Matilda (or Mahaut or Marguerite) was born c. 1165, the only child of her parents, Archambaud of Bourbon and Alix of Burgundy. Her father stood to inherit the patrimony of Bourbon from his father Archambaud VII but unfortunately, he died in 1169 before acquiring the lordship. As the only remaining grandchild, Matilda became Lady of Bourbon upon the death of her grandfather in 1171. The lordship had no Salic Law so a woman could inherit the lands of Bourbon.
Being a wealthy heiress, Matilda would be a desirable bride for an enterprising nobleman. Her paternal grandmother, Agnes of Savoy, acted as her guardian and both Matilda and her mother were placed under the protection of her maternal uncle Hugues III, Duke of Burgundy. About 1178, Hugues most likely arranged a marriage for Matilda to one of his vassals, Gaucher IV of Mâcon, Lord of Salins.
The marriage lasted for ten years while Gaucher spent time away fighting routiers in Châteaumeillant or Saracens in the Holy Land under King Philip II Augustus during the Third Crusade in 1189. After spending three years in the east, following his return, the couple argued. Matilda did give birth to a daughter, Marguerite of Vienne, c. 1190. Rightly or wrongly, Gaucher may have suspected Matilda had been unfaithful during his absence.
Gaucher beat Matilda and had her thrown in jail. She escaped and made her way to her grandmother’s estate in Champagne. As she fled, she allegedly resorted to violence, and Gaucher used this as an excuse to arrange for her to be excommunicated by Archbishop Henri de Sully of Bourges. Once in Champagne, she requested a divorce from Pope Celestine III, claiming they were too closely related. The pope created a commission to investigate her claims of consanguinity, including the bishops of Autun and Troyes and the abbot of Monthiers-en-Argonne.
They determined the couple were third cousins, both descending from William II, Count of Burgundy and Matilda’s claims were justified. The pope granted her a divorce in May 1195 on the grounds of consanguinity and lifted the excommunication. An angry Gaucher sought revenge by burning and pillaging the Bourbonnais, leaving Matilda to urgently seek a husband to protect her and defend her territory.
She had high-ranking allies, including her grandmother, her uncle, the clergy and even the king. Shortly after her divorce, she had dedicated the newly completed Benedictine priory at Le Montet. In June, the king recommended a marriage with one of his trusted vassals, Guy II de Dampierre, a man ten years her senior and who also owned a great deal of property. With this marriage, Guy became the new Seigneur of Bourbon in addition to this title of Seigneur of Dampierre, a territory just south of Paris.
Matilda’s mother retired to the abbey of Fontevraud where she eventually became abbess, leaving the Bourbonnais in the hands of her daughter and son-in-law. In return, they granted her an annuity for life. The daughter of Matilda by her first husband, Marguerite, was provided an advance on her mother’s estate of twelve hundred silver marks. The purpose of this transaction was to pay her off so she could not prevail over any children Guy might have with Matilda.
Guy then obtained letters patent from King Philip Augustus in which the king acknowledged having no claims over Souvigny and the Bourbonnais, other than feudal influence. Over the next few years, Matilda gave birth to numerous children.
- Archambaud of Dampierre, Lord of Bourbon and Montlucon
- William II of Dampierre, Lord of Dampierre, Saint-Dizier and Moëslains
- Guy III of Dampierre, Lord of Saint-Just
- Philippa Mahaut of Dampierre, married in 1205 to Guigues IV, Count of Forez
- Marie of Dampierre, married twice to two noblemen
- Joan of Dampierre
- Margaret of Dampierre
Matilda’s first daughter Margaret of Vienne lived until 1259 and was married first to William III of Forcalquier and later to Joceran, Lord of Brancion. Guy III died in January 1216 and was buried in Saint-Laumer Abbey at Blois. Matilda died at Montlaux on June 20, 1218. Margaret of Vienne claimed the lordship of Bourbon, but Guy’s son, Archambaud, prevailed and inherited the title.
Further reading: “The Impossible Bourbons: Europe’s Most Ambitious Dynasty” by Oliver Thomson
