Louis de Laval (1411 – 21 August 1489) was a French nobleman, soldier, politician and bibliophile.

Life

A member of the

House of Laval The House of Laval is a family of barons, later counts, coming from the town of Laval, located in Northwestern France, part of the province of Maine before the French Revolution. The Laval were one of the most powerful families of Maine dur ...

, Louis was born in 1411. He was the third son of the Baroness Anne de Laval and Baron Guy XIII. He inherited the lordship of

Châtillon-en-Vendelais Châtillon-en-Vendelais (; ) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Châtillon-en-Vendelais are called ''Châtillonais'' in French. See also *Communes of the Ille-et-Vilai ...

in the

barony of Vitré Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the Brit ...

. He also acquired the castle of Comper and the . When his elder brothers, Count

Guy XIV de Laval Guy XIV de Laval, François de Montfort-Laval, (28 January 1406 – 2 September 1486, Châteaubriant), comte de Laval, baron de Vitré and of La Roche-Bernard, seigneur of Gâvre, of Acquigny, of Tinténiac, of Montfort and Gaël, of Bécher ...

and

André de Lohéac André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation ...

, joined Joan of Arc's campaign in 1429, Louis stayed home with their mother. In 1431, he was made captain of Jugon by Duke

John V of Brittany John V, sometimes Regnal number, numbered as VI, (24 December 1389 – 29 August 1442) bynamed John the Wise ( br, Yann ar Fur; french: Jean le Sage), was Duke of Brittany and Montfort-l'Amaury, Count of Montfort from 1399 to his death. His rul ...

. He later served Duke Peter II and the Constable

Arthur de Richemont Arthur III ( br, Arzhur), more commonly known as Arthur de Richemont (24 August 139326 December 1458), was briefly Duke of Brittany from 1457 until his death. He is noted primarily, however, for his role as a leading military commander during ...

. According to , he was one of Richemont's squires at his second wedding to

Jeanne II d'Albret Arthur III ( br, Arzhur), more commonly known as Arthur de Richemont (24 August 139326 December 1458), was briefly Duke of Brittany from 1457 until his death. He is noted primarily, however, for his role as a leading military commander during ...

in 1442. He was a permanent member of Richemont's company between 1443 and 1445. Afterwards, Louis sought advancement at the royal court. King Charles VII appointed him governor of the

Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...

in 1448 and of French-occupied Genoa in 1461. He was in Genoa when

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 ...

succeeded Charles on the throne. When the

War of the Public Weal The War of the Public Weal (French: ''La guerre du Bien public'') was a conflict between the king of France and an alliance of feudal nobles, organized in 1465 in defiance of the centralized authority of King Louis XI of France. It was masterminde ...

broke out in 1465, he remained loyal to the crown. On 4 August 1465, he was named 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, spe ...

. In a letter to the city of

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

, the king praised Louis as "a man of great conduct, wise and expert in warfare and other things." On 18 May 1466, Louis XI appointed Louis ', with the power to appoint and dismiss all officials under him. On 21 May 1483, however, the king limited his powers. Although he spent his career in royal service in various parts of France, Louis still frequently joined his elder brother for hunts on his Breton estates.

Thomas Basin Thomas Basin (1412–1491) was a French bishop of Lisieux and historian. Biography Basin was born at Caudebec in Normandy, but in the devastation caused by the Hundred Years' War, his childhood was itinerant. He was taken from Caudebec in 1415 ...

relates a story of how Louis attempted to put him in his debt by intervening on Thomas's behalf without being asked. Thomas calls him a "generous and powerful lord". Louis and his brother André were among the original twelve knights of the

Order of Saint Michael , status = Abolished by decree of Louis XVI on 20 June 1790Reestablished by Louis XVIII on 16 November 1816Abolished in 1830 after the July RevolutionRecognised as a dynastic order of chivalry by the ICOC , founder = Louis XI of France , hig ...

, created by Louis XI on 1 August 1469. In 1483, Louis was appointed governor of

Touraine Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vie ...

. He maintained a pro-French attitude throughout the

Mad War The Mad War (french: la Guerre folle) was a late medieval conflict between a coalition of feudal lords and the French monarchy. It occurred during the regency of Anne of Beaujeu in the period after the death of Louis XI and before the majority of ...

of 1485–1488 and, in one of his final letters, dated 16 October 1488, urged Charles VIII to marry the Breton heiress,

Anne of Brittany Anne of Brittany (; 25/26 January 1477 – 9 January 1514) was reigning Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and Queen of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She is the only woman to have been queen consort of France ...

, thereby uniting the duchy with the crown. Louis died at

Laval Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...

on 21 August 1489 and was buried there in the .

Bibliophily

Nine manuscripts from Louis's library are now in the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

. Six of these he acquired and three he had commissioned. The six are: *MS fr. 316, a copy from of ''Le Miroir historial'',

Jean de Vignay Jean de Vignay (c. 1282/1285 – c. 1350) was a French monk and translator. He translated from Latin into Old French for the French court, and his works survive in many illuminated manuscripts. They include two military ...

's French translation of

Vincent of Beauvais Vincent of Beauvais ( la, Vincentius Bellovacensis or ''Vincentius Burgundus''; c. 1264) was a Dominican friar at the Cistercian monastery of Royaumont Abbey, France. He is known mostly for his ''Speculum Maius'' (''Great mirror''), a major work ...

's ''

Speculum historiale Richard of Cirencester ( la, Ricardus de Cirencestria; before 1340–1400) was a cleric and minor historian of the Benedictine abbey at Westminster Abbey, Westminster. He was highly famed in the 18th and 19th century as the author of ''The Descript ...

'' *MS fr. 409, a 14th-century French religious

miscellany A miscellany is a collection of various pieces of writing by different authors. Meaning a mixture, medley, or assortment, a miscellany can include pieces on many subjects and in a variety of different forms. In contrast to anthologies, whose aim ...

, including homilies on the Nativity and the conversion of Paul; ''Le mariage de Nostre-Dame''; ''La passion de Nostre Seigneur Jhesu Crist''; ''La vie de Magdaleine''; ''Lamentation Notre Dame''; and Laurent d'Orléans's ''La somme le roi'' *MS fr. 2651, a historical collection from 1442 containing the first book of

Jean Froissart Jean Froissart ( Old and Middle French: '' Jehan'', – ) (also John Froissart) was a French-speaking medieval author and court historian from the Low Countries who wrote several works, including ''Chronicles'' and ''Meliador'', a long Arthuria ...

's ''

Chronicles Chronicles may refer to: * ''Books of Chronicles'', in the Bible * Chronicle, chronological histories * ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', a novel series by C. S. Lewis * ''Holinshed's Chronicles'', the collected works of Raphael Holinshed * ''The Idhu ...

'', the '' Grande Chronique de Normandie'' and the (1380) *MS fr. 2652, a copy of the second book of Froissart's ''Chronicles'' *MS fr. 2653, a copy of the third book of Froissart's ''Chronicles'' *MS fr. 2654, a copy of the fourth book of Froissart's ''Chronicles'' Louis's chaplain

Sébastien Mamerot Sébastien Mamerot (between and 1440 – 1490) was a French clergyman, scholar, novelist, and translator. Biography Originally from Soissons, Mamerot served as clergyman and secretary to Louis de Laval, governor of Dauphiné (1448–1458), Champ ...

translated many texts from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

into French for his patron. Louis commissioned from him a translation and continuation of the

universal history A universal history is a work aiming at the presentation of a history of all of mankind as a whole, coherent unit. A universal chronicle or world chronicle typically traces history from the beginning of written information about the past up to t ...

Martin of Opava Martin of Opava, O.P. (died 1278) also known as Martin of Poland, was a 13th-century Dominican friar, bishop and chronicler. Life Known in Latin as ''Frater Martinus Ordinis Praedicatorum'' (Brother Martin of the Order of Preachers), he is bel ...

. The resulting ''Cronicques martiniennes'', now MS fr. 9684, was presented in 1458. Louis also commissioned him to write a history of the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

, which became the ''

Passages d'outremer The ''Passages d'outremer'' is a chronicle of the crusades written in Middle French by Sébastien Mamerot in 1473–1474. Drawing freely on legendary material, it covers the wars between Catholics and Muslims from the time of Charlemagne until 146 ...

''. The

presentation copy A presentation copy is a copy of a book that has been dedicated, illustrated, or signed (without request) by the author, or a book that was a gift from the author. An inscribed copy, by contrast, is one signed by the author at the book owner's req ...

from 1474 or 1475, now MS fr. 5594, was illustrated by

Jean Colombe Jean Colombe ( la, Ioannes Colombus; b. Bourges ca. 1430; d. ca. 1493) was a French miniature painter and illuminator of manuscripts. He is best known for his work in ''Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry''. He was a son of Philippe Colombe and hi ...

and possibly . Around 1480, Colombe illustrated a

book of hours The book of hours is a Christian devotional book used to pray the canonical hours. The use of a book of hours was especially popular in the Middle Ages and as a result, they are the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscrip ...

for Louis, now known as the ' (MS lat. 920).
Digitized online at Gallica
/ref> It follows the use of Rome and contains three illustrations of Louis's coat of arms and three portraits. In his will, Louis left his book of hours to

Anne of France Anne of France (or Anne de Beaujeu; 3 April 146114 November 1522) was a French princess and regent, the eldest daughter of Louis XI by Charlotte of Savoy. Anne was the sister of Charles VIII, for whom she acted as regent during his minority fro ...

duchess of Bourbon Lady of Bourbon House of Bourbon, 950–1218 House of Dampierre, 1228–1288 House of Burgundy, 1288–1310 :None Capetian House of Clermont, 1310–1327 Duchess of Bourbon First Creation Capetian House of Bourbon, 1327 ...

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{refend 1489 deaths House of Laval