John I of Alençon, known as the Wise (1385 – 25 October 1415), was a French nobleman, killed at the Battle of Agincourt. John was born in Château d'

Essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

, the son of Peter II of Alençon and Marie de Chamaillard. In 1404, he succeeded his father as Count of Alençon and Perche. He was made

Duke of Alençon Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

in 1414. He commanded the second division of the French army at the Battle of Agincourt. When the English broke through the first division, he led a countercharge. He is sometimes credited with killing

Edward, Duke of York Edward, 2nd Duke of York, ( – 25 October 1415) was an English nobleman, military commander and magnate. He was the eldest son of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, and a grandson of King Edward III of England. He held significant appointment ...

, wounding

Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester Humphrey of Lancaster, Duke of Gloucester (3 October 139023 February 1447) was an English prince, soldier, and literary patron. He was (as he styled himself) "son, brother and uncle of kings", being the fourth and youngest son of Henry IV of E ...

, and cutting an ornament from the crown of

Henry V, King of England Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the ...

. He was overpowered by King Henry's bodyguard and slain before he could yield himself.

Family

In 1396, he married Marie of Brittany (1391–1446), daughter of

John IV, Duke of Brittany John IV the Conqueror KG (in Breton Yann IV, in French Jean IV, and traditionally in English sources both John of Montfort and John V) (1339 – 1 November 1399), was Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort from 1345 until his death and 7th Ea ...

. They had five children: # Pierre d'Alençon (1407, Argentan – 1408) # Jean d'Alençon, Duke of Alençon (1409–1476) # Marie d'Alençon (1410, Argentan, – 1412, Argentan) # Jeanne d'Alençon (1412, Argentan – 1420) # Charlotte d'Alençon (1413, Argentan – 1435,

Lamballe Lamballe (; ; Gallo: ''Lanball'') is a town and a former commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Lamballe-Armor. It lies on the river Gouessant east-s ...

) He also had two illegitimate children: # Pierre d'Alençon (d. 1424,

Battle of Verneuil The Battle of Verneuil was a battle of the Hundred Years' War, fought on 17 August 1424 near Verneuil-sur-Avre in Normandy between an English army and a combined Franco- Scottish force, augmented by Milanese heavy cavalry. The battle was a s ...

), Lord of Gallandon # Marguerite d'Alençon, married Jean de St-Aubin, Lord of Preaux

References

Sources

* * * People of the Hundred Years' War House of Valois-Alençon 101 Counts of Alençon Counts of Perche French military personnel killed in action John I of Alencon John I of Alencon 15th-century peers of France {{france-noble-stub