Philip of Aunay or of Aulnay (''Philippe d'Aunay'' or ''d'Aulnay'') (c. 1290/93 –
Pontoise, (19 April 1314), was a
Norman knight implicated in a French royal scandal known as the
Tour de Nesle affair..
Biography
In the court of
Philip IV of France
Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (french: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 12 ...
, Philip of Aunay was the
equerry
An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...
to the king's younger brother
Charles, Count of Valois, and his older brother Walter of Aunay (also known as Gautier) was equerry to
Philip, Count of Poitiers, the king's second son. Philip and Gautier were implicated in what would later be known as the
Tour de Nesle affair, in which the king's three daughters-in-law were accused of adultery. Philip was accused of adultery with
Margaret of Burgundy, wife of the king's eldest son
Louis de Navarre, and Gautier was linked to
Blanche of Burgundy
Blanche of Burgundy ( 1296 – 1326) was Queen of France and Navarre for a few months in 1322 through her marriage to King Charles IV the Fair. The daughter of Count Otto IV of Burgundy and Countess Mahaut of Artois, she was led to a dis ...
, wife of the king's youngest son
Charles, Count of La Marche.
[Weir, Alison. (2006) ''Isabella: She-Wolf of France, Queen of England.'' London: Pimlico. p. 92, 99] The brothers were tortured at the Place du Grand Martroy in Pontoise.
[Didier Audinot, ''Histoires effrayantes'', published by Éditions Grancher, 2006.] Both confessed to adultery and were found guilty, therefore, of ''
lèse-majesté''. They were beaten and skinned alive, emasculated, covered in boiling lead sulfite, then decapitated, dragged through the streets, and hanged on the gallows, decaying over weeks.
[
]
Family
Philip was the younger son of Walter V of Aunay (who died after 1318/c. 1325), who was lord of Moussy-le-Neuf and of Grand-Moulin. His two brothers were Walter of Aunay (also known as Gautier) and Walter of Aunay the Young, lord of Savigny who had two sons: Reginald and Perceval of Aunay.
Philip was married to Agnes of Montmorency, granddaughter of Matthew III of Montmorency:[ Alix (or Aline) FitzRoy (before 1141), bastard of ]Henry I of England
Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...
, first spouse of Matthew I of Montmorency.
* Philip II "the Welsh" (d. before 1392), lord of Grand-Moulin and of Villeron, butler of the Kings Charles V and Charles VI, of Charles I of Montmorency and of John, count of Poitiers. He was governor of the city of Meaux. He left several legitimate children: Joanne, Margareth and Robert (about 1365 to 1414), and two legitimized children: John the Bastard of Aunay and Joanne of Aunay the Young;
* Peter, captain of the city of Meaux
* John of Aunay "the Welsh"
* Margareth of Aunay
He was suspected of fathering Joan II of Navarre, herself the mother of Charles II of Navarre, ancestor of Henry IV of France.
Fiction
* In '' Tower of Lust'', directed by Abel Gance
Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director and producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J ...
, the character of Philipp is played by Jacques Toja.
* In ''Les Rois maudits'' (''The Cursed Kings'') (TV, 1972) by Claude Barma, he is played by Patrick Lancelot.
* In ''Les Rois maudits'' (TV, 2005), by Josée Dayan, he is played by Silvio Otteanu.
References
{{reflist
French knights
Torture victims
People executed by flaying