In any kingdom or principality, the family of the monarch was an important foundation of statehood. As a rule, the transfer of power was carried out by inheritance from father to son. A bastard is a child born outside of an official marriage. The history of France knows many illegitimate heirs, whose actions had important consequences for the state.
Meaning of the word
The traditional meaning of the word "bastard" developed in the Middle Ages. At this time, the institution of church marriage was fundamental for all Christians. If a child was born from another woman, then he had no inheritance rights.
In the case of representatives of royal dynasties, this was reflected in heraldry. The coat of arms of each bastard had a characteristic band, which indicated his origin. Illegitimate sons often found themselves at the center of political intrigue, as they had the right to power, which they were deprived of. As a rule, this led to riots and bloodshed. Most often, representatives of the nobility and the aristocracy united around the bastards, who were dissatisfied with the current government.
Some of them became the founders of new dynasties. So, for example, the Capets were one of the side lines of the Carolingians. Representatives of both dynasties at one time became kings of France.
Charles de Valois
King Charles IX had a mistress, Marie Touchet. From her he had an illegitimate son, Charles. The father died a year after the birth of the bastard (in 1574). In his will, Charles instructed his brother Henry III to take care of his nephew.
The new king did everything so that Charles could get a decent education. A bastard is an undesirable person at court. However, the uncle was not threatened by such an illegitimate nephew. Charles was preparing to become a knight of the prestigious Order of M alta. In it, he achieved great success and even became Prior of France.
In addition, Charles was lucky when his grandmother Catherine de Medici left him a large sum of money as a legacy. He also became Count of Auvergne. A secular title could not be combined with a career in the Order of M alta. Therefore, in 1591, Charles achieved that he was allowed not to keep the vows of monks.
So he married Charlotte, the daughter of one of the French dukes. When Henry III was assassinated, the new king (Henry IV) made Charles the colonel of his cavalry. In 1601, the bastard took part in a court plot, the purpose of which was to convince the ruler to change his wife. The network has been exposed. Some conspirators were executed, Charles was kept in captivity for several months. The protection of influential relatives helped him free himself.
Charles' military career
Despite the disgrace and deprivation of titles, Charles managed to regain the trust of the crown. He led numerous military campaigns of the time. First of all, these were campaigns againstProtestants. Catholic France resisted the Reformation. Soon the Thirty Years' War began, in which the bastard was also drawn. It was a conflict between two strands of Christianity. Numerous German princes were on the side of the Protestants. It was with them that Charles fought.
In 1619, he inherited the Duchy of Angouleme. Charles also participated in important embassies in the Holy Roman Empire, when treaties were concluded with the Protestants. At this time, Cardinal Richelieu received a significant role at court. After he passed away, Charles retired from public affairs and died quietly in 1650.
Antoine Bourbon-Bay
The already mentioned Henry IV also had an illegitimate son. His name was Antown. He was born in 1607 from a relationship with the favorite Jacqueline de Bay (because of this, he had a double surname - Bourbon Bay). The bastards of France were not legally recognized heirs. Heinrich made an exception for his son. A year after the birth of the baby, the king ordered that a special patent be drawn up for his new offspring. This paper confirmed that Antoine was now the legal heir of his father.
The king was already old when his bastard was born. This led to Heinrich passing away when Antoine was still a boy. The child inherited several abbeys. Religious institutions were a heavy burden. In France, wars continued between Catholics and Protestants, because of which the abbeys were constantly at the center of conflicts.
Growing up Antoine was distinguished by courage and love for military affairs. Contemporaries who knew Henry IV repeated that the young man was very similar to his father.
Antoine's involvement in the conspiracy against Louis XIII
Meanwhile, the power of the new King Louis XIII was liked by fewer and fewer of those close to him. Some of them united in a conspiracy against the ruler. Antoine joined them. Especially the conspirators did not like Richelieu. In addition, there were obvious desires of Louis to lead the country to an absolute monarchy, which deprived numerous counts and dukes of their former influence.
The rebels have gathered an army. The battle between the royalists and the rebels took place in 1632. Antoine was in the thick of the fight. He was hit by a musket bullet, due to which he died. The story of the bastard ended tragically, but naturally.
