The County of La Marche was a medieval French county.
La Marche first appeared as a separate fief about the middle of the 10th century when William III, duke of Aquitaine, gave it to one of his vassals named Boso, who took the title of count. In the 12th century it passed to the family of Lusignan, sometime also counts of Angouleme and counts of Limousin , until the death of the childless Count Hugh in 1303, when it was seized by Philip IV of France. In 1316 it was made an appanage for his youngest son the Prince, afterwards Charles IV and a few years later (1327) it passed into the hands of the family of Bourbon. The family of Armagnac held it from 1435 to 1477, when it reverted to the Bourbons, and in 1527 it was seized by Francis I and became part of the domains of the French crown. It was divided into Haute Marche and Basse Marche, the estates of the former being in existence until the 17th century. From 1470 until the Revolution the province was under the jurisdiction of the parlement of Paris.
See also Marches.
Counts of La Marche
La Marche dynasty
- Boso I the Old, count of La Marche and Périgord (958-988)
- Aldebert I, count of La Marche and Périgord (988-997)
- Boso II, count of La Marche and Périgord (988-1010)
- Bernard I (1010-1041)
- Aldebert II (1047-1088)
- Boso III (1088-1091)
- Eudes I, son of Bernard I, probably ruled as regent for his nephew Boson III (1088)
- Charles the Fair (1314-1322)
- On Charles’ succession to the throne in 1322, he exchanged the county with Louis of Bourbon for the County of Clermont .
- Bernard, count of Pardiac and La Marche, duke of Nemours (1438-1462)
- James of Armagnac, count of Pardiac and La Marche, duke of Nemours (1462-1477)
- In 1477, James was convicted of treason and his territories were confiscated by Louis XI of France.
