Pierre II de Brézé or de Brezé ( – 16 July 1465), Count of Maulevrier and Évreux (), was a French soldier and courtier in the service of kings
Charles VII and
Louis XI
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...
. He is sometimes distinguished from others of his house as Pierre II.
Early life
Pierre de Brézé was born . He was the son of Pierre I de Brézé (d. ) and Clémence Carbonnel.
Career
De Brézé rose to prominence 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 ...
. In 1433, he arrested
Georges de La Trémoille
Georges de la Trémoille (c. 1382 –6 May 1446) was Count of Guînes from 1398 to 1446 and Grand Chamberlain of France to King Charles VII of France. He sought reconciliation between Philip, Duke of Burgundy and Charles VII during their ...
on a royal warrant, after
Yolande of Aragon
Yolande of Aragon (11 August 1381 – 14 November 1442) was Duchess of Anjou and Countess of Provence by marriage, who acted as regent of Provence during the minority of her son. She was also known as Yolanda de Aragón and Violant d'Ara ...
and
constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...
Arthur de Richemont forced him from power. De Brézé was knighted by
Charles of Anjou
Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou or Charles d'Anjou, was King of Sicily from 1266 to 1285. He was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the House of Anjou-Sicily. Between 1246 a ...
in 1434 and subsequently joined the royal council. In 1437 he became
seneschal
The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...
of
Anjou, and in 1440 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 ...
. During the
Praguerie he served with the king's forces against those of the rebel nobles and the
dauphin (heir apparent) Louis XI, who would bear a lasting grudge against him.
De Brézé fought against the English in
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 1440–1441 and in
Guienne in 1442. He was granted the title of
Count of Évreux
The Count of Évreux was a French noble title and was named for the county of Évreux in the Duchy of Normandy, disputed between Kingdom of France, France and Kingdom of England, England during parts of the Hundred Years' War. It was successively ...
in 1441 for his role in the strategic maneuvers during Charles VII's
Siege of Pontoise, which finally expelled the English from
ÃŽle-de-France
The ÃŽle-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...
. The following year he became
chamberlain to Charles VII and, through the influence of royal mistress
Agnès Sorel
Agnès Sorel (; 1422 – 9 February 1450), known by the sobriquet ''Dame de beauté'' (Lady of Beauty), was a favourite and chief mistress of King Charles VII of France, by whom she bore four daughters. She is considered the first officially ...
, surpassed in power his old allies Arthur de Richemont and Charles of Anjou. The six years (1444–1450) of his ascendancy aligned with the most prosperous period of the reign of Charles VII. His most dangerous opponent in the royal court was the dauphin Louis, who in 1448 levied accusations against him, instigating a formal trial which ultimately resulted in his complete exoneration and his restoration to royal favor. He fought in Normandy from 1450 to 1451 and became grand seneschal of the province, after the death of Agnès Sorel and the consequent decline of his influence at court.
He made an ineffective raid on the English coast at
Sandwich
A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...
in 1457, possibly at the instigation of his first cousin
Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou (; 23 March 1430 – 25 August 1482) was Queen of England by marriage to King Henry VI from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471. Through marriage, she was also nominally Queen of France from 1445 to 1453. Born in the ...
, a supporter 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 ...
in the
War of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...
who had previously sought his intervention to restrict the movements of
Richard Neville. Charles restricted involvement in the conflict until the Lancastrian loss at
Towton, after which he allowed De Brézé a freer hand. His forces seized
Jersey
Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
in the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
in May 1461, but he was stripped of his offices and imprisoned in Loches castle upon the succession to the French throne of Louis XI, who distrusted his father's former close advisors. Margaret of Anjou secured his release as part of the Chinon Agreement in April 1462, and De Brézé himself was permitted to accompany Margaret to
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 ...
with a force of 800 men. The same year, his son Jacques married Louis's half-sister,
Charlotte de Valois, daughter of Agnès Sorel. After the defeat of House Lancaster at the
Battle of Hexham, he brought her back to
Flanders
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
. On his return, he was more fully reconciled with Louis XI and reappointed seneschal of Normandy. De Brézé died fighting for Louis XI at the
Battle of Montlhéry
The Battle of Montlhéry was fought between Louis XI and the League of the Public Weal on 16 July 1465 in the vicinity of Longpont-sur-Orge. It had no clear winner and therefore did not decide the war.
Insurgency of the Vassal countries
Philip t ...
on 16 July, 1465. He was succeeded as seneschal 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 ...
by his eldest son Jacques.
Personal life
Brézé was married to Jeanne du Bec-Crespin, Lady of Bec-Crépin and Mauny. He inherited the
Château du Bec-Crespin from his brother-in-law Antoine Crespin in 1454.
Together, they were the parents of:
* Françoise de Brézé (1432–1484), who married Giles de Saint-Germain.
* Jeanne de Brézé (b. 1439), who married Jean III de
Vendôme
Vendôme (, ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest Communes of France, commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019).
It is one of th ...
.
*
Jacques de Brézé (–1490), Count of Maulevrier, who married
Charlotte de Valois, the illegitimate daughter of
Charles VII by his mistress
Agnès Sorel
Agnès Sorel (; 1422 – 9 February 1450), known by the sobriquet ''Dame de beauté'' (Lady of Beauty), was a favourite and chief mistress of King Charles VII of France, by whom she bore four daughters. She is considered the first officially ...
.
Legacy
The best contemporary account of Pierre de Brézé is given in the of the Burgundian chronicler,
Georges Chastellain
Georges Chastellain (c. 1405 or c. 1415 – 20 March 1475), Burgundian chronicler and poet, was a native of Aalst in Flanders. Chastellain's historical works are valuable for the accurate information they contain. As a poet he was famous am ...
, who had been his secretary. Chastellain addressed a to Louis XI on his behalf at the time of his disgrace. Jersey remained in French hands until 1468, and several of De Brézé's innovations or innovations credited to him were long continued on the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Breze, Pierre De
People of the Hundred Years' War
1410s births
1465 deaths
French knights
Counts of Évreux
Counts of Maulevrier