Alain Blanchard (born 14th century, executed in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

in 1419) was a

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of the

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fi ...

men of Rouen during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

. He was active in the defence of the city during its siege by king

Henry V of England Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the ...

. His habit of hanging English captives from the walls of the city incurred the wrath of the English. When the city capitulated on 20 January 1419 Henry demanded that three notable inhabitants be surrendered to be decapitated. One of them was Alain Blanchard.

In literature

As a symbol of resistance to English power in France, Blanchard became a heroic figure in French literature. He is the hero of a

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

by Antoine Viellard presented in 1793, of another play by Alexandre Dupias, presented in 1826 and of a musical drama by Ruféville with music by Adrien Boïeldieu, son of the better-known composer François-Adrien Boïeldieu. He is also presented in two poems by Auguste Thorel de Saint-Martin (1815) and Émile Coquatrix (1847) and of a story by P. Dumesnil (1849).

Bibliography

* Théodore Licquet, ''Dissertation sur Alain Blanchard'', Rouen, Précis de l'Académie des sciences, belles-lettres et arts de Rouen, Académie de Rouen, 1828. * Alexandre Dupias, ''Réfutation du discours contre Alain Blanchard prononcé par M. Th. Licquet, président de l'Académie royale des sciences, belles-lettres et arts de Rouen en la séance publique du 26 août 1828'', Rouen, N. Périaux le jeune, 1828. *

Théodore-Éloi Lebreton Théodore-Éloi Lebreton (1 December 1803 – 12 December 1883) was a 19th-century autodidact French poet, chansonnier and bibliographer. Biography Born from a day laborer and a washerwoman, Lebreton entered at age seven in an indienne factor ...

, ''Biographie rouennaise'', Rouen, Le Brument, 1865. People of the Hundred Years' War French soldiers 1419 deaths 15th-century French people French military personnel Year of birth unknown Executed French people 15th-century executions by England People executed under the Plantagenets by decapitation 14th-century births {{France-mil-bio-stub