BOURBON

From Agepedia

BOURBON, Charles, duke of, or constable of Bourbon, son of Gilbert, count of Montpensier, and Clara of Gonzaga, was born in 1489; received from Francis I, in the 26th year of his age, the sword of constable. By the coolness with which he faced death in posts of the greatest hazard, he excited the admiration of his fellowsoldiers. When viceroy of Milan, he won all hearts by his frankness and affability. His fame was not yet tarnished, when the injustice of his king deprived him of his offices, banished him from France, and brought the family of Bourbon into disgrace, in which state it continued until the conclusion of the reign of Henry III. Some historians declare, that the duchess of Angouleme, mother of Francis I, had fallen in love with the young constable, and could not endure the contempt with which he treated her passion : others relate, that, influenced by avaricious motives, she laid claim to the estates of Charles of B., and obtained possession of them by a judicial process. Whatever may be the true cause of her conduct, it is certain that she strove to invalidate a formal donation of Louis XII. The constable, enraged at seeing himself deprived of his estates by the mother of the king whom he had served with so much fidelity and zeal, listened to the proposals made him by Charles V and the king of England. He experienced the usual fate of deserters: he was well received while his services were needed, but narrowly watched to secure his fidelity. Exposed as he was to the contemptor the Spanish nobility, and the jealousy of the generals of Charles V, nothing remained to him but his courage and repentance. His ability, however, induced the emperor to bestow upon him the command of an army, and to treat him with honor. He was already beyond the confines of France, when Francis I sent to demand the sword which he bore as constable, and the badge of his order. His answer displays the anguish of his heart " The king took from me my sword at Valenciennes, when he gave to d'Alencon the command, of the vanguard, which belonged to me: the badge of my order I left under my pillow at Chantelles." His flight was a misfortune to France; the expedition of Francis into Italy was arrested. Having been appointed to the command of the imperial troops, he made an unsuccessful attack upon Marseilles, but contributed greatly to the victory of Pavia. When Francis was carried a prisoner to Madrid, he went there in person, that he might not be forgotten in the treaties between the two monarchs ; but Charles V delayed concluding them, and B. discovered that he could not trust the emperor, who had even promised him his sister in marriage. Compelled to smother his resentment, he returned to Milan, maintained possession of Italy by the terror of his afms, and obtained so much authority as to become an object of suspicion to the emperor, who, in order to weaken him, refused to grant him the necessary supplies. In order to prevent the dispersion of his army, he led the soldiers to the siege of Rome, the plunder of which city he promised them. He was the first to mount the breach, and was killed, May 6, 1527, by a ball, shot, it is said, by Benvenuto Cellini. He died excommunicated, without issue, in the 38th year of his age. His body being conveyed to Gaeta, his soldiers erected over it a splendid monument, which was afterwards destroyed.