John VIII, Count of Vendôme

John VIII de Bourbon (1425 – 6 January 1478) was Count of Vendôme from 1446 until his death. A member of the House of Bourbon, he was the son and successor of Louis, Count of Vendôme.^[1] As a courtier of King Charles VII of France, he fought the English in Normandy and Guyenne. He attached himself to King Louis XI, but was not in royal favor. He withdrew to the Château of Lavardin and completed its construction.

John VIII
Born	1425
Died	6 January 1477(1477-01-06) (aged 51–52) Lavardin
Spouse	Isabelle de Beauvau
Father	Louis, Count of Vendôme
Mother	Jeanne de Laval

In 1454, he married Isabelle de Beauvau,^[2] daughter of Louis de Beauvau, Marshal of Provence^[3] and Marguerite de Chambley. They had:

• Jeanne (1460-1487), married in 1477 to Louis of Joyeuse
• Catherine, married Gilbert de Chabannes
• Jeanne, married at first John II, Duke of Bourbon and later John III, Count of Auvergne^[4]
• Renée, Abbess of Fontevraud
• François, Count of Vendôme (1470–1495)^[5]
• Louis, Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon^[2]
• Catherine, married Engelbert, Count of Nevers^[6]
• Isabelle, Abbess of la Trinité de Caen

Jean also had two illegitimate sons  :

• Louis, Bishop of Avranches^[7]
• Jacques, Governor of Valois and the Vendomois (1455–1524) was the father of Catherine de Bourbon, paternal grandmother of Gabrielle d'Estrées, mistress of Henry IV of France. Also, Gabrielle is the third great aunt of Mathieu Amiot.

Ancestors

Ancestors of John VIII, Count of Vendôme

16. Louis I, Duke of Bourbon 8. James I, Count of La Marche 17. Mary of Avesnes 4. John I, Count of La Marche 18. Hugues de Châtillon 9. Jeanne of Châtillon 19. Jeanne d'Argies 2. Louis, Count of Vendôme 20. Bouchard VI, Count of Vendôme 10. John VI of Vendôme 21. Alix of Brittany 5. Catherine of Vendôme 22. Jean II de Ponthieu, Comte d'Aumale 11. Jeanne of Ponthieu 23. Catherine d'Artois 1. Jean VIII de Bourbon, Count of Vendôme 24. Raoul VIII de Montfort 12. fr:Raoul IX de Montfort 25. Isabeau de Lohéac 6. Guy XIII de Laval 26. Jean de Kergorlay 13. Jeanne de Kergorlay 27. Marie de Léon 3. Jeanne de Laval 28. Guy X de Laval 14. Guy XII de Laval 29. Béatrix of Brittany 7. Anne de Laval 30. Jean de Laval-Châtillon [fr] 15. Jeanne de Laval-Tinténiac 31. Isabeau de Tinténiac

References

1. Potter 1995, p. 376.
2. Du Tillet 1994, p. 220.
3. Favier 2008, p. table 6.
4. Antonetti 2000, p. 45.
5. Ward, Prothero & Leathes 1911, p. vii.
6. Antonetti 2000, p. 39.
7. Müller 2022, p. 120.

Sources

• Antonetti, Guy (2000). "Les Princes Etrangers". In Bardet, Jean-Pierre (ed.). Etat et société en France aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles (in French). Presses l'Universite de Paris-Sorbonne.
• Du Tillet, Jean (1994). Brown, Elizabeth A. R. (ed.). Jean Du Tillet and the French wars of religion: five tracts, 1562-1569. Binghamton University Press.
• Favier, Jean (2008). Le Roi René (in French). Fayard.
• Müller, Annalena (2022). From the Cloister to the State: Fontevraud and the Making of Bourbon France. Routledge.
• Potter, David (1995). Keen, Maurice (ed.). A History of France, 1460–1560: The Emergence of a Nation State. Macmillan.
• Ward, A.W.; Prothero, G.W.; Leathes, Stanley, eds. (1911). The Cambridge Modern History. Cambridge University Press.

John VIII, Count of Vendôme House of Bourbon Born: 1426 Died: 6 January 1477
Preceded by Louis	Count of Vendôme 1446–1477	Succeeded by François