Everything about Bertrand Du Guesclin totally explained
Bertrand du Guesclin (c.
1320 –
13 July 1380), known as
the Eagle of Brittany, was a
Breton knight and French military commander during the
Hundred Years' War. He was
Constable of France from
1370 to his death.
His
Fabian strategy of wearing down the English while avoiding major battles allowed the French to recapture most of what they'd lost earlier in the war.
Biography
Bertrand du Guesclin was born in
Broons, near
Dinan, in
Brittany. His family was of minor Breton nobility, the
seigneurs of
Broons.
He initially served
Charles of Blois in the
Breton War of Succession (
1341-
1364). Charles was supported by the French crown, while his rival,
Jean de Montfort, was allied with
England. Du Guesclin was knighted in
1354 while serving
Arnoul d'Audrehem, after countering a raid by
Hugh Calveley on the castle of Montmuran. In
1356-
1357, Du Guesclin defended
Rennes against an English siege by
Henry of Grosmont, using the guerrila tactics that were to become his trademark. Though the siege was ended by payment of 100,000 crowns, the brave resistance helped restore French pride after
Poitiers, and du Guesclin came to the attention of the
Dauphin Charles.
When he became King in
1364, Charles sent Du Guesclin to deal with
Charles II of Navarre, who hoped to claim the
Duchy of Burgundy, which Charles hoped to give to his brother,
Philip. On 16 May, he met Navarrese forces under the command of
Jean de Grailly, Captal de Buch at
Cocherel and proved his ability in pitched battle by routing the enemy. The victory forced Charles II into a new peace with the French king, and secured Burgundy for Philip.
On
September 29,
1364, at the
Battle of Auray, du Guesclin and Charles of Blois were heavily defeated by
John V, Duke of Brittany and the English forces under Sir
John Chandos. Charles was killed in action, ending the
Blois pretensions in Brittany. Du Guesclin was captured and
ransomed by Charles V for 100,000
francs.
In
1366, the King placed him at the head of the "free companies," the marauding soldiers who pillaged France after the
Treaty of Brétigny, and sent him to
Spain to aid
Henry of Trastamara against
Pedro the Cruel. Though successful in the campaign of
1366, Henry's army was defeated
1367 by Pedro's forces, now commanded by
Edward, the Black Prince, at
Nájera. Du Guesclin was again captured, and again ransomed by Charles V, who considered him invaluable. In
1369, Henry of Trastamara won the
battle of Montiel, gaining him the throne of
Castile.
War with England was renewed in
1369, and Du Guesclin reconquered
Poitou and
Saintonge and pursued the English into Brittany from
1370 to
1374. He disapproved of the confiscation of Brittany by Charles V in
1378, and his campaign to make
the duchy submit to the king was halfhearted.
An able tactician and a loyal and disciplined warrior, Du Guesclin had reconquered much of France from the English when he died of
dysentery at
Chateauneuf-de-Randon while on a military expedition in
Languedoc. He was buried at
Saint-Denis in the
tomb of the kings of France. His heart is kept at the basilica of Saint-Sauveur at Dinan.
The family of du Guesclin remained in France until the
French Revolution of 1789 where a number of them were guillotined and the remainder fled for their lives to England and possibly the Netherlands. Here they remained.
Because of du Guesclin's allegiance to France, 20th century Breton nationalists considered him to be a "traitor" to Brittany. During
World War Two, the pro-Nazi
Breton Social-National Workers' Movement destroyed a statue of him in
Rennes.
In media
Bertrand du Guesclin appears as a secondary character in
Arthur Conan Doyle's historical novel "
The White Company"(1892)
Du Guesclin was one of the main characters in a trilogy of children's books ("Geef me de ruimte", 1976; "Triomf van de verschroeide aarde", 1977 and "Het rad van fortuin", 1978) by the
Dutch author
Thea Beckman.
Bertrand du Guesclin is a supporting character in the recent Koei
video game Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War, first appearing in a mission loosely based on his historical defense of Rennes.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Bertrand Du Guesclin'.
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