Captal
Encyclopedia
Captal was a medieval feudal title in Gascony
Gascony
Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...

. According to Du Cange
Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange
Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange or Ducange was a distinguished philologist and historian of the Middle Ages and Byzantium....

 the designation captal (capital, captau, capitau) was applied loosely to the more illustrious nobles of Aquitaine
Aquitaine
Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...

, counts, viscounts, etc., probably as capitales domini, principal lords, though he quotes more fanciful explanations.

As an actual title the word was used only by the lords of Trene, Puychagut, Epernon
Épernon
Épernon is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre region in northern France. It lies some 27 km northeast of Chartres, at the confluence of the Drouette and the Guesle.-History:...

 and Buch
Buch
Buch is a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland.-Coat of arms:The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules an Orb Argent banded Or and crossed of the second.-Geography:...

 (a lordship being an amalgamation of two or more seigniories). It is best known in connection with the famous soldier, Jean de Grailly, captal de Buch KG
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...

 (d. 1376), the captal de Buch par excellence, immortalized by Froissart as the confidant of the Black Prince and the champion of the English cause against France. His active part in the war began in 1364, when he ravaged the country between Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...

, but was beaten by Bertrand du Guesclin
Bertrand du Guesclin
Bertrand du Guesclin , known as the Eagle of Brittany or the Black Dog of Brocéliande, was a Breton knight and French military commander during the Hundred Years' War. He was Constable of France from 1370 to his death...

 at Cocherel
Cocherel
Cocherel is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-External links:* *...

 and taken prisoner. Released next year, he received the seigniory of Nemours
Nemours
Nemours is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-Geography:Nemours is located on the Loing and its canal, c...

 and took the oath of fealty to the French king, Charles V
Charles V of France
Charles V , called the Wise, was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380 and a member of the House of Valois...

, but soon resigned his new fief and returned to his allegiance to the English king. In 1367 he took part in the battle of Navarette, in which Du Guesclin was taken prisoner, the captal being entrusted with his safe-keeping. In 1371 Jean de Grailly was appointed constable of Aquitaine, but was taken prisoner next year and interned in the Temple at Paris where, resisting all the tempting offers of the French king, he remained till his death five years later.
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