Geoffroi de Charny

Famous Knight Templar. Source: https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-knights-templar-members/user-x

Geoffroi de Charny

• Born c. 1306
• Died 19 September 1356 (aged around 50) Poitiers, France
• Father Jean de Charny
• Mother Margaret de Joinville (died c. 1306)

Spouse(s)

• 1. Jeanne de Toucy (died c.1349)
• 2. Jeanne de Vergy (died 1428)

Issue

1. Geoffroi II de Charny (died 1398) mar. Marguerite de Poitiers
2. Charlotte de Charny mar. Bertrand de Chazans, bringing him the seigniory of Missery, just below Mont-Saint-Jean (C 124, A 203).

Biography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffroi_de_Charny

Geoffroi de Charny (c. 1306 – 19 September 1356) was the third son of Jean de Charny, the lord of Charny (then a major Burgundian fortress), and Marguerite de Joinville, daughter of Jean de Joinville, the biographer and close friend of France’s King Louis IX.

Because Geoffroi de Charny was a third son, he did not inherit the lordship of Charny, which on the death of his father and his eldest brother Dreux went to Dreux’s daughter Guillemette’s husband Philip de Jonvelle.[4] From the two literary works of which Charny was the certain author he seems to have needed to earn a living competing in jousts and tourneys at public tournaments, pursuits in which he became expert. When he married his first wife Jeanne de Toucy in 1336 he possessed no fief of his own, hence on the muster lists that record his participations in the early campaigns of the Hundred Years’ War he is repeatedly described as based at the Toucy family fief of Pierre-Perthuis.[5]

He was a French knight and author of at least three works on chivalry. Geoffroi was a knight in the service of King Jean II of France and a founding member of the Order of the Star, an order of chivalry founded on 6 November 1351 by Jean II of France in imitation of the Order of the Garter (1347) by Edward III of England. He was also the carrier of the Oriflamme, the standard of the crown of France, an immensely privileged, not to mention dangerous, honour, as it made the holder a key target of enemy forces on the battlefield. Geoffroi de Charny was perhaps Europe's premiere knight during his lifetime, with a reputation for not only skill at arms but also piety and honour. In the atmosphere of the Hundred Years' War he can be seen as part of a dying breed in a period where the aristocratic equipment of armoured knights was being replaced by the harsh practicalities of soldiering. It was said that in his time he was known as a "true and perfect Knight".

Military career

Geoffroi de Charny fought at Hainault and in Flanders, and participated in a crusade under Humbert II of Viennois in the late 1340s. Humbert, was said to be "utterly disqualified for the work assigned him" (1) and the crusaders signed a treaty with the Turks in 1348, despite capturing Smyrna (modern Izmir) under a previous commander.

We know from the Chronicles of Froissart that de Charny traveled to Scotland by order of the French King on at least two occasions and was well known to the Scottish nobles of the time. The chronicle describes the French Knight's visit and de Charny briefly in this passage written in Middle English: .. Mctray Duglas and the erle Morette knewe of their comynge, they wente to the havyn and mette with them, and receyved them swetely, sayeng howe they were right welcome into that countrey. And the barons of Scotlande knewe ryght well sir Geffray de Chamey, for he had been the somer before two monethes in their company: sir Greffray acquaynted them with the admyrall, and the other knyghtes of France.

It is recorded and recently translated that Geoffroi was taken prisoner on two occasions. Once was at the battle of Morlaix. It is further recorded that in 1342 Geoffroi was taken prisoner in Brittany, then taken to Goodrich Castle in England, where his captor was Richard Talbot. An English letter patent of October 1343 describes him as having 'gone to France to find the money for his ransom'. It was a rare occurrence that a man would be thus trusted and since he went on the fight other battles, someone apparently paid Geoffroi's ransom, and he was knighted the very next year.

Another incident which provides insight into Geoffroi's mind is the distinctly medieval retribution he exacted upon Lombardy-born Aimery of Pavia, the man who betrayed him in his attempted recapture of Calais on New Year's Eve, 1349. Geoffroi conducted a daring night raid on the traitor's castle, reputedly finding him in bed with his English mistress Marguerite. Taking him captive to St. Omer, there he decapitated him, quartered his body, and displayed it on the town gates. As Professor Kaeuper drily adds: 'To show that all this was a private matter and not a part of the business of war prohibited for a time by the current truce, Charny took possession only of Aimery himself, not his castle.'

Negotiations prior to the Battle of Poitiers

Shortly before his death, Sir Geoffroi's dire predictions proved to be truly prophetic and his recorded words exemplify what only a "true and perfect" medieval knight might be expected to say. They are recorded in the writings of the life of Sir John Chandos and were made in the final moments of a meeting of both sides in an effort to avoid the bloody conflict at Poitiers during The Hundred Years' War. The extraordinary narrative occurred just before that battle and reads as follows:

"... The conference attended by the King of France, Sir John Chandos, and many other prominent people of the period, The King, to prolong the matter and to put off the battle, assembled and brought together all the barons of both sides. Of speech there he (the King) made no stint. There came the Count of Tancarville, and, as the list says, the Archbishop of Sens was there, he of Taurus, of great discretion, Charny, Bouciquaut, and Clermont; all these went there for the council of the King of France. On the other side there came gladly the Earl of Warwick, the hoary-headed (white or grey headed) Earl of Suffolk was there, and Bartholomew de Burghersh, most privy to the Prince, and Audeley and Chandos, who at that time were of great repute. There they held their parliament, and each one spoke his mind. But their counsel I cannot relate, yet I know well, in very truth, as I hear in my record, that they could not be agreed, wherefore each one of them began to depart. Then said Geoffroi de Charny: 'Lords,' quoth he, 'since so it is that this treaty pleases you no more, I make offer that we fight you, a hundred against a hundred, choosing each one from his own side; and know well, whichever hundred be discomfited, all the others, know for sure, shall quit this field and let the quarrel be. I think that it will be best so, and that God will be gracious to us if the battle be avoided in which so many valiant men will be slain"."

At the time of the Battle of Poiters, Geoffroi was seigneur de Pierre-Perthuis, de Montfort et de Savoisy, a soldier, who was at that time captain of Saint-Omer. In 1352 he was made one of the knights of the newly-founded Order of the Star.

Death

Sir Geoffroi de Charny was killed at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356, a disastrous defeat for the French nobility in which the French king was taken prisoner to England. Froissart’s words vividly describe Geoffroi’s last actions, his bravery to his King and Country and his dedication to the Oriflamme at the Battle of Poitiers on September 19, 1356: “There Sir Geoffroi de Charny fought gallantly near the king (note: and his fourteen year old son). The whole press and cry of battle were upon him because he was carrying the king’s sovereign banner, the Oriflamme. Geoffroi also had before him his own banner, gules, three escutcheons argent. So many English and Gascons came around him from all sides that they cracked open the king’s battle formation and smashed it; there were so many English and Gascons that at least five of these men at arms attacked one [French] gentleman. Sir Geoffroi de Charny was killed with the banner of France in his hand, as other French banners fell to earth.”

Brass Effigy

The Brass Effigy (upper right--see wikipedia link), is of the son, French Knight Geoffroi de Charny II. It is presented for historical reference only since there are no known images of the father. It is said to be an authentic likeness to the father as well and the son. The Effigy translation was generously provided by author Ian Wilson. It states as follows: ‘Here lies the noble man Monsieur Geoffroy de Charny at one time seigneur of Thory, in the district of Beauvais, who died the 22nd day of the month of May 1398. Pray God for his soul.’.

Shroud of Turin

Geoffroi de Charny and his wife Jeanne de Vergy are the first reliably recorded owners of the Turin Shroud. 1357 : The First public exhibition of the Shroud in Lirey collegiate church is memorialized in The Pilgrimage Medal shown here and dating from that time. The medal shows the image of the Shroud with very precise indications in spite of its small dimensions. On this medal one can see a frontal and dorsal view of the body, the linen herring patterns, four marks of burns as well as the coats of arms of the Charny and Vergy families. This pilgrimage medal is exhibited at the Cluny museum in Paris (France).

Literary works

Geoffroi de Charny's most famous work is his 'Book of Chivalry', written around 1350, which is, along with the works of Ramon Llull and Chretien de Troyes one of the best sources to understand how knights themselves understood and prioritised chivalric values in the 14th century. Geoffroi discusses many subjects but above all he valyes skill at arms over all other knightly virtues and war over all other forms of contest at arms.

He was also the author of 'Demands pour la joute, les tournois, et la guerre', in English, 'Questions for the joust, tournaments and war', a book on knightly pursuits. Unfortunately, only the questions survive, however, the way that the questions are phrased, as well as Geoffroi's actions in his lifetime, allow scholars to reach further conclusions about Geoffroi's conception of chivalry and war.

Origins

Dreux was the eldest son as he inherited Charny

“The Charny Genealogy.” By Dorothy Crispino
<PDF>. Page 19-20

Jean de Charny, son of Hugues and Mabile, living in 1314 (C), living in 1318 (A), mar. Marguerite de Joinville, dau. of Jean de Joinville, biographer of King Saint Louis, and Alix de Reynel (D 176). Jean accompanied the Duke of Burgundy in the wars in Flanders in 1304 (A, Pr). In 1315 he witnessed the will of Louis, Prince of Achaia and the Morea (P1 136). He is cited in documents of 1294, 1304, 1315, 1318 and was not living in 1323 (Pr 129). Anselme gives Jeanne de Frolois as Jean's second wife. However, now we know (Spectrum 32/33 p. 44) that it was Jean fils who mar. Jeanne de Frolois.

Jean and Marguerite had:

• 1. Isabeau (L), of legal age by 1319, maybe deceased by 1340. In 1328-1329, she held a fief from the king at Chastelleries d'Isles (L 408).
• 2. Dreux inherited Charny. Louis, Prince of Achaia and the Morea, King of Thessalonica, gave him for wife Agnes de Vostizia, along with her lands in the Morea, including the barony of Richolichi de Niveleto. In this passage, Dreux is referred to as "the brother of Geoffroy de Charny" (M-F). Dreux died between 1323-1325. In 1325 his two daughters, Isabelle and Guillemette, were under 7 years of age (W). The demesne passed to Guillemette. In 1344 she mar. Philibert de Jonvelle (C 127); their dau., Agnes, mar. 1) Guillaume de Vergy [their dau. Jeanne de Vergy, mar. Henri de Bauffremont]; 2) Philibert de Bauffremont (C 585).
• 3. Jean, in 1315 already mar. to Jeanne de Frolois (she d. 1342). At one time Jean and his sister Isabeau held a subfief from Regnaut de Rumilly (L 325). In 1346, he was seig. of Maraut (C 11), which then passed to Guy de Jaucourt, remaining in that family for three centuries. Jean and his wife left no known issue.
• 4. Geoffroy, seig. of Lirey, Savoisy, Montfort, etc., mar. 1) Jeanne de Toucy; 2) Jeanne de Vergy, dau. of Guillaume de Vergy, seig. of Mirabeau, and Agnes de Durnay (A).

Placing the progeny of Jean de Charny in this order is mere guesswork, based on a few dates. Dreux was the eldest son as he inherited Charny

References

• http://www.dianasprain.net/2011/12/knight-on-pedestal-sir-geoffroi-...
• Charny's Career and Writings: The Current Understanding. Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 March 2021. Ian Wilson and Nigel Bryant. <link>; <GoogleBooks> If as seems likely the young Geoffroi spent almost his whole childhood without his natural mother, a further handicap of his birth was that he was the youngest of three brothers. As required by Salic law his eldest brother, Dreux de Charny, inherited the main Charny lordship and castle, in addition to which an advantageous marriage brought Dreux two lucrative Morea baronies, Nivelet and Vostitza, all of which passed to Dreux's daughters on his untimely death c. 1325. Jean II de Charny, the second eldest brother, seems to have inherited the lesser Charny fiefs of Lirey and Savoisy, which passed to his widow Jeanne de Frolois following his early death in the 1320s. Geoffroi, as the third brother, seems to have been expected to fend for himself.
• “The Charny Genealogy.” Dorothy Crispino. <PDF> BIBLIOGRAPHY
• A - ANSELME: Histoire de la Maison Royale de France, Paris 1730
• B - ÉMILE BOBIN: Monographie Descriptive, Historique et Archéologique du Château de Mont-Saint-Jean- en-Auxois, Paris (undated)
• C - COURTÉPÉE et BÉGUILLET: Description du Duche de Bourgogne, Paris 1848
• Co -ALBERT COLOMBET: Saint-Thibault-en-Auxois, Dijon
• D - FRANÇOIS DELABORDE: Jean de Joinville et les Seigneurs de Joinville, Paris 1894
• F- JEAN FROISSART: Chroniques, Buchon edition, Paris 1824
• L - AUGUST LONGNON: Collection de Documents Inédits sur l'Histoire de France: Comté de Champagne et de Brie, 1172-1361, Paris 1894
• M-F - A. MOREL-FATIO: Libro de los fechos, Geneva 1895 (Many thanks to Dr. Elmar Gruber) P1 -URBAIN PLANCHER: Histoire Générale et Particulière de Bourgogne, Dijon 1741
• Pr - MAX PRINET: Armorial de France, Paris 1920
• V - JULES VIARD: Les Journaux de Trésor de Philippe VI de Valois, Paris 1849
• W - Refers to notes in the Wuenschel Collection