Raoul de Caours | |
|---|---|
| Breton Knight | |
 Blason of Raoul de Caours of Guerande | |
| Born | Guérande, Brittany |
| Died | July 1354 Nantes, Brittany |
| Nationality | Breton |
Raoul de Caours was a Breton knight who served both the English and French during the Hundred Years' War.
Raoul de Caours was a knight originally from the Breton town of Guerande.
Raoul appears to have originally sided with the Montfortist cause in the War of the Breton Succession and was in the service of Jean de Montfort. This made him an English ally.
By 1344, Raoul obtained a letter of remission [1] from Philip VI of France. Remission was granted in forgiveness for "rebellions of which he was guilty and for the excesses he had committed in the wars in Brittany" "tam in partibus Britannie, quam Pictavie et alibi" Raoul then opposed Jean de Montfort.
Raoul was however back in the service of the English by 1347, when he was appointed Lieutenant in Poitou by Edward III of England. Raoul obtained a large monetary commission and ordered to capture Nantes. During 1347, Raoul captured the French captain, Louis I, Viscount of Thouars.
During the truce signed on November 13, 1348, between France and England, he is one of the captains appointed by England from among the judges and truce keepers in Brittany. By June 14, 1350, he is mentioned as an ally of the English.
After a dispute with Walter Bentley, [2] Raoul switched his allegiance back to France.
His is mentioned in a treaty, negotiated in 1350 with the commissioners of the new King of France, John II, according to which he "undertakes to leave the English party and to serve faithfully the King of France" at the cost of restitution in his favor "of the castles and lands of Beauvoir-sur-Mer, Île-Chauvet, Bouin and Lampant" which had been seized in 1349, by Galois de la Heuse, sovereign captain for the King in Poitou. [3]
During an ambush set by Raoul in August 1350 at Auray, he defeated and killed Sir Thomas Dagworth, the English commander in Brittany. [4]
In January 4, 1351, he undertakes by contract to retake for the French King, the towns of Vannes, Quimper and Guérande, as well as other strongholds. The king, in his letters from January 1351, calls it "dilectus and fidelis consiliarius noster."(our beloved and faithful counselor). Raoul captured Noirmoutier from the English in late 1351.
He was taken prisoner shortly after by a band led by a privateer Maciot de Mareuil, a former bourgeois of Nantes. The French offer Letters of remission and an annuity of 200 pounds on February 25, 1352, to them in exchange for the release of prisoners and safe return, however letters from October 19, 1353, showed that the negotiations had not yet been concluded and subsequently Raoul Caours died in captivity before July 1354.
Raoul constant changing of sides has not left him a favourable reputation:
"Raoul Cahours is a figure of the most cynical bandit offered the XIV th century, yet so rich in types of robbery. Perpetually changing parties according to his interest of the moment, lunch in England and supper in France, fight the next day those we served the day before, betray the highest bidder and the last bidder, such is the profession that Raoul does all. his life. "
- Siméon Luce, History of Bertrand Du Guesclin: the youth of Bertrand, 1876 [5]
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The War of the Breton Succession was a conflict between the Counts of Blois and the Montforts of Brittany for control of the Sovereign Duchy of Brittany, then a fief of the Kingdom of France. It was fought between 1341 and 12 April 1365. It is also known as the War of the Two Jeannes due to the involvement of two rival duchesses of that name.
John of Montfort, sometimes known as John IV of Brittany, and 6th Earl of Richmond from 1341 to his death. He was the son of Arthur II, Duke of Brittany and his second wife, Yolande de Dreux. He contested the inheritance of the Duchy of Brittany by his niece, Joan of Penthièvre, which led to the War of the Breton Succession, which in turn evolved into being part of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. John's patron in his quest was King Edward III of England. He died in 1345, 19 years before the end of the war, and the victory of his son John IV over Joan of Penthièvre and her husband, Charles of Blois.
Charles of Blois-Châtillon, nicknamed "the Saint", was the legalist Duke of Brittany from 1341 until his death, via his marriage to Joan, Duchess of Brittany and Countess of Penthièvre, holding the title against the claims of John of Montfort. The cause of his possible canonization was the subject of a good deal of political maneuvering on the part of his cousin, Charles V of France, who endorsed it, and his rival, Montfort, who opposed it. The cause fell dormant after Pope Gregory XI left Avignon in 1376, but was revived in 1894. Charles of Blois was beatified in 1904.
John IV the Conqueror KG, was Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort from 1345 until his death and 7th Earl of Richmond from 1372 until his death.
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Bertrand du Guesclin, nicknamed "The Eagle of Brittany" or "The Black Dog of Brocéliande", was a Breton knight and an important military commander on the French side during the Hundred Years' War. From 1370 to his death, he was Constable of France for King Charles V. Well known for his Fabian strategy, he took part in seven pitched battles and won the five in which he held command.
Olivier V de Clisson, nicknamed "The Butcher", was a Breton soldier, the son of Olivier IV de Clisson. His father had been put to death by the French in 1343 on the suspicion of having willingly given up the city of Vannes to the English.
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Jean, or Jehan de Beaumanoir, marshal of Brittany for Charles of Blois, and captain of Josselin, is remembered for his share in the famous Combat of the Thirty during the War of Breton Succession (1341–1364) between the warring parties of competing claimants for the Dukedom.
Sir Thomas Dagworth was an English knight and soldier, who led the joint English-Breton armies in Brittany during the Hundred Years' War.
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Jeanne de Clisson, Lady Bentley (1300–1359), also known as Jeanne de Belleville and the Lioness of Brittany, was a French / Breton former noblewoman who became a privateer to avenge her husband after he was executed for treason by the French King Philip VI. She crossed the English Channel targeting French ships and often slaughtering their crew. It was her practice to leave at least one sailor alive to carry her message of vengeance.
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Sir Willian Felton and English knight and seneschal of Poitou. Took part in Battle of Halidon Hill, 1333 and fought at Crecy in 1346. He was appointed lord justice of all the king's lands in Scotland in 1348. He fought at battle of Poitiers in 1356. He was appointed seneschal of Poitou in 1360. He accompanied the Black Prince on the Spanish campaign in 1367 and was called Felleton Guilliam qui ot cœur de lyon by Chandos Herald. He was killed at the battle of Aríñez a skirmish fought by the vanguard of the Black Prince's army.
Amaury IV of Craon, Lord of Craon, Chantocé, Ingrandes, Briollé, Châteauneuf-sur-Sarthe, Précigné and Sablé, Sainte-Maure, Nouâtre, Pressigny and Marcillac, Châteauneuf-sur-Charente and Jarnac, was a French noble, who was part of the Hundred Years' War.
Sir Walter Bentley was an English knight who fought during the Hundred Year's War.
Olivier IV de Clisson (1300–1343), was a Breton Marche Lord and knight who became embroiled in the intrigue of Vannes and was subsequently executed by the King of France for perceived treason. He was the husband of Jeanne de Clisson who eventually became known as the Lioness of Brittany.