Bertrand du Guesclin
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Bertrand du Guesclin, nicknamed "The Eagle of Brittany" or "The Black Dog of Brocéliande", was a Breton knight and an important military commander on the French side during the Hundred Years' War. From 1370 to his death, he was Constable of France for King Charles V. Well known for his Fabian strategy, he took part in seven pitched battles and won the five in which he held command.
Head detail of Bertrand du Guesclin's gisant in the Basilica of Saint-Denis, sculpted during the last quarter of the 14th century. The effigy was commissioned after du Guesclin's death by Charles V of France
Guesclin at the Battle of Cocherel, by Charles-Philippe Larivière (1839)
Miniature of du Guesclin being made Constable of France by Charles V, in the 15th-century Chronique de Bertrand du Guesclin
Death of Bertrand du Guesclin, by Jean Fouquet
Hundred Years' War
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The Hundred Years' War was a series of armed conflicts fought between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from English claims to the French throne initially made by Edward III of England. The war grew into a broader military, economic, and political struggle involving factions from across Western Europe, fueled by emerging nationalism on both sides. The periodization of the war typically charts it as taking place over 116 years. However, it was an intermittent conflict which was frequently interrupted by external factors, such as the Black Death, and several years of truces.
Clockwise, from top left: the Battle of La Rochelle, the Battle of Agincourt, the Battle of Patay, and Joan of Arc at the Siege of Orléans
Homage of Edward I of England (kneeling) to Philip IV of France (seated), 1286. As Duke of Aquitaine, Edward was also a vassal to the French King (illumination by Jean Fouquet from the Grandes Chroniques de France in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris).
The Battle of Sluys from a BNF manuscript of Froissart's Chronicles, Bruges, c. 1470.
Battle of Crécy, 1346, from the Grandes Chroniques de France. British Library, London