Guillaume Gouffier de Bonnivet

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Guillaume Gouffier de Bonnivet
Bust in the Battle Gallery of the Palace of Versailles

Guillaume Gouffier de Bonnivet (* around 1482 ; † February 24, 1525 in the Battle of Pavia ) was a favorite of Francis I and Admiral of France . He played an important role as a diplomat and as a commander in the Italian wars .

family

He was a son of Guillaume Gouffier, Lord of Boisy. The father was a crown official. One of the brothers was Artus Gouffier de Boisy . After the death of his father he got the Bonnivet reign, after which he was named. His first marriage was to Bonaventure du Puy du Fou. The son Ludwig, who emerged from the marriage, died in 1527 during the campaign to Naples . In 1516 he married Louise de Crèvecœur. The marriage produced three sons, all of whom were named Franz. Francis III became Bishop of Béziers and was killed in 1548 after his resignation, Francis I became a soldier and died unmarried in 1556 during a siege. Franz II was also a soldier, continued the line and died in 1594.

Life

He was brought up together with the later King Franz I and later had a great influence on him. He took under Louis XII. In 1509 he took part in the siege of Genoa and in 1513 in the battle of Guinegate . Like his brother, he fought in the Battle of Marignano in 1515.

In 1517 he was appointed Admiral of France by Francis I. This was one of the major offices of the French Crown . It was less of practical military importance than a politically important court office. After Maximilian I's death in 1519, he was involved in an embassy with the task of securing the imperial crown for the French king. Despite the use of large financial resources, this mission failed. Instead, Charles I of Spain was elected emperor as Charles V.

Bonnivet was then sent to England to consolidate the alliance with Henry VIII . As a result of these negotiations Tournay came back to France. He was appointed governor of the Dauphiné in 1519, succeeding his late brother . When Francis I and Henry VIII met a year later, he played an important role in the negotiations.

Although he had no significant military command experience, he was given command of the troops of Navarre on the Pyrenees border in 1521 . At times he threatened Pamplona , but then went back over the mountains and successfully besieged Hondarribia . Discouraged by Spanish attacks, Bonnivet withdrew leaving a strong garrison.

That year he was appointed governor of Guyenne . At court he belonged to the party around the mother of King Luise of Savoy and was an opponent of Connectable Charles III. de Bourbon-Montpensier . He probably unintentionally contributed to his change of side to the imperial side.

Bonnivet was given supreme command of the army intended to recapture Lombardy . The army was concentrated at Vercelli . Hadrian VI died on the day the French attacked . This weakened the imperial side, but the situation was not used consistently by Bonnivet. The imperial commander-in-chief, Prospero Colona , was poorly prepared for an attack. He had had to dismiss some of the troops and the fortifications of Milan were not yet completed. The hope of stopping the French failed and Colona had to retreat to Milan, having previously secured Pavia . It took a few days before Bonnivet followed the enemy. In the meantime the imperial forces have been able to strengthen the troops in Milan, so that an attack was impossible. The attempt to cut off the city failed and Bonnivet found himself on the defensive again. Their own supplies were at risk and the losses from small skirmishes were significant. Eventually the French had to withdraw. The attempt to conclude a truce failed. In March 1524, the imperial family harassed the French in small attacks. Bonnivet's attempt to force them into battle failed. He had to withdraw to Novara , where he expected reinforcements. The opponents were subsequently more successful and the French were weakened by epidemics and desertions. In May the French had to evacuate Novara. In the following maneuvers, Bonnivet was wounded by a bullet in one battle and had to give up command. The French withdrew to the border. Novara, Alessandria and Lodi were lost.

In July 1524 Charles de Bourbon invaded Provence at the head of imperial troops and besieged Marseille in vain . Franz I gathered strong troops and at the end of 1524 started again to counterattack. Bonnivet was one of the leading commanders. At first the campaign was successful and the French took Milan. He may have contributed to the king's siege of Pavia. Bonnivet was killed in the lost battle of Pavia.

He loved the display, was a handsome man and had numerous affairs. The sister of King Margaret of Navarre may have described him in her heptaméron when he approached her with sexual intent. He is also said to have rivaled the king for the favor of Françoise de Foix .

In Poitou , between 1516 and 1525, he had Bonnivet Castle built in the Renaissance style, which no longer exists today . Risen as a royal favorite, he wanted to set a monument for himself with the exaggerated monumentality of the building.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Der Spiegel , Geschichte, 5/2009
  2. ↑ Review of: Jean Guillaume, Le château de Bonnivet. Entre Blois et Chambord: le chaînon manquant de la première Renaissance, Paris (Picard) 2006  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Francia-Recensio 2009/1@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.perspectivia.net  
personal data
SURNAME Gouffier de Bonnivet, Guillaume
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gouffier, Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Admiral of France
DATE OF BIRTH around 1482
DATE OF DEATH February 24, 1525
Place of death Battle of Pavia