The Battle of

Brignais Brignais () is a commune of the Rhône department in eastern France. History During the Hundred Years War, was the scene of the Battle of Brignais in April 1362 between the royal army of John II and an amalgamation of mercenary companies Tard ...

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 Tard-Venus (French, "latecomers") were medieval groups of ''routiers'' (mercentaries or bandits) that ravaged Europe in the later years of the reign of King John II of France. History When the Treaty of Brétigny was signed May 8, 1360, the peace t ...

Free Companies, led by mercenary captains including Petit Meschin and Seguin de Badefol.

Course of the battle

The French forces, coming from the town of

Saint-Genis-Laval Saint-Genis-Laval () is a commune in the metropolis of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. The Lyon Observatory is located in this commune. History Saint-Genis-Laval draws its name from Saint Genis or Genest, a Roman act ...

, 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. According to

Matteo Villani Matteo Villani (1283–1363) was an Italian historian. Born in Florence, Villani was the brother of the historian Giovanni. He worked for a company called Buonaccorsi, of which he was the representative in Naples. After the death of his brother, ...

, 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 Jean Froissart ( Old and Middle French: '' Jehan'', – ) (also John Froissart) was a French-speaking medieval author and court historian from the Low Countries who wrote several works, including ''Chronicles'' and ''Meliador'', a long Arthuria ...

, 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.

Consequences

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 Peter of Bourbon-La Marche (1342 – 1362 in Lyon) was the eldest son of James I, Count of La Marche and Jeanne of Chatillon, and was a French '' prince du sang''. He was knighted by his father shortly before the Battle of Brignais, in which both ...

. 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 Arnaud de Cervole, also ''de Cervolles'', ''de Cervolle'', ''Arnaut de Cervole'' or ''Arnold of Cervoles'' (''c.'' 1320 – 25 May 1366), known as l'Archiprêtre (The Archpriest), was a French mercenary soldier and Brigand of the Hundred Years War ...

, a famous mercenary captain serving in the French ranks. Despite their victory, the Tard-Venus did not try to besiege the city of Lyon.

References

Battles involving France 1362 in Europe 1360s in France Battles of the Middle Ages Conflicts in 1362 {{France-battle-stub