Louis, Count of Vendôme

Louis, Count of Vendôme
Louis and his first wife, Blanche
Coat of arms
Spouse(s)	Blanche of Roucy Jeanne of Laval
Noble family	House of Bourbon
Father	John I, Count of La Marche
Mother	Catherine de Vendôme
Born	1376
Died	21 December 1446(1446-12-21) Tours

Louis of Bourbon (Louis I, Count of Vendôme) (1376 – December 21, 1446, Tours), younger son of John I, Count of La Marche and Catherine de Vendôme, was Count of Vendôme from 1393 and Count of Castres from 1425 until his death.

He was a supporter of the duc d'Orléans, and obtained valuable posts at court, becoming Grand Chamberlain of France in 1408 and Grand Maître de France in 1413. As part of the Armagnac faction, he was at odds with the Burgundians, and was imprisoned by them twice, in 1407 and 1412. In 1414, he married Blanche (d. 1421), daughter of Hugh II, Count of Roucy; but he was captured the next year by the English at the Battle of Agincourt, and held by them for some time.

In 1424, he married Jeanne (d. 1468), daughter of Guy XIII, Count of Laval, at Rennes. Their children were:

He also had an illegitimate son, fathered with the Englishwoman Sybil Bostum during his captivity:

Faithful to the king, he subsequently joined Joan of Arc and many other French nobles at the defense of Orléans in 1429, commanded at the siege of Jargeau, and assisted in the coronation at Reims. He was later present at the Treaty of Arras (1435).

Louis' patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son.

Patrilineal descent is the principle behind membership in royal houses, as it can be traced back through the generations - which means that if Count Louis were to choose an historically accurate house name it would be Robertian, as all his male-line ancestors have been of that house.