Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Louis Joseph
Spain
Burial
El Escorial
, Spain
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1710)​
HouseBourbon-Vendôme
FatherLouis, Duke of Vendôme
MotherLaura Mancini
SignatureLouis Joseph's signature

Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, often simply called Vendôme (1 July 1654 – 11 June 1712) was a French general and

War of the Grand Alliance and War of the Spanish Succession
.

Vendôme joined the

Lieutenant General in 1688 after his distinguished combat record in the Franco-Dutch War
. Further successes entitled him to his first army command in 1695, and soon after, he was rewarded with a promotion to Marshal of France.

Vendôme was one of the most aggressive and successful French army commanders during the wars of Louis XIV. His charisma, courage and skill won him the loyalty of his troops and the Spanish crown for the House of Bourbon.

Biography

Vendôme (left) at the Battle of Villaviciosa

Louis Joseph de Bourbon was born in Paris, the son of Louis, Duke of Vendôme and Laura Mancini.[1] Orphaned at the age of fifteen, he inherited a vast fortune from his father that had been handed down from his great-grandmother, the duchesse de Mercœur et Penthièvre. Prior to succeeding his father in 1669, he was known as the duc de Penthièvre. He was raised by his aunt, Marie Anne Mancini, duchesse de Bouillon.

Entering the army at the age of eighteen, Vendôme soon distinguished himself by his vigour and personal courage in the

duc de Luxembourg at the Battle of Steenkerke, and under Nicolas Catinat at Marsaglia. In 1695, he was placed in command of the army operating in Catalonia, where he took Barcelona in 1697.[2]

Soon afterwards, Vendome was made a

Villeroi, he was placed in command of the Franco-Spanish army in Italy. During three campaigns in that country, he proved himself a worthy antagonist to Prince Eugène of Savoy, whom he at last defeated in 1705 at Cassano in a magnificent show of courage and command over his troops, converting the impending defeat that his indolent brother Philippe had incurred, into a glorious success.[2]

The next year, after holding his own as before, and gaining another victory at

Louis, Duke of Burgundy, and was unable to prevent the French defeat at the Battle of Oudenarde
.

In disgust, Vendôme retired to his estates. It wasn't long, however, before he was summoned back to take command of the army of his cousin, Philip V of Spain. There, he won his last victories, crowning his work triumphantly in the battles of Brihuega and Villaviciosa. Before the end of the war, he died suddenly at Vinaròs on 11 June 1712[2] and was buried at El Escorial in Spain.

Assessment

Vendôme was one of the most remarkable soldiers in the history of the French army. He had, besides the skill and the fertile imagination of the true army leader, the brilliant courage of a soldier. The real secret of his continuous success, however, was his extraordinary influence over his men.[2] He seldom made mistakes, and his opponent Eugene of Savoy praised the brilliance of some of his actions in his memoirs.[3]

Marriage

Vendôme married

Le Grand Condé
.

Marie Anne was unmarried at the time of her father’s death, and still had no marriage prospects when her brother, who became the Prince of Condé in 1709, died the next year. She could have married the

Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon
, and married her instead.

The marriage ceremony occurred at the chapel at the Château de Sceaux on 21 May 1710. Sceaux was the residence of Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon. Louis Joseph was fifty-five years old at the time. He was a Marshal of France and had been designated as the heir of his cousin, King Philip V of Spain[verification needed]. In the event that Philip should die childless, the House of Bourbon had decided that Louis Joseph would become the next king of Spain.

His marriage to Marie Anne remained childless though, perhaps due to the

homosexual tendencies of Louis Joseph;[4]
Marie Anne died in 1718 without issue.

Although

Prince of Conti and Mademoiselle de La Roche-sur-Yon
.

On his death, Louis Joseph left his wife the duchy of Étampes and its lands. She held this title in her own right. When she died, it went to her niece, the Princess of Conti.

Sexuality

The Duke was known to be homosexual.

Chateau d'Anet, peasant men from the neighborhood would wait for the Duke in the woods when he went out hunting, hoping to be paid for sexual favors.[9]

Louis-Joseph suffered from syphilis and lost part of his nose to the disease. He was the first courtier to seek leave from court to be treated for the disease with Mercury salts, known as the "Great Remedy" (le grand remède).[6][11][12]

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ Orr 2004, p. 19.
  2. ^ a b c d e  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Vendôme, Louis Joseph, Duc de". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 982.
  3. OCLC 979644965
    .
  4. ^ Aldrich, Robert (2003). Who's Who in Gay and Lesbian History. Psychology Press. p. 542.
  5. ^ niece of Marie Anne as daughter of Marie Thérèse de Bourbon, Dowager Princess of Conti
  6. ^
    ISBN 9780226473208
    .
  7. ^ Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux (1865). Recueil Dit de Maurepas Pièces Libres, Chansons, Epigrammes, Et Autres Vers Satiriques Sur Divers Personnages Des Siècles de Louis XIV Et Louis XV, Accompagnés de Remarques Curieuses Du Temps Volumes 1 & 2 (in French). p. 116.
  8. ^ Saint-Simon Memoires 1 (in French). Gallimard. 1990. p. 107.
  9. ^
    ISBN 9781000158885
    .
  10. ^ Memoirs of Saint-Simon. Vol. 1. Chatto & Windus. 1876. p. 332.
  11. ISBN 9781317992585
    .
  12. ^ Saint-Simon Memoires 1 (in French). Gallimard. 1990. pp. 107, 509.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the

New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help
)

Sources

  • Orr, Clarissa Campbell, ed. (2004). Queenship in Europe 1660-1815: The Role of the Consort. Cambridge University Press.
French nobility
Preceded by
Duke of Vendôme

1669–1712 		Succeeded by
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