Juan de Urbieta Berástegui y Lezo ( Hernani, ? - died, 22 August 1553) was a Basque infantryman who became famous when he captured king

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin on ...

near the end of 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, ...

on 24 February 1525.

Capture of King Francis I

Surrounded by imperial troops, the king of France and his escort, who were fighting on foot at that time, tried to break through the enemy, but Francis' horse was killed before he could complete the maneuver, and when he was able to get on his feet again, there was a sword pointing at his neck. It was Juan de Urbieta's sword. The Basque soldier, together with Diego Dávila & Alonso Pita da Veiga, accepted his surrender. They didn't know who their captive was, but due to his expensive clothes and armour they supposed he would be a great noble. They were shocked when, in handing him to their officers, they were informed that they had captured the king of France.

Consequences

Urbieta obtained fame & honours due to this action. Emperor Charles granted him a coat-of-arms and issued him a document certifying his merits. He was promoted to cavalry officer and obtained the titles of knight of Santiago & "Contino de Su Majestad". Also,

wrote him a letter thanking him for accepting his surrender in the course of the battle, letting him stay alive. He died on 22 August 1553 in Hernani, the same place in which he was born, and he was buried inside the church of Saint John the Baptist, as he asked in his testament.Testamento de Juan de Urbieta, op. cit., page 533. His remains were desecrated by French soldiers during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

References

External links

Entrada de Juan de Urbieta Berástegui y Lezo
Enciclopedia Digital Ilustrada del País Vasco "Auñamendi".

''

Diario Vasco ''El Diario Vasco'' (English: ''The Basque Daily'') is a Spanish morning daily newspaper based in San Sebastián, Basque Country. History and profile ''El Diario Vasco'' was founded in 1934 by the Sociedad Vascongada de Publicaciones, led by c ...

'', 24 February 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Urbieta, Juan de Spanish knights Spanish soldiers 1553 deaths Year of birth unknown