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Historical person

Bertrand du Guesclin

1320–1380

Bertrand du Guesclin was a Breton knight who became one of the most effective French commanders of the later fourteenth century. He first made his reputation in the Breton War of Succession and entered the service of the Valois monarchy, winning a major victory over Charles of Navarre’s forces at Cocherel in 1364. Captured at Auray later that year, he was ransomed and subsequently led troops into the Castilian civil war in support of Henry of Trastámara.

After returning to French service, du Guesclin was appointed Constable of France by Charles V in 1370. Rather than seeking the great pitched battles that had favoured English armies earlier in the Hundred Years’ War, he used sieges, manoeuvre and sustained campaigning to recover much of the territory lost under the Treaty of Brétigny. He died in 1380 during the siege of Châteauneuf-de-Randon. His later reputation as a model French knight sometimes obscures the complexity of his mercenary and Iberian campaigns.

Du Guesclin appears in Christian Cameron’s Hawkwood’s Sword and Sword of Justice, where the French and Breton wars intersect with the career of the English mercenary John Hawkwood. David Gilman’s Shadow of the Hawk and To Kill a King likewise place him within the military and political struggles of the Hundred Years’ War, presenting a commander whose methods contrast with the chivalric ideal of decisive battle.

Periods

Periods linked to Bertrand du Guesclin

Hundred Years’ War1337–1453 CE

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Bertrand du Guesclin (2 series)

Master of War in Order

by David Gilman 9 books 4.6(35,248)

The Master of War series follows Thomas Blackstone, an English archer and later knight, through the Hundred Years’ War. Beginning with the Crécy campaign in 1346, the sequence expands across France, Aquitaine, Brittany, Castile and northern Italy, using Blackstone’s career to show how medieval war was fought through…

All books in this series

Chivalry in Order

by Christian Cameron 7 books 4.5(14,724)

The Chivalry series follows William Gold from his beginnings as a London cook’s boy in the campaign of 1356 to a career as knight and professional captain. His path leads from Poitiers through the mercenary wars of Italy, crusading expeditions and the rivalries of France, Savoy, Venice, Genoa…

All books in this series