Tristan (bastard of Beaufort)

Tristan, le Bâtard de Beaufort (* around 1335, † 1395 ) was a French knight, papal captain, illegitimate son of Guillaume II. Roger , Comte de Beaufort, half-brother of Pope Gregory XI. and uncle of Raimond de Turenne .

Life

The Castel Sant'Angelo , which was held by papal troops from Avignon May 1378 to July 1379

Tristan lived in the shadow of his father until the late 1370s. He lived in either Beaufort-en-Vallée , Alès or Cornillon .

The Lieutenant Raymond de Turennes

He did not appear until September 1376, when Gregory XI. Avignon left to settle in Rome. Tristan was then one of the lieutenants of his nephew Raimond de Turenne, who commanded the papal troops. In May 1378, Tristan and his brother-in-law Hugues de la Roche occupied and defended Castel Sant'Angelo by order of the papal captain . With other loyal followers of the Viscount, they opposed the blockade by the men of Urban VI until July 1379 .

In the service of the Viscount de Valernes

After the death of the Count of Beaufort in 1380, his half-brother Guillaume III gave him . Roger de Beaufort , Viscount de Turenne, commissioned to look after his son, Raimond de Beaufort, Viscount de Valernes , who was just 16 years old.

On this basis, he accompanied the Viscount on June 8, 1385 to pay homage to Marie de Blois , regent of the county of Provence , and her son Louis II. D'Anjou .

Two years later, on February 2, 1387, the Viscount of Turenne sent Tristan to Apt to represent the interests of his protégé Raimond at Marie de Blois. The result was not long in coming. On August 10, 1387, the regent Raimond de Turennes confiscated the fortress of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The angry viscount responded by force of arms.

Tristan and Raymond de Turenne plunder the Valdaine ...

To add fuel to the fire, Pope Clement VII convinced Louis II de Poitiers-Valentinois in autumn 1388 to lay hands on the possessions of Alix Roger de Beaufort, known as la Major. She was the aunt of Raimond de Turenne, but it was Tristan, who was tired of giving the nourrice sèche (a wet nurse who stays in the family after weaning the children), stepped aside to his sister for hers To defend interests "manu militari".

The Pope of Avignon, who wanted war, had gathered his troops in Valence on January 10, 1389 , which he had recruited in the Genevois , Savoy and the Dauphiné . Raymond de Turenne found it necessary and useful to let His Holiness know that he did not appreciate it when he dared to interfere in his family affairs and that it was high time to attend exclusively to those of his Church. With his uncle Tristan he penetrated the Valdaine , stormed Châteauneuf-de-Mazenc , Savasse and the Leyne toll. At the tip of their lances, Raimond and Tristan put Rochefort-en-Valdaine , La Roche-Saint-Secret , Félines-sur-Rimandoule , Bourdeaux , Cléon-d'Andran and Saint-Gervais-sur-Roubion under fire and blood.

Uncle and nephews then attacked Sainte-Anne Abbey in Bonlieu-sur-Roubion , the burial place of the Poitiers family , the Counts of Valentinois, which was looted and destroyed. The Saintes Fontaines of Bondonneau were located between Allan and Montélimar . The old hermit Jérôme died there after being pierced by the sword of Bâtard. Arrived in Ancône , Raimond de Turenne gave the order to move to the areas of the Church and fight there.

... and the Comtat Venaissin

As he passed, his men, Pierrelatte , a papal fiefdom, tried to take possession. But the city defended itself well. They then went down to Visan , which was conquered and occupied. On the territory of Richerenches , the castles Bourboton and Montaigu, fiefs of Dieudonne d'Estaing, bishop of Saint-Paul-les-Trois-Châteaux , were destroyed. In Valréas , the Franciscan monastery suffered the same fate on the personal orders of Tristan.

The castle ruin in Vaison-la-Romaine

Turenne and the Bâtard then turned against Vaison-la-Romaine , which they devastated. Then, near Séguret, the village of Aubusson was finally destroyed. The Saint-Nazaire church in Beaumes-de-Venise remained ruined forever. In the south of the Comtat, the Viscount de Turenne attacked Ménerbes and then Oppède , fief of his former lieutenant Bernardon de la Salle . The attack finally ended at Roquemartine , where Etienne Augier, known as Ferragut, and his "Tuniques Blanches" camped. Originally from Saint-André-de-Roquepertuis in the Cèze Valley, the chief of the Tuchins was an old acquaintance of the Bâtard. Raymond de Turenne allied with him and installed his troops in the fortress.

The violence of the response from uncle and nephew forced Clement VII to act. His brother Peter, Count of Geneva , and Garin VIII, Baron d'Apcher, Raimond's cousin, signed an armistice on February 20, 1389 in Les Baux-de-Provence . Raymond de Turenne, who had obtained a safe conduct to Avignon, decided that from now on Châteauneuf-de-Mazenc, Savasse and the tribute of Leyne would be under the supervision of Tristan. Satisfied, he returned to his fiefdom in Languedoc .

The Le Caire Affair

On June 20, 1391, Tristan seized the castle of Le Caire in Haute-Provence, near La Motte , a fief of his nephew, the Vicomte de Valerne. He did this with the support of Raybaudet de Rémuzat, co-owner of the place who had murdered his co-signer.

On August 28th, at a meeting of the Bailliage estates, where the Vice Counts of Valernes and Tallard were represented, the City Council of Sisteron insisted that the fortress be vacated and the siege lifted. At the beginning of September the bâtard informed his lieutenants that he was asking for 1,000 florins to clear the castle.

This minor military episode resulted in two important treaties. Talks between Raimond de Turenne and Marie de Blois began on September 22nd. The viscount got pardon and his fiefs back. It was even admitted that if the Pope attacked him, Madame would be pleased if he defended himself . Only Raybaudet de Rémuzat and Etienne Augier, called Ferragut, were excluded from peace as murderers of nobles and sentenced to death.

The second treaty was made by Charles VI. of France , Clement VII, Louis de Poitiers-Valentinois and Jean de Poitiers, Bishop of Valence , closed. Signed May 5, 1392, it is known as the "Eternal Peace of Saint-Rémy". Alix la Major got Châteauneuf-de-Mazenc, Savasse and the Leyne toll back. In order to be able to dismiss his troops, Raymond de Turenne received 30,000 francs and the income from Montmajour Abbey in Pertuis . Clement VII had to swear not to attack Guillaume Roger de Beaufort, Alix la Major, Raimond and their servants. Only Tristan le Bâtard de Beaufort was excluded from the contract.

Tristan's private war

Seriously disappointed by the agreements, the Bâtard returned on December 27, 1393 to the three fiefs in Valdaine. He now began to wage war on his own account. To put an end to this, Pierre Reynaud, the superior of the Franciscans of Montélimar, came to Châteauneuf to negotiate an armistice. Tristan, the very grand seigneur, accepted and granted a three-month armistice for 150 guilders.

This displeased the Pope as head of the city. At his command, Pons de Langeac , Rector of the Comtat, came to Montélimar on April 5th. Tristan realized a breach of the armistice and resumed hostilities. On May 26th, the Vice Rector of the Comtat, Guiran VII. De Simiane, Herr von Caseneuve , came with new troops for relief. On June 2, Savasse was surrounded and surrendered a week later. On June 9, Jacques de Montmaur , governor of the Dauphiné , informed Tristan that he had been released from his duties as toll collector and captain on behalf of the king.

On June 11, a blockade was placed around the Leyne toll, which resisted for four days. Finally, on June 20, the siege of Châteauneuf began. On September 2nd a pit was dug under the foundations of the castle.

Everything changed on September 16, 1394, when Clement VII died of a stroke after mass .

Three days later, at the simple request of Jacques de Montmaur, Tristan agreed to evacuate Châteauneuf. His soldiers were able to disappear that night. He himself went to Les Baux to his sister Alix without any worries. However, that did not prevent him from demanding a ransom from Montélimar on November 14 for leaving his eagle's nest.

Negotiations were going on until, in December 1394, Tristan received a letter from the King of France forgiving him - the councils of Charles VI. showed extreme forbearance. After that you don't hear from him anymore.

literature

• Edouard de Laplane: Essai sur l'histoire municipale de Sisteron. Paris 1840.
• Édouard de Laplane: Histoire de Sisteron tirée de ses archives. Volumes 1 and 2, Digne 1843.
• Adolphe Baron de Coston: Notice on Châteauneuf-de-Mazenc. Journal de Montélimar et de l'arrondissement, No. 1 to 52, January 4 to December 27, 1862.
• André Lacroix: L'arrondissement de Montélimar, geographie, histoire et statistique. Bulletin de la Société d'archéologie et de de statistique de la Drôme, Volumes 1 and 2, 1875.
• Adolphe Baron de Coston: Histoire de Montélimar et des principales familles qui ont habité cette ville. Volume 1, Montélimar 1878.
• Adolphe Baron de Coston: Occupation du Valentinois par les troupes de Raymond de Turenne de 1389 à 1394. Lyon 1878.

Web links

• L'affaire du Caire ( online )
• Les ruine de Châteauneuf-de-Mazenc sommant le village de la Bégude-de-Mazenc ( online )
• Le vieux village de Savasse ( online )

Remarks

1. ↑ This homage took place in the presence of Foulques d'Agoult, Seneschal of Provence, and Raymond II d'Agoult, Seigneur von Sault and Chamberlain of the Queen. He swore allegiance to the vice-county of Valernes and, incorrectly, to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence . Marie de Blois was not very familiar with and accepted the family arrangements, which infuriated Raimond de Turenne, to whom his father had granted the latter fief.
2. ↑ The fiefs of Châteauneuf-de-Mazenc, Savasse and the tolls of Leyne were given to Alix Roger de Beaufort by her late husband, Count Aymar V of Poitiers-Valentinois, while she was still alive.
3. ↑ On January 26, 1389, Francesco Boninsegna wrote to his patron Francesco Datini : As you know, Messire Raymond de Turenne and his mother did a lot against the Pope of Avignon and also against the King and Queen of Provence. He now holds a castle near Valence where he has armed men, about 600 horses, and allegedly 200 lances. 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. The letters between Francesco Datini and his agents in Avignon, contained in the Practica Datini , are in Prato in the Libri di amministrazione (1363–1416), Regg. 176, and in Carteggio (1364–1409), volume 7.
4. ↑ On February 15, 1389, Francesco Boninsegna wrote: "We had to work three weeks because of the war that Messire Raymond de Turenne made the Pope near Montelimar. It is said that an agreement will be made, at the moment we can do it Not knowing the truth. ”And a day later:“ The Pope is waging war against Messire Raymond de Turenne and his brother, that is, the Count of Geneva, is on the road with many gentlemen and master armaments.
5. ↑ On May 1, 1389, Franzisco Boninsegna recounts: “Messire Raymond stayed here for 15 days or more. The Pope was to grant him certain things that Cardinal d'Amiens had been entrusted to carry out, but Cardinal Jean de la Grange did not do what Raymond asked him to do, and he said insulting things and went to the other side of the Rhône. He left with 6,000 florins that he had received from the church. "
6. ↑ The first contract is in the Archives nationales under P 1351, No. 693. The second is in detail in Abbé Paulets Saint-Rémy-de-Provence: son histoire nationale, communale, religieuse. Avignon 1907.
7. ↑ Shortly before his death, the Pope had condemned Raimond de Turenne that his rights as a knight had lapsed, as had Gantonnet d'Abzac and Tristan le Bâtard. Clement VII ordered that their people be seized, "but respect their lives and avoid mutilating them." He also deprived them of their right to marry and sentenced them to eternal celibacy . If they already have male descendants, the right to public office and the right to fiefdom up to the second generation have been withdrawn from them.
8. ↑ The letters begin as follows: "Let us know, today and those who are to come, about our beloved and loyal knight Tristan de Beaufort. We have come to know that the time of war between our Holy Father Clemens, who died in good memory recently, whose soul may be with God, and our very dear and very beloved aunt of the Queen of Sicily and our very dear and very beloved cousins, her children, on the one hand, and Raimond de Turenne, on the other hand, said Tristan accompanied by several armed men, crossbowmen, servants and other warriors from different nations and countries, and with the support of the said Raimond, waged war for himself against the above. " - Faisons savoir à tous présents et à venir de la partie de notre aimé et féal chevalier Tristan de Beaufort. Il nous a été exposé que le temps passé, durant la guerre entre notre Saint Père Clément, de bonne mémoire dernièrement trépassé, dont Dieu ait l'âme, et notre très chère et très aimée tante la reine de Sicile et nos très chers et très aimés cousins, ses enfants, d'une part, et Raymond de Turenne, d'autre, ledit Tristan accompagné de plusieurs gens d'armes, arbalétriers, valets et autres gens de guerre de diverses nations et pays et tenu la partie dudit Raymond et fit was pour lui et contre les dessus dits . Archives Nationales, series JJ 146, n ° 421.