French Nobility. Count of Vendome and Chartres. A prominent figure in the Hundred Years' War between France and England, he was a commander at the Battle of Agincourt (October 25, 1415) and later fought under Joan of Arc. Born into the powerful Bourbon family, he became Count of Vendome at age 17 and sole ruler of the region upon the death of his mother, Countess Catherine de Vendome, in 1403. He was a trusted courtier of Charles VI and named Grand Chamberlain of France (1408) and Grand Master of the Royal Household (1413). As a member of the Armagnac political party, he fought with the rival Burgundians and was jailed by them twice (1407 and 1412). At Agincourt the Count of Vendome was chief commander of the French cavalry, whose main force was assembled at the flanks of the first division; he led 1600 mounted knights on the left while Admiral Clugnet de Brabant oversaw 800 on the right. It is not known for certain whether he gave the order to charge after Henry V's opening barrage of arrows, or if his men angrily broke ranks, but his lax command certainly contributed to the overwhelming French defeat. He was captured in the fighting and held prisoner in England for several years. During his captivity he fathered a son with an Englishwoman, and who would later be known as John the Bastard of Vendome. Finally freed after Henry's death, he married Jeanne of Laval in 1424 and the following year was created Count of Chartres by Charles VII. Louis was an early and zealous supporter of Joan of Arc, and one of the handful of noblemen she affectionately called "The Royal Blood". He brought her to meet Charles at Chinon in March 1429. Accompanying Joan in the triumphant Loire Valley Campaign (April to June 1429), he commanded at the Siege of Orleans and the Battle of Jargeau; he then helped her clear the road to Reims for Charles' long-delayed coronation there in July. Louis capped his career as a delegate to the Congress and Treaty of Arras (1435), which reconciled the longstanding feud between the French crown and the House of Burgundy. This diplomatic success ended England's crucial alliance with the Burgundians, and within 20 years France would reclaim nearly all the territory taken by the English. Louis died in Tours and was entombed in the collegiate Church of Saint-Georges in Vendome. The church was destroyed by mobs during the French Revolution.