By Catherine T Wilson
On the last day of a previous trip to Paris, on our way to another function, my husband and I walked past this incredible tower. Even at a distance, I knew it had to be from the14thC
but I would never have guessed it had a sign above the door which named one of my characters in Lions and Lilies! It read :
Doorway to the hotel
of Olivier de Clisson
Companion-in-arms of Du Guesclin
And Constable of France 1380.
On my return research trip in 2019, Cathy A and I made a beeline for the tower. I had since discovered that the National Archives buildings was connected to it, that entrance being around the corner. Sadly, once inside the establishment, entrance to the tower itself was not permitted. We were told it held offices now which were off-limit to the public but the archive’s rooms were filled with a treasure-trove of gems that we could enjoy.
Once home again, research began for Olivier de Clisson. I knew he would he make his appearance in Lions and Lilies eventually as he had defected to the French side. Learning he was known as ‘the Butcher,’ I wondered from where would such savagery come? I did not have to look too far. His mother had been known as ‘The Lioness of Brittany,’ and what a tale that appeared to be!
Firstly though, I’d like to say that reading through a few other articles/blogs there seemed to be an anomaly in the reporting of which ‘Olivier de Clisson’ was the father of L&L’s Olivier (1336 – 1407). Some blogs reported the father was Olivier III but my best research sources tell me he was Olivier IV and provided all the wives names of the previous Oliviers (don’t argue with the wives!), that being Olivier III (1265 – 1320) was married to Isabeau de Craon, and Olivier IV (circa 1300 – 1343) was married to Jeanne de Belleville, AKA Jeanne de Clisson, also known as ‘The Lioness of Brittany.’
Jeanne was born Jeanne de Belleville in 1300 and was married at the age of twelve to a nineteen-year-old Breton nobleman, Geoffrey de Chateaubriant VIII, but he died in 1326 and in 1328 Jeanne married Guy de Penthièvre, son of the Duke of Brittany. This marriage may possibly have been to protect her two children by Geoffrey, however, it was quickly annulled when objections arose from the relatives of the ducal family, specifically the Blois faction. Guy was then married to Marie de Blois.
Two years later, Jeanne met, fell in love with and married Olivier IV de Clisson. Together they had five children, of which ‘the little butcher’ was the third.
All was going well until the Breton War of Succession. Olivier IV sided with the French choice, Charles de Blois, for the empty seat of the Breton ducal crown over the English selection of John de Montfort. But as often happens, this fight set brother against brother, cousin against cousin, as Amaury de Craon (cousin) and Olivier’s own brother, also Amaury (de Clisson) championed the English. In the November of 1342 Olivier IV raised an army and conquered the captured city of Vannes, but in December, an English force retook the city and the two French military commanders, Olivier and Hervé de Léon, were taken prisoner. Strangely though, Olivier was the only one to be released in a prisoner exchange (for Ralph de Stafford – 1st Earl of Stafford) and when a remarkably low amount was named for his ransom, Charles de Blois became suspicious. He accused Olivier de Clisson of trading information with the English and even for not having defended the city to the fullest extent, allowing the English to recapture it.
By January 1343, a truce had been signed and Olivier and fifteen other Breton lords were invited to a tournament. Perceiving it to be safe since now there was a truce in place, Olivier and the other lords attended but found themselves quickly arrested and taken to Paris.
They were imprisoned, tried by a jury of peers, found guilty, and on August 2nd they were taken to the public markets (Les Halles) and beheaded.
Even worse, Olivier de Clisson’s head was sent to sit upon a spike above the Sauvetout gate in Nantes to serve as a warning. The rest of his corpse was hanged ‘at the highest level’ from a gibbet in Paris. That term meant the 2-storey gallows on the hill of Montfaucon. (Note: it was just an 8 min walk from where we stayed in 2019). Constructed in the 11thC, the gibbet was remodelled in 1416 into a spectacular portico with sixteen pillars. It collapsed in 1594 and the ruins did not survive the French Revolution. Nothing remains now.
This horrifying treatment of a noble’s body shocked the aristocracy for such desecration was reserved for the low-class criminal. Furthermore, no evidence had been brought forth to enlighten the general public of his guilt. It is reported that Jeanne took her two sons, Olivier V and Guillaume, to Nantes to show them their father’s head spiked above the portal.
During the trial, Jeanne tried desperately to free her husband, narrowly escaping punishment for attempting to bribe one of the king’s sergeants. Her property was to be seized and she was banished, so she quickly returned home and sold everything. Thus far is recorded in the annals of history, and again later when Jeanne de Clisson resurfaced in England. What lies in the twelve intervening years became the legend that was the ‘Lioness of Brittany,’ a woman so torn by grief and harbouring a desperate desire for revenge, she took to pirating!
According to the stories, she raised a force of 400 loyal men and began ‘attacking’ the King and Charles de Blois in Brittany. Her first target was a castle at Touffou under the command of Galois de la Heuse, one of de Blois’ officers. Galois, upon recognising what he thought to be a friendly face, let Jeanne and her army in. The entire garrison was massacred with the exception of one individual left alive so he could report her raid. This became her method of operation, leaving alive one or two so they could give details on her infamous deeds, especially to the king and de Blois!
Her next target was a garrison at Château-Thébaud, a former post that been under the command of her husband. She then invested her money into three warships, had them painted black and the crew hoisted blood-red sails. The flagship of this ruthless fleet was called ‘My Revenge.’ Sailing the waters in the Bay of Biscay, Jeanne attacked supply ships before moving into the Channel to continue her commerce raiding, a type of guerrilla warfare using all the ships at once in a swarm attack. Captured vessels were boarded and legend says, in memory of her husband’s unjust slaughter, she repaid in kind, horrifically dismembering and beheading, leaving a couple of survivors to carry the tale of her vengeful deed. She was given many names:- The Lioness of Brittany; The Lioness of Clisson; The Bloody Lioness and the Tigress of Breton.
Whilst piracy was used by both sides in The Hundred Years War, the Lioness of Brittany’s reign on the high seas lasted 13 years until finally the French sank her fleet. She escaped but was adrift with her two sons for five days, Guillaume dying of exposure. Jeanne and young Olivier were rescued and she was taken to England where she met her fourth husband, a lieutenant called Walter Bently. Young Olivier was to begin his career in the English court.
While some of Jeanne’s lands in Brittany became a battle of contention, her pirating days were behind her. She and her husband finally settled at the castle of Hennebont, a port town in Brittany.
Walter died in December 1359 and Jeanne followed a few weeks later which, just by co-incidence, is about when Lions and Lilies starts!
When the treaty of Bretigny was agreed upon in an attempt to seek peace between England and France (1360), the grievances of the de Clisson family had to be resolved. In order to rectify the wrongdoings, Oliviers IV de Clisson was posthumously reinstated with honour, and the rights and privileges were returned to the family.
AS FOR THE SON, OLIVER V DE CLISSON
As for Jeanne’s son, Olivier V de Clisson, (the one who owned the tower-house in Paris) he fought in the ongoing battle for succession of the ducal throne in Brittany (and it’s no surprise) on the side of Montford.
In 1364 Charles de Blois was killed in the attack on Auray and Bertrand du Guesclin was captured for ransom. Olivier lost his eye in this skirmish, earning him the name ‘the one-eyed man from Auray.’
A treaty was drawn up (First Treaty of Guérande), recognising John IV de Montford as the only Duke of Brittany. But while Olivier was recovering from his wounds, Montford awarded John Chandos the Gâvre castle, a property that Clisson coveted. He expressed his dissatisfaction but was ignored. Two weeks later the Gâvre castle mysteriously burned down. Montford’s reaction to this news was to confiscate the lordship of Châteauceaux from Olivier.
Resentment burned but Olivier stayed under English rule and fought at the battle of Nájera in 1367 with the Black Prince (Edward of Woodstock, King Edward III’s eldest son). Sent once before to Paris as the Breton Ambassador to secure the treaty guidelines with the French King Charles V, Olivier returned for more negotiations. It was unwise of John de Montford to send a man he had slighted so churlishly. The charm of the French court won Olivier over. He was given lands in Normandy to replace those he had lost, which he later exchanged with the Count of Alencon for the lordship of Josselin. Between father and son, they had come full circle back to the French crown – land could sway loyalty.
In 1370 he joined with Du Guesclin to plunder and disrupt in the southwest of France.
Olivier V de Clisson makes his debut in Lions and Lilies upcoming book ‘Roar of the Lion.’ Oh, and the butcher part? It seems he must have watched his mother carefully on her flagship for he did not hesitate to dismember his captives!
I feel sure we shall see quite a bit more more of Oliver de Clisson in Lions and Lilies.
Footnote:
To give you an idea of the wealth of some of the lords of the time, Oliver’s estimated annual revenue in 1400 were around five hundred million francs. In 2013 this represented roughly one hundred and eight million euros! From his will, his fortune was assessed to be around 6 tons of gold and sixty tons of silver!
Catherine A Wilson co-writes with Catherine T Wilson (no relation). Their first book, The Lily and the Lion, was based upon their true-life accidental meeting and resulting friendship. All four books in their ‘Lions and Lilies’ series have won first place prizes in the Chatelaine/Chaucer Awards in the US and in 2019, The Traitor’s Noose won the Grand Prize Chaucer Award.
The Lily and the Lion – 1st Place Chanticleer Chatelaine Award – 2014
The Order of the Lily – 1st Place Chanticleer Chatelaine Award – 2015
The Gilded Crown – 1st Place Chanticleer Chaucer Award – 2016
The Traitor’s Noose – Grand Prize WINNER Chanticleer Chaucer Award – 2017
Lions and Lilies 