Robert VII. Bertrand de Bricquebec

Robert VII. Bertrand de Bricquebec , also Robert Bertrand (* probably 1273; † August 3, 1348 ) was a Norman nobleman and military man of the 14th century from the Bricquebec line of the House of Bastembourg . He was Baron de Bricquebec , Viscount de Roncheville (now part of Saint-Martin-aux-Chartrains ), and from 1325 to 1344 Marshal of France .

Life

Robert VII was the eldest son of Robert VI. Bertrand de Bricquebec and Philippa de Clermont-Nesle, a daughter of Simon II. De Clermont and Adele de Montfort. His brother Guillaume Bertrand was Bishop of Noyon (1331-1338), Bishop of Bayeux (1338-1347) and Bishop of Beauvais (1347-1356).

After the massacres of the Sicilian Vespers in 1282, Robert took part in the crusade against Aragón in 1285 as a squire of his uncle Raoul II de Clermont . The main part of the French army under King Philip III. of France invaded Italy, while a smaller army in Spain provided a diversion. Figueres , Castillon and Girona were captured. It is reported that Robert killed King Peter III during the Battle of Girona in September 1285 . von Aragón was so badly wounded that he succumbed to the injuries after two months.

Between 1285 and 1316 there is no information about Robert Bertrand.

In 1321 Robert Bertrand was sent to Lorraine to mediate between Edward I of Bar and John of Bohemia . The mediation attempt led to an armistice, but ultimately failed because it ended in the war of the four masters in 1324/26 .

In August 1322, Robert accompanied his father-in-law Henri IV. De Sully and other French knights in the service of King Edward II of England to fight against King Robert I of Scotland . During the decisive meeting in the Battle of Byland on October 14, 1322 near Byland Abbey in Yorkshire , the French knights fell into Scottish captivity after the defeat of the English. On May 30, 1323, an armistice was signed between Edward II and Robert I, whereby a ransom was agreed for the release of the French prisoners. On June 3, 1324, Bertrand and the surviving French knights went to Dover to return to France.

In 1325 Robert Bertrand was appointed one of two marshals by King Charles IV of France . He was sent to Flanders in 1325/26 to put down a peasant revolt. In 1327 he went to Agenais and Bordelais to pacify the two regions. In 1328 he returned to Flanders because of a new uprising, this time accompanied by the new King Philip II. The peasants commanded by Nicolaas Zannekin were defeated in the Battle of Cassel . In 1336 he became a member of the royal council in Paris and signed an alliance treaty with King Alfonso XI in this capacity . of Castile .

After the outbreak of the Hundred Years War between France and England, Robert Bertrand was ordered to occupy the island of Guernsey . He was appointed Seigneur de Guernsey by the king and carried this title until the British retook the island in July 1345. In 1339 he took part in the defense of Tournai . In 1341 the War of the Breton Succession broke out, in which Charles de Blois , Duke of Brittany , asked for French support. Philip VI, the Duke's uncle, sent a French army to Brittany, including Robert Bertrand. The fortress of Champtoceaux was attacked, then the city of Nantes , which surrendered in November 1341. Robert Bertrand was then appointed Lieutenant ès parties de Bretagne with full powers. He conquered Rennes in May 1342, then Vannes , Auray and his castle, Carhaix etc.

In March 1344, Robert Bertrand resigned from his post as Marshal at the age of 71, but remained a member of the royal council.

When the English under King Edward III. landed on July 12, 1346 in Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue in Normandy, Robert VII tried in vain with his eldest son Robert VIII and 300 men to prevent this landing. Robert and his son were wounded and had to withdraw with only 30 survivors. The English army captured Saint-Lô on July 22nd and marched on Caen , where Robert Bertrand had found refuge with his brother Guillaume, the governor of Caen Castle . The Battle of Caen turned into a street battle, the English sacked Caen and burned the city down, 95 French and Norman knights were captured, 2,500 died. Only Caen Castle held out under the command of Robert Bertrand's brother, and after the English army withdrew, the defenders left the city and defeated the 1500 remaining English besiegers.

Robert VII. Bertrand died of the plague on August 3, 1348 and was buried in the Saint-Sauveur church in Beaumont-en-Auge .

family

Robert Bertrand married Marie de Sully, the eldest daughter of Henri de Sully, Baron de Châles and grand cupid of France , and Jeanne de Vendôme on May 3, 1318 . Your known children are:

• Robert VIII. Bertrand (* around 1321; X 25 August 1346 at the Battle of Crécy ), no descendants
• Guillaume Bertrand (X August 14, 1352 at the Battle of Mauron ), Viscount de Roncheville; ⚭ 1340 Jeanne Bacon, Dame du Molay et de Villers-Bocage , daughter of Roger, Seigneur du Molay-Bacon, and Jeanne de Villiers, no descendants. She married Johann von Luxemburg in her second marriage, † 1352, in her third marriage to Nicolas de Balain
• Robin Bertrand, Seigneur de Fauguernon , no offspring
• Jeanne Bertrand l'Aînée , heiress of Bricquebec; ⚭ (marriage contract June 2 and June 13, 1338) Guillaume VI. Paynel, † 1361, Baron de Hambye , Seigneur d'Olonde et de Cussuras, son of Foulques V. Paynel and Agnès de Chantelou - descendants of Paynel
• Philippa Bertrand (* around 1320, † after February 5, 1398), heiress of Roncheville; ⚭ (1) Girard IV. Chabot, (* around 1320, † around 1399), Baron de Rais / Retz, Seigneur de Machecoul, La Mothe-Achard et Avrilly, son of Girard Chabot and Catherine de Laval; ⚭ (2) Guyot Maillard - Chabot offspring
• Jeanne Bertrand la Jeune ; ⚭ (marriage contract October 8, 1353) Guy IV. De La Roche-Guyon († around 1373), Chambellan du Roi, son of Gui III. de La Roche-Guyon and Marguerite de Laval - descendants of La Roche-Guyon

literature

• Paul Bertrand de La Grassière: Robert Bertrand, sire de Bricquebec, et l'intégration de la Normandie au royaume de France , Paris, 1969
• Paul Bertrand de La Grassière: Le Chevalier au vert lion , 1969
• P. Lebreton: Bricquebec et ses environs , Bricquebec, 1902.
• Jean-François Hamel: Robert Bertrand , in: René Gautier (ed.), Dictionnaire des personnages remarquables de la Manche , Volume 2 ISBN 2-914-541-14-7

Web links

Commons : Robert VIII Bertrand  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Charles Cawley: Medieval Lands, Normandy - Avranches, Bayeux, Cotentin, Seigneurs de Bricquebec (Bertran) ( online )
• Étienne Pattou: Famille Bertran (d) de Bricquebec ( online )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Etienne Pattou: Famille Bertran (d) de Bricquebec