Robert Stewart (or Stuart) (c. 1470–1544), 5th Lord of Aubigny, Count of

Beaumont-le-Roger Beaumont-le-Roger () is a commune in the department of Eure in Normandy region in northern France. Geography The commune is located in the valley of the Risle on the edge of the forest with which it shares its name. It is crossed by the Paris- ...

, was a French soldier belonging to the family of

Stewart of Darnley Stewart of Darnley, also known as the Lennox Stewarts, were a notable Scots family, a branch of the Clan Stewart, who provided the English Stuart monarchs with their male-line Stuart descent, after the reunion of their branch with the royal Sco ...

. Robert was the fourth son of

John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox (before 14308 July/11 September 1495) was known as Lord Darnley and later as the Earl of Lennox. Family Stewart was the son of Catherine Seton and Alan Stewart of Darnley, a direct descendant of Alexander Stew ...

and Margaret Montgomerie.Elizabeth Bonner, 'Stewart , Robert (c.1470–1544)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2005. He inherited the Lordship of Aubigny through his marriage to his cousin Anne Stewart, daughter of

Bernard Stewart, Lord of Aubigny Bernard Stewart, 4th Seigneur d'Aubigny ( French: Bérault Stuart) (c. 1452 – 15 June 1508) was a French soldier, commander of the ''Garde Écossaise'', and diplomat belonging to the Scottish family of Stewart of Darnley. Early life Ber ...

(died 1508). Robert began his military career in 1493 when he joined the ''

Garde Écossaise The Scottish Guards () was a bodyguard unit founded in 1418 by the Valois Charles VII of France, to be personal bodyguards to the French monarchy. They were assimilated into the ''Maison du Roi'' and later formed the first company of the '' Gar ...

'' of King

Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (french: l'Affable; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13.Paul Murray Kendall, ''Louis XI: The Universal Spider'' (Ne ...

. He served with Bernard in Italy in

Charles VIII's Italian War Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

and later in that of Louis XII under Trémoille. He was made

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 (1 ...

in 1514, reconfirmed by

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

the following year. During the skirmishing leading to the

Battle of Marignano The Battle of Marignano was the last major engagement of the War of the League of Cambrai and took place on 13–14 September 1515, near the town now called Melegnano, 16 km southeast of Milan. It pitted the French army, composed of the be ...

in 1515 his soldiers under

Jacques de la Palice Jacques de La Palice (or de La Palisse) (1470 – 24 February 1525) was a French nobleman and military officer. He was the lord of Chabannes, La Palice, Pacy, Chauverothe, Bort-le-Comte and Héron. In 1511, he received the title of Grand Mas ...

surprised and captured the Papal commander

Prospero Colonna Prospero Colonna (1452–1523), sometimes referred to as Prosper Colonna, was an Italian condottiero in the service of the Papal States, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Kingdom of Spain during the Italian Wars. Biography A member of the ancient ...

in a daring cavalry raid behind enemy lines. He also fought at the

Battle of Pavia The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–1526 between the Kingdom of France and the Habsburg empire of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor as well as ruler of Spain, Au ...

in 1525. He died in March or April 1544.

Robert at home

Arms of Robert Stewart, 5th Lord of Aubigny

Robert's estate was inherited by his great nephew John Stewart and an inventory was made of Robert's goods in the Châteaux of Aubigny,

La Verrerie La Verrerie (; frp, La Vèrriére is a municipality in the district of Veveyse in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. It was formed on 1 January 2004 by the union of the municipalities of Le Crêt, Grattavache, and Progens.

and du Crotet in 1544, including Robert's tapestries, books, silver and weapons. Robert had two silk and leather purses made in the Scottish fashion, a Spanish guitar, and Turkish carpets. The inventory also includes a scarlet and a shot satin

farthingale A farthingale is one of several structures used under Western European women's clothing in the 16th and 17th centuries to support the skirts in the desired shape and enlarge the lower half of the body. It originated in Spain in the fifteenth c ...

. Tapestry subjects at Aubigny included seven "park" and seven hunting scenes, the

Nine Worthies The Nine Worthies are nine historical, scriptural, and legendary men of distinction who personify the ideals of chivalry established in the Middle Ages, whose lives were deemed a valuable study for aspirants to chivalric status. All were commonly ...

, Nebuchadnezzar in nine scenes, seven

Sibyl The sibyls (, singular ) were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece. The sibyls prophesied at holy sites. A sibyl at Delphi has been dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by PausaniasPausanias 10.12.1 when he described local traditi ...

s, single pieces of verdure and

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

, and a set of seven new tapestries of birds and wild beasts. There were three old sets tapestries. Famous people were embroidered on six hangings of green damask, two of these had a single figure, another pair showed a couple, while two showed four characters. These hangings were augmented with more green damask to complete a room. There were several other hangings worked with a needle. The inventory is significant because it details in which rooms these tapestries and other furnishings were used.Elizabeth Bonner, ''Documents sur Robert Stuart Seigneur d'Aubigny (1508-1544) Guerrier et courtisan au service de Louis XII et de François Ier'' (Paris, 2011), 1-26.

References

* Elizabeth Bonner, ''Documents sur Robert Stuart Seigneur d'Aubigny (1508-1544) Guerrier et courtisan au service de Louis XII et de François Ier'' (Paris, 2011).
Bryony Coombs, 'Drawing Blood: The Visual Patronage of Robert Stuart d’Aubigny, Maréchal of France, in relation to James V’s French Sojourn in 1536.' Etudes Epistemè, 2020.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aubigny, Robert Stewart, Lord Of Marshals of France 1470s births 1544 deaths Military leaders of the Italian Wars French people of Scottish descent

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

Garde Écossaise officers Younger sons of earls