Guesclin
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
BERTRAND DU (gāklan ') , Constable of France; born near Dinan in the district of Rennes, about either 1314 or 1320. From his boyhood upward he excelled in all martial exercises. In the contests between Charles de Blois and Jean de Montfort for the dukedom of Brittany he took part with the former, especially distinguishing himself at Vannes (1342). After King John had been taken prisoner by the Black Prince at the battle of Poitiers in 1356, Du Guesclin contended successfully against the English, his valor and military skill being especially shown at Rennes (1356 ) and Dinan (1357). Then, entering the service of the Dauphin, afterward Charles V., he took Melun (1359) and several other fortified towns, and freed the Seine from the English. On Charles' accession to the throne in 1364 Du Guesclin was created governor of Pontorson, and in May of the same against Charles the Bad of Navarre. year gained the battle of Cocherel But on Sept. 29 following he was delish, under Sir John Chandos, at the feated and taken prisoner by the Engbattle of Auray, and only liberated on payment of a ransom of 100,000 livres. He next supported Henry, Count of Trastamare, against Pedro the Cruel, King of Castile, but was defeated and Najera (1367). Being again ransomed taken prisoner by the Black Prince near on payment of a large sum, Du Guesclin feated and captured Pedro at Montiel, renewed the contest, and in 1369 dehead of Henry of Trastamare. Immediand placed the crown of Castile on the Charles V. of France, at that time hard ately afterward he was recalled by pressed by the English, and was raised to the dignity of Constable of France. In the year 1370 Du Guesclin opened his campaigns against the English, and in sions were in the hands of the French, a few years the whole of their posseswith the exception of a few fortified towns. While assisting at the siege of Châteauneuf de Randon, in Languedoc, Du Guesclin was taken ill, and died July 13, 1380.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The facts in Collier's 1921 sketch still stand: Du Guesclin's campaigns, his two ransomed capture, and his death at the siege of Chateauneuf-de-Randon on 13 July 1380 are all as reported, and Charles V's decision to bury him among the kings at Saint-Denis remains one of the strongest indications of how he was valued. What has shifted is interpretation. Historians now stress that much of his heroic reputation was manufactured by Cuvelier's verse life, written within a few years of his death, and they treat him less as a flower of chivalry than as an effective commander of hired companies who avoided pitched battle and let English raiding forces wear themselves out. His standing in Brittany is also contested in a way Collier's does not hint at: a Breton who spent his career serving the French crown, he is honoured in France and regarded by some Breton regionalists as a man who fought on the wrong side.
Written for this edition, 2026.