One Hundred Years War Chevaliers et Écuyers du Maine VIII

 Chevaliers et Écuyers du Maine

Another completed base of French for my post Agincourt French HYW army, these men are from the baronies of Chateau-Gontier and Châteaubriant, again Perry Plastics

"walk the battlefield in the morning, wargame in the afternoon"™ 

From Caesar to World War Two

cheers

Matt

One Hundred Years War Chevaliers et Écuyers du Maine VII

 Chevaliers et écuyers du Maine

Based a number of figures in this last week or so as my basing material has arrived, a lot more coming as I have completed all of the English foot and some more French foot for my armies. 

I think I need another three or four boxes to complete the army completely, two cavalry, one french foot plus some metals to flesh out some commands etc.

"walk the battlefield in the morning, wargame in the afternoon"™ 

From Caesar to World War Two

cheers

Matt

100 years war French Chevaliers and écuyers du Maine VI

French Chevaliers and Écuyers du Maine   

Finally completed some stuff of my own this week some Perry 28mm chevaliers for my French Armagnac western HYW post Agincourt army based on the armies in Maine and Anjou.  The first of the 20 odd figures coming. All Perry plastics as always lovely to paint.

Jean de Boissière, seigneur de la Boissière, Maine
In the company Guy de Laval, at La Brossinere, Le Mans, Fresnay, Baugé, and Verneuil, owed thirty days service La Gravel chateau.

Jean de Quatrebarbes 1407 Motte of Ampoigné , Motte-Sorchin, Genest , others still in Cosmes , Cossé , Astillé (fealty to Baron of Chateau Gontier-Sceau 1441). His father Pierre armorial seal 1372 seal is mentioned as "où étoit empreinte la figure d'une tête d'homme portant une grande moustache fourchue".
Pierre , his son, Jean, Gilles and his grandson Jean, all died at the battle of Verneuil 

Fought at Baugé, La Brossinière, Sainte-Suzanne, Verneuil where he died, in the company of Guy de Laval.

Guy d’Orenges,Seigneur de la Feuillée, la motte d’Orenges, Saint Jean Mayenne.
At Baugé, La Brossinière, Sainte-Suzanne, Verneuil, Vassal de Guy Laval

 

Bertrand de Parthenay, Seigneur de Soubise
At La Brossinière, Sainte-Suzanne, Verneuil, Vassal de Guy Laval

Lancelot de Rouvray, écuyer, seigneur de Fournes
At La Brossinière, Sainte-Suzanne, killed at Verneuil, Vassal de Guy Laval

Guillaume de Sacé, écuyer, sire de Brain-sur-Allonnes, château Sacé (destroyed 1361)
At La Brossinière, Sainte-Suzanne, killed at Verneuil, Vassal de Guy Laval

Jean L'enfant, écuyer seigneur de the Patrière and Cimbré,
At La Brossinière, Sainte-Suzanne, killed at Verneuil, Vassal de Guy Laval

Jean de Foucault, écuyer, seigneur du Cerisier, Maine
At La Brossinière, Sainte-Suzanne, Saint James, Le Mans, Orleans, Vassal de Guy Laval

"walk the battlefield in the morning, wargame in the afternoon"™ 

From Caesar to World War Two

Cheers 

Matt

Étienne de Vignolles (The Knave of Hearts)

La Hire (the Knave of Hearts) 

Étienne de Vignolles, Chevalier, seigneur Lord of Montmorillon (Nouvelle-Aquitane) de Longueville (Normandy). Etienne the youngest member of his family born in 1390, he entered the service of liege Lord Bernard VII of Armagnac (constable of France) 1415-18 was a écuyer in the campaign against the comte de Foix.

1418 La hire and Poton de Xaintrailles, Vicomte de Bruillois both mercenary company captains, successfully raise the Burgundian siege of Coucy (Aisne) (Pontons brother Pierre de Xaintrailles was the chateau Captain). 

In 1419 he defended the chateau of Crépy-en-Laonnais (Aisne) against the Burgundians, Philippe le Bon successfully takes the Crépy in 1420. 

In 1420 At the battle of Mons-en-Vimeu where he is captured and after his ransom, La Hire and his company then moves south to join René de Anjou in his fight against the English in Maine. 

In 1421, he returns to the north to reinforce Ponton de Xaintrailles based in Guise, he leads a successful ambush at Notre Dame de Liesse killing Hector de Saveuse, the Governor de Beauvais and Compiègne (nicknamed the price of thieves and assassins); that same year La Hire was injured by a horse, when it fell on him and shattered his hip and leg and was left lame. 

In 1422, he traveled through Champagne and Picardy, capturing a new base for his company at Vitry-en-Perthois, from here he generally raids and harases the Burgundian countryside, La Hire and his men burnt 18 villages in the region. He defeated Antoine Count of Vaudémont, capturing him in 1423 in a raid and raised a large ransom for him, he then attended the handover of Compiègne to the Burgundians for the peace treaty. 

In 1423, he attacks Châlons-sur-Marne, leaving Vitry-le-François and sacked Luxembourg. 

In 1424 he moves to Maine in the Service of the bastard or Orleans and was at the Battle of Verneuil.  With the French army almost completely destroyed after the battle, new Captains are required and from this La Hire rises to prominence, several mercenary companies join his company most notably Antoine de Chabannes and Jean de Bueil, he is appointed captain of chateau Vitry-sur-seine (now Vitry-en-Perthois, Val-de-Marne). He is besieged at Guise en Thiérache, Jean de Luxembourg successfully sieges the chateaux in the region capturing la Hire, he is ransomed again. and departs with Ponton de Xaintrailles and their companies back to Maine. He enters the service of the Bastard de Orleans and is successful in the recapture of Le Mans (capital of Maine; Le Mans controls the trade routes North from the Loire to Normandy and from the west from Brittany, and produces high amounts of metal and linen, it falls to the English general Thomas de Montagu, Comte de Salisbury later in the year).

1425 departing Chateau Saint Suzanne (Maine) with a large company hear that the city of Le mans is lightly defended. La Hire, Jean de Beaumanoir (Lavardin),  Baudouin de Champagne (known as Baudouin ( I st )Baron de Tucé), and Pierre de Pasquier, Seigneur de Malidor: mount a successful surprise escalade and capture the outer city but fail to capture the chateau, they hold the city for 24 hours but it could not be held and they retire from the city.

In 1427 La Hire and Count Jean de Dunois (bastard of Orleans) successfully capture chateau La-Ferte-Bernard (Maine), then raise the english siege of Montargis (Centre val de Loire), chasing William de la Pole, duke of Suffolk and Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick north towards Paris. A wrought iron cross was also erected southwest of the city. On it was written: “In memory of Gaillardin, citizen of Montargis, who, in the fight against the English, under the walls of this city, seized the banner of Warwick, September 5, 1427 "

In 1428, leading raids into North-western Normandy from Mayenne, (Maine), he besieges Le Mans again unsuccessfully.

1429, He is in Orléans as one of the captains of the city and at the battle of the herrings ("La Journée des Harengs"); he was then in the entourage of Jeanne d'Arc, and participated in all the deeds leading to the crowning of Charles. He was at the battle of Jargeau (10 juin 1429 - 12 June 1429), battle of Meung-sur-Loire (14 June 1429), battle of Beaugency (15 June 1429 - 16 June 1429) and Patay (18 June 1429), July 2, 1429 siege of Auxerre, July 4, 1429-July 10, 1429 : Siege of Troyes (In the Aube department, in Champagne-Ardenne), July 14, 1429 : Capture of Châlons-en-Champagne, July 16, 1429 : Capture of Reims, remaining with Jeanne d'Arc and partaking as the soldiers representative at the coronation ofCharles VII at Reims. Appointed bailiff of Vermandois, with a pay of 292 livres; he successfully retakes Château-Gaillard (Vexin) in 1429 (losing it again to the English in 1430), 

1430 August at the siege of Chateau Aumale (Seine-Maritine) and raid of Louviers (l'Eure), where he was then taken by  the Earl of Suffolk: 

"this week was taken the worst and the most tyrant and the least pitiful of all the captains who were of all the Armagnacs , La Hire was taken and was placed in the chastel of Dourdan. " 

He escaped from Dourdan in March 1432, and gathered a band of mercenaries to roam Normandy and Vexin based around Beauvais. 

1433, La Hire occupied Beauvais in the name of Charles VII. 

In 1434, he attacked Guy IV de Nesle, Seigneur de Mello & d'Offémont, besieging the chateau and ransomed it. 

In 1435, His victory at the battle Gerberoy, where John FitzAlan earl of Arundel was captured but died from his wounds.  La Hire and Xaintrailles resumed there brigandage of the countryside. During the Arras negotiations, La Hire and Xaintrailles continued to sack many of the Burgundian towns as far north as Amiens. 

In 1436 At the siege of Creil his brother Amadoc de Vignoles was killed.

1437 at the siege of Montereau, from Chateau Beauvais captained raids into English Normandy 

1438 received the seigneury of Montmorillon (January 7, 1438) (Aquitane). That same year, he was found in Alsace, where he and his mercenaries committed the worst abuses. 

In 1440, he tried in vain to take Harfleur, then fought in Picardy. 

In 1442, he accompanied the king to Guyenne (Tartas),  a few kilometers from his birthplace. 

Wounded at Montauban, where he died on the eleventh of January 1443.

 His epitaph: Cy gist noble homme Estienne de Vignolles dit La Hire, dans son pays d'origine

His tomb, installed at his request in the Saint-Laurent chapel in Montmorillon and decorated with a recumbent figure representing him, disappeared during the Revolution . A commemorative stone is still there in the chapel.

La Hire lives on........

One interesting feature of the French dominance of playing cards in this time is the attention given to court cards. In the late 1500s French manufacturers began giving the court cards names from famous literary epics such as the Bible and other classics. It is from this era that the custom developed of associating specific court cards with famous names, the more well-known and commonly accepted ones for the Kings being King David (Spades), Alexander the Great (Clubs), Charlemagne (Hearts), and Julius Caesar (Diamonds), representing the four empires of Jews, Greeks, Franks, and Romans. Notable characters ascribed to the Queens include the Greek goddess Pallas Athena (Spades), Judith (Hearts), Jacob's wife Rachel (Diamonds), and Argine (Clubs). The Knaves were commonly designated as La Hire (Hearts), Charlemagne’s knight Ogier (Spades), Hector the hero of Troy (Diamonds), and King Arthur's knight Lancelot (Clubs).

cheers

Matt

100 years war Knights/Chevaliers and squires/écuyers IV

100YW French Armagnac (knights and squires) Chevaliers & Écuyers

More Chevaliers and écuyers of Maine for the eleven local battles within 100klm, plus the 50 odd sieges. Still concentrating on my French army from Baugé to Verneuil, basing of the units has commenced and first units of Archers and Chevaliers/Écuyers are completed, photos this week. The figures are a mix of Perry plastics and metals for Chevaliers and Écuyers from Maine, Brittany, Normandy and Touraine.

The battlefield tour relating to our closest battles can be found here https://www.lhoteldeherce.fr/product-page/100-years-war-holiday

Guillaume de Brée, Chevalier, seigneur Marpalu, Brée, Lucé, et Bahoulliére. In the company Guy de Laval 1422, la Brossinière, Baugé, Verneuil, Orleans, Normandy campaign 1431. 

Guillaume Blosset (Le Borgne-One eye) chevalier Banneret, seigneur de Saint Pierre et Carouges. In the company of Pierre d'Alençon (Bastard of Alençon) at Baugé, la Brossinière, siege of Chartres, Orleans,  coronation of Charles VI, butler and chamberlain of Charles VI. 

Macé de Richer, Écuyer, seigneur Domfront, Gaigne, et Monthéard, Azincourt, La Brossinière, Saint James, Avranches, Mount Saint Michel, Campaign Normandy 1431. In the company of Pierre d'Alençon.

Guillaume de Mirmande, écuyer, seigneur de Mirmande, fief de Saint-Jean-Lachalm. La Brossinière, Orleans, Saint James, Normandy campaign 1431, in the company of Jean d'Harcourt.

Jean de Gesvres, seigneur de la Rivère de Gesvres, in the company of and vassal to Jean de Vaux, La Brossinière, siege de Lava,l, siege de Orleans, Saint-James, Normandy campaign 1431, owed service to Chateau Mayenne 40 days.

René de Joncheres, écuyer, seigneur de Joncheres, Agincourt, La Brossinière, Saint James, Avranches, Mont Saint Michel, Normandy Campaign 1431, in the company of Pierre d'Alençon.

Jean de la Joue, écuyer, seigneur de la Blanchardiere et de la Caraterie. At Azincourt, siege de Alençon, Baugé, la Brossinière, siege de Saint Suzanne, Le Mans, Saint James, Laval, Avranches, Mont Saint Michel, Normandy campaign 1431. In the company Jean de Vaux

Jean de Cucé, écuyer, seigneur de Bourdneuf, youngest son Baron Cucé. In the garrison of Vitré, la Brossinière, Saint James, Avranches, Normandy campaign 1431. In the company Pierre d'Alençon.

"walk the battlefield in the morning, wargame in the afternoon"™ 

From Caesar to World War Two

Cheers

Matt

100 years war Knights/Chevaliers and squires/écuyers III

100 years war Knights/Chevaliers and squires/écuyers II

French Armagnac Chevaliers & Écuyers

More Chevaliers and écuyers of Maine for the eleven local battles within 100klm, plus the 50 odd sieges. Still concentrating on my French army from Baugé to Verneuil, concentrating first on the Chevaliers and écuyers locally, plus adding Bretons and Anjou Armagnac and Scottish.

More of the lovely Perry plastics for Chevaliers and Écuyers from Maine

The battlefield tour can be found here https://www.lhoteldeherce.fr/product-page/100-years-war-holiday

Jean de la Croix, seigneur de La Bigottière, vassal l'Orange family seigneurs de La Feuillée, owed 40 days service to La Feuillé chateau, died at the siege of the chateau La Feuillée in 1429

Jehan le Roux écuyer, seigneur de Ferrière, Foucarville (killed at la Brossinière) Norman Noble, vassal of Jean de Harcourt

Pierre de Gautier, seigneur d’Aussigny, chateau de Chevigné ,Angevin Noble, confirmed at La Brossinière, Vassal Rene d'Anjou, owed 40 days service to Angers Chateau.

Jean de Chambellay, seigneur de Bois de Chambellay et la Grrandiere, at La Brossinière, Baugé and Formigny. owed 40 days service to château Candé. Vassal of Bertrand de Dinan, Baron de Candé

Jean de Barres, seigneur de Barres, at Agincourt and Baugé, vassal Jean de Craon, owed 40 days service to Chateau Craon.

Rolland de Moussaye, seigneur de Rivière-Moussaye, Breton, captain of Vitré, at La Brossinière

cheers
Matt

100 years war Knights/Chevaliers and squires/écuyers II

French Knights and Squires 100YW

More Chevaliers and écuyers of Maine for the eleven local battles within 100klm, plus the 50 odd sieges. Still concentrating on my French army from Baugé to Verneuil, concentrating first on the Chevaliers and écuyers locally, plus adding Bretons and Anjou Armagnac and Scottish.

More of the lovely Perry plastics for Chevaliers and Écuyers from Maine

The battlefield tour can be found here https://www.lhoteldeherce.fr/product-page/100-years-war-holiday

Pierre de Chereil, seigneur de la Rivière, vassal and in the company of Louis d'Avaugor Baron de Ambrières

Pierre Michel, écuyer, seigneur le Plessis, Châtellenie de la Feuillée

Hughes Cœuret de Bamont, seigneur de Bas-Mont, fief Moulay, vassal Baron de Mayenne

Louis de Escotais, seigneur de Escotais, vassal de Baron de mayenne, in the company of Jean de Vaux at La Brossinière

Jacques de Ferré, écuyer, seigneur de Ferré, sénéchal de Rennes, in the company of André de Lohéac

cheers
Matt