Sir John Stewart of Darnley, 1st

Comte d'Évreux ''Comte'' is the French, Catalan and Occitan form of the word 'count' (Latin: ''comes''); ''comté'' is the Gallo-Romance form of the word 'county' (Latin: ''comitatus''). Comte or Comté may refer to: * A count in French, from Latin ''comes'' * A ...

, 1st Seigneur de Concressault, 1st Seigneur d'Aubigny (1429) was a Scottish nobleman and famous military commander who served as Constable of the Scottish Army in France, supporting the French against the English during the

Hundred Years War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

. He was a fourth cousin of King

James I of Scotland James I (late July 139421 February 1437) was King of Scots from 1406 until his assassination in 1437. The youngest of three sons, he was born in Dunfermline Abbey to King Robert III and Annabella Drummond. His older brother David, Duke of Ro ...

(reigned 1406 to 1437), the third monarch of the

House of Stewart The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain. The family name comes from ...

Life

The son of Sir Alexander Stewart of Darnley and Janet Keith, he was a distant cousin of the Stewart Kings of Scotland, being descended from the second son of

Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland Alexander Stewart (about 1220-1282), known as Alexander of Dundonald, was a Scottish magnate who in 1241 succeeded his father as hereditary High Steward of Scotland. Origins He was the son of Walter Stewart, 3rd High Steward of Scotland. Care ...

, Sir

John Stewart of Bonkyll Sir John Stewart (died 22 July 1298), the brother of Sir James the 5th High Steward of Scotland, was a Scottish knight and military commander during the First Scottish War of Independence. Origins Sir John was the second son of Alexander Stewa ...

. Darnley inherited his father's estates in 1404, and was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed . In 1418 the Dauphin of France asked James I, King of Scotland, for aid against the English, requesting Darnley by name, and he left in 1419 with the expeditionary force under the Earls of

Buchan Buchan is an area of north-east Scotland, historically one of the original provinces of the Kingdom of Alba. It is now one of the six committee areas and administrative areas of Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland. These areas were created by th ...

(Darnley's cousin) and

Wigtown Wigtown ( (both used locally); gd, Baile na h-Ùige) is a town and former royal burgh in Wigtownshire, of which it is the county town, within the Dumfries and Galloway region in Scotland. It lies east of Stranraer and south of Newton Stewart. I ...

. By 1420 Darnley was referred to as

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

of the Scottish Army there. Darnley fought at the Dauphin's first victory against the English at the Battle of Baugé in 1421. He was made Seigneur of

Concressault Concressault () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Geography Concressault is a small farming village situated by the banks of the Sauldre river, north of Bourges at the junction of the D8 with the ...

in 1421. When the Dauphin became Charles VII King of France, Darnley entered his service, and Charles rewarded him with the seigneurie (lordship) of

Aubigny-sur-Nère Aubigny-sur-Nère () is a town and commune in the Cher department in the administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. Geography An area of forestry and farming surrounding a small light industrial town, situated in the valley of the r ...

in 1422. Charles ordered Darnley to cross the Loire and retake and Nevernois, and he besieged Cravant, but was defeated, captured and lost an eye. He was therefore not at the

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 ...

, at which the Franco-Scottish army was heavily defeated. His

ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...

was reimbursed by

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, and Darnley commanded the remaining Scots soldiers in France to form what became 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 ...

, or Scottish Guards for the King of France. Following a victory over the English at Mont Saint-Michel, Darnley was made

Count of Évreux The Count of Évreux was a French noble title and was named for the county of Évreux in Normandy. It was successively used by the Norman dynasty, the Montfort-l'Amaury family, the Capetians as well as the House of La Tour d'Auvergne. The title i ...

to compensate him for his expenses, and Darnley promised to relinquish it for 50,000 gold crowns. Darnley raised the siege of Montargis. Charles, unable to pay him, permitted him to quarter the

Fleur-de-Lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

to his

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

. In 1428, he along with Renaud of Chartres, the

Archbishop of Rheims The Archdiocese of Reims (traditionally spelt "Rheims" in English) ( la, Archidiœcesis Remensis; French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese ar ...

, returned to Scotland to raise further troops, and to negotiate the future marriage between Princess Margaret of Scotland, and the Charles' son

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 ( ...

. He returned again to France in 1429, where he took part in the

Siege of Orléans The siege of Orléans (12 October 1428 – 8 May 1429) was the watershed of the Hundred Years' War between France and England. The siege took place at the pinnacle of English power during the later stages of the war. The city held strategic and ...

where he arrived with 1000 men. Four days later, he commanded the Scottish contingent at the

Battle of the Herrings The Battle of the Herrings, also called the Battle of Rouvray, was a military action near the town of Rouvray in France, just north of Orléans, which took place on 12 February 1429, during the siege of Orléans in the Hundred Years' War. T ...

, where he was killed, and his brother William, who tried to rescue him. John Stewart of Darnley was buried in the Sainte-Croix Cathedral,

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Donnchadh, Earl of Lennox .Balfour Paul, vol V, pp346-348 She remained in Scotland, but at some time followed Darnley to France, where she died 10 months after him and is buried beside him at

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Alan Stewart of Darnley, from whom descend the Stewart Earls of Lennox, and

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

. * Sir John Stewart, 2nd Lord of Aubigny * Alexander Stewart of Darnley

References

* Balfour Paul, Sir James, ''Scots Peerage'', IX vols. Edinburgh 1904.

External links

Scots at the Siege of Orleans
(French)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart of Darnley, John 1380s births 1429 deaths Year of birth uncertain Counts of Évreux

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

Scottish pre-union military personnel killed in action People of the Hundred Years' War 14th-century Scottish people 15th-century Scottish people 15th-century peers of France