Baudouin de Bourgogne

Baudouin of Burgundy, Lord of Fallais (1445 – May 1508) was a Burgundian nobleman who was an illegitimate son of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.

Early life

Baudouin was born in 1445 in Lille. He was one of, at least, eighteen illegitimate children of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy (1396–1467). His mother was Catharina de Tiesferies (b. ), who was one of twenty-four documented mistresses of Philip. Among his many half-siblings were Cornille, bastard of Burgundy, Lord of Beveren, known as "le Grand Bâtard de Bourgogne" (the Great Bastard of Burgundy), Governor-general of Luxembourg; Anthony, bastard of Burgundy, Count of La Roche, Lord of Beveren who became known as "le Grand Bâtard de Bourgogne" after the death of their older half-brother and was their father's favourite; David of Burgundy, Prince-Bishop of Utrecht; Anne of Burgundy, governess of their niece, Mary, suo jure Duchess of Burgundy (daughter of their legitimate half-brother Charles), she married Adriaan van Borselen, Lord of Brigdamme and her cousin Adolph of Cleves, Lord of Ravenstein; Raphael of Burgundy, Abbot of Saint Bavo's Abbey and titular bishop of Rhosus; and Philip of Burgundy, Prince-Bishop of Utrecht, Admiral of the Netherlands.

Career Shortly after his birth, his father granted him and his mother the Lordship of La Rondrie (near Hem), but only for their lifetimes. His father, however, was generous towards him, giving him additional lands on 14 February 1464, including the Flemish Lordships of Lovendegem and Zomergem (now Lievegem), confiscated two years earlier from Jean Coustain. As a reward for his services, the "Universal Spider" granted him the Viscounty of Orbec. However, this Lordship never came into his possession due to the reluctance of the Parlement of Paris and the sitting Viscount, Jean Baudouin. Negotiations for a pardon were, however, already underway and resulted in Baudouin's return to his half-brother in January 1476.

Habsburgs (1477–1508) While Baudouin was held captive in the Château de Vincennes, he attempted to escape before being recaptured by , Lord of Rohan, known as the Marshal of Gié. During this forced stay in France, Louis XI seems to have tried to bring him back into his service by granting him an annuity and the Barony of Bagnols-sur-Cèze in 1479. Further north, Baudouin was also Lord of Bredam and Sommelsdijk and also owned lands in Sint-Annaland, inherited from his half-sister, Anne of Burgundy.

Baudouin died in May 1508 in Brussels and was buried at Fallais.

Illegitimate children Like his father before him, Baudouin also had a number of illegitimate children with a number of mistresses. With Moeder van Jean Baudouin de Bourgogne. Together, they were the parents of:

Jean Baudouin, bastard of Burgundy, who assumed the viscounty of Orbec.

With Catherine d'Ayelle, he had:

Marie, bastard of Burgundy (d. 1567), who married Guillaume V de Vergy, Baron of Champlitte, a son of Guillaume IV, Lord of Vergy and Anne de Rochechouart. and Hélène de Bourgogne, who married Count Adrien de Lille, Lord of Fresnes (parents of Marguerite de Lille de Fresnes, who married Maximilien de Longueval, 1st Count of Bucquoy).

Through his illegitimate daughter Marie, he was a grandfather of François de Vergy, a page of honour to Emperor Charles V; he was Governor of the County of Burgundy and was created Count of Champlitte by letters patent on 5 September 1574 by King Philip II of Spain.