Jacques Margeret
Encyclopedia
Jacques Margeret was a French mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...

 captain who, in 1607, wrote the first printed French travel account of Muscovy, entitled, "Estate de l’Empire de Russie et de Grand Duché de Moscovie".

Birth and early life in France

A member of one of the oldest families of Auxonne
Auxonne
Auxonne is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in Bourgogne in eastern France.Auxonne is one of the sites of the defensive structures of Vauban, clearly seen from the train bridge as it enters the Auxonne SNCF train station on the Dijon - Besançon train line. It also was home to the Artillery...

, located on the border between Burgundy and Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...

, Margeret was probably born ca 1565. He grew up in the turbulent period known as the French Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...

, in a Protestant family. Becoming a soldier, he fought for the Protestant King Henri IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....

 of France against the Catholic League
Catholic League (French)
The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary Roman Catholics as the Holy League, a major player in the French Wars of Religion, was formed by Duke Henry of Guise in 1576...

, serving the king until Henri’s conversion to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....

 in 1593.

Mercenary service

After leaving Henri’s service Margeret joined the crusade against the Turks in south east Europe. He first served with the Prince of Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

 and then with the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

 in Hungary. Next, he commanded a company of foot soldiers in Poland. He returned then to Austria where a Muscovite ambassador invited him to Moscow in 1600.

Mercenary service in Russia

Margeret received command of a company of foreign mercenaries (cavalry) from Boris Godunov
Boris Godunov
Boris Fyodorovich Godunov was de facto regent of Russia from c. 1585 to 1598 and then the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. The end of his reign saw Russia descend into the Time of Troubles.-Early years:...

. For his service he received an annual pay of 80 rubles and nearly 1000 acres (4 km²) of land. After several years service, Margeret rose to the rank of overall commander of the Tsar’s foreign troops. He was a part of the army that was sent to repel the Pretender Dmitrii Ivanovich’s invasion of Muscovy in 1604-05. In fact, his actions at the battle of Dobrynichi
Battle of Dobrynichi
The Battle of Dobrynichi took place on 21 January 1605 between the armies of False Dmitriy I and Fyodor Mstislavsky near the village of Dobrynichi .-Prelude:...

 were decisive in the defeat of Dmitrii’s forces.
When, after Boris’ death in 1605, the Tsar’s army submitted to the rule of the Pretender Dmitrii, Margeret and his foreign mercenaries had little choice but to also serve Dmitrii.
In Jan 1606, Margeret was appointed commander of Palace Guards. In May of that year Dmitirii was assassinated. Although his successor Vasilii Shuskii dismissed most of the foreign mercenaries, Margeret was asked to remain. He did so until the summer of 1606 at which time he asked permission to leave, departing from Archangel for France in September 1606.

Return to France - Printing of his book

When Margeret returned to France he presented himself as an offering to King Henri, telling the king his adventures. Henri refused to have such a noble man killed hence he ordered Margeret to write about his experiences. Margeret spent the winter of 1606–1607 writing, thankful that he was alive. The book "Estat de l’empire de Russie et Grande Duche de Moscouie" was fully sponsored by the King and printed in Paris in 1607.

Further Mercenary Service

In 1609 he joined the forces of the man claiming to be the Tsar Dmitrii, revived miraculously from his assassination in 1606.
In 1610 he joined the Polish army
Polish Armed Forces
Siły Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej are the national defense forces of Poland...

 and distinguished himself at the battle of Klushino
Battle of Klushino
The Battle of Klushino was fought on 4 July 1610, between forces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Grand Duchy of Moscow during the Polish-Muscovite War, part of Russia's Time of Troubles. The battle occurred near the village of Klushino near Smolensk...

 (1611) and the march on Moscow that followed. Margeret left Moscow when he was recalled to Poland by King Sigismund
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...

. The king made him a member of the royal council but Margeret did not stay in Poland. By January of 1612 he wrote to John Merrick of the English Muscovy Company
Muscovy Company
The Muscovy Company , was a trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major chartered joint stock company, the precursor of the type of business that would soon flourish in England, and became closely associated with such famous names as Henry Hudson and William Baffin...

from Hamburg and is thought to have settled in the Palatinate in Germany. There is no trace of Margeret after 1619.
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