Geoffroi de La Tour Landry teaching to his daughters (Châteauroux - BM - ms 4)

Geoffrey IV de la Tour Landry (before 1330-between 1402 and 1406)Anne Marie De Gendt, ''L'art d'éduquer les nobles damoiselles : le Livre du Chevalier de la Tour Landry'', Paris : Honoré Champion, 2003. was a nobleman of

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France * County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duk ...

who fought in the

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

. In 1371–1372 Geoffrey compiled the '' Livre pour l'enseignement de ses filles'' ("The Book of the Knight in the Tower") for the instruction of his daughters—La Tour Landry stands (a ruin today) between

Cholet Cholet (, , probably from Latin language, Latin ''cauletum'', "cabbage") is a Communes of France, commune of western France in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department. With 54,307 inhabitants (2019), it is the second most populous c ...

and Vezins.

Biography

Geoffroy fought in the

; he was at the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

of Aguillon in 1346 and was in the war as late as 1383. His name again appears in a military muster in 1363. He married Jeanne de Rougé, younger daughter of Bonabes de Rougé, sieur of Derval, vicomte de

La Guerche La Guerche () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Population People from La Guerche are called ''Guerchois''. Popular culture Louis Amédée Achard, an author created a character called Monsieur of La Guerche, who ...

, and chamberlain to the king. In 1378, as a "

knight banneret A knight banneret, sometimes known simply as banneret, was a medieval knight ("a commoner of rank") who led a company of troops during time of war under his own banner (which was square-shaped, in contrast to the tapering standard or the penn ...

", he sent a contingent of men to join the siege of

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

, but he did not serve in person. In 1380 Geoffroy was fighting 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 ...

, and was last mentioned in 1383. He made a second marriage with Marguerite des Roches, dame de La Mothe de Pendu, the widow of Jean de Clerembault, knight.

Work

Geoffrey compiled the '' Livre pour l'enseignement de ses filles'' for the instruction of his daughters, in 1371–1372. A similar book he had previously written for his sons, according to his opening text, has disappeared. The work became the most popular educational treatise of the

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...

. It was translated into German, as ''Der Ritter vom Turn'', and at least twice into English, once by

William Caxton William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer (publisher), printer to be the first English retailer of printed boo ...

, who printed it as ''

The Book of the Knight of the Tower ''The Book of the Knight of the Tower'' (full French title: ''Livre pour l'enseignement de ses filles du Chevalier de La Tour Landry'') is a book commenced by Geoffroy IV de la Tour Landry in 1371, and which he continued writing at least until 1 ...

'' in 1483. A Dutch adaptation, titled ''Dē spiegel der duecht'', appeared in 1515 by the Brussels printer

Thomas van der Noot Thomas van der Noot (c. 1475 – c. 1525) was a publisher and author of the early 16th century, from a prominent family from Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all ...

. The ''Livre pour l'enseignement de ses filles'' served as a tutorial for De la Tour Landry's daughters on proper behaviour when visiting the royal court, which, the knight warns, is filled with smooth-talking

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the official r ...

s who could potentially disgrace them and embarrass the family. The author was a widower, and concerned for his daughters' welfare. He takes a strong moral stance against the behaviour of his peers and warns his daughters about the dangers of

vanity Vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant ''futility''. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic s ...

Family

''Landricus Dunesis'' is the name of the first known member of the De La Tour Landry family; his name appears in a charter dated from c. 1061. He built a

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

and

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

that were destroyed at the end of the eleventh century. The site of the subsequently rebuilt castle still stands in the canton of

Chemillé Chemillé () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. In January 2013 it became part of the new commune Chemillé-Melay, which became part of Chemillé-en-Anjou in December 2015.Maine-et-Loire Maine-et-Loire () is a department in the Loire Valley in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France. It is named after the two rivers, Maine and the Loire. It borders Mayenne and Sarthe to the north, Loire-Atlantique to the west, Indre-e ...

. De la Tour Landry's grandfather, Geoffroy III de la Tour Landry, had married Olive de Belleville, the daughter of a neighboring grand seigneur. She is mentioned in the ''Livre'' as enjoying the company of

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer who ...

s, and lauded for her generosity and piety. In the fifteenth century, Pontus de la Tour Landry commissioned the

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

of '' Pontus et la belle Sidonie'', glamorizing the family's origins in the train of Pontus, the son of the king of Galicia who fell in love with the fair Sidonia, daughter of the king of Brittany, where part of the ancestral possessions of the lords of La Tour lay.

Cultural references

In the novel ''

The Once and Future King ''The Once and Future King'' is a collection of fantasy novels by T. H. White about the legend of King Arthur. It is loosely based upon the 1485 work '' Le Morte d'Arthur'' by Sir Thomas Malory. It was first published in 1958 as a collection ...

'', by T.H. White, a reference is made that states "before

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

had made his chivalry, the Knight of the Tower Landry had been compelled to warn his daughter against entering her own dining hall in the evening unaccompanied – for fear of what might happen in the dark corners". In the novel ''

Timeline A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale representi ...

'', by

Michael Crichton John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature tech ...

, a reference is made which states

Notes

References

* * *

External links

(Scriptorium) Geoffrey de la Tour Landry on "jangling" in church

''Book of the Knight of La Tour-Landry'', London 1906

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Tour Landry, Geoffroy IV de 1320 births 1391 deaths People from Maine-et-Loire 14th-century French writers Etiquette writers French didactic writers Medieval French nobility Knights banneret of France French male writers