Bernard Stewart, 3rd 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

Bernard was the grandson of Sir John Stewart of Darnley, who was given the lands of Aubigny-sur-Nere and Concressault by

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious () or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a ''de facto'' end of the English claims to ...

for his service 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 ...

. Like his father and grandfather he was high in favour with the French King and was chosen as commander of the royal bodyguard. Because of his family background he was chosen as the envoy to

James III of Scotland James III (10 July 1451/May 1452 – 11 June 1488) was King of Scots from 1460 until his death at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488. He inherited the throne as a child following the death of his father, King James II, at the siege of Roxburg ...

to announce the accession of King Charles VIII of France. He was also given the task of signing a treaty with the Scots renewing the Auld Alliance, which he proceeded to sign on 22 March 1484.

Battle of Bosworth

The Lord of Aubigny was also the medium of communication with the section of Scottish lords who favoured Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond in his rebellion against his distant cousin

King Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

of England. Henry was still an exile living in France along with the chief supporters of the

House of Lancaster The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in 1267 ...

, the experienced John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford and Henry's uncle Jasper Tudor, 1st Duke of Bedford. They relied heavily on the French king to finance the army and to be able to provide foot soldiers capable of fighting. In 1485, Bernard Stewart was chosen to command the French troops that accompanied the invasion and helped the Earl of Richmond become King

Henry VII of England Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509), also known as Henry Tudor, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henr ...

at the

Battle of Bosworth Field The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field ( ) was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of House of Lancaster, Lancaster and House of York, York that extended across England in the latter half ...

establishing the

Tudor Dynasty The House of Tudor ( ) was an English and Welsh dynasty that held the throne of England from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd, a Welsh noble family, and Catherine of Valois. The Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of Eng ...

Italian wars

In 1494, Charles VIII of France laid claim to the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

and sent the Lord of Aubigny to Rome to press his claims to Pope

Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Kingdom of Valencia, Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death ...

. When Alexander refused to recognize Charles' claim to Naples the king raised an army of 25,000 men (including 8,000

Swiss mercenaries The Swiss mercenaries were a powerful infantry force constituting professional soldiers originating from the cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy. They were notable for their service in foreign armies, especially among the military forces of th ...

) and began his descent into Italy. Stewart received orders from Charles VIII to lead one thousand of the king's cavalry over the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

and into

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

and after taking part with Charles in the conquest of

Romagna Romagna () is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. Etymology The name ''Romagna'' originates from the Latin name ''Romania'', which originally ...

accompanied him in the triumphal entry into

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

on 15 November 1494. After this victory Stewart was made governor of

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

and lieutenant-general of the French army. The French quickly overran the disunited Italian peninsula and arrived in Naples on 21 February 1495, King Ferdinand II of Naples having fled to Sicily at the arrival of the French army. There, in temporary exile, Ferdinand joined his cousin

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...

King of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

who offered him assistance to regain his kingdom. In response to Charles' invasion the League of Venice was created, which threatened to cut the invading army off in the south while the league occupied the north cutting the line of communications and supply. On 30 May 1495, Charles split his army taking half of his troops northward to fight their way back into France and leaving the rest to hold the recently conquered Neapolitan territories. After hard fighting at the Battle of Fornovo, Charles and most of the French army made it safely back to France leaving Stewart and the rest of the army to fight off the expected Spanish invasion. The Spanish general

Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (1 September 1453 – 2 December 1515) was a Spanish general and statesman. He led military campaigns during the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars, after which he served as Viceroy of Naples. For his e ...

was dispatched from Spain with an army to reinforce the king of Naples. On 24 May 1495, he arrived in the port of

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

in Sicily, only to find that Ferdinand had already crossed over into Calabria with an army and had reoccupied Reggio. De Córdoba himself crossed over to Calabria two days later. He had under his command 600 lances of Spanish cavalry, many of these light '' jinetes'', and 1,500 infantry, many of them Rodeleros swordsmen, to which were added 3,500 soldiers from the Spanish fleet. The size of the Neapolitan army is unclear, but soon was supplemented by 6,000 volunteers from Calabria, who joined the Neapolitan ranks when Ferdinand of Naples landed. De Córdoba's Spanish contingent was further depleted because he needed to put Spanish garrisons in several fortified places which Ferdinand turned over to Spain in partial compensation for the military aid Spain was providing. Although he was seriously ill with malaria which he had recently contracted, Aubigny lost no time in responding to the allied challenge, quickly consolidating his forces to confront the Neapolitan/Spanish invasion by calling in isolated garrisons throughout Calabria and requesting that Précy reinforce him with the Swiss mercenaries. In the following Battle of Seminara the Spanish and Neapolitan armies were routed by the French cavalry and Swiss pikemen led by the Scotsman Aubigny. Stewart also took part in the 1499 campaign of King

Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), also known as Louis of Orléans was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples (as Louis III) from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, he succeeded his second ...

and upon its successful conclusion was made Governor of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

with command of the French army that was left behind by the king to garrison the towns of northern Italy. In 1501 he completed the conquest of Naples and was appointed Governor. But, after a few successes in Calabria, he was completely defeated at the second Battle of Seminara (1503) and became a prisoner at the Castel Nuovo in Naples until he was released by a truce signed on 11 November 1503.

Later life

In 1508 he was sent as ambassador to consult King

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James I ...

about the marriage of Princess Claude of France with the future King

Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 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 once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

. It was as a result of this mission that Aubigny became the subject of two ballads by William Dunbar, "The Ballad of Lord Bernard Stewart" and "Elegy on the Death of Lord Bernard Stewart". The French king made him a member of the Order of St Michael. He died in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

at Corstorphine about 12 June 1508. He is buried in the aisle of Corstorphine church. The grave is said to have had a cross of fine gold. Its presence (in French "Cruce D'or Fin") giving the name to the area. He was the author of a book on

military science Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mi ...

, ''Traité sur l'art de la guerre'', reprinted in 1976.

Marriage and titles

He married firstly Guillemette de Boucard, secondly Anne de Maumont (died after 1510), Countess of Beaumont-le-Roger, becoming Count (jure uxoris) of Beaumont-le-Roger. He was granted the titles of Count of Arena, Marquis of

Squillace Squillace (; ; ) is an ancient town and in the Province of Catanzaro, part of Calabria, Southern Italy. Squillace is situated near the east coast of Calabria, facing the shores of the eponymous Gulf of Squillace (), which indents the coast of ...

, Marquis of Girace and Duke of Terranuova in the

. Béraud left two filles, the first Guyonne STUART (épouse de Phillipe de Bracque) with Guillemette de Boucard and Anne with Anne de Maumont. Anne married her first cousin, Robert Stewart, a future

Marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

References

Bibliography

*Contamine, Philippe, "Entre France et Écosse: Bérault Stuart, seigneur d'Aubigny (vers 1452–1508), chef de guerre, diplomate, écrivain militaire", in James Laidlaw (ed.) ''The Auld Alliance: France and Scotland over 700 years.'' Edinburgh University, Edinburgh, 1999. *Coombs, B. Identity and Agency in the Patronage of Bérault Stuart d’Aubigny: the Political Self-Fashioning of a Franco-Scottish Soldier and Diplomat. ''The Mediaeval Journal'', 7:1 (2017) {{DEFAULTSORT:Aubigny, Bernard Stewart, Lord of 1450s births 1508 deaths Bernard French people of Scottish descent Court of James IV of Scotland Bernard French generals Military leaders of the Italian Wars People associated with Edinburgh French military historians Garde Écossaise officers French male writers People of the Italian Wars of 1499–1504