Louis de Sancerre (1341 or 1342 – 6 February 1402; aged 60-61) was a
Marshal of France
Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...
and
Constable of France
The Constable of France (french: Connétable de France, from Latin for 'count of the stables') was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and ...
during the
Hundred Years' War.
Early life
Sancerre was born as the second son of count Louis II de Sancerre and Béatrix de Roucy. His father was killed at the
battle of Crécy
The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King PhilipVI and an English army led by King EdwardIII. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France du ...
in 1346. After the death of his father King
Philip VI of France ordered him to be educated together with the children of the
Duke of Normandy. Sancerre had his first experience in war during the Siege of Melun in 1359, where he gained the notice of
Bertrand du Guesclin
Bertrand du Guesclin ( br, Beltram Gwesklin; 1320 – 13 July 1380), nicknamed "The Eagle of Brittany" or "The Black Dog of Brocéliande", was a Breton knight and an important military commander on the French side during the Hundred Years' Wa ...
.
Service under Charles V
When
Charles V of France
Charles V (21 January 1338 – 16 September 1380), called the Wise (french: le Sage; la, Sapiens), was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380. His reign marked an early high point for France during the Hundred Years' War, with his armi ...
became King, Sancerre served in the conquest of
Guyenne
Guyenne or Guienne (, ; oc, Guiana ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of '' Aquitania Secunda'' and the archdiocese of Bordeaux.
The name "Guyenne" comes from ''Aguyenne'', a popular transformation o ...
. The King made him a Marshal of France on 20 June 1368 with the order to protect
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. In 1369 Sancerre surprised and forced the
Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...
to retreat to
Puyrenon. He aided du Guesclin in winning the
Battle of Pontvallain. During the next years, Sancerre fought the English in the
Limousin
Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...
,
Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...
and
Guyenne
Guyenne or Guienne (, ; oc, Guiana ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of '' Aquitania Secunda'' and the archdiocese of Bordeaux.
The name "Guyenne" comes from ''Aguyenne'', a popular transformation o ...
. In 1375 Sancerre captured Cognac and
Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte
Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. It is situated in the Cotentin Peninsula near Valognes. Its population was 2,099 in 2018.
History
The Château de Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, a ...
. He fought against the
Tard-Venus and against the local lords in the
Auvergne
Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...
who had taken to brigandage. In 1377 Sancerre was campaigning again in Guyenne and he took part in the siege of
Bergerac, where he distinguished himself in capturing several local lords. After the death of du Guesclin both
Coucy and Sancerre were offered the post of Constable but refused.
Barbara Tuchman
Barbara Wertheim Tuchman (; January 30, 1912 – February 6, 1989) was an American historian and author. She won the Pulitzer Prize twice, for ''The Guns of August'' (1962), a best-selling history of the prelude to and the first month of World ...
postulated that they both refused the office because they knew the King was ailing and a regency under the Dukes 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 ...
,
Berry and
Burgundy was coming and they didn't want the political enmity the function brought with it.
Service under Charles VI
When Charles V died in 1380, his heir,
Charles VI of France
Charles VI (3 December 136821 October 1422), nicknamed the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé) and later the Mad (french: le Fol or ''le Fou''), was King of France from 1380 until his death in 1422. He is known for his mental illness and psychotic ...
was still a minor. Sancerre took part in the siege of
Montguyon in 1380. He also took part in the coronation of Charles VI in
Reims.
When
Louis II of Flanders
Louis II ( nl, Lodewijk van Male; french: Louis II de Flandre) (25 October 1330, Male – 30 January 1384, Lille), also known as Louis of Male, a member of the House of Dampierre, was Count of Flanders, Nevers and Rethel from 1346 as well as ...
was driven out of his county by the revolt of
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
, Sancerre was part of the royal army that was raised to put down the rebellion. At the
Lys River near the town of
Comines, the French army was held up by 900 Flemish soldiers commanded by Peter van den Bossche. Since the only bridge was broken, a party of 400 French knights led by Sancerre was ferried across the river. These volunteers spent an anxious night, then joined battle in the morning. Soon the bridge was rebuilt, the bulk of the French army crossed and the superior force quickly put the Flemish spearmen to flight. On 27 November 1382, Sancerre was in co-command of the vanguard at the
battle of Roosebeke
The Battle of Roosebeke (sometimes referred by its contemporary name as Battle of Westrozebeke) took place on 27 November 1382 on the Goudberg between a Flemish army under Philip van Artevelde and a French army under Louis II of Flanders who ha ...
in which the rebels were defeated.
In 1383 Sancerre and Coucy forced the gates of Paris in order to put down the civic troubles in the city. Later that year Sancerre returned to Guyenne to face the English again. In 1384 Sancerre took
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
and other places in the
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
. In 1385 he went to England as an envoy. In 1386 Sancerre was made captain-general of the King in
Limousin
Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...
,
la Marche,
Saintonge
Saintonge may refer to:
*County of Saintonge, a historical province of France on the Atlantic coast
*Saintonge (region), a region of France corresponding to the historical province
Places
*Saint-Genis-de-Saintonge, a commune in the Charente-Mari ...
,
Angoulême and Guyenne. The same year he besieged the castle of
Bouteville
Bouteville () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. It contains the ruins of a medieval castle.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Charente department
The following is a list of the 364 communes of the Charent ...
(
Charente). In 1387, Louis de Sancerre drove the English out of the castle of
La Rochandry and besieged
Châteauneuf-sur-Charente
Châteauneuf-sur-Charente (; literally 'Châteauneuf on Charente') is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. ,
Vibrac and
Merpins. In 1389 Sancerre replaced the
Duke of Berry as governor of Languedoc.
After the death of the
Count of Eu
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
, Sancerre was made Constable of France on 26 July 1397. In 1398 Sancerre lead an army against the
captal de Buch Captal de Buch (later Buché from Latin ''capitalis'', "first", "chief") was a medieval feudal title in Gascony held by Jean III de Grailly among others.
According to Du Cange, the designation ''captal'' (''capital, captau, capitau'') was applied ...
and the count of Foix and, after a campaign during which he took several towns and castles, successfully negotiated with them to leave the English camp and to submit to the French King. In 1401 an ailing Sancerre resigned as Governor of the Languedoc. After making his testament, Sancerre died on 6 February 1402 and was interred in the
Basilica of St Denis.
References
*
Froissart, Jean"The Chronicles of Froissart."(from Harvard Classics).
* Tuchman, Barbara. ''A Distant Mirror.'' New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sancerre, Louis de
1404 deaths
14th-century French people
Year of birth uncertain
Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis
People of the Hundred Years' War
Marshals of France
Constables of France
Louis Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis ( ...