Gilbert Motier de La Fayette
Encyclopedia
Gilbert Motier de La Fayette, (1380 - February 22, 1464) Lord of La Fayette, Pontgibaud Ayes, Nébouzac, Saint-Romain and Monteil Gelat was a Marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...



He was brought up at the court of Louis II, Duke of Bourbon
Louis II, Duke of Bourbon
Louis de Bourbon, called the Good , son of Peter de Bourbon and Isabella de Valois, was the third Duke of Bourbon....

. He served under Marshal Boucicaut
Jean Le Maingre
Jean II Le Maingre , called Boucicaut was marshal of France and a knight renowned for his military skill.He was the son of marshal Jean I Le Maingre, also called Boucicaut...

 in Italy and on his return to France after the evacuation of Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

 in 1409 became seneschal
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...

 of the Bourbonnais.

He was the comrade of Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...

.
In the English wars he was with John I, Duke of Bourbon
John I, Duke of Bourbon
Jean de Bourbon was Duke of Bourbon, from 1410 to his death and Duke of Auvergne since 1416. He was the eldest son of Louis II and Anna d'Auvergne...

, at the capture of Soubise
Soubise
Soubise can refer to:* Soubise sauce, a béchamel-based sauce containing strained or puréed onions* Soubise, a commune of the Charente-Maritime département, in France* Benjamin de Rohan, duc de Soubise , Huguenot leader...

 in 1413 and of Compiègne
Compiègne
Compiègne is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River...

 in 1415. The duke then made him lieutenant-general in Languedoc and Guienne. He failed to defend Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....

 and Falaise
Falaise, Calvados
Falaise is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-History:The town was the birthplace of William I the Conqueror, first of the Norman Kings of England. The Château de Falaise , which overlooks the town from a high crag, was formerly the seat of...

, for the dauphin (afterwards Charles VII
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...

.) against Henry V of England
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....

 in 1417 and 1418, but in the latter years he held Lyons for some time against Jean, duke of Burgundy. A series of successes over the English and Burgundians on the Loire
Loire
Loire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...

 was rewarded in 1420 with the government of Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....

 and the office of marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...

.

He commanded the Franco-Scottish troops at the Battle of Baugé in 1422
Battle of Baugé
The Battle of Baugé, fought between the English and the Franco-Scots on 21 March 1421 in Baugé, France, east of Angers, was a major defeat for the English in the Hundred Years' War...

, though he did not, as has been sometimes stated, slay Thomas, duke of Clarence
Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence
Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, KG , also known as Thomas Plantagenet, was the second son of King Henry IV of England and his first wife, Mary de Bohun. He was born before 25 November 1387 as on that date his father's accounts note a payment made to a woman described as his nurse...

, with his own hand. In 1424, he was taken prisoner by the English at the battle of Verneuil
Battle of Verneuil
The Battle of Verneuil was a battle of the Hundred Years' War, fought on 17 August 1424 near Verneuil in Normandy and was a significant English victory.-The black time:...

, but was released shortly afterwards, and fought with Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...

 at the siege of Orléans
Siege of Orléans
The Siege of Orléans marked a turning point in the Hundred Years' War between France and England. This was Joan of Arc's first major military victory and the first major French success to follow the crushing defeat at Agincourt in 1415. The outset of this siege marked the pinnacle of English power...

, and the battle of Patay
Battle of Patay
The Battle of Patay was the culminating engagement of the Loire Campaign of the Hundred Years' War between the French and English in north-central France. It was a decisive victory for the French and turned the tide of the war. This victory was to the French what Agincourt was to the English...

 in 1429.

The marshal had become a member of the grand council of Charles VII, and with the exception of a short disgrace about 1430, due to the ill-will of Georges de la Trémoille
Georges de la Trémoille
Georges de la Trémoille was count of de Guînes from 1398 to 1446 and Grand Chamberlain of France to King Charles VII of France. He sought reconciliation between Philip, Duke of Burgundy and Charles VII during their estrangement in the latter part of the Hundred Years' War...

, he retained the royal favour all his life. He took an active part in the army reform initiated by Charles VII, and the establishment of military posts for the suppression of brigandage. His last campaign was against the English in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

 in 1449. He died on 23 February 1462.

He was buried in the Abbey of La Chaise-Dieu
La Chaise-Dieu
La Chaise-Dieu is commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.-Geography:La Chaise-Dieu occupies a 1082 m butte which dominates a plain between the mounts of Livradois and Velay...

.

Family

He was the son of William Motier La Fayette and Catherine of Peschin.
He married Montroignon, and his second wife, Jeanne de Joyeuse, on January 15, 1423, daughter of Randon de Joyeuse lord, and Catherine Aubert, lady Monteil Gelat.
They had nine children by his second marriage, including:
  • Charles, Lord of La Fayette. (1425–1486),
  • Antoine, lord of Bothéon Veauche and Goutenourouze (1426–1480)
  • Gilbert IV, lord of Saint-Romain (1440–1527)
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