Bertrand du Guesclin was one of the most important French military commanders of the later Hundred Years War. His career took him from the fighting in Brittany to the service of Charles V, and then into the wider conflict in Castile. As Constable of France, he became one of the principal commanders of the French recovery after the disasters suffered by France under John II.
Du Guesclin is particularly important for understanding how the French changed their approach to the war. Rather than repeatedly seeking decisive battles against the English, French commanders used fortified positions, smaller-scale operations and sustained pressure to recover territory. Du Guesclin’s career illustrates this changing strategy across several theatres of the Hundred Years War.
Bertrand du Guesclin and the Hundred Years War
Brittany and the War of Succession
Du Guesclin first became prominent during the War of the Breton Succession. The conflict brought him into the wider Anglo-French struggle because England supported the Montfortist claim to the duchy, while the French monarchy supported Charles of Blois and Jeanne de Penthièvre.
The Du Guesclin Family
Bertrand du Guesclin’s family also produced another figure associated with the conflicts of the period. His sister Julienne du Guesclin is an unusual example of a woman associated with military activity and defence during the Hundred Years War.
Cocherel and Charles V
Du Guesclin’s victory at the Battle of Cocherel in May 1364 was an important early success for the new King Charles V. His defeat of forces supporting Charles II of Navarre strengthened the position of the Valois monarchy during the political crisis that followed the reign of John II.
Capture and Ransom
Du Guesclin’s career also illustrates the financial importance of aristocratic captivity during the Hundred Years War. Following his capture by English forces, a substantial ransom was required for his release. His imprisonment demonstrates how military commanders themselves could become valuable prisoners within the economic system of medieval warfare.
Castile and the Wider War
Du Guesclin became involved in the struggle for the Castilian throne between Peter of Castile and Henry of Trastámara. The conflict was closely connected to the Hundred Years War because England supported Peter while France supported Henry. French intervention therefore extended the Anglo-French struggle into the Iberian Peninsula.
Constable of France
Charles V appointed du Guesclin Constable of France in 1370. He subsequently became one of the leading commanders of the French recovery, helping to implement a strategy that placed sustained pressure on English-held territories rather than relying upon repeated large-scale battles.
The French Recovery
During the 1370s the French recovered large areas of territory that had been won by England after the earlier victories at Crécy and Poitiers. Du Guesclin’s campaigns formed an important part of this wider recovery, which transformed the military balance between England and France.
Du Guesclin and the English Commanders
Du Guesclin’s career repeatedly brought him into conflict with leading English commanders, including Sir John Chandos. Their encounters in Brittany and elsewhere illustrate the continuing importance of experienced individual commanders even as the character of the war changed.
Death and Legacy
Bertrand du Guesclin died in 1380 while campaigning for Charles V. His reputation as one of France’s great medieval commanders developed rapidly after his death. His career remains important to the history of the Hundred Years War because it connects the Breton conflict, the struggle with Navarre, the war in Castile and the French recovery under Charles V.
Bertrand du Guesclin’s Place in the Hundred Years War
Du Guesclin was one of the central figures in the French recovery of the later fourteenth century. His military career crossed several theatres of the wider conflict, while his service as Constable placed him at the centre of Charles V’s efforts to reverse the territorial losses suffered by France. His career provides an important link between the major French defeats of the mid-fourteenth century and the changing balance of power that followed.
Further Reading
- Richard Vernier, The Flower of Chivalry: Bertrand du Guesclin and the Hundred Years War (Boydell Press, 2003).
- Michael Jones (ed.), Letters, Orders and Musters of Bertrand du Guesclin, 1357–1380 (Boydell Press, 2004).
- The Song of Bertrand du Guesclin, translated and edited by Neil Murphy (Boydell Press, 2024).
- Jean Lemoine, ‘Du Guesclin armé chevalier’, Bibliothèque de l’École des chartes 56 (1895), 84–89.