Charles II, Count of Alençon

Tomb Effigy of Charles d'Alençon

Charles II of Alençon, called the Magnanimous (1297 – 26 August 1346) was the second son of Charles of Valois and his first wife Margaret, Countess of Anjou, and brother of Philip VI of France. He was Count of Alençon and Count of Perche (1325–1346), as well as Count of Chartres and Count of Joigny (1335–1336).

In April 1314 he married Jeanne of Joigny, who succeeded her father John II as Countess of Joigny in 1335, but died on 2 September 1336. They had no children.

He showed a marked, if foolhardy courage from the time of his first taking up arms (1324, in Aquitaine), and took part in the Battle of Cassel (1328).

In December 1336, he married Maria de La Cerda y Lara (1310 – 19 November 1379, Paris), the daughter of Fernando de la Cerda, Lord of Lara.^[1] They had five children:

1. Charles III of Alençon (1337 – 5 July 1375, Lyon)
2. Philippe of Alençon (1338–1397, Rome), made Bishop of Beauvais in 1356, later Cardinal, Archbishop of Rouen, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Patriarch of Aquileia, and Bishop of Ostia and Sabina
3. Peter II of Alençon (1340 – 20 September 1404)
4. Isabelle (1342 – 3 September 1379, Poissy), became a nun
5. Robert of Alençon (1344–1377), Count of Perche, married 5 April 1374 Jeanne, daughter of Viscount John I of Rohan

Death

He entered the War of the Breton Succession in 1340, and was subsequently killed at the Battle of Crécy.^[1] Like his father, he was buried in the now-demolished church of the Couvent des Jacobins in Paris - his effigy is now in the Basilica of St Denis.

He was succeeded in Alençon by his eldest son Charles, and in Perche by his son Robert.

Arms

Coat of arms of the counts and dukes of Alençon of the House of Valois.	Coat of arms of the counts of Perche.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Charles II, Count of Alençon

16. Louis VIII of France (=24)               8. Louis IX of France                       17. Blanche of Castile (=25)               4. Philip III of France                             18. Ramon Berenguer IV of Provence (=26)               9. Marguerite of Provence                       19. Beatrice of Savoy (=27)               2. Charles, Count of Valois                                   20. Peter II of Aragon               10. James I of Aragon                       21. Marie of Montpellier               5. Isabella of Aragon                             22. Andrew II of Hungary               11. Violant of Hungary                       23. Yolanda de Courtenay               1. Charles II, Count of Alençon                                         24. Louis VIII of France (=16)               12. Charles I of Naples                       25. Blanche of Castile (=17)               6. Charles II of Naples                             26. Ramon Berenguer IV of Provence (=18)               13. Beatrice of Provence                       27. Beatrice of Savoy (=19)               3. Margaret, Countess of Anjou                                   28. Béla IV of Hungary               14. Stephen V of Hungary                       29. Maria Laskarina               7. Mary of Hungary                             30. Köten               15. Elizabeth the Cuman

References

1. Doubleday, Simon R. The Lara Family: Crown and Nobility in Medieval Spain. (Harvard University Press, 2001), 172.