Jean de Baudricourt was a French Grand Officer Royal and
a marshal of France born in 1435 CE. He was the son of
Robert de Baudricourt
Robert de Baudricourt (ca. 1400-1454), ''Seigneur de Baudricourt, Blaise, Buxy and Sorcy'' was a minor figure of 15th century French nobility. The son of the Chamberlain of the Duke of Bar, his principal claim to fame is to have been the first step ...
and Arlearde de Chambley. He died in
Blois
Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours.
With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...
on 11 May 1499.
Early career
Jean de Baudricourt began his career in the service of Duke
John II of Lorraine
John II of Anjou (Nancy, France, Nancy, August 2, 1426 – December 16, 1470, Barcelona) was Duke of Lorraine from 1453 to his death. He was the son of René I of Naples, René of Anjou and Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine. He was married to Mar ...
, as captain. Alongside the Duke, he rallied the rebellion of the League of the Public Good, led by the son of the Count of Charolais, Duke of Burgundy. After the
battle of Montlhery and the
Peace of Conflans, he embraced the King's party, as did the Duke of Lorraine. He then became a royal officer, first a captain of men-at-arms and then a bailiff.
French captain
During the war between
René II, Duke of Lorraine and
Charles the Bold
Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. ...
, he supported the
Duke of Lorraine
The rulers of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were kings of ...
and acted as an intermediary between the
King of France and
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...
, notably by lending money to Rene II. After the invasion of the
duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy (; la, Ducatus Burgundiae; french: Duché de Bourgogne, ) emerged in the 9th century as one of the successors of the ancient Kingdom of the Burgundians, which after its conquest in 532 had formed a constituent part of the ...
, he became
bailli
A bailiff (french: bailli, ) was the king's administrative representative during the ''ancien régime'' in northern France, where the bailiff was responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration and local finances in h ...
of
Chalon-sur-Saone (1477-1481).
In 1477,
Louis XI
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII.
Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...
sent de Baudricourt three times as ambassador to the Swiss cantons: the troops he raised allowed Burgundy to be kept under royal control.
In 1478 he fought in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
with
Philippe de Crèvecœur, where he commanded the troops at the battle of
Guinegatte, won by
Maximilian of Austria on August 7, 1479. From 1479-1480 he was captain-general of the 4,000 francs-
archer
Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...
s of the Captaincy of the Northeast.
The king then appointed him governor of
Burgundy (1481-1499), captain of
Besancon and Governor of
Champagne
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...
(March 1482-November 1483). Louis XI then sent him to war with Maximilian of Austria on the front of the Netherlands. Captain of Arras from 1479 to 1482, he negotiated the treaty of Arras of 1482.
[Hélène Olland, La Baronnie de Choiseul à la fin du Moyen Age (1485-1525), s. d. n. l., 1980, p.50.]
At the end of the reign of Louis XI, de Baudricourt was one of the King's closest advisors.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baudricourt, Jean de
1435 births
1499 deaths
15th-century French people