Tanneguy III du Châtel (also spelt Tanguy; 1369–1449) was a

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

knight who fought in the

Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War The Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War was a conflict between two cadet branches of the French royal family: the House of Orléans ( Armagnac faction) and the House of Burgundy ( Burgundian faction) from 1407 to 1435. It began during a lull in t ...

and 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 ...

. A member of the

Armagnac party Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni blanc, traditional ...

, he became a leading adviser of King

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 ...

, and was one of the murderers of Duke

John the Fearless John I (; ; 28 May 1371 – 10 September 1419) was a scion of the French royal family who ruled the Burgundian State from 1404 until his assassination in 1419. He played a key role in French national affairs during the early 15th century, part ...

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

in 1419.

Life

In 1415, he was

provost of Paris The mayor of Paris (, ) is the chief executive of Paris, the capital and largest city in France. The officeholder is responsible for the administration and management of the city, submits proposals and recommendations to the Council of Paris, is ...

, charged with keeping order in the city. During the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

between the

Armagnacs The Armagnac faction was prominent in French politics and warfare during the Hundred Years' War. It was allied with the supporters of Charles, Duke of Orléans against John the Fearless after Charles' father Louis of Orléans was killed on a ...

and

Burgundians The Burgundians were an early Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared east in the middle Rhine region in the third century AD, and were later moved west into the Roman Empire, in Roman Gaul, Gaul. In the first and seco ...

, he was one of the leaders of the Armagnac faction under

Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac (1360 – 12 June 1418) was Count of Armagnac and Constable of France. He was the son of John II, Count of Armagnac, and Jeanne de Périgord. He succeeded in Armagnac at the death of his brother, John III, i ...

, constable of France. He opposed the partisans of the

duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy () was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by the Crown lands of France, French crown in 1477, and later by members of the House of Habsburg, including Holy Roman E ...

in their attempts to capture

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 ...

Alain de Coëtivy Alain (II) de Coëtivy (8 November 1407 – 4 May 1474) was a prelate from a Breton noble family. He was bishop of Avignon, Nîmes and of Dol, cardinal of the titular church of Santa Prassede, then cardinal-bishop of Palestrina and cardinal-b ...

bishop of Avignon The Archdiocese of Avignon (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Avenionensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Avignon'') is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese exercises jurisdiction over the territory embraced by the department ...

, was a nephew of his. He was a favourite of Charles the Dauphin (later Charles VII), whom he saved by taking him out of Paris to

Melun Melun () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the centre of the capital. Melun is the prefecture of Seine-et-Marne, ...

at the time of the invasion of Paris by the Burgundians led by Jean de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam during the night of 28–29 May 1418. With Jean Louvet, another of Charles VII's favourites, he was one of the main instigators of the

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

by some Armagnac men-at-arms during his meeting with Charles on the bridge at Montereau on 10 September 1419. From 1425, his influence waned as

Arthur de Richemont Arthur III (), more commonly known as Arthur de Richemont (24 August 139326 December 1458), was briefly Duke of Brittany from 1457 until his death. He is noted primarily, however, for his role as a leading military commander during the Hundred ...

's waxed. Also, in 1429, he used all his effort to convince the Dauphin to receive and welcome

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 ...

– in effect, several of Charles VII's counsellors supported the principle of a rapprochement with Burgundy in order to present a united front against England, which could not have been achieved without du Chastel's efforts.

Tanguy IV du Chastel, his nephew

His nephew, Tanneguy IV du Chastel, began as governor of

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; , ; ) was a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and French Cerdagne, part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the region of ' ...

, before fleeing to Brittany, where he became ''grand maître d'hôtel'' of

Francis II, Duke of Brittany Francis II ( Breton: ''Frañsez II'', French: ''François II'') (23 June 1433 – 9 September 1488) was Duke of Brittany from 1458 to his death. He was the grandson of John IV, Duke of Brittany. A recurring theme in Francis' life would be ...

. He next was in the service of king

Louis XI of France 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 ...

, and was killed in 1477 at the siege of

Bouchain Bouchain (; ) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It lies halfway between Cambrai and Valenciennes. Bouchain, seat of the early medieval County of Ostrevent, was taken by Arnulf I, Count of Flanders, in the 10th century a ...

Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

, in the course of a war against the

Duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; ; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity in north-western regions of historical Burgundy. It was a duchy, ruled by dukes of Burgundy. The Duchy belonged to the Kingdom of France, and was initially bordering th ...

, after the death of

Charles the Bold Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, ...

. Louis XI had him buried at the Basilique Notre-Dame at

Cléry-Saint-André Cléry-Saint-André () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France, near Orléans Orléans (,

(

Loiret Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It takes its name from the river Loiret, which is contained wholly within the department. In 2019, Loiret had a population of 680,434.

), where Louis XI himself was buried in 1483.

Bibliography

* * ''Histoire des ducs de Bourgogne de la maison de Valois, 1364–1477 de Prosper Brugière baron de Barante- 1782-1866'', conservé à la Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF N087463). For a detailed account of the "affaire du pont de Montereau"
Extracts from the document
* Albert Mirot, ''Vie politique de Tanguy du Chastel'', thesis for the

École des chartes École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

, 1926 *

Philippe de Commines Philippe de Commines (or de Commynes or "Philippe de Comines"; Latin: ''Philippus Cominaeus''; 1447 – 18 October 1511) was a writer and diplomat in the courts of Burgundy and France. He has been called "the first truly modern writer" (Charles ...

, ''Mémoire des faits du feu roy Louis onziesme:'' see Index
Tanneguy du Chastel (son)

: the second passage on Montereau recounts the assassination of John the Fearless.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanneguy Du Chastel 1369 births 1449 deaths 15th-century murderers 15th-century Breton people Commanders of the Bastille People of the Hundred Years' War Armagnac faction Grand masters of France