Pons de Langeac

Pons de Langeac (* 1339 ; † 1421 ) was Viguier of Avignon and twice rector of the Comtat Venaissin .

Life

Pons II. De Langeac, called Ponchon , was born in 1339, one year after his parents' marriage, to Pons I, Seigneur de Langeac et Brassac , and Isabelle de Polignac. This squire of the Diocese of Clermont became one of the most renowned captains of the 14th century. “He was, in his day, one of the most remarkable, bravest, and most daring squires in the whole country or even this kingdom; he was firm, steadfast and in good faith. ”His father's reputation also seems to have been remarkable, since Pons I. de Langeach was appointed lieutenant of the Comtat Venaissin by the rector Hugues de la Roche in 1351 .

In 1370 Pons ordered the construction of the new Brassac Castle to protect his land against the invasion of the English and the Grandes Compagnies . It was completed in 1383. In the meantime he had enlisted in 1381 with Louis de Sancerre , Marshal of France .

Viguier of Avignon

In the months of November and December 1388, Pons de Langeac, who had taken over the office of Viguier of Avignon, undertook to organize the defense of the left bank of the Rhône .

Pope Clement VII , who continued to worry about the movements of the companies in the service of Raimond de Turenne , recruited new troops and sent Langeac over the Auvergne to Gévaudan and Rodez to meet the Duke of Berry , Jean III. d'Armagnac and Louis de Sancerre.

On January 10, 1389, Clement VII, who was not reassured by the mission of his viguier, sent a new rider to the archdeacon of Rodez. On January 22nd, Jean de Murol , Bishop of Saint-Paul-Trois-Château and Cardinal Priest of San Vitale , intervened in his turn by sending the monk Jacques Bisson to Rodez to find out whether soldiers were planning to attack Avignon since the end In January and early February, Raimond de Turenne and his troops moved towards Valdaine . Châteauneuf-de-Mazenc was taken, as was Savasse and the Leyne toll. The Viscount threatened Montélimar , a papal fiefdom. (see also Tristan (bastard of Beaufort) )

Rector of the Comtat Venaissin

In order to face the situation, Clemens VII appointed Pons de Langeac as rector of the Comtat Venaissin in 1393. Langeac renewed the function Pierre de Viminettos, a monk and soldier from the Abbey Saint-Victor in Marseille and prior of Chateauneuf-de-Lovezan in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rodez , as a lieutenant after by Henri de Sévery used and Odo of Thoire and Villars confirmed had been.

On February 10, 1394, the camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber , which was responsible for the papal finances, instructed Pierre de Viminetto to raise a waist with the clergy of Venaissin to finance the defense against Raimond de Turenne.

At the direction of the rector, Astouaud de Mazan moved into Montélimar on April 5, 1394, to settle there with his troops for 45 days. Faced with this influx of troops, the supporters of Tristan, Bâtard de Beaufort, pleaded a breach of the armistice agreed between the two parties, took some of the Montélimar farmers as prisoners and took their cattle.

The clout of the papal troops, which were also joined by some from the County of Valentinois , was so great that Savasse and the Leyne toll could be recaptured on June 14, 1394. Pons de Langeac, Vice Rector Guiran VII. De Simiane and Astouaud de Mazan also came to Montélimar after leaving the necessary troops on the spot.

Despite Turenne's men, who roamed the whole country in small groups, Pons de Langeac went to Avignon, where he met the prob'homme Pierre Duesens, who had left Malaucène on August 4, 1394 and had come to Avignon confused, to bring some important information to the rector: the men of Captain Bernardon de Serres had seen 17 soldiers from the Remparts of the Cité dancing behind the Raimond de Turenne flags.

Clement VII died on September 16, 1394, the day Langeac's troops occupied Châteauneuf-de-Mazenc, which the Bâtard de Beaufort had left. On September 26, 1394, Pons de Langeac left Avignon for Montélimar. and with it the conclave that two days later elected Pedro de Luna as Pope (Benedict XIII).

On September 28, when he arrived in Montélimar, the Rector asked if there were any inhabitants of the city in the Valdaine army. The city's papal bailiff stated that only about 15 men had left. The consul Pierre Bocher was called to account and arrested despite his denial. The next day, Pons de Langeac saw 25 volunteers around after threatening the stubborn with a fine of 25 silver marks. He released the consul and went with them to the operation area.

Meanwhile, some troops allied with the papal, the soldiers of Amadée, the bastard of Viennois, had dispersed and infiltrated into Montelimar. On November 2, 1394, the soldiers quarreled and harassed the residents. The consul Piere Bocher and two councilors then went to Châteauneuf-de-Mazenc to complain to Pons de Langeac Guiran VII. De Simiane and Guillaume, the bastard of Poitiers. The new Pope Benedict XIII. uses the opportunity to remove Pons de Langeac as rector and replace him with his compatriot Gaston de Moncada . The indispensable Pierre de Viminietto not only retained the confidence of the new rector, but was even given the rank of regent of the Comtat in place of Guiran VII. De Simiane, as whom he headed the election of the administrators ( syndics ) of Carpentras on May 1, 1395 .

In March 1397, on orders, the Seneschal of Auvergne and the Bailli Chastard de Violet invaded the vice-county of Turenne and attacked Saint-Céré to capture Raimond de Turenne. The Vice Count ordered all the captains of his cities "on the border lines of war to remain at their posts at all times". The attack on Saint-Céré was a failure. The Viscount immediately asked the Parlement of Paris to "provide information on thefts, looting and other excesses carried out in the city of Saint-Céré by the men of Langeacs and VIolets".

However, the affair also had an impact on Provence. By stating that the followers Raimond de Turenne, under the command Gantonnet d'Abzacs and control de Guy Pesteils stood in the counties of Provence and Forcalquier were numerous, the Seneschal called Georges de Marle the Estates General on 20 May to June 14th together in Aix-en-Provence . Pons de Langeac was granted an amount of 1,000 francs by the congregation to reward him for invading Turenne, in Saint-Céré. This sum was given to him by Louis de Forcalquier, lord of Céreste , who traveled as far as Paris. Régis Veydarier published the expectations for this bonus: “Item, se deyan pagar per lo dit thesaurier Jaumet Gras, et de las ditas monedas que ange en sa man, a Ponchot de Langiac, per les bons servises que ha fach et fay, persequent Mossenhor Raymon de Torena, henemic et rebel del rey Loys, nostre senhor, et del pays, francs mil ”.

But the two men hadn't stopped fighting. In February 1399, Raimond de Turenne was besieged by Pons de Langeac in his Bouzols castle near Le Puy-en-Velay . This fortress was practically impregnable, the siege dragged on, the Viscount managed to escape, and shortly before Christmas the garrison surrendered.

Rector again

When Pons de Langeac was asked again to become rector of the Comtat, he traveled to Carpentras . He would only be there for a few months. In September 1402, with the order to counter the invasion of the troops of Guigue de Montbel, Lord of Entremont , and to pay for his people with only 6,000 florins , he preferred to negotiate with the adventurer. He made an agreement with him whereby he accepted the money and then withdrew. It was repaid to him by the Comtat's estates in early 1403.

literature

• Charles Cottier, Notes historiques concernant les Recteurs du ci-devant Comté Venaissin , Carpentras, 1808
• JF André, Histoire du gouvernement des Recteurs dans le Comtat , Carpentras, 1847
• Baron Henri de Coston, Histoire de Montélimar et des principales familles qui ont habité cette ville , Volume 1, Montélimar, 1878
• Baron Henri de Coston, Occupation du Valentinois par les troupes de Raymond de Turenne de 1389 à 1394 , Lyon, 1878.
• Claude Faure, Études sur l'administration et l'histoire du Comtat Venaissin du XIIIe au XIVe siècle (1229 - 1417) , Paris-Avignon, 1909.
• Régis Veydarier, Raymond de Turenne, la deuxième maison d'Anjou et de Provence: étude d'une rébellion nobiliaire à la fin du Moyen Âge Dissertation University of Montreal , 1994.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Manorial or royal agent responsible for the administration of justice and the collection of state rights (with similar powers to the Provost in the north)
2. Jump up ↑ Comte Albert de Remacle, Dictionnaire Généalogique des Familles d'Auvergne , Volume 2, 1996, p. 308
3. ^ ^{A b c d} Charles Cottier, Pons de Langeac
4. ↑ Château de Brassac ( Memento of the original of April 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ^ Pons de Langeac, Opération Charles VI
6. ↑ On January 26, 1389, Francesco Boninsegna wrote to his patron Francesco Datini : “As you know, Messire Raymond de Turenne and his mother Aliénor de Comminges did a lot against the Pope in Avignon and also against the King and Queen of Provence. He now holds a castle near Valence in which he has armed men, about 600 horses, and allegedly 200 lances [riders]. They have already taken cattle and prisoners and caused great damage. "" Cf. Robert Brun, Annales avignonnaises de 1382 à 1410 extraites des archives Datini, Mémoire de l'Institut historique de Provence , 1935-1938
7. ↑ Régis Veydarier, p. 131. This order has been preserved in the Vatican archives (Reg. 308, f ° 64 r °, 121 v °, 122 v °, 125 v °, 150 v °)
8. ↑ ^{a b} Baron Henri de Coston, p. 111.
9. ↑ Michel Brusset, Malaucène. Aspect de l'Histoire entre Ventoux et Ouvèze , Ed. Le Nombre d'Or, Carpentras, 1981, p. 103.
10. ↑ ^{a b c} Baron Henri de Coston, p. 112.
11. ↑ Régis Veydarier, S. 149th
12. ↑ Régis Veydarier, S. 163rd
13. ↑ “Item, you are paid by the said treasurer Jaumet Gras, and of the said money that you will see in your hand, for Ponchot de Langiac, for the good service he has done, pursuing Monseigneur Raymond de Turenne, the Enemy and rebel of King Ludwig, our lord and the country, a thousand francs. ”Régis Veydarier, p. 164.
14. ↑ Régis Veydarier, S. 187th