Jean III de Grailly (aka. John De Grailly, died 7 September 1376), Captal de Buch, , was a Gascon nobleman and a military leader in 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 ...

, who was praised by the chronicler Jean Froissart as an ideal of chivalry.

Biography

He was the son of Jean II de Grailly, Captal de Buch, Vicomte de Benauges, and of Blanch de Foix, a cousin of the counts of Foix. Attached to the English side in the conflict, he was made Count of Bigorre by

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

, and was also a founder and the fourth Knight of the Garter in 1348. He played a decisive role as a cavalry leader under

Edward, the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), known as the Black Prince, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Edward III of England. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II of England, Richard II, succession to the Br ...

in the Battle of Poitiers in 1356, with de Buch leading a flanking move against the French that resulted in the capture of the king of France, ( John II), as well as many of his nobles. John was taken to London by the Black Prince and held to ransom. In 1364, he commanded the forces of Charles II of Navarre in Normandy, where he was defeated and captured by Bertrand du Guesclin at Cocherel. After his release the following year, he defected to the French side and was made lord of Nemours by

Charles V of France Charles V (21 January 1338 – 16 September 1380), called the Wise (; ), was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380. His reign marked an early high point for France during the Hundred Years' War as his armies recovered much of the terri ...

. However, he soon re-established his loyalty to the English, and in 1367 he went to

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 ...

with the Black Prince, fighting at the

Battle of Nájera The Battle of Nájera, also known as the Battle of Navarrete, was fought on 3 April 1367 to the northeast of Nájera, in the province of La Rioja, Castile. It was an episode of the first Castilian Civil War which confronted King Peter of Ca ...

. Here he again faced Bertrand du Guesclin, but this time it was du Guesclin who was captured, and the

Captal Captal (Lat. capitalis, first, chief ), was a medieval feudal title in Gascony. According to Du Cange the designation was applied loosely to the more illustrious nobles of Aquitaine, counts, viscounts, etc., probably as ''capitales domini'', p ...

was put in charge of the prisoner. He was rewarded for his service by being made the Constable of

Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...

in 1371. Again fighting for the English, he commanded an English relief force when the French attacked

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

in 1372. While attempting to lift the siege of Soubise, his force was surprised by a French force led by

Owain Lawgoch Owain ap Thomas ap Rhodri (, July 1378), commonly known as Owain Lawgoch (, ), was a Welsh soldier who served in Lombardy, France, Alsace, and Switzerland. He led a Free Company fighting for the French against the English in the Hundred Year ...

, a Welsh soldier of fortune in the French service. The Captal and Sir Thomas Percy, seneschal of

Poitou Poitou ( , , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical ...

, were captured. The Captal spent the remainder of his life as a prisoner at the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, because Charles V believed him too dangerous to ransom back to the English. Froissart gives an account of the Captal de Buch's chivalry and courage at the time of the peasant uprising in 1358 called the '' Jacquerie'' (see link). Jean de Grailly was a prisoner of the French from 1372 onwards. He had refused his freedom as it would have meant taking up arms against the king of England, which he swore never to do. His personal allegiance to the Black Prince was so strong that, upon hearing of the prince's death, he lost all resolve, refused food and died a few days later in

. Since he left no heirs from his marriage to Rose d' Albret, his uncle, Archambaud, Count of Foix and of Bigorre took the title Captal de Buch, which passed to his descendants the Counts of Foix.

Notes

References

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External links

*
Froissart on the ''Jacquerie''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jean 03 De Grailly, Captal De Buch House of Grailly Year of birth unknown 1376 deaths Garter Knights appointed by Edward III Counts of Bigorre People of the Hundred Years' War