Battle of Brignais | |||||||
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Battle of Brignais | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of France | Tard-Venus | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Jacques de Bourbon (DOW) Arnaud de Cervole (POW) | Seguin de Badefol Petit Meschin other mercenary captains | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
12,000 | 15,000 |
The Battle of Brignais was fought on the 6th of April 1362, between forces of the Kingdom of France under Count Jacques de Bourbon, from whom the later royal Bourbons descend, and the Tard-Venus Free Companies, led by mercenary captains including Petit Meschin and Seguin de Badefol.
The French forces, coming from the town of Saint-Genis-Laval, besieged the town of Brignais, which had been seized in March by the Companies as an operating base.
There are two versions concerning the course of the battle. [1]
According to Matteo Villani, the royal army camped near the fortifications after a failed assault. When Petit Meschin (who was during that time pillaging the nearby County of Forez) learned that his comrades where in trouble, he brought his men back to Brignais as fast as he could. Then, taking advantage of the heights, the night, and the element of surprise, he charged against the royal army's camp. The garrison inside the castle then joined Petit Mesquin's forces, resulting in a total defeat for the French army.
According to Jean Froissart, Seguin de Badefol had the idea to dispatch the Tard-Venus forces into two groups: one in front of the royal army, and the other one on surrounding hills. The royal army, attacking the visible group, was flanked by the Tard-Venus stationed on the hills.
The French army was destroyed. Jacques de Bourbon, Count of La Marche and Constable of France, was mortally wounded, as was his eldest son Peter II, Count of La Marche. Louis d'Albon, Count of Forez, was also killed. A number of members of the French army were captured, including many lords and Arnaud de Cervole, a famous mercenary captain serving in the French ranks. [2]
Despite their victory, the Tard-Venus did not try to besiege the city of Lyon.
The House of Bourbon is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France and is a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century, and by the 18th century, members of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma. Today Spain and Luxembourg have monarchs of the House of Bourbon. The royal Bourbons originated in 1272, when Robert, the youngest son of King Louis IX of France, married the heiress of the lordship of Bourbon. The house continued for three centuries as a cadet branch, serving as nobles under the direct Capetian and Valois kings.
Louis I, called the Lame was a French prince du sang, Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis and La Marche and the first Duke of Bourbon, as well as briefly the titular King of Thessalonica from 1320 to 1321.
Seguin or Séguín is a French and Gascon name. It may be a Frankish name, from Germanic origin. Seghin, Sigiwinus, Siguvinus, Siguinus, Siguin, Sigiwin, Sigwin, Sigoin and Segouin are alternate variants. According to Jean de Jaurgain quoting primary source Saint Andrew of Bordeaux, the original Vascon name written in Latin was Sihiminum, related to Basque Seme(no), meaning 'son'. It is also spelled Scimin, Skimin, Scemenus, Semen, Semeno, Xemen, or Ximen and gave rise to the Castilian Ximeno and Jimeno. Both Semen and Seguin, unrelated names, are found in sources.
The County of La Marche was a medieval French county, approximately corresponding to the modern département of Creuse and the northern half of Haute Vienne.
The Constable of France was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown and the commander-in-chief of the Royal Army. He was, at least on paper, the highest-ranking member of the French nobility.
James I of Bourbon, was a French prince du sang, and the son of Louis I, Duke of Bourbon and Mary of Avesnes. He was Count of Ponthieu from 1351 to 1360, and Count of La Marche from 1341 to his death.
Arnaud de Cervole, also de Cervolles, de Cervolle, Arnaut de Cervole or Arnold of Cervoles, known as l'Archiprêtre, was a French mercenary soldier and Brigand of the Hundred Years War in the 14th century.
Brignais is a commune of the Rhône department in eastern France.
A free company was an army of mercenaries between the 12th and 14th centuries recruited by private employers during wars. They acted independently of any government, and were thus "free". They regularly made a living by plunder when they were not employed; in France they were called routiers and écorcheurs and operated outside the highly structured law of arms. The term "free company" is most often applied to those companies of soldiers which formed after the Peace of Brétigny during the Hundred Years' War and were active mainly in France, but it has been applied to other companies, such as the Catalan Company and companies that operated elsewhere, such as in Italy and the Holy Roman Empire.
Marie of Hainaut was the daughter of John II, Count of Holland and Philippa of Luxembourg, and her brother was William I, Count of Hainaut.
Louis de Sancerre was a Marshal of France and Constable of France during the Hundred Years' War.
Tard-Venus were medieval groups of routiers that ravaged Europe in the later years of the reign of King John II of France.
Seguin de Badefol was a Medieval leader of a large bandit army or routier With 2000 troops he was the head of the largest group of Tard-Venus.
Perin de Sasine, known by his alias Le Petit Meschin, was a French soldier, mercenary and brigand of the Hundred Years War in the 14th century.
Hagre l'Escot was a Scottish mercenary captain during the Hundred Years War.
Francois Hennequin, was a mercenary captain during the Hundred Years War.
Robert Birkhead (Briquet) was a mercenary captain during the Hundred Years War.
Bernard de la Salle, was a French mercenary captain during the Hundred Years War. His story is mentioned in the Chronicles of Froissart.
Bour Camus, or Camus Bour Lesparre, also known as Camus the Bastard was a mercenary captain during the Hundred Years War. He was of Navarrese or Gascon origin.
Bertucat d'Albret was a medieval mercenary leader of a bandit army in the Hundred Years' War.