Jean de la Flèche, also known as Jean de Beaugency, Seigneur de la Flèche (c. 1030 – c. 1097) was an 11th-century French nobleman. He was the youngest son of Lancelin I de Beaugency (possible son of Landry Sore de Beaugency (died 1042)) and Adelberg de Maine and was born about 1030 in

La Flèche La Flèche () is a town and commune in the French department of Sarthe, in the Pays de la Loire region in the Loire Valley. It is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton, and the second most po ...

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the ''Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It had ...

. His father was

Seigneur ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (or ...

(lord) de Beaugency and they were powerful Barons of Beaugency until the 13th century. The family of de la Flèche built the original wooden fort, Château de Beaugency, which was later replaced by a stone castle. The massive keep still survives as a ruined shell. A later mansion was built on the grounds of the castle. Jean de la Flèche became the first Seigneur of

where he held its original castle (the current one is from the 15th century). In 1059, Jean married Paula of Maine, daughter of

Herbert I, Count of Maine Herbert I (died 13 April 1035), called Wakedog (from French ''Eveille-chien'', Latinized as ''Evigilans Canis''), was the count of Maine from 1017 until his death. He had a turbulent career with an early victory that may have contributed to his l ...

. Jean and Paula were the parents of

Elias I, Count of Maine Elias I (also ''Hélie'' or ''Élie'') (died 11 July 1110), called de la Flèche or de Baugency, was the Count of Maine, succeeding his cousin Hugh V, Count of Maine. He was the son of Jean de la Flèche and Paula, daughter of Herbert I, Count ...

, who married Mathilde de Château-du-Loir, and the great-grandparents of

Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou Geoffrey V (24 August 1113 – 7 September 1151), called the Handsome, the Fair (french: link=no, le Bel) or Plantagenet, was the count of Anjou, Count of Tours, Touraine and Count of Maine, Maine by inheritance from 1129, and also Duke of Nor ...

, father of

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

. It is also understood that the surname

Fletcher Fletcher may refer to: People * Fletcher (occupation), a person who fletches arrows, the origin of the surname * Fletcher (singer) (born 1994), American actress and singer-songwriter * Fletcher (surname) * Fletcher (given name) Places United ...

came from Jean de la Fleche, where the name was first recorded in Yorkshire, where he was given lands by

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

References

1030 births 1090s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown 11th-century French people French suo jure nobility French nobility {{France-noble-stub