Jean d'Orléans, Count of Dunois (23 November 1402 – 24 November 1468), known as the "Bastard of Orléans" () or simply Jean de Dunois, was a French military leader during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

who participated in military campaigns with

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

. His nickname, the "Bastard of Orléans", was a mark of his high status, since it acknowledged him as a first cousin to the king and acting head of a

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the royal family during his half-brother's captivity. In 1439 he received the county of Dunois from his half-brother

Charles, Duke of Orléans Charles of Orléans (24 November 1394 – 5 January 1465) was Duke of Orléans from 1407, following the murder of his father, Louis I, Duke of Orléans. He was also Duke of Valois, Count of Beaumont-sur-Oise and of Blois, Lord of Coucy, ...

, and later King Charles VII made him count of Longueville.

Life

Jean was the illegitimate son of

Louis I, Duke of Orléans Louis I (13 March 1372 – 23 November 1407) was Duke of Orléans from 1392 to his death in 1407. He was also Duke of Touraine (1386–1392), Count of Valois (1386?–1406) Blois (1397–1407), Angoulême (1404–1407), ...

– son of King

Charles V of France Charles V (21 January 1338 – 16 September 1380), called the Wise (; ), was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380. His reign marked an early high point for France during the Hundred Years' War as his armies recovered much of the terri ...

– and his mistress Mariette d'Enghien. In 1407, Jean's father, Louis I, Duke of Orléans was assassinated. Eight years later, his half-brother,

was captured at the

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected victory of the vastly outnumbered English troops agains ...

. He remained a prisoner of the English for twenty-five years. This left Jean the only adult male to represent the house of Orléans. He was Knight of the Order of the Porcupine. Jean took part in the civil war in France during the reign of Charles VI on the side of the Armagnacs, and was captured by the

Burgundians The Burgundians were an early Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared east in the middle Rhine region in the third century AD, and were later moved west into the Roman Empire, in Roman Gaul, Gaul. In the first and seco ...

in 1418. Released in 1420, he entered the service of the Dauphin

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

, fighting in the

against English forces. In 1427, Jean, along with Arthur of Richemont and Etienne of Vignolles, forced the Earl of Warwick to raise his siege of Montargis. He was wounded, the next year, at the battle of Rouvray. Jean led the French defenses at the siege of Orléans, and together with

relieved the siege. He joined her on the campaigns of 1429 and remained active after her death. Jean attended Charles VII's coronation in July 1429 and in 1436 aided in the recapture of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In 1439 he was made Count of Dunois. He was prominent in the conquest of Guienne and

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

in the final years of the Hundred Years War. Jean participated in the Praguerie revolt against Charles VII and was a leader of the League of the Public Weal against King

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

in 1465, but each time he regained favor at court.

Marriages and progeny

He married Marie Louvet (d. 1426) in April 1422 at

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

, by whom he had no children. He married a second time to Marie of Harcourt (d. 1464), Lady of Parthenay 26 October 1439 and had four children: # Jean (1443-1453) # François Ι d'Orléans-Longueville (1447–1491), Count of Dunois, Tancarville, Longueville, and Montgomery, married 2 July 1466 to Agnès of Savoy (1445–1508). One of their children was Louis I d'Orléans, duc de Longueville. # Marie (1440-?), married 1466 to Louis de la Haye, Lord of Passavant and Mortagne. # Catherine d'Orléans (1449–1501), married 14 May 1468 to Johann VII of Saarbrücken-Commercy (1430–1492), Count of Roucy without issue.

Titles

* Lord of Valbonais (1421–1468) * Count of Mortain (1424–1425) * Viscount of Saint-Sauveur * Count of Périgord (1430–1439) * Count of Dunois (1439–1468) * Count of Longueville (1443–1468)

References

Sources

* * * * * *

Life

Marriages and progeny

Titles

References

Sources

Further reading