Étienne de Vignolles, Sieur de Montmorillon, Chatelain de Longueville (), also known as La Hire (; 1390 – 11 January 1443), was a French military commander during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

Nickname

One explanation for his nickname of La Hire would be that the English had nicknamed him "the Hire-God," from the Latin ''Ira Dei'', meaning "the wrath of God." Alternatively, his name may simply come from the French "hedgehog" ("hérisson") because he had a prickly disposition.

Military career

La Hire joined Charles VII in 1418, when the English army invaded France. Although not a noble, La Hire was regarded a very capable military leader as well as an accomplished rider. Three years later, in 1421 he fought at the

Battle of Baugé The Battle of Baugé, fought between the English and a Franco- Scots army on 22 March 1421 at Baugé, France, east of Angers, was a major defeat for the English in the Hundred Years' War. The English army was led by the king's brother Thom ...

. Along with

Jean de Dunois Jean d'Orléans, Count of Dunois (23 November 1402 – 24 November 1468), known as the "Bastard of Orléans" () or simply Jean de Dunois, was a French military leader during the Hundred Years' War who participated in military campaigns with Joan ...

, La Hire was involved in scouting and skirmishing in the countryside as far north as Paris. In 1427, both La Hire and Dunois relieved the siege of

Montargis Montargis () is a commune in the Loiret department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Montargis is the seventh most populous commune in the Centre-Val de Loire ''région'', and the second in the Loiret ''département'' after Orléans. It is near ...

. He was a close comrade of

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

. He was one of the few military leaders who believed in her and the inspiration she brought, and he fought alongside her at Orleans. At the

Battle of Patay The Battle of Patay, fought on 18 June 1429 during the Hundred Years' War, was the culmination of the Loire Campaign between the French and English in north-central France. In this engagement, the horsemen of the French vanguard inflicted hea ...

, La Hire commanded the vanguard and won a great victory for France. La Hire was also known for praying before going into battle, something that could be attributed to Joan's influence. In 1430, La Hire captured the English held fortification of

Château Gaillard Château Gaillard () is a medieval castle ruin overlooking the River Seine above the commune of Les Andelys, in the French department of Eure, in Normandy. It is located some north-west of Paris and from Rouen. Construction began in 1196 u ...

.DeVries, p. 188. He was imprisoned in Dourdan in the spring of 1431. He won the Battle of Gerberoy in 1435 and was made Captain General of

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

in 1438. His last two major military engagements occurred in 1440 at Pontoise where he assisted Dunois to capture it from the English; and in 1442 he assisted Charles of Orleans in capturing

La Réole La Réole (; ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Geography La Réole is located on the right bank of the Garonne, southeast of Bordeaux by rail. La Réole station has rail connections to Age ...

. He died at

Montauban Montauban (, ; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, and the sixth most populated of Oc ...

on 11 January 1443, of an unknown illness.

In popular culture

In French tradition, "La Hire" is used as a nickname for the knave of hearts.
His name remains a byword for a choleric disposition.

Literature

La Hire is a minor figure in the "Catherine" novels of Juliette Benzoni. He also features prominently in Mark Twin’s “Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc” as a ferocious fighter and Joan of Arc’s most valuable general.

Film, theatre and TV

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...

's film ''

Joan the Woman ''Joan the Woman'' is a 1916 American epic silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Geraldine Farrar as Joan of Arc. The film premiered on Christmas Day in 1916. This was DeMille's first historical drama. The screenplay is b ...

'', La Hire was played by

Hobart Bosworth Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (August 11, 1867 – December 30, 1943) was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer. Bosworth began his career in theater, eventually transitioning to the emerging film industry. Despite a battle with ...

. In the French film ''La Merveilleuse Vie de Jeanne d'Arc'' (1929), he was played by Fernand Mailly. La Hire was also played by veteran

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

"stock company" member

Ward Bond Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Bert th ...

Victor Fleming Victor Lonzo Fleming (February 23, 1889 – January 6, 1949) was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were the historical drama ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'', for which he won an A ...

's classic 1948 Technicolor film ''Joan of Arc'', which starred

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, Bergman is often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cin ...

. In

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( ; ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the the ...

's 1957 version of ''Saint Joan'', La Hire was portrayed by

Patrick Barr Patrick David Barr (13 February 1908 – 29 August 1985) was an English actor. In his career spanning over half a century, he appeared in about 144 films and television series. Biography Born in Akola, British India in 1908, Barr was educat ...

. On British television, in the BBC's ''

Play of the Month ''Play of the Month'' is a BBC television anthology series, which ran from 1965 to 1983 featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays (or adaptations) which were usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different wor ...

'' (1968) version of ''Saint Joan'', La Hire was portrayed by Jack Watson. In the USA, ''

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas Citybased greeting card company. It is the longest-ru ...

'' did two versions of the story - ''The Lark'' (1957), La Hire being played by Bruce Gordon, and ''Saint Joan'' (1967), in which the character was played by

Dana Elcar Ibsen Dana Elcar (October 10, 1927 – June 6, 2005) was an American television and film character actor. He appeared in about 40 films as well as in the 1960s television series ''Dark Shadows'' as Sheriff George Patterson and the 1980s and 1 ...

. In the two-part French film ''Jeanne la Pucelle'' (1994), La Hire was portrayed by Stephane Boucher. In the television miniseries ''

'' (1999), La Hire was played by

Peter Strauss Peter Lawrence Strauss (born February 20, 1947) is an American television and film actor, known for his roles in several television miniseries in the 1970s and 1980s. He is an Emmy winner and five-time Golden Globe Awards nominee. Early life S ...

. Also in 1999, La Hire appeared in the feature film '' The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc'', portrayed by actor

Richard Ridings Richard John Ridings (born 19 September 1958) is an English actor. He portrayed Alan Ashburn in the ITV television drama '' Fat Friends'', Mr. Lipa in the Academy Award-nominated World War II drama ''The Pianist'' (2002), Bernard Green in the ...

. In the Czech musical ''Johanka z Arku'' (2003), La Hire was portrayed by Petr Kolář and Kamil Střihavka.

Computer games

La Hire appears in ''

Age of Empires II ''Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings'' is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. Released in 1999 for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh in 2001, it is the second game in the ''Age of Empires'' s ...

'' (1999) in the Joan of Arc campaign. A powerful "Champion"-class infantry unit, he is portrayed as an accomplished and capable yet

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

-like brute that refers to himself in the third person. His remarks include "La Hire wishes to kill something", "The blood on La Hire's sword is almost dry", and "La Hire's sword is not bloody enough!". La Hire is featured as a character in the tactical roleplaying video game ''

Jeanne d'Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

'' (2005). In the game, La Hire is depicted as an axe-wielding lion beastman warrior and mercenary, known for his overwhelming strength and a fiery temperament. In '' Wars and Warriors: Joan of Arc'' (2004), La Hire is a playable character who is portrayed as a giant with stunning strength. He fights with a massive club. In '' Armored Core: For Answer'' (2008), one of the featured mechs is designated TYPE-LAHIRE. La Hire is also a character in

Koei Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game publisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. The company is known for its historical simulation games based on the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', as well as simulation games based o ...

's '' Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War'' (2015). La Hire has a less than significant appearance in ''

Age of Empires IV ''Age of Empires IV'' is a real-time strategy video game developed by Relic Entertainment in partnership with World's Edge and published by Xbox Game Studios. It is the fourth installment of the ''Age of Empires'' series, and the first install ...

'' (2021) during the "Battle of Patay" mission of the Hundred Years War campaign. He does not appear physically, in fact his only depiction in the game is his name, but players can hire squads of Royal Knights from him during the mission.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hire, La People of the Hundred Years' War 15th-century French nobility 1390 births 1443 deaths