John II, Duke of Bourbon

John II
John II, Duke of Bourbon, detail of an illumination by Jean Fouquet, Statuts de l'Order de Saint-Michel, 1470. Screen 9/76; see [1]
Duke of Bourbon
Reign	1456 – 1 April 1488
Predecessor	Charles I
Successor	Charles II
Born	1426
Died	1 April 1488 Château de Moulins
Spouse	Joan of Valois Catherine of Armagnac Jeanne de Bourbon-Vendôme
Issue	John, Count of Clermont Louis, Count of Clermont
Names Jean de Bourbon
House	Bourbon
Father	Charles I, Duke of Bourbon
Mother	Agnes of Burgundy

Jean (John) de Bourbon, Duke of Bourbon (1426 – 1 April 1488), sometimes referred to as John the Good and The Scourge of the English, was a son of Charles I of Bourbon and Agnes of Burgundy. He was Duke of Bourbon and Auvergne from 1456 to his death.

Life

John II at prayer, wearing the collar of the Order of Saint-Michel, from the chapel in the crypt of the Sainte-Chapelle at Bourbon-l'Archambault, attributed to Michel Colombe (Walters Art Museum).

A portrait of John's third wife Jeanne of Bourbon-Vendome.

John earned his nicknames "John the Good" and "The Scourge of the English" for his efforts in helping drive out the English from France. He commanded the victorious French army during the Battle of Formigny in 1450 and the Battle of Martignas in 1453.

He was made constable of France in 1483 by his brother Peter and sister-in-law Anne, to neutralize him as a threat to their regency.

In an effort to win discontented nobles back to his side, Louis XI of France made great efforts to give out magnificent gifts to certain individuals; John was a recipient of these overtures. According to contemporary chronicles, the King received John in Paris with "honours, caresses, pardon, and gifts; everything was lavished upon him".

John is notable for making three brilliant alliances but leaving no legitimate issue.

First marriage

In 1447, his father, the Duke of Bourbon, had John married to a daughter of Charles VII, King of France, Joan of Valois. They were duly married at the Château de Moulins. They had no surviving issue.

Second marriage

In 1484 at St. Cloud to Catherine of Armagnac, daughter of Jacques of Armagnac, Duke of Nemours, who died in 1487 while giving birth to:

• John of Bourbon (Moulins, 1487 - 1487), styled Count of Clermont

Third marriage

In 1487 he married Jeanne of Bourbon-Vendôme, daughter of John of Bourbon, Count of Vendôme (from a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon), by whom he had one son:

• Louis of Bourbon (1488 - 1488), styled Count of Clermont

Illegitimate issue

By Louise of Albret, daughter of Jean I d'Albret (- 8 September 1494):

• Charles, Bastard of Bourbon (- 1502), Viscount of Lavedan jure uxoris, married before 1462 Louise du Lion (- aft. 25 February 1505), Viscountess of Lavedan, and had issue, four sons

By Marguerite de Brunant:

• Mathieu, the Great Bastard of Bourbon (- Château de Chambrou-en-Forez, 19 August 1505), Lord of Botheon and Lord and Baron of Roche-en-Régnier, unmarried and without issue

By unknown women:

• Hector, Bastard of Bourbon (- 1502, bur. Toulouse), 15th Archbishop of Toulouse (1491 - 1502), 17th Bishop of Lavaur (1497 - 1500)
• Peter, Bastard of Bourbon, died young, unmarried and without issue
• Marie, Bastard of Bourbon (- 22 July 1482), married at the Château de Beseneins-en-Dombes in 1470 Jacques de Sainte Colombe, Lord of Thil
• Marguerite, Bastard of Bourbon (1445 - 1482), legitimized in 1464, married in Moulins in 1462 Jean de Ferrières (- 1497)

Death and aftermath

John died in 1488 at the Château de Moulins and was succeeded by his younger brother Charles. However, this succession was strongly contested due to the political strength of Peter and Anne. Within a span of days, Charles was forced to renounce his claims to the Bourbon lands to Peter in exchange for a financial settlement.

Ancestry

Ancestors of John II, Duke of Bourbon

8. Louis II, Duke of Bourbon 4. John I, Duke of Bourbon 9. Anna d'Auvergne 2. Charles I, Duke of Bourbon 10. John, Duke of Berry 5. Marie, Duchess of Auvergne 11. Joanna of Armagnac 1. John II, Duke of Bourbon 12. Philip II, Duke of Burgundy 6. John II, Duke of Burgundy 13. Margaret III, Countess of Flanders 3. Agnes of Burgundy 14. Albert I, Duke of Bavaria 7. Margaret of Bavaria 15. Margaret of Brieg

Sources

• Blanchard, Joël (2007). Philippe de Commynes: Memoires: Edition Critique. Vol. II. Librairie Droz S.A.
• Morrison, Elizabeth; Hedeman, Anne Dawson (2010). Imagining the Past in France: History in Manuscript Painting, 1250-1500. J. Paul Getty Museum.
• de Troyes, Jean (1906). The memoirs of Philip de Commines, Lord of Argenton. George Bell and sons.