Principality of Sedan
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Principality of Sedan Principauté de Sedan (French) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1424–1642 | |||||||
 Map of the Principality | |||||||
| Status |
| ||||||
| Capital | Frédéric Maurice (last) | ||||||
| Historical era | Late Middle Ages | ||||||
• Established | 1424 | ||||||
• French annexation | 1642 | ||||||
| |||||||
Château de Sedan
, seat of the Lords, and later Princes, of SedanThe Principality of Sedan (
La Tour d'Auvergne families. The Princes of Sedan asserted and acquired recognition of their sovereignty gradually between the 1520s and 1580s by means of adopting the princely title, minting coin, legislating and signing treaties. In 1641, during the Thirty Years' War
, the Prince submitted to France and his principality was occupied the following year. In 1651 the reduced principality was exchanged for other lands in France and was annexed to the crown.
Geography
The following villages were located in the Principality of Sedan: Illy, Givonne, Douzy, Pouru-Saint-Remy, Rubécourt-et-Lamécourt, Balan, Fleigneux, Bazeilles, La Chapelle, La Moncelle, Villers-Cernay, Raucourt-et-Flaba, Noyers-Pont-Maugis, Wadelincourt, Haraucourt, Thelonne, Bulson, and Angecourt.[1]
History
Château de Sedan
The history of Sedan begins in 1424, when
Meuse
.
In the wake of the
Huguenot movement. In 1560, they declared Sedan's independence from the Kingdom of France. Particularly in the wake of the 1562 Massacre of Vassy, Sedan became one of the leading refuges for French speaking Protestants. The Academy of Sedan
, founded in 1579, became one of the chief Huguenot academies.
With the death of Guillaume Robert de la Marck in 1588, the principality passed to his daughter,
House of La Tour d'Auvergne
. Charlotte died childless in 1594, and the principality was ultimately inherited by Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne's son by his second marriage.
Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne was accused of participating in the 1602 plot to assassinate
Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, shared his father's antipathy to royal power. In 1630, he participated in a revolt led by Gaston, Duke of Orléans
.
Sedan finally lost its independence during the
Lord Chancellor of France Henri François d'Aguesseau, the Parlement of Paris
passed a decree reaffirming the French crown's sovereignty over Sedan.
List of rulers
Lords of Sedan, 1424–1560
Robert Fleuranges III de La Marck
, Lord of Sedan 1536–37| From | To | Lord of Sedan | Other titles Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1424 | 1440 | Eberhard II von der Mark | Lord of Arenberg
|
| 1440 | Johann II von der Mark | Lord of Arenberg
| |
| 1487 | Robert I de la Marck | Bouillon
| |
| 1487 | 1536 | Robert II de la Marck | Duke of Bouillon
|
| 1536 | 1537 | Robert Fleuranges III de La Marck
|
Duke of Bouillon
|
| 1537 | 1556 | Robert IV de la Marck
|
Duke of Bouillon, Earl of Braine & Maulevrier
|
| 1556 | 1560 | Henri Robert de la Marck | Duke of Bouillon
|
Princes of Sedan, 1560–1642
Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne
, the last Prince of Sedan, 1623–42| From | To | Prince of Sedan | Other titles Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1560 | 1574 | Henri Robert de la Marck | Duke of Bouillon
|
| 1574 | 1588 | Guillaume Robert de la Marck | Duke of Bouillon, Marquess of Cotron
|
| 1588 | 1594[2] | Charlotte de La Marck | Duchess of Bouillon
|
| 1591[3] | 1623 | Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne | Duke of Bouillon, Count of Montfort, Count of Nègrepelisse, Viscount of Turenne, Viscount of Castillon, Viscount of Lanquais
|
| 1623[4] | 1642 | Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne
|
Duke of Bouillon
|
Religious leaders
Protestant pastors
- Guido de Bres, 1562
- Pierre Du Moulin, 1621–58
- Pierre Jurieu, 1675–81
The Princes of Sedan founded the Academy of Sedan for the training of Protestant pastors.
Protestant refugees
- Nicasius le Febure
- Philippe de Mornay
- Anne d'Alègre and her son Guy XX de Laval
- Elisabeth de Hauteville, wife of Odet de Coligny
- the daughters of Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully
- Jean Errard
- Pierre Pithou
- Louis, Count of Soissons
- Frederick V, Elector Palatine
Famous burials in the Protestant church
The Protestant Princes of Sedan were buried in the Protestant church in Sedan. Burials in the church include:
- Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne (1623)
- Louis Hanau (1627) son of Countess Catharina Belgica of Nassau
- Julienne Catherine de la Tour d'Auvergne (1637)
- Countess Elisabeth of Nassau (1642)
- Frederick V, Elector Palatine
- Henri de Roye de La Rochefoucauld (1656), vidame of Laon, son of Julienne Catherine de la Tour d'Auvergne
- Guy de Roye de La Rochefoucauld (1684), vidame of Laon, younger son of Julienne Catherine de la Tour
Other famous residents
- Bernard Palissy, famous potter
Notes
- ^ "Sedan | History, Geography, & Points of Interest". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne became co-ruler as Prince of Sedan and Duke of Bouillon upon marrying Charlotte de la Marck in 1591. Charlotte de la Marck remained Princess of Sedan and Duchess of Bouillon until her death in 1594.
- ^ Co-ruler of Charlotte upon their marriage
- ^ Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne was still a minor when his father died, so his mother, Countess Elisabeth of Nassau, served as regent from 1623 to 1626.