Mercadier (died 10 April 1200) was a famous
Occitan Occitan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain.
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France.
* Occitan language, spoken in parts ...
warrior of the 12th century, and the leader of a group of mercenaries in the service of
Richard I, King of England.
In 1183 he appears as a leader of
Brabançon mercenaries in Southern France. He entered King Richard's service in 1184, attacking and laying waste to lands of
Aimar V of Limoges Aimar V,(c. 1135 – c. 1199), was a Viscount of Limoges, a nobleman in the Duchy of Aquitaine.
Life
Born in Limoges around 1135, his family named him Boson, he later adopted the traditional name for the previous viscounts, Aimar. He was orphan ...
. In 1188 he managed seventeen castles captured from the Count of
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
. Suggestions that he accompanied Richard on the Third Crusade are based on a charter that has been established as a forgery.
There is no evidence that Mercadier was with
Philip Augustus
Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French ...
when the king left the Holy Land for France. Instead, it appear that Mercadier remained in the Angevin realm with his troops to defend Richard's estates in the latter's absence.
After Richard's return from the
Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy L ...
, Mercadier accompanied him everywhere as his right hand man, travelling and fighting by his side. Richard eulogized Mercadier's exploits in his letters, and gave him the estates left by Ademar de Bainac 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-Vien ...
, who died without heirs around 1190. During the various wars between Richard and Philip Augustus of France, Mercadier fought successively in
Berry
A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...
,
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
,
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 culture ...
and
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...
. When Richard was mortally wounded at the siege of
Châlus
Châlus (; oc, Chasluç) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France.
History
Richard I, King of England was besieging Châlus in 1199 when Pierre Basile wounded him with a crossbow bol ...
in March 1199, it was Mercadier's physician who cared for him. According to one account, Mercadier avenged his death by storming the castle, hanging the defenders and
flaying
Flaying, also known colloquially as skinning, is a method of slow and painful execution in which skin is removed from the body. Generally, an attempt is made to keep the removed portion of skin intact.
Scope
A dead animal may be flayed when pre ...
a "
Pierre Basile
Pierre Basile (died 6 April 1199), also named Bertran de Gourdon and John Sabroz, was a Limousin boy famous for shooting King Richard I of England with a crossbow at the siege of Châlus-Chabrol on 25 March 1199. King Richard, who had removed some ...
", the crossbowman who had shot the king, despite Richard's last act pardoning him.
Mercadier then entered the service of
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II, and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from ...
, and ravaged
Gascony
Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...
and the city of
Angers
Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the prov ...
. On Easter Monday, 10 April 1200, he was assassinated while on a visit to
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...
to pay his respects to Eleanor of Aquitaine. His murder was at the hands of six men-at-arms employed by Brandin, a rival mercenary captain in the service of Richard's successor
King John Lackland.
One of the bridges of the
Château Gaillard
Château Gaillard () is a medieval castle ruin overlooking the River Seine above the commune of Les Andelys, in the French department of Eure, in Normandy. It is located some north-west of Paris and from Rouen. Construction began in 1196 un ...
(built by his employer King Richard) is named for him.
In historical fiction
Books and dramas
Five novels "Les aventures de Guilhem d’Ussel" of
Jean d'Aillon
During the reign of Philip August, Guilhem d’Ussel encounters several chiefs of mercenaries : Mercadier, Lambert Cadoc (Lord of Gaillon) and Brandin.
* De Taille et d'Estoc (The youth of Guilhem d'Ussel)
* Marseille, 1198
* Paris, 1199
* Londres, 1200
* Montségur, 1201
Mercadier also made an appearance in ''
Robin and Marian
''Robin and Marian'' is a 1976 British-American romantic adventure film from Columbia Pictures, shot in Panavision and Technicolor, that was directed by Richard Lester and written by James Goldman after the legend of Robin Hood. The film stars Se ...
'', the 1976 film serving as right hand to Richard the Lionheart. Played by Bill Maynard.
Mercardier features prominently in ''The Outlaw Chronicles'' series by
Angus Donald
Angus Donald (born 1965 in China) is a British writer of historical fiction. As of 2020, he has released ten novels and three novellas that loosely follow the story of Alan-a-Dale.
Biography
Donald's parents being British diplomats, much of hi ...
, especially books 4 (''Warlord'') and 5 (''Grail Knight''), as a major antagonist. He is portrayed as a ruthless killer and mercenary leader with few or no redeeming qualities, and as the main perpetrator of English atrocities during the 3rd Crusade and King Richard's wars against the French.
References
Sources
*
*
*"Mercadier", in ''
Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes
The ''Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes'' is a journal dedicated to the study and use of medieval manuscripts. It was founded in 1839 and continues to provide bi-annual issues with articles and abstracts in French, English, and German. Star ...
'', 1st series, t. iii., pp. 417–443.
*''The Art of Warfare in Western Europe during the Middle Ages from the Eighth Century'' (Warfare in History) by J. F. Verbruggen, pp. 116–117*
{{Authority control
1200 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Medieval Occitan people
11th-century French people
Medieval French knights
Christians of the Third Crusade