Louis II de Bourbon prince de Conde

Louis II de Bourbon Condé, prince de 1621-86, French general, called the Great Condé; son of Henri II de Condé. Among his early victories in the Thirty Years War were those of Rocroi (1643), Freiburg (1644), Nördlingen (1645), and Lens (1648). In the series of outbreaks known as the Fronde he was at first loyal to the court, but his later intrigues and ambitions caused his arrest in 1650. This precipitated the Fronde of the Princes against Cardinal Mazarin , chief councillor of state during the regency of Anne of Austria . The nobles forced Mazarin to release Condé (1651), who became leader of the rebellious army of the princes and allied himself with Spain against France. After the disintegration of the Fronde and the return to power of Mazarin, Condé was (1653-58) commander of Spanish forces against France. In the final stage of the war he was defeated (1658) in the Battle of the Dunes (see Dunes, Battle of the ). After the Peace of the Pyrenees (1659) between France and Spain, he was pardoned and returned to court. He fought in the Dutch War for King Louis XIV, defeating William of Orange at Seneff (1674) and forcing Raimondo Montecucculi to retreat from the Rhine (1675). His last years were spent in retirement at Chantilly.

Bibliography: See W. FitzPatrick, The Great Condé (1873).

Bourbon A great European ruling dynasty, founded when Robert of Clermont (1256–1317), the sixth son of Louis IX of France, married the heiress to the lordship of Bourbon. The first duke was their son, Louis I (1279–1341). In 1503 the title passed to the Montpensier branch of the family, but in 1527 headship of the house of Bourbon passed to the line of Marche-Vendôme. Antoine de Bourbon (1518–62), Duc de Vendôme, became King Consort of Navarre, while his brother Louis (1530–69) was made Prince of CONDÉ. On the death of the last VALOIS king in 1589, Antoine's son became King of France as HENRY IV (ruled 1589–1610). His heirs ruled France uninterruptedly until 1792: Louis XIII (ruled 1610–43), Louis XIV (ruled 1643–1715), Louis XV (ruled 1715–74) and Louis XVI (ruled 1774–92). The latter was overthrown during the FRENCH REVOLUTION, and Louis XVII (titular king 1793–95) died without reigning; Louis XVI's brother Louis XVIII (ruled 1814–24) and Charles X (ruled 1824–30) both reigned after the Bourbon restoration. Louis-Philippe (ruled 1830–48), the last Bourbon King of France, was a member of the cadet Orléans branch of the family.

In 1700 Louis XIV's second grandson became Philip V (ruled 1700–46) of Spain, thus setting in train the War of the SPANISH SUCCESSION. His successors have held the Spanish throne ever since (excepting the republican period, 1931–75).