Louis de Beauvau (1416 1472), lord of Beauvau and Sermaise in

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 ...

. He was ambassador to

Henry VI of England Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English thron ...

, retainer of the House of Anjou, and close friend of René of Anjou, he was made a knight of the

Ordre du Croissant The Ordre du Croissant (''Order of the Crescent''; it, Ordine della Luna Crescente) was a chivalric order founded by Charles I of Naples and Sicily in 1268. It was revived in 1448 or 1464 by René I, king of Jerusalem, Sicily and Aragon (includ ...

in 1448. On his final diplomatic mission in 1472 to Rome for René, he died.

Biography

Born in 1416, Louis was the son of Pierre, Baron of Beauvau, and Jeanne de Craon, daughter of

Pierre de Craon Pierre de Craon (c. 1345 – c. 1409), known as "le Grand", was a medieval French aristocrat notorious for his riotous temperament, culminating in his attempted murder of Olivier V de Clisson, Constable of France. Events following the assault led t ...

. Following the service to the

House of Anjou Angevin or House of Anjou may refer to: * County of Anjou or Duchy of Anjou, a historical county, and later Duchy, in France ** Angevin (language), the traditional langue d'oïl spoken in Anjou ** Counts and Dukes of Anjou *House of Ingelger, a Fra ...

by his father, Louis entered the employ of Duke

René of Anjou René of Anjou ( it, Renato; oc, Rainièr; ca, Renat; 1409–1480) was Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence from 1434 to 1480, who also reigned as King of Naples as René I from 1435 to 1442 (then deposed as the preceding dynasty was restored to ...

. In 1431, Louis was appointed governor of

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 Gr ...

, by Duke René. Tasked with the mission of eradicating

écorcheurs The ''écorcheurs'' (, "flayers") were armed bands who desolated France in the reign of Charles VII, stripping their victims of everything, often to their very clothes. They were mercenaries without employment since the Treaty of Arras which end ...

, he mastered the situation in a year and a half and brought peace to the duchy. Following this success, he was appointed Seneschal of Anjou, Grand Seneschal of Provence, and Rene's Premier Chamberlain. Louis's duties in Anjou included being curator of the University of Anjou. In June 1447, Louis was part of a prestigious embassy sent to

from

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious (french: le Victorieux) or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII inherited the throne of F ...

, asking for the return of the

county of Maine A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in return for an extension of the truce. Henry VI agreed and the county of Maine was returned to France by 15 March 1448. After such success, Rene honoured Louis by making him the first of his knights of the

in 1448. : Beauvau dame BNF marie madeleine modifié

In 1459, as an envoy of Duke Rene and the Angevins, Louis traveled from the French court to

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, negotiating with Piero de Pazzi. The bulk of Rene's money and contacts existed in this city. He was sent to Rome in 1472, to negotiate with

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...

, concerning Rene's rightful entitlement to the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

. Louis died later that year in Rome.

Family

Louis married twice. First wife: :Marguerite de Chambley, daughter of Ferry de Chambley and Jeanne de Launay, around 1435/1437, they had: :*

Isabelle de Beauvau Isabelle de Beauvau or Isabeau de Beauvau (around 1436–1475) was a French noblewoman, of the Beauvau family, lady of Champigny and de la Roche-sur-Yon, countess of Vendôme by her marriage. Early life Isabelle was the only child of Count Loui ...

, b. 1437 who married

John VIII, Count of Vendôme John VIII de Bourbon (1425 – 6 January 1478) was Count of Vendôme from 1466 until his death. A member of the House of Bourbon, he was the son and successor of Louis, Count of Vendôme. As a courtier of King Charles VII of France, he fought th ...

in 1454 Second wife: :Anne de Beaujeu daughter of Edouard de Beaujeu and Jacqueline de Lignières before 1501 they had: :*Alix de Beauvau b. between 1422 and 1474 who married Rene de Beauvau before 1510

Literature

Louis de Beauvau authored the poem: * ''Le Pas de la bergiere'', an account of the Pas de la Bergère tournament, which took place from 3–8 June 1449 on the former island of Jarnègues at Tarascon at Duke René's. * ''Roman de Troyle et Criseida'', the first French translation of ''Il Filostrato'' by

Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was somet ...

, around 1453-1455, is attributed to Louis. Other authors attribute this translation to his father Pierre de Beauvau.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Louis de Beauvau 1416 births 1462 deaths 15th-century French poets Medieval French nobility