abstract:The Sire de Bourbon or Seigneur de Bourbon, meaning Lord of Bourbon, was the title by which the rulers of the Bourbonnais were known, from 913 to 1327, and from which the cognomen of the illustrious royal House of the same name derives. Louis I, count of Clermont, the ultimate holder, was created the first "Duke of Bourbon" and made "count of La Marche" by his cousin, King Charles IV of France, in exchange for Clermont-en-Beauvaisis, thus absorbing the title.