Guy Éder de Beaumanoir de la Haye (1573 – September 1602), also known by his nicknames La Fontenelle or ''Ar Bleiz'' (the "Wolf" in Breton), was a French nobleman, seigneur de Le Vieux-Bourg, de Saint-Gildas et du Leslay, and a warlord active in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

in the late 16th century.

Life

Born into an old family of Brittany in 1573 in the parish of Bothoa (today called

Saint-Nicolas-du-Pélem Saint-Nicolas-du-Pélem (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Saint-Nicolas-du-Pélem are called ''pélemois'' in French. History Prehistory The cairn of Croaz Dom ...

), his family lived in Beaumanoir Manor at Leslay near Quintin (Côtes-d'Armor). Followed by a group of young nobles, he took advantage of the weakening of the royal authority during the War of the Holy League, which initially seemed to embrace the Catholic party in going to find the Duke of Maine, Lieutenant General of France in Orléans. Returning to his native area, he ravaged the Trégor and Cornouaille regions and entered into legend by his cruelty. Commanding a band of 400 riders, he engaged in murders, rapes, massacres and looting. After ransacking the towns of

Penmarc'h Penmarch (, ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany, northwestern France.Pont-Croix Pont-Croix (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in north-western France. The town lies about from Audierne on the road to Douarnenez and is connec ...

he is reported to have collected an enormous booty that was piled on the island of Tristan at Douarnenez in which he made his main quarters. He forced the nearby inhabitants into demolishing their own houses to build up the fortifications to his lair. Besieged by thousands of enraged peasants, he is reported to have killed 1,500 of them in a single day. Regardless, in 1598 he was included in the treaty that Duke Mercœur made with Henri IV and won the king's pardon for his crimes. However, he was accused of having participated in the conspiracy of the Duke of Biron for the benefit of Spaniards, and the Parliament of Paris condemned him to the agony of the

breaking wheel The breaking wheel or execution wheel, also known as the Wheel of Catherine or simply the Wheel, was a torture method used for public execution primarily in Europe from antiquity through the Middle Ages into the early modern period by breakin ...

for high treason. He was broken on the wheel alive at Paris at the ''

Place de Grève Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Often ...

'' in September 1602. In 1845 Théodore Hersart de la Villemarqué published a Breton song entitled ''Fontanella'' which tells the story of the abduction of Marie Le Chevoir of Coadélan, daughter of a marquis and wealthy heiress who was aged only 8 or 9 years that he would look for in the region of Brest. It is true that he took her from Mézarnou Manor in Plounéventer in 1595 and married her and that she later claimed herself as his widow at the time of his trial and execution.Kort, Fons de, Mesarnou en Plounéventer, Brest: la Société Finistérienne d'Histoire et d'Archéologie, 1988, pp 20-21

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eder de La Fontenelle, Guy 1573 births 1602 deaths People from Côtes-d'Armor French people of the French Wars of Religion People executed by breaking wheel Executed people from Brittany People executed for treason against France 17th-century executions by France