Guillaume Gouffier, seigneur de Bonnivet (c. 1488 – 24 February 1525) was a French soldier.
The younger brother of
Artus Gouffier, seigneur de Boisy, tutor of
Francis I of France, Bonnivet was brought up with Francis, and after the young king's accession he became one of the most powerful of the royal favourites. On 31 December 1517 he was made
Admiral of France, in charge of all maritime affairs from which he received substantial revenues, including portions of the gains from wrecks and
prizes. In the imperial election of 1519 he superintended the candidature of Francis, and spent vast sums of money in his efforts to secure votes, but without success. An implacable enemy of the
Constable de Bourbon, he contributed to the downfall of the latter. In command of the army of
Navarre
Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
in 1521, he
occupied Fuenterrabia and was probably responsible for the renewal of hostilities resulting from its not being restored.
Bonnivet succeeded
Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, in 1523, as commander of the
army of Italy and entered the Milanese, but was
defeated and forced to effect a disastrous retreat, in which the
chevalier Bayard perished. He was afterwards one of the principal commanders of the army which Francis led into Italy at the end of 1524, and died at the
Battle of Pavia.
[
Brantôme says that the Battle of Pavia was fought at Bonnivet's instigation, and that, seeing the disaster he had caused, he deliberately sought a heroic death. In spite of his failures as a general and diplomat, his good looks and brilliant wit enabled him to retain the intimacy and confidence of his king. He followed a licentious lifestyle. According to Brantôme, he was the successful rival of the king for the favours of Madame de Châteaubriant, and if, as is thought, he was the hero of the fourth story of the '' Heptameron'', Marguerite, future Queen of ]Navarre
Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
, was also courted by him.[
Bonnivet's correspondence is preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris and in The National Archives (United Kingdom);][Notably a letter in the National Archives, dated 14 March 1516 and addressed to Antonio Maria Pallavicini, the French ambassador to the Papal Court, relaying the French king’s invitation to Leonardo da Vinci to enter the king’s service. Cf. Jan Sammer, "The Royal Invitation," in Carlo Pedretti ed., ''Leonardo da Vinci and France'' (CB Edizioni, 2011), pp. 30-35.] the complete works of Brantôme, vol. iii.,[ are another primary source.
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnivet, Guillaume Gouffier, Seigneur De
1480s births
1525 deaths
French military leaders
French military personnel killed in action
Military leaders of the Italian Wars
Admirals of France
Court of Francis I of France