Letters, Orders and Musters of Bertrand Du Guesclin, 1357-1380

Bertrand du Guesclin (d. 1380) was the most famous French soldier of his generation. He made his name as a guerrilla leader in the Breton War of Succession (1341-64) and, as Constable from 1370-80, played a major role in the recovery of France under Charles V. Captured on at least three occasions, but also victorious in several important battles, his valour and dominant personality allowed him to exercise remarkable influence over fellow soldiers, many of whom loyally served him for many years. He twice led important expeditions to Spain where he was rewarded with lands and titles by the kings of Aragon and Castile. The subject of a contemporary chivalric verse-life that lies at the base of all subsequent biographies, this book brings together for the first time the wealth of archival evidence relating to his outstanding career. It places this on a secure foundation by making available the full range of diplomatic, administrative and financial evidence for his public and private life found in more than fifty archives in western Europe. It offers a corrective to views on Du Guesclin that have traditionally been derived too exclusively and, often, uncritically from literary sources.