Captal (Lat. capitalis, first, chief ), was a medieval
feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
title in
Gascony. According to
Du Cange the designation was applied loosely to the more illustrious nobles of
Aquitaine
Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...
, counts, viscounts, etc., probably as ''capitales domini'', principal lords, though he quotes more fanciful explanations.
As an actual title the word was used only by the lords of
Trene,
Puychagut,
Epernon and
Buch[ (a lordship being an amalgamation of two or more seigniories).
It is best known in connection with the famous soldier, Jean III de Grailly, captal de Buch KG (d. 1376), the captal de Buch par excellence, immortalized by Froissart as the confidant of the Black Prince and the champion of the English cause against France.][ His active part in the war began in 1364, when he ravaged the country between ]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 ...
and Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
, but was beaten by Bertrand du Guesclin at Cocherel and taken prisoner. Released next year, he received the seigniory of Nemours and took the oath of fealty to the French king, Charles V, but soon resigned his new fief and returned to his allegiance to the English king. In 1367 he took part in the battle of Navarette, in which Du Guesclin was taken prisoner, the captal being entrusted with his safe-keeping. In 1371 Jean de Grailly was appointed constable of Aquitaine, but was taken prisoner next year and interned in the Temple at Paris where, resisting all the tempting offers of the French king, he remained till his death five years later.[
]
References
{{EB1911 article with no significant updates
Titles
Medieval titles