sapin (who was the receveur général for the province of Languedoc) would serve as Charles de Bourbon's trésorier and receveur général (treasurer and receiver general). Bourbon would become indebted to his trésorier to the sum of 50,645 livres.
=== Early years === Charles was orphaned early in his life, both his parents being dead by 1503 when he was around thirteen. He would therefore be raised and educated at the Bourbon court of Moulins alongside his future wife Suzanne de Bourbon. Charles' education was both humanist and courtly: being taught both Latin and the running of the lance.
Reign of Louis XII
After his marriage on 10 May 1505, Charles de Bourbon, the comte de Montpensier assumed the title of the duc de Bourbon, by which title he would be known in the rest of his life, and by which he will be referred throughout the remainder of this article. For the occasion of the marriage of the comte d'Angoulême to Claude de Valois (the daughter and heir of king Louis XII) in May 1506, the duc de Bourbon made an appearance with a hundred nobles, all dressed in sumptuous style.
=== Genoa campaign === At this time Bourbon had no significant royal office to speak of, and therefore set about looking to acquire royal blessings on the battlefields of Italy. To this end he raised soldiers on his own expense.
French control of Genoa was important as a facilitator of French control of the duchy of Milan, this at least was the view of many contemporaries, including Bourbon's secretary de Marillac. A rebellion erupted in the French Italian republic of Genoa in June 1506. This rebellion initially held a class character and was not anti-French. The rebels against the city elites declared their loyalty to Louis, but the French king was troubled by their innovations. Louis first imagined punishing the city by levying a fine against it, before resolving on a military campaign in November 1506. With the French having evacuated Genoa, the city declared itself to be in rebellion against France in March 1507. By this time, Louis and a French army were already to be found in the north Italian region of Piedmont. Bourbon participated in the French reconquest of the city which transpired in late April.
Agnadello
The excuse for war between France and the republic of Venice was provided in the spring of 1509 when pope Julius II demanded that Venice pull out of the Romagna region they were occupying. The threat of excommunication hanged over their non-compliance with this demand. A time limit for this excommunication was given to Venice, but before it expired, on 17 April, a herald from Louis XII arrived to declare war on the republic. Soon after the declaration of war, Louis crossed the Alps to take command of the French army for the campaign. The French army contained an unusual amount of native French infantry. Bourbon commanded those soldiers he had raised personally alongside the two companies the King had granted him. Baumgartner records it differently, suggesting that Bourbon was the lieutenant to the famous knight Bayard in a company of 500 infantry. The French army, numbered in total some 27,000 men of which 7,000 were cavalry, with 30 artillery pieces. The traditional construction of an army of this period was to divide it into three pieces proceeding one after the other, the first corps, called the vanguard; the second corps called the battle and the third corps called the rearguard. It was tradition for the vanguard to be commanded by the constable of France. The French vanguard was under the command of the maréchal de Chaumont (marshal Chaumont) and boasted 8,000 Swiss, 2,000 Gascons, 615 lances and 20 pieces of the artillery defended by 500 Gascons. The battle of the army was under the command of the duc de Bourbon, and contained also the king. Here were to be found 532 archers, 800 lances, 6,500 infantry and the remainder of the artillery with pioneers. Several hundred lances of the battle were with the vanguard to reinforce them. The rearguard contained 3,500 infantry and a further 580 lances. They made contact with the smaller Venetian army which was in retreat at the battle of Agnadello. The French column either caught the Venetian rearguard by surprise, or was set upon by the Venetian rearguard and battle was thereby joined at Agnadello near Cremona on 14 May 1509. The Venetians took the defence behind a ditch and succeeded in breaking the first attack led by the maréchal de Chaumont. It was now the turn of the King to lead an attack, and his gendarmes broke the Venetian cavalry, then fell upon the infantry. The battle lasted around three to four hours. Bourbon credited himself by his conduct during the battle. The historian Quilliet honours him with being the origin of 'initiatives and wise advice' which brought the French the victory on the field. Venetian casualties were estimated at 6,000 to 8,000 by the contemporary historian Guicciardini while the French lost 400. The battle devastated the Venetians. Despite this triumph, little royal reward immediately appeared for Bourbon, and it would take time for the benefits of royal favour to flow his way. Bourbon was the subject of an appeal from the marquise of Mantua, Isabella in favour of her husband the marquis Francesco. The marquis was in Italian captivity, and his wife implored several French figures (alongside Bourbon, the queen of France, Anne, the heir presumptive to the throne the comte d'Angoulême, and the dowager duchesse de Bourbon) to see to his liberation. On 7 May 1510, Louis made his Joyous Entry (a sovereign's first entry into a town or city, a moment of celebration) into the city of Dijon, the capital of the vicomte de Thouars' governate of Burgundy. For the occasion Dijon offered wine to the whole court. The King was afford a hundred barrels of wine, their governor twenty, the heir to the French throne the comte d'Angoulême ten, and the duc de Bourbon six. With the death of the duc de Nemours in 1512, the historian Jacquart argues that Bourbon was left as the greatest living military commander of France. For a brief period from April to June 1512, the duc de Bourbon would serve as the King's lieutenant for the duchy of Milan. Bourbon would be appointed as lieutenant-général of the army of Languedoc.
Navarrese campaign
The Spanish invaded the kingdom of Navarre in July 1512, with an army led by the duke of Alba. France was allied with the little kingdom, and in addition to this the Spanish invasion threatened the south of the kingdom of France. A French army, comprising many captains who had survived the last Italian campaign got underway in October. At the head of this army were the governor of Guyenne the duc de Longueville, the grand maître de La Palice, the duc de Bourbon and the vicomte de Lautrec (viscount of Lautrec). There was much rivalry among the command which complicated the campaign. The French army enjoyed success at Bayonne but faced embarrassment at the siege of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port where they were unable to prevent the duke of Alba from withdrawing over the Pyrenees to the safety of Pamplona. The French captains followed the duke of Alba to Pamplona, but ultimately the parts of Navarre on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees would remain under the control of the king of Aragon, Ferdinand II. Bourbon fought alongside the comte d'Angoulême against the English in the north-eastern province of Picardy around this time.
=== Governor of Languedoc === In September 1512, the duc de Bourbon was made governor of Languedoc, one of the largest provinces of France, due to the pressing demands of the military circumstances. This appointment came with a pension of 24,000 livres. This pension was only slightly less than that afforded by the French crown to the sovereign duke of Savoy who enjoyed one of 25,000 livres. The office of governor of Languedoc had been in the hands of the Bourbon family with only a brief interlude since 1466 (the charge had lain vacant from 1503 to 1512 at the request of the Estates of Languedoc). Bourbon would not immediately inform the estates of the province of his new charge however, knowing them to be hostile to the existence of the office. Therefore, during the crisis that gripped the kingdom in these months, with the threat of invasion looming, the cardinal de Briçonnet took the lead in Languedoc. In addition to the dispute with the Estates, there was also a long running disagreement over jurisdiction between the governors of Languedoc and the parlement of Toulouse (highest level sovereign courts of the kingdom) which stretched back through the fifteenth-century. Bourbon's father-in-law, the late Pierre II, duc de Bourbon's appointment to the charge in 1488 had led to acrimony between his procureur (attorney) Jean de La Roche-Aymon and the procuruer-général of the parlement. It would only be with a new royal mandate in 1490 that the extent of his authority as governor had been unconditionally registered. For his part, Bourbon's provisions of office were not ratified by the parlement of Toulouse, as such their contents are unknown. In April 1513, a truce was secured with the Spanish for a year after their successful conquest of much of Navarre. Nevertheless, it was a delicate peace, and Briçonnet worked to heighten the defences of Narbonne in Languedoc, which was close to the Spanish border. Briçonnet saw to the supply of powder, complained about the paltry reinforcements he was receiving, and also bemoaned the delays in the arrival of the duc de Bourbon's companies to support in Languedoc's defence.
Disaster at Novara
Several events allowed for Louis to consider a new Italian campaign in 1513. This included the truce with the Aragonese king Ferdinand allowing for a reduction in the border defences; the death of pope Julius II in February which allowed for peace with the Papacy; and the new alliance with Venice secured in March. For the occasion of this campaign, the royal army would be composed of 1,375 lances, 613 light horse, 7,486 landsknechts (German mercenaries, the rivals of the Swiss mercenaries) and 6,500 foot soldiers. This large army would be under the command of the maréchal de Trivulzio and Bourbon's uncle the vicomte de Thouars. Bourbon himself had originally meant to enjoy the command allocated to Thouars, and, aggrieved at the prospective 'insult' of having to serve under his uncle, he resolved not to take up his place in the army. Instead, Bourbon left court, excusing himself on the grounds of making a pilgrimage to Notre Dame du Puy. This episode represented the nucleus of a rivalry between Bourbon and Thouars. The French army in Italy would suffer defeat the battle of Novara in June 1513 at the hands of the Swiss. Louis learned of the terrible defeat on 9 June. The vicomte de Thouars, who had retreated back into France, did not make it to court, arriving only at Lyon before he was ordered to head to his government of Burgundy to stave off a new attack by the Swiss. Indeed, Bourbon would join in the effort to protect Burgundy against the depredations of the Swiss. This represented something of a disgrace for Thouars. According to Bourbon's contemporary biographer and secretary de Marillac, Louis now much regretted choosing Thouars as a head of the expedition over the duc de Bourbon. In August 1513, Bourbon finally notified the Estates of Languedoc of his appointment as governor of the province. Despite this step, it would still be Briçonnet who was the King's chief commissioner at the estates held at Nîmes on 16 November 1513. In June 1514, the vicomte de Thoaurs tried to engineer the re-election of the mayor of Dijon, Bénigne de Cirey, who had commended himself during the recent siege of the city. Cirey did not wish to stand for mayor however, and looked to see a certain Pierre Sayve elected. To this end he appealed to various royal officials such as the duc de Bourbon. On 3 October 1514, the new queen of France Mary Tudor landed in France at Boulogne. For her entrance into the kingdom she was greeted by many great French seigneurs, among whom the duc de Bourbon, the duc d'Alençon, the comte d'Angoulême, the vicomte de Thouars and the sire d'Orval. Only 6 days later, on 9 October, Louis XII would be married to his young bride.
=== Louis XII's final campaign === The King remained interested in the reconquest of 'his duchy' of Milan. To this end in 1514 he began the assembling of a new army, with landsknecht mercenaries recruited to this end. Louis envisioned a force of almost 42,000 men for the invasion. The Venetians were eager to see this expedition come to pass, as they hoped they might recover territories lost to them in 1509. Louis could also look to his new brother-in-law Henry VIII for the provision of archers for the expedition. The King was of two minds as to who should lead this new expedition, the vicomte de Thouars, or the duc de Bourbon. By August 1514, the troops were ready, and according to the memoirist du Bellay, it was to be Bourbon who commanded the expedition. Bourbon was given the task of reviewing the soldiers of the expeditionary force. This was to the grief of the King's son-in-law the comte d'Angoulême who felt he should have charge of such operations. By contrast, in a letter to the Venetian ambassador on 11 August, Louis asserted that it would be the vicomte de Thouars who served as "capitanio di l'impresa" (captain of the company). Bourbon was at this time serving as the King's lieutenant in Burgundy, a responsibility he chafed under. In the words of Robert Maquereau, which Hamon suggests might be somewhat exaggerated, by the end of the reign of Louis XII, nothing was done in the kingdom without the advice of the duc de Bourbon. Louis is supposed to have promised the duc de Bourbon receipt of the office of Constable of France, this promise would not be realised until the reign of his successor. Despite his campaigning ambitions, Louis XII was by now fifty-two years old, sickly, and he also suffered from gout. As his life faded in December 1514, the Venetian ambassador noted that the duc de Bourbon and other men had been called to the capital to help in the planning of military endeavours for the coming campaign. Between 22:00 and 23:00 on 1 January 1515, while residing in the Hôtel des Tournelles, Louis XII died. His deathbed was surrounded by princes du sang and his familiars. Present were the duc de Bourbon, the comte de Vendôme, the comte de Saint-Pol, the vicomte de Thouars and the bishop of Paris among others. The comte d'Angoulême, heir to the throne, was to be found nearby. Angoulême would soon proclaim the death of Louis XII and his ascent to the throne as Francis I (or François I).
== Apogee of favour == There were only two lineages in the kingdom at the beginning of Francis' reign which could offer a threat to the King's predominance in his kingdom: that of the house of Albret and that of Bourbon. The former was neutralised through a 1527 marriage which tied the house to the royal one by pairing Francis' widowed sister Marguerite with Henri II d'Albret, king of Navarre (the second most powerful seigneur in the kingdom behind Bourbon). Bourbon would represent a greater challenge to deal with. The King's mother, Louise, occupied a place of the greatest significance in the kingdom before her death in 1531, above all the King's favourites. She injected men to the royal council (such as her brother the comte de Tende) and further down the line would also be the architect of men's removal such as in the case of the baron de Semblançay and the duc de Bourbon.
=== Constable of France === With the advent of a new monarch came a significant injection of new blood into the royal entourage. Francis introduced to high office and favour, young men of his generation such as the Gouffier brothers - the seigneur de Boisy made Grand Maître (Grand Master of France) on 7 January, and the seigneur de Bonnivet established as first the premier gentilhomme de la chambre (first gentleman of the King's chamber) in 1516 and then Admiral de France a year later. Antoine Duprat was established as the new Chancellor on 7 January, as the office was presently vacant. The duc de Bourbon was also a beneficiary of this process, being made the Constable of France (connétable de France) on 12 January, as a reward for his exemplary military service for the crown. David-Chapy speculates that the King's mother Louise may have a part to play in Francis' choice to elevate the duc de Bourbon to this most prestigious of all the French royal offices. Between 1488 and 1515 the office had lain vacant. After Bourbon's death it would again lay vacant until 1538. At the time of his elevation Bourbon was still a young man. The historian Jacquart writes that compared to the vicomte de Thouars (born in 1460) and the maréchal de Trivulzio (who was 65) he might as well have been a child. The office afforded its holder significant powers. Le Roux argues that the granting of this office to Bourbon was an acknowledgement of his importance. Francis could through the conferment of this title, be assured of Bourbon's loyalty. Complementary to its vast powers came a sizable income of 24,000 livres with the office, an income equalled only by that of the chancellor. It would be codified by king Henri III in 1582 that the Constable was the most senior of the grand officiers de la couronne (great officers of the crown), above even the chancellor. The office of constable was held for life, and was meant to be the King's closest council who was always consulted before the declaration of any act of war. The Constable was the head of the French armies, and excluding the King was above all nobles on the battlefield whatever their titles. He worked alongside the maréchaux (marshals), likewise appointed for life, who were his "collaborators and coadjudicators". By tradition there were a maximum of four marshals at any one time below the Constable, however this rule was broken in 1516 with the appointment of the maréchal de Coligny. The maréchaux were also grand officiers de la couronne and jointly judged matters of honour alongside the Constable. The commissares des guerres (war commissars - responsible for logistics, military administration and accounting) and the prévôts des maréchaux (marshals provost - magistrates responsible for monitoring the offenses of soldiers and maintaining order on the roads) were under the joint authority of the Constable de Bourbon and the maréchaux. In addition to these material responsibilities, the Constable enjoyed the symbolic privilege of wielding the royal sword during ceremonies. On 12 January, Francis confirmed Bourbon as governor of Languedoc, by the same terms as those granted to his uncle-in-law in 1483 and father-in-law in 1488. The duc de Bourbon's lieutenant, Just de Tournon would present these provisions to the parlement on his behalf. He took a different tack to that which had been taken in 1488 with the court, seeking to sooth passions, assuring them that Bourbon did not wish for conflict with the body. While Bourbon would enjoy the rights of pardon and remission he would have no cognisance over private litigation, which remained devolved to the parlement. In addition to his role as constable, Bourbon also held a place in the King's household as Grand Chambrier de France, which was a position responsible for the management of the King's chamber, not to be confused with the office of grand chambellan. While Bourbon had received the office of constable, the affirmation of his control over Languedoc and the position of grand chambrier in the royal household from the new administration, Reid argues his favour was comparatively slim. Reid compares Bourbon with the titles, lands and pensions granted to the women in Francis' family (i.e. Louise and his sister Marguerite).
=== Royal council === At the start of the reign of Francis, there were two royal councils. The conseil étroit (narrow council) which met in the morning and dealt with politics and edicts; and the conseil privé (privy council) which met in the afternoon and dealt with requests. The King's councils were dominated by nobles of the sword (nobles d'épée) i.e. the military nobility. Great feudal nobles, and princes, like the king of Navarre, the duc d'Alençon and the duc de Bourbon, constituted only a minority of these sword nobles on the royal councils. The constable de Bourbon would be among those great nobles (like the duc de Lorraine and duc de Vendôme) who would on occasion be called to council as someone who was 'present' for the meeting. Without necessarily having any involvement in the construction of policy, their presence for its establishment acted as a legitimising tool. In Michon's opinion, among all the 'princes and ducs' invited to royal council, the only one who enjoyed political heft was Bourbon's cousin, the comte de Saint-Pol. Bourbon's attendance of royal council would quickly evaporate after the first year of Francis' reign, in which his presence is recorded nine times, already a somewhat diminutive presence in comparison with men such as the seigneur de Boisy who attended twenty one times. In 1516, record survives of four attendances. From here on, he is absent. When looking at the 58 acts of the royal council between 1515 and 1519 for which lists of those present for the act is recorded, the historian Potter finds the duc de Bourbon as having been with the court for between 6 and 8 of these acts. In the analysis of the historian Crouzet the Constable was thereon distant from the court. Though this must factor in the consideration that Bourbon had his own court at Moulins. In their study of the records of council presences, Rentet and Michon accord Bourbon a role of secondary importance in the royal council in 1515 and 1516. Le Fur argues that Bourbon's absence from royal council 1517 onwards could be justified by the peace France enjoyed with its neighbours.
Coronation of Francis
Six days after the burial of Louis XII, the new king Francis made for Reims to undertake his coronation. A star studded group of nobles accompanied him for this most significant ceremony. Chief among them were the duc d'Alençon (now the premier prince du sang and heir presumptive to the throne), the duc de Bourbon, the comte de Vendôme, the comte de Saint-Pol, the comte de Guise, the comte de Nevers and the knights of the Ordre de Saint-Michel (Order of Saint-Michel - highest order of French chivalry). Also present was the new king's mother Louise. This grand entourage arrived in Reims on 24 January to an elaborate reception. As constable, the duc de Bourbon had a symbolic role to play in the ceremony which transpired on 25 January. Part of the ceremony involved the King's receipt of the paraphernalia of knighthood. The duc d'Alençon affixed and then removed spurs from the King's ankles. Then the archbishop of Reims drew his sword from the scabbard and girded the King with it before removing it. The archbishop then kissed the sword and put it in Francis' hands. Francis briefly held it, before passing it over to the constable de Bourbon who knighted the king. For the remainder of the ceremony and during the feast later, the Constable held the sword aloft. This was with the exception of the part of the ceremony in which Francis received communion under both kinds, during which as a sign of humility the Constable lowered his sword. Once the ceremonies had concluded, Francis departed the cathedral preceded by the princes du sang to receive the acclamation of crowds that had gathered outside. On 27 January, Francis and the royal party took the road back to Paris. Having entered the French capital for the first time as king, Francis played witness to spectacles put on for him. In one of them the King was depicted in royal state, with his instruments of authority. He was surrounded by two figures, one dressed up as 'lady France' the other 'lady Faith'. Around this group of three were six wearing armour and carrying lances. These armoured figures wore heraldry that allowed them to be identified several of them to be identified as the duc d'Alençon, the duc de Bourbon and the comte de Vendôme. Finally, at the bottom of the scaffold were three more figures, one representing the common people, another vigilance, and a final fidelity. The royal procession made its way to the cathedral of Notre-Dame. In the procession were the great officers of the crown, the princes du sang and various other nobles. The duc de Bourbon wore a device on which the motto 'A toujours mais' was written "in large Greek letters". Arriving at the Notre-Dame they attended a service of thanksgiving. After the service came a banquet, and finally dances for the evening.
=== Reforming the army === The new constable, the duc de Bourbon would issue an ordinance on 20 January which was composed of thirty eight articles. By this ordinance, the gendarmerie and compagnies d'ordonnance were reorganised. Bourbon sought to expand upon the provisions made under Francis' predecessors: Charles VIII and Louis XII. An example of the conduct covered by the ordinance was that soldiers on the march were only to stay at a place one day and one night. They were not to get their hosts to find them foodstuffs from other cities, but to be content with what was in the place they were staying in. This would represent one of the first ordinances the King would sign in his reign. These years were otherwise quiet for ordinances, the King not having much in the way of a domestic program during 1515 and 1516.
=== Finishing Louis XII's campaign === For this campaign, Bourbon would enjoy a deal of autonomy in its design, with little involvement from the royal council. Francis meanwhile feigned that he had other priorities to the reconquest of Milan. No sooner had the death of Louis been announced, than the Venetians were assured Francis intended to lead a new expedition into Italy. Francis was eager to conquer his wife Claude's dowry, the duchy of Milan. By agreement with the Venetians, he assured them Verona would be restored to them from Imperial occupation (i.e. that of the Holy Roman Emperor). Imperial neutrality in turn was bought by the treaty of Paris on 24 March 1515 which arranged for a marriage between Renée de Valois and the lord of the Netherlands (future Holy Roman Emperor Charles V). Francis would give the couple the chief towns of Picardy by way of dowry. On 8 May, a French alliance with England was confirmed. With all these pieces in place, the King's mind could turn to preparing an invasion. The duke of Milan raised 35,000 Swiss infantry to oppose the French invasion of Italy. The opponents of France had not been idle as the French preparations for an invasion proceeded. Back in February 1515, an alliance of Pope Leo X, the duke of Milan, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, the king of Aragon and the Swiss had been formed. The Swiss controlled Milan in the name of its duke. To guard against the possibility of an attack across the Pyrenees or into Burgundy while the Italian campaign was underway, the constable de Bourbon stationed 500 lances along the former border, and more in Burgundy. Once the French had entered Genoa and Piedmont, these French soldiers would be replaced by mercenaries secured through the agreement established with Genoa, thereby freeing them up. Though France had Venice on side, much of the rest of the Italian peninsula was hostile to them. As concerned the republic of Genoa, it was threatened by the duke of Milan, who wished to re-establish control over the place. The doge of Genoa, Ottaviano Fregoso, did not have an entirely secure position in the republic, with some desiring his deposal. Fregoso thus saw in French outreach an attempt to secure his position. Negotiations with the Genoese were begun in secret by the constable de Bourbon in February 1515. When Francis became duke of Milan, Fregoso would be assured in his position but as a permanent French governor rather than as doge. This reduction in his powers would receive compensation through receipt of several thousand livres worth of annuities, a company of 100 lances and consideration for receipt of the collar of the Ordre de Saint-Michel. This offer was accepted by the Genoese in mid-March, with a treaty signed on 21 April. The city was to be handed over to the French in May, with the deal remaining secret until that time. Despite the intent towards secrecy the Swiss became aware of this deal with the Genoese and in April began planning to invade the republic so that they might depose Fregoso. In June, the duke of Milan commanded the doge to step down, and began a naval blockade of Genoa. Fregoso assured them he had no alliance with France, and argued that if the Swiss violated his borders, he would not join any anti-French league. With this ultimatum having little effect, Fregoso asked for French support. Francis indicated his willingness to intervene, but war was averted by the efforts of Pope Leo X who declared his support for Fregoso. In early 1515, units of light horse that Bourbon had raised were serving as garrisons at the perimeter of the Alps and the Rhône. Francis established his mother Louise in the regency of the kingdom, in anticipation of his absence on campaign. Her powers over the royal domain were broad with scarcely any limits imposed upon them. This was approved by a royal council containing the seigneur de Boisy, the vicomte de Thouars, and the ducs de Lorraine, Alençon and Bourbon. Francis further declared the duke of Milan to be an usurper. The King had the rights to the duchy of Milan transferred from his wife (the daughter of Louis XII) to himself. In the absence of the constable de Bourbon from the kingdom, his charge as governor of Langedoc would be filled by the seigneur de Tournon. Bourbon supervised the assembling of the troops, which were to convene at Moirans in Dauphiné, meanwhile other troops gathered at Heyrieux taking advantage of preparations already made during the reign of Louis XII for this campaign. His participation in the campaign alongside the King was to be at his own expense. Bourbon arrived in Lyon on 23 or 30 June to an elaborate greeting from the people, with scaffolds erected upon which performances were given, with characters representing his courageous qualities. He was analogised to a John the Baptist preparing the way for the Christ king. His greeting was differentiated from that afforded to a monarch by the lack of canopy for his entrance. Soon thereafter, on 12 July, Francis arrived in the city. He was also greeted with elaborate spectacles. In these spectacles, Bourbon was analogised to the Arthurian figure of Galahad. In another of the spectacles, Bourbon was represented by a winged stag, a symbol used by both the French kings (since Charles VI) and the house of Bourbon. It was identifiable as a representation of Bourbon by the motto 'Espérance' that it bore around its neck and on its shield. On top of the stag, a man in Bourbon's colours bore a flaming sword in the one hand, and an antler in the other. Though Bourbon had received a warm reception from Lyon, this would not mean the city escaped the responsibility of supporting the royal army, which it was to do with the provision of food and wine. The magistrates struggled to comprehend how they would meet the demands of the royal army: 4650 litres of wine, 4650 litres of flour and 1116 litres of oats were anticipated every day. Le Roux puts the size of the army at around either 30,000 or 40,000 infantry and 2,500 lances. He further argues that the army was likely the largest assembled so far in the Italian Wars. For the royal guard: it contained 400 archers, 200 mounted crossbowmen and 200 gentleman of the royal hôtel; for cavalry 2,500 lances (by the time of Francis' reign a lance was composed of a gendarme heavy cavalrymen wielding a lance and two archers who functioned as light-cavalry); for infantry 10,000 French and Navarrese and 22,000 Landsknechts. There were also sixty piece of artillery. The strength of the bridge across the river Rhône to support this artillery was also a concern to the urban magistracy of Lyon. This army was divided into three principal blocks. The constable de Bourbon held command of the vanguard of the army as was customary right of the Constable for an army in which the King was present. Under his authority were the maréchaux de La Palice and de Trivulzio, the admiral de Bonnivet, the vicomte de Thouars and the engineer Pedro Navarro. The Swiss moved into Piedmont so that they might guard the typical passages through the Alps that the French used. Neither Bourbon, nor Francis wished to fight the Swiss in a closed valley, viewing the conditions there as too disadvantageous. Meanwhile, the condotierri (a form of Italian contract mercenary) Prospero Colonna assembled the Papal army in Bologna.
Marignano campaign
The vanguard of the royal army began to make its way towards Grenoble on 17 July. Thus, Bourbon, and the maréchaux de Lautrec, de La Palice and de Trivulzio departed Lyon at this time with the soldiers. Arriving there, they discussed the campaign and utilised spies to appraise themselves of the preparations being made to greet them by the Swiss over the mountains. The royal body of the army then moved to join them in Grenoble, arriving in totality on 1 August. A coup came for the French army, when in July they succeeded in advancing a small force of 5,000 landsknechts and 400 lances under the command of the maréchal de La Palice and the maréchal d'Aubigny through the never before militarily used Alpine pass known as the Col de Mary (which was a very high one) and surprising Colonna who was with the Papal cavalry at Villafranca on 15 August. Caught quite off guard the Hispano-Papal cavalry force was either killed or captured. The cavalry, numbering around 1,000 or 1,200 was thus seized as prisoners. By this blow, the coalition army was denied its cavalry, thereby compromising the position of the Swiss to guard the passes. The commander Colonna, who had surrendered without resistance, swore to no longer collaborate with France's enemies. The French pillaging of the Hispano-Papal baggage was interrupted by the Swiss, who pushed them into retreat. In August, the main body of the French army got underway. As the army moved, a system of staged advance was used to ensure the army remained fed by proceeding through specific locations which were to prepare food for the army. Bourbon gave the order for the equipment of several places on the journey to the border. On 4 August, Bourbon and the vanguard departed from Grenoble, the army made for Embrun, where on 7 August the constable de Bourbon conducted a review of the landsknechts. The following day they arrived at Mont-Dauphin. The vanguard split into two on the ninth, with a small force departing to act as a distraction. The army then began to cross the Alps in the coming days. Traditionally the French army took the Col de Montgenèvre (Montgenèvre pass) near Briançon, a long route but one advantageous for the transport of artillery. This pass allowed one to arrive at Susa. Anticipating the French usage of this pass in conjunction with that of the Col Agnel where they were receiving reports of widening actions, the Swiss divided their army into two corps, placing one at Asti and the other at Saluzzo to receive the army as it emerged at Susa. The French army would frustrate the expectations of the Swiss however when on 14 August, Bourbon led the vanguard down the little used Guillestre – Cuneo road through the Col de Vars (Pass of Vars) and Col de Larche (now known as the Maddalena pass). This pass was a very steep and challenging one, and required the disassembling of the cannons, with narrow paths against precipices that forced riders to dismount and lead their horses by the bridle. Pioneers, under the command of the seigneur de Tallard also had to be employed to clear landslides, or widen the path at places that were too narrow. Perhaps 500 horses of the artillery train died during the crossing. The hunt for these alternative passes had begun all the way back in the Spring. Francis had charged the seigneur de Tallard with assessing a passes viability in June. Shortly before the main royal army completed its passage of the Alps, the small force which had crossed ahead surprised Colonna and routed his force. Francis and the battle had tarried in Embrun after Bourbon's departure until 13 August. With the Swiss now pulling back from their guard of the main passes, the rearguard would proceed by the traditional route, while Francis and the battle traversed the same route Bourbon had taken. By 11 August, the vanguard had entered the territory of the marquisate of Saluzzo, who had been won over to the French cause by Francis. Making camp at Roccasparvera, the hungry French soldiers under his command pillaged the place. Bourbon, and the vanguard of the army arrived at Cuneo on 16 August, and awaited the arrival of the King there. At this point in the campaign, Francis was to be found with the royal rearguard, and he arrived in Cuneo on 17 August, having told the constable de Bourbon to wait for his arrival before advancing further into Piedmont. The Swiss were disheartened by the reverses their efforts had experienced and began to withdraw. The 10,000 soldiers in Susa pulled back to Pignerol, joining up with another 16,000 Swiss in the latter place. This combined force then withdrew through Turin, Chivasso and Vercelli, finally settling in Novara. As they withdrew they were ordered to pillage and burn the farms, villages and towns they passed through. The population of Chivasso was massacred by the Swiss. For his part, the constable de Bourbon forbade his soldiers from pillaging the Italian lands they crossed, however some towns would be sacked regardless. Having emerged in the plain of Italy, the royal army then made for Turin, where Francis was received by his maternal uncle, the comte de Tende. The Swiss meanwhile withdrew from Novara to Milan. After Turin for the royal army came the crossing of the river Sesia which brought them before the city of Novara, which surrendered without a fight to the French on 30 August, though its citadel held out two days. The next day, 31 August, the river Ticino was crossed. The French army was now 20 leagues from Milan. While a pursuit of the Swiss was one possible way forward, Bourbon and the other captains favoured instead establishing themselves in the plains south of the city, thereby allowing a unification with another force under the seigneur de Montpoupon which was to be found around Pavia. An allied Venetian force, numbering around 7,000 infantry and 830 cavalry made for Lodi, which was undefended, having departed from Padua in June. Francis now opened negotiations with the Swiss through his uncle, the comte de Tende and the maréchal de Lautrec. This negotiation proved fruitful, and an agreement was signed on 8 September by which the Swiss were to vacate Milan in return for 1,000,000 écus (crowns) of which 150,000 would be due immediately. The royal camp was looked through to provide this up front sum with several hundred kilograms of gold collected after several hours, which Lautrec was to take to Buffarola. The Swiss cantons of Bern, Fribourg and Solothurn which boasted a combined force of 10,000 soldiers indeed accepted this agreement. Meanwhile, the central and eastern Swiss cantons, notably those of Glarus, Schwyz and Uri, refused the agreement, still keen to secure booty. On 10 September, the French army established itself at Marignano (now called Melegnano), where they were to be joined by their Venetian allies. From here, the Spanish-Papal army, which was in Piacenza, under the command of Cardona could be prevented from uniting with the Swiss. Meanwhile, Cardinal Schinner arrived in Milan on 12 September to rally the motivation of the Swiss to continue the fight. With battle on the horizon, the French army followed the deployment envisioned by Bourbon along the axis of the road from Milan to Lodi. Bourbon's vanguard was located around one of the few hills in the area, fortified behind an embankment with the Gascon arquebusiers, 10,000 of the 22,000 landsknechts and half of the royal cavalry on each of its flanks. In total the vanguard possessed 935 lances, of which 400 were in four large companies: that of the duc de Bourbon, that of Lautrec, that of Trivulzio and that of La Palice. Galiot de Genouillac had charge of the artillery. With the vanguard were many young seigneurs hungry for glory. A kilometre to the south of Bourbon's vanguard, near Santa Brigida the battle of the army was to be found under the King's command. This portion of the army contained the soldiers of the royal household, the remainders of the cavalry and the landsknechts of the Black Band. The royal rearguard was strung out another three kilometres further south under the command of the duc d'Alençon seconded by the seigneur de Montpoupon (who had been able to achieve juncture with the royal army) and the maréchal d'Aubigny.
On 13 September, this force faced off against a Swiss force numbering around 20,000, with only 200 Papal cavalry and 20 artillery pieces to face the French preponderance of cavalry and artillery. Their famous pikeman were divided into three groups of roughly 6–7,000 which marched one behind the other. Spying the French vanguard under Bourbon, this force left the road and formed up into their columns. They imagined an aggressive assault to seize the French artillery, overwhelming the poor quality French infantry in ground that was not conducive to the French heavy cavalry. The battle began at 15:00, with the Swiss cracking through the infantry of Bourbon's vanguard who were forced back under the cover of the French artillery. Losing heart, some landsknechts abandoned the fight. After only an hour, ten of the royal cannons were in the hands of the Swiss, with Bourbon, La Palice and the other commanders unable to stem the disintegration of the vanguard. Bourbon led cavalry charges into the sides of the Swiss pike squares hoping to dislocate them. The battle was going well for the Swiss, and indeed after two hours it looked to be almost won. It was only with the arrival of the cavalry of the battle of the army under Francis that the Swiss advance was stopped. The stemming of the damage allowed Galiot de Genouillac to relocate the vanguard's artillery in batteries on some heights. To bolster the resolve of the armies landsknechts, Francis supposedly offered them a third of the booty from Milan. Unusually, the battle continued through the evening into the night. With the moon disappearing behind the clouds around 23:00 the soldiers began to regroup, the fighting pausing as the sides separated. Nevertheless, Navarro's artillery continued to fire, targeting Swiss campfires throughout the night. Only a ditch separated the two armies. The King supposedly spent the night in the saddle, at least according to the letter he wrote his mother Louise. His soldiers would also remain at arms. Galiot de Genouillac worked to reposition the French artillery while Navarro had new ditches and palisades dug to protect it. Bourbon for his part undertook a reorganisation of his companies. At dawn on 14 September, combat resumed. The ferocity that had typified the prior evening was to be found once again. The Swiss again made their way across the ditch and succeeded in bending the landsknechts backwards. A commander of a compagnie d'ordonannce under Bourbon's command in the vanguard was mortally wounded. Bourbon's horse was also wounded but he escaped the worst of things. Despite these difficulties the right wing of the army under the command of the constable de Bourbon managed to cause one of the Swiss squares to bend. Fortunately for the French by 08:00 the first of the Venetian army arrived on the field. The Swiss abandoned the field a few hours later at 11:00. Though contemporaries reported wildly divergent figures as concerns the casualties of the battle, Le Roux argues that the best estimates would be that the Swiss lost 8,000 men to the French 6,000 during the combat. Of these 6,000 French losses, more than 200 would be nobles. Among the dead of Marignano was the prince de Talmont, the only son of the vicomte de Thouars, killed perhaps on the second day of the battle. Talmont had been fighting under the command of Bourbon in the vanguard and thus this episode was a further poison to relations between the two men. Also dead was François de Bourbon, duc de Châtellerault, the constable de Bourbon's younger brother. In the letter Francis wrote to his mother Louise concerning the battle, many captains came in for particular praise for their role in the delivery of victory. This included the duc de Bourbon, but also the duc de Vendôme, the comte de Saint-Pol and the comte de Guise among others. The campaign had proven a costly one for the duc de Bourbon, though this was not abnormal, as it he had also dealt with great campaigning expenses during the reign of Louis XII.
