Bernardon de Serres

Bernardon de Serres (* 1359 la Bastide de Serres-Los ; † February 15, 1413 near Villefranche-sur-Saône ) was a French condottiere . He was successively captain of the papal armies, captain general of Florence , viceroy of Naples for Louis II of Anjou , governor of Asti for the duke Louis of Orléans , seigneur de Malaucène , Mollans et Noves .

Life

He was born in 1359 as the illegitimate son of Bernardon de la Salles in La Bastide de Serres-Los near Hagetmau in the diocese of Aire .

1379–1381: In the service of Raimond de Turenne

At the end of December 1379, Bernardon de la Salle, who had just paid homage to Clement VII for his fiefs, Oppède , Mornas and Caderousse , bought La Tour-Canillac and Le Mas-Blanc near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence from his brother-in-arms Raimond de Turenne . On this occasion he introduced him to his son Bernardon, who transferred to Raimond's service and followed him to his vice-county.

In April and May 1381 Raimond de Turenne started the career of the young Bernardon. The Viscount had decided to besiege the castle of Saint-Chamant , which was occupied by the English captain Pierre Foucaud, known as the executioner. The Brive Consulate participated in this operation by agreeing to pay the sum of 300 gold francs.

1381: Against the followers of Karl von Durazzo in Provence

At the end of the autumn of 1381 the Neapolitan Seneschal Baldassare Spinola headed for the Provencal coast and landed in a rocky bay of the Esterel . He set up his headquarters in Avignonnet .

The Marseille fleet transported some of the troops of Provence and the Comtats of Foulques d'Agoult and Raimond de Turenne to the Gulf of Cannes . The supporters of Queen Joan of Naples took their quarters in the castle Théoule . This landing would make a confrontation between Carlist and Loyalists inevitable. Raimond ordered Bernardon to burn Avignonnet and razor the Saint-Pierre castle.

In the winter of 1381 the Viscount de Turenne and his men passed the hinterland of Grasse , where Carlist troops were scattered. He burned down the valley of the Siagne , attacked the abandoned Cabris , then the Carlist, who had settled in the castles of Gréolières , who were driven to flight and forced to withdraw behind the walls of Mouans and Sartoux . Its inhabitants all seem to have been on the side of Karl von Durazzo. Raimond ordered Bernardo to start a fire, after which the castle burned for two days.

In Grasse, the viscount learned that Foulques d'Agoult and Baldassare Spinola were ready to negotiate. He took Bernardon with him to Avignon.

1382–1385: The squire Raimond de Turennes

As one of the miners of the Viscount, Bernardon went with him on March 10, 1382 to Alès , where he received an interesting recognition: the castle duke of Servières in the vice-county of Turenne.

On July 22nd of the same year he accompanied Raimond de Turenne to a meeting of the Estates General of the Auvergne in Clermont . There the Viscount met his father-in-law Jean de Boulogne and Béraud, Dauphin of Auvergne .

Louis I of Anjou , who was thinking of expanding his authority over the nobility and the cities of Provence, on March 8, 1383 revoked the granting of fiefs by Queen Joan I of Naples, including that of Guillaume III. Roger de Beaufort . The next day, Henri de Sévery, Rector of Comtat Venaissin , fearing the worst, put the seven fortresses in Venaissin on alert.

The outbreak of a plague epidemic had moved Guillaume Roger de Beaufort to leave early for Flanders , where he was on the "cavalcade to Bourbourg " at the side of King Charles VI. wanted to participate. Clement VII profited from the absence of Guillaume and his son Raimond de Turenne and considered the opportunity to withdraw his income from Grillon from Marquis de Beaufort, Guillaume's brother (October 24, 1383).

This robbery led to a long private war. After his return, Raimond de Turenne did not hesitate to defend his family with arms, and in early 1385 he went over to the side of the supporters of Charles of Durazzo , who had come together in the Union d'Aix (1382-1387). From that year, Bernardon de Serres, who was paid by Clement VII, took part in the defense of Provence and Comtat Venaissin, which were threatened by the Carlist, supporters of Durazzo.

1387–1392: His first campaign in Italy

It begins in May [1387] when Bernardon joins his father on the peninsula. Viterbo residents who refused to give Urban VI. To follow, Bernardon de la Salle, who had joined the papal army, was sent to the neck. But since the Prefect of Rome, Francesco di Vico, had put down the uprisings before the arrival of the Gascogner troops, La Salle withdrew to Bolsena , while his son Bernardon and his company left Orvieto and take refuge in Canino .

You meet him again in April 1392 in Lazio . Like his father, he is now in the service of Clement VII. Under the cardinal legate Pietro Pileo di Prata , Bernardon and Nicola Farnese penetrate Bolsena and take the castle, which is defended by Peccia da Montalfina. They attack Corbara with 170 horsemen and 150 men on foot, burn the city down, take the castle of Ripa and hoist the Pope's flag in Avignon on this fortress.

1394: The Lord of Malaucène

This attack would have been worth it to Clement VII to give Malaucène to Bernardon de Serres on September 1, 1394.The Pope in Avignon gave the castle and town of Malaucène in the diocese of Vaison and the Comtat Venaissin with its territories, forts, houses, buildings and Jurisdiction on fiefdoms for him and his legitimate male offspring; should he remain without an heir, the fief should go to a brother of his choice. A gold florin was to be paid annually to the Apostolic Chamber of Peter and Paul (June 29) . It is known, however, that the men of Bernardon occupied this papal fortress for at least a month, since the prob'homme Pierre Duesens went down to Avignon in August, confused, to inform the rector Pons de Langeac : he informed him that the men of Captain Bernardon, from the head of the Remparts of Malaucène, had seen seventeen men prancing behind Raymond de Turenne's banner.

1394–1395: The second Italian campaign

In November 1394, at the beginning of the conquest of Savona by Enguerrand de Coucy , Bernardon proposed on behalf of Duke Louis of Orleans that the city, the fortress and the castles of the Patrimonium Petri be brought under control.

In the spring of 1395 he wanted to start negotiations to make peace in Orvieto between the factions of the Beffati / Muffati and the Mercorini .

After the failure of this attempt, Bernardon fought for Orvieto against the company of Brandolino Brandolini and Ceccolo Broglia as the Pope's troops in Rome. He occupied and sacked Toscanella , occupied Canino , Bagnoregio and Civitella d'Agliano .

In July he and Farnese freed his son Ranuccio, who had been imprisoned by the residents of Isola Farnese. The residents of Orvieto benefited from the situation and, contrary to his instructions, killed some citizens of the city.

1396: In the fight against the Visconti

In 1396 he was in the service of Francesco I Gonzaga , Lord of Mantua , and fought against the Visconti in Lombardy . In October he left Romagna at the request of the Florentines and moved to the areas of Arezzo and Siena , which he devastated.

Then he advances to Montalcino , where there were conspirators in his favor. Receiving 3,500 florins from Siena in order not to plunder their city, he invaded the Pisa region and refused the amount offered by Jacopo d'Appiano.

For the defense of Pisa, the Sienese Condottieri Guido da Correggio and Broglia pressed on him and forced him to withdraw and to disperse his troops between Volterra and Colle di Val d'Elsa . In the middle of the month he switched to the service of the Florentines to oppose the Visconti and their allies.

1397: Captain General in Tuscany

In January 1397, Bernardon pushed the mercenaries of Siena back to Montieri . In the following month, in Valdinievole, with 600 horsemen and 200 foot soldiers, he ended the attempts by Giovanni da Barbiano and Benedetto Mangiadori to rebel San Miniato . He settled in Pescia to keep his opponents under control.

In April, Alberico and Giovanni da Barbiano, who had escaped his surveillance, stood at the gates of Florence . After ten days of looting and rape, the Visconti army was forced to retreat to Siena after being harshly handled by Florentine mercenaries Paolo Orsini, Biordo and Ceccolino dei Michelotti.

In May the Gascogner invaded the area of ​​Siena with 1,500 horsemen, which he devastated and threatened the city itself. Then he returned to Colle di Val d'Elsa to conquer Selva Castle at the head of 30 lancers and 100 foot soldiers and crossbowmen. This earned him the title of “General Captain in Tuscany”.

1397–1398: Captain General of Florence

In June 1397 - Bernardon had lost the Selva Castle again - he was appointed "Captain General of Florence". He gave the order to march against Giovanni di Barbiano.

The following month, an event seriously threatened the unity of his army when Bartolomeo Boccanera questioned his authority over the orders he had received. Insane with anger, the Gascon had the Italian beheaded to restore discipline. New riots arose because condottiers like Orsini and Giovanni Colonna did not accept the principle that the captain general has the right to life and death over his subordinates.

But the Signoria approved of his decision and Bernardon refused to return military honors to Boccanera. In mid-July he resumed trading and continued his offensive action against Giovanni di Barbiano from Mercatale. After a severe slaughter, he forced him to return quickly to Siena.

In September, he used Barbiano's retreat to Lombardy to cross the Maremma and again the area of ​​Siena. On the way back he found himself across from Broglia, who after a great battle robbed him of a good part of the booty. Also that month he crossed Valdarno on foot towards Cascina with Orsini and Giovanni Colonna at the head of 2500 riders and 3000 men . He attacked Campo and Cesanello and devastated the area for nine days.

In March 1398 he invaded the area of ​​Pisa, came to San Piero a Grado and made rich booty. On the way back he was attacked by armed men from Pisa who had left the city through the gate of San Marco. He defeated them in just over an hour and forced them to retreat after capturing a hundred soldiers.

In April there was a new incursion to San Savino and Cascina , in May he pursued the Sienese again with 600 lancers. A truce was signed between the parties. Immediately thereafter, Bernardon went to Orvieto, where Giannello Tomacelli paid him 8,000 ducats so that he would not support any of the factions still fighting for power in the city.

In June the Gascogner returned to Florence and relinquished his command staff. This was renewed for him and he was hired for ten months with a monthly commission of 2,300 florins, on the assumption that the Duke of Milan Gian Galeazzo Visconti would break the armistice.

1398: The Viceroy of Naples

The Seneschal of Provence, Georges de Marle, set out for Italy with Ludwig II of Anjou at the beginning of July 1390 . On July 20th, the Provencal and Angevin troops disembarked in the Kingdom of Naples and entered the city in triumph on August 15th. Since then, the Angevin pretender offered the crown of Naples Ladislaus von Durazzo , the son of the late Charles III. of Naples , the murderer of Queen Joan.

In July 1398 Bernardon crossed Umbria and Abruzzo after an appeal by the Angevinists and reached the Perugia region , where he signed on together with Corrado Prospero and his 4,000 routiers . The two condottieri received 10,000 florins. But the contract only lasted five days: the citizens of Perugia suddenly didn't have the money to pay and had to join Cannara .

After dealing with the agent of the Count of Montorio, Bernardon entered the service of Louis II of Anjou in the Kingdom of Naples to fight the Carlist troops. During his campaign he occupied L'Aquila and many castles, which led to his being named "Vicar of Abruzzo" and "Viceroy of Naples".

1399–1401: return to Florence

In August 1399 Bernardon was with 300 lancers and 200 foot soldiers in Città di Castello in Umbria. He took up contact again with the Florentines, who confirmed his title as captain general, provided a troop of 200 lancers and 100 foot soldiers in peacetime, and 100 more each in wartime.

In September he was received by Francesco da Montemarte in Corbara . After a few days, 90 foot soldiers from his company left the quarters and went to Ficino . His soldiers were thrown back by 100 horsemen of Paolo Orsini and 100 bandouillers of Montemartes, and were ready to abandon the attack on the city for 550 florins.

In the autumn, Bernardon conquered Valentano in Lazio for the Count of Farnese and turned against the Visconti, where he achieved some partial successes. After that, he apparently retires from the front for about two years.

In September 1401 he was in Toskanam where he penetrated with 200 lancers and many foot soldiers in Pistoia that had risen against Ricciardo Cancelleri. Back in Florence, Bernardon gave 200 florins to the Dominicans of Santa Maria Novella for the eternal memory of his father and brother Antoine de la Salle.

1402: The break with the Signoria

In May 1402 Bernardon was sent to Emilia at the head of 240 lancers and 200 foot soldiers to help Giovanni I Bentivoglio , Lord of Bologna , who was threatened by the Visconti forces. After a battle in front of San Giovanni in Persiceto , he locked himself in the city, had the suburbs around the castle laid down, diverted water from the nearby torrent and set the country on fire.

In the face of a larger army, the captain general organized the defense of Bologna and answered with the means at his disposal. Bentivoglio tried to force him to fight in the open country. The Gascogner refused and in anticipation of orders from Florence he fortified Casalecchio di Reno .

In June, after the first meetings had gone well for Bernardon, Giovanni Bentivoglio suggested a new way, which the Gascogner accepted this time. He set out with Giacomo de Carrara at the head of 2500 riders. Already at the first clashes his men wanted to withdraw, after which he struck Ludovico Gabriotto Cantelli, a leader of the fugitives, with his lance. In the end, abandoned by everyone, he was completely surrounded by his opponents: Barbiano, Francesco Gonzaga, Jacopo dal Verme, Facin Cane , Ottobono Terzi and Pandolfaccio Malatesta .

As a prisoner he was taken to Pavia with Terzio Carrara dal Cane , where a ransom of 20,000 ducats was demanded of him. His appeal to the Florentines went unanswered, the Signoria even accused him of being the only one responsible for the failure because of his bad tactics. Disgusted, Bernardon returned to France after the ransom was paid.

1404–1407: In the service of the Duke of Orléans

In January 1404, Bernardon entered the service of Louis de Valois, duc d'Orléans . Their meeting took place in Pont Saint-Esprit . The Gascogner undertook, in the name of the duke, against everyone with the exception of Pope Benedict XIII. to fight.

In October the Duke had sent him back to Emilia, where the Gascon fought again against Barbiano. He squeezed his opponents between Castel Bolognese and Imola , but could not prevent them from crossing the Reno River.

In August of the following year he was back in France and joined the duke's troops in Melun to face the Burgundians. Two years later he was in Provence. He bought Noves from Ludwig II of Anjou and for 400 florins from Pierre de Mévouillon the upper castle of Mollans , which dominated the entire upper valley of the Ouvèze .

1407–1409: The governor of Asti

In the course of 1407, Bernardon was appointed governor of Asti by the Duke in place of Jean de Fontaines. He carried out his office with care. During his absence, his brother Garcias, Seigneur de Serres, headed the city as lieutenant governor.

In October, Bernardon joined forces in Piedmont with those of Jacopo dal Vermes to defend the Duke of Milan against threats from rebels against the Visconti. A year later he helped Carlo Malatesta, governor of the Milan region, to conclude the armistice with the castellans of Porto Giovani , who had opposed the policy of Giovanni Maria Visconti .

The following year he took the fate of Milan into his own hands and allied himself with Jean II. Le Maingre , known as Boucicaut, governor of Genoa, for his activities for the Duke against Facino Cane. But in May 1409, when he learned of the assassination of the Duke of Orleans, Bernardon appointed Louis de Montjoie governor of Asti and retired to his fortress Malaucène. Upon his arrival, Guillaume de Pesserat, the Bishop of Vaison, gave him full military powers in the territories of his diocese.

1410–1412: The faithful of Charles d'Orléans

In April 1410, Bernardon joined Charles de Valois , the new Duke of Orléans, in his fight against the supporters of Burgundy. In November he organized a campaign on the lower Seine with Jean Planterose, Viscount de Caudebec, which was quickly ended when the Viscount was accused of playing a double game in the civil war of the Armagnacs and Bourguignons .

It was not until January 1412 that Bernardon appeared again, now in Orléans in the duke's council, in which he participated with Guillaume le Bouteiller et Jean de Fontaines. As a participant in his future campaign, he was rewarded on February 1 by the Duke with a gift of 200 Écu.

1413: Death by the Burgundians

This became his last military action as the Gascogner died on February 15, 1413 near Villenfranche en Beaujolais . He was killed by the Burgundians while leading a division of the young Duke of Orléans.

A Difficult Succession (Part 1)

Bernardon's death led to a difficult succession. His brother Garcia, called Garciot , his rightful heir, asked the new Bishop of Vaison, Hugues de Theissiac , to soon florin around 1500 . He recalled that Bernardon de during the period of his predecessor Guillaume Pesserat the diocese 1039 Gold Florin had advanced, three years Le Crestet had defended without getting anything in return; Finally, he asked for 106 florins a year for the guarding of the episcopal fortress and the repairs his brother had made to the walls, for which he had paid 200 florins.

The prelate spoke of the injustice of these claims and turned to Jean de Poitiers-Valentinois as rector of the Comtat Venaissin . This, himself Bishop of Valence , supported his ministerial brother in his refusal to pay the debt and ordered the castle of Le Crestet to be returned to Hugues de Theissac immediately.

A Difficult Succession (Part 2)

If Garcias now disappeared from the documents, it would not be the case with Bernardon's wife and his in-laws: they claimed part of the inheritance.

On March 12, 1413, a settlement took place between the widow Romana Baschio, the council of the city of Malaucène, the Bishop of Vaison and Francois de Conzié , the representative of the Holy See. Romana Bascio said she was pregnant and agreed that if she gave birth to a son before the end of October 1413 he would inherit his father's fief, and if not, the Baschio would return Malaucène Castle.

Romana had a daughter named Catherine de Serres. As a result, the Malaucene fortress was confiscated on December 26, 1413, and the next day Pope John XXIII ratified it . the certificate of March 12th.

However, the Baschio refused to return the castle because the Holy See had not paid the money it owed Bernardon. This detail meant little to François de Conzié. As early as February 4, 1414, the Cardinal Camerlengo had decided to lay siege to Malaucène Castle. He called for three bombers from Avignon, Carpentras and Die , ordered a mine to be dug to drain the well, and on the spot delegated the rector Jean de Poitiers-Valentinois. The mine and the bombards worn down the besieged. This allowed John XXIII to be adamant. On March 5, 1414, he announced the excommunication against the Baschio and ordered the use of force against them, possibly with the help of the kings of France and Sicily; In addition, a fee was imposed on the nobility and clergy of the Comtat to cover expenses.

Relieved by the turnaround, on March 30th the Pope gave his Camerlengo the power to negotiate the surrender. The castle was returned to the church and Malaucène received its annual wheat and oat quota for ten years.

The excommunication was lifted and Romana de Serres was betrothed by her brother Bertoldo to a gentleman of the Neapolitan court of Ludwig II of Anjou in December 1414. When we became widowed again, she married Guillaume de Forcalquier , Seigneur de Viens et de Grambois . When he died, she married a man from Montferrat for the fourth time.

literature

• Ferdinand Saurel, Alfred Saurel, Histoire de la ville de Malaucène et de son territoire, ornée de cartes, plans, vues et armoiries , Volumes 1 and 2, Avignon-Marseille, 1882/83
• Paul Durrieu, Les Gascons en Italie; études historiques , Auch, G. Foix, 1885, OCLC 23400674
• Noël Valois, La France et le Grand Schisme d'Occident (1378-1417) , Paris, 1896–1901.
• Claude Faure, Études sur l'administration et l'histoire du Comtat Venaissin du XIIIe au XIVe siècle (1229-1417) , Paris-Avignon, 1909.
• P. Courteault, Histoire de Gascogne et de Béarn , Boivin, Paris, 1938
• Jean-François d'Estalenx, Portraits gascons, languedociens et… autres (article Bernardin de Serres ), Capbreton, 1976.
• Rose-Léone Mouliérac-Lamoureux, Le Comtat Venaissin pontifical (1229-1791) , Institut Vauclusien d'Études Rhodaniennes, 1977.
• M. Brusset, Malaucène, aspect de l'histoire entre Ventoux et Ouvèze , Carpentras, 1981.

Web link

• Le village de Malaucène

Remarks

1. ↑ The Viscount was in Turenne on January 23, 1380 to negotiate with the routiers who camped in his fiefs. Among them were the Ornhac (probably including Raymond d'Ornhac, around 1335-after 1405), Pierre de la Brande and Noli Barbe, grands amys des Anglois , who had occupied the fortress of Beynat , and Peyrot le Béarnais, who was at the castle Saint-Chamant sat near Argentat in the Bas- Limousin . At this time cf. P. Flandin-Bléty, Trahison ou pacification? On the subject of a remission de 1389 , in: La “France anglaise” au Moyen Âge, Actes du 111e congrès national des Sociétés Savantes de France à Poitiers, Paris, 1988
2. ↑ Archives départementales de Corrèze, 2F 52, mention of a receipt dated May 8, 1381.
3. ↑ The castle Théoule is known today under the name Château de Turenne ; until 1284 it belonged to the Villeneuve, who had transformed the primitive fort into a fortress. In 1919 the castle was bought and restored by the American sculptor Heny Clews Jr. (1876.1937). Today it is administered by his foundation.
4. ↑ Avignonnet was rebuilt by the Villeneuve family, who then chose the name Néapolis, which became today's La Napoule.
5. ↑ Archives Nationales , 01 * 1461, f ° 77, r ° -v °.
6. ↑ The three voted for a grant for Marshal Louis de Sancerre to clear the fortresses held by the Routiers . See Françoise Lehoux, Jean de France, duc de Berri , Volume 2, Paris, 1966, p. 134 and footnote.
7. ↑ The seven fortresses are: Beaumes-de-Venise , Oppède , Les Pilles , Malaucène , Serres , Mornas and Mondragon .
8. ↑ This was one of the last official acts of Clement VII, who died on September 15, 1394.
9. ↑ His father Bernardon de la Salle owned the same fief
10. ↑ Bernardon had at least two brothers: Antoine de la Salle and Garcias.
11. ^ Claude Faure, Étude sur l'administration et l'histoire du Comtat Venaissin du XIIIe au XVe siècle (1229-1417) , 1909, and Paul Durrieu, Les Gascons en Italie , 1885.
12. ↑ At the beginning of December 1394 he received 100 florins as thanks for his keeping
13. ↑ Fractions in Orvieto that poisoned life in the city throughout the 14th century. In conclusion, the Beffati / Muffati represented the clerical supporters of the Pope, while the Mercorini were violently anti-clerical - the local version of the Guelphs and Ghibellines .
14. ↑ A zone in the Roman Municipio XV
15. ↑ His army consisted of 2,000 lancers, 1,500 crossbowmen, mainly from Genoa, and 3,000 foot soldiers.
16. ↑ Orsini and Giovanni Colonna each had 400 lancers under their command.
17. ^ A southern suburb of Pisa
18. ↑ In San Miniato 500 cattle, 2000 sheep, 1000 buffalo were taken away and 300 prisoners were taken for ransom money.
19. ^ Abbey near Cascia
20. ↑ Im was granted a monthly wage of 500 florins for six months.
21. ↑ The men of Bernardon de Serres had only found an open door with five women, because all the other residents had gone to the white Capuchin procession.
22. ^ Giovanni Bentivoglio was slain by the Bolognese after returning from the battle.
23. ↑ On this day the duke promised him a commission of 4,000 livre tournois , which was to be paid in Lyons on the first day of February 1404.
24. ↑ Cf. Abbé A. Vincent, Notice historique sur Mollans , Valence, 1860. This castle was sold in 1425 by his widow Romane Boschio to Jean d'Urre, Coseigneur de Vinsobres .
25. ↑ He received an annual commission of 3,000 florins, was made chamberlain to the duke and a member of his council.
26. ↑ Guillaume de Pesserat was bishop of Vaison 1406-1412, Hugues de Theissiac 1412-1445.
27. ↑ See F. et A. Saurel, Volume 1, p. 234.
28. ↑ The Baschio came from Umbria.
29. ↑ See RL Mouliérac-Lamoureux.
30. ↑ Romana, her uncle Stefano, her brothers Bartolomeo and Bertoldo Baschio.
31. ↑ Catherine, the posthumous daughter of Bernadon de Serres, married Andrinet de la Place, from whom she had a son who in turn had no offspring. As a widow (from around 1445) she married François de Cambis. Bernardon's daughter made her will on August 14, 1452 and was buried in the parish church of Malaucène in front of the Chapelle Saint Matthieu.
32. ↑ Their claims were real and justified, since their concerns were supported in December 1413 by Louis II of Anjou, Count of Provence and King of Naples, and in January 1414 by Pierre d'Acigné, Seneschal of Provence.
33. ↑ Noël Valois specifies that the rector came to lead the siege, accompanied by his nephew Louis de Poitiers, his barber, his maître d'Hôtel, his cook and two kitchen boys, his groom and three grooms.
34. ↑ Charles VI. and Ludwig II of Anjou
35. ↑ Michel Brusset
36. ↑ Martin V , whose pontificate ended the Western Schism , converted the tax of 30 saumée wheat and oats into a tax of 30 florins.