'Arnoul d'Audrehem' (c.
1305 –
1370) was a
French soldier.
He was born at
Audrehem, in the present
arrondissement of Saint-Omer, in the ''
département'' of
Pas de Calais. Nothing is known of his career before
1332, when he is heard of at the court of
Philip VI of France.
Between 1332 and
1342 he went three times to
Scotland to aid
King David Bruce in his wars. In 1342 he became captain for the king of France in
Brittany; then he seems to have served in the household of the
duke of Normandy, and in
1346, as one of the defenders of
Calais, was taken as a prisoner to
England by
Edward III.
From
1349 he held an important place in the military history of France, first as captain in
Angoulême, and in June
1351, in succession to the lord of
Beaujeu, as
marshal of France. In March
1352 he was appointed lieutenant for the king in the territory between the
Loire and the
Dordogne, in
1353 in
Normandy, and in
1355 in
Artois and
Picardy. It was Audrehem who arrested
Charles II of Navarre and his
partisans, at the banquet given by the
dauphin (later
Charles V of France) at
Rouen in
1356. At
Poitiers he was one of those who advised
John II of France to attack the English, and, charging into the front line of the French army, was slightly wounded and taken prisoner.
From England he was several times given safe-conduct to France, and he took an active part in the negotiations for the
Treaty of Bretigny, recovering his liberty at the same time as king John. In
1361, as the king's lieutenant in
Languedoc, he prevented the free companies from seizing the castles. In
1365 he himself joined
Bertrand du Guesclin in the expedition to
Spain, was taken prisoner with him by
Edward, the Black Prince at the
Battle of Nájera (Navarette) in
1367, and was unable to pay his
ransom until
1369.
In
1368, on account of his age, he was relieved of the office of marshal, being appointed bearer of the ''
oriflamme'', then a pension of 2,000
livres. He was sent to Spain in
1370 by
Charles V of France to urge his friend du Guesclin to return to France, and in spite of his age he took part in the
Battle of Pontvallain (December 1370), but fell ill and died, probably at
Saumur, in the latter part of December 1370.
References
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