Mercadier (died 10 April 1200) was a famous
Occitan warrior of the 12th century, and the leader of a group of mercenaries in the service of
Richard I, King of England
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...
.
In 1183 he appears as a leader of
Brabançon mercenaries in Southern France. He entered King Richard's service in 1184, attacking and laying waste to lands of
Aimar V of Limoges. In 1188 he managed seventeen castles captured from the Count of
Toulouse. Suggestions that he accompanied Richard on the Third Crusade are based on a charter that has been established as a forgery.
There is no evidence that Mercadier was with
Philip Augustus
Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French m ...
when the king left the Holy Land for France. Instead, it appear that Mercadier remained in the Angevin realm with his troops to defend Richard's estates in the latter's absence.
After Richard's return from the
Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
, Mercadier accompanied him everywhere as his right hand man, travelling and fighting by his side. Richard eulogized Mercadier's exploits in his letters, and gave him the estates left by Ademar de Bainac in
Limousin, who died without heirs around 1190. During the various wars between Richard and Philip Augustus of France, Mercadier fought successively in
Berry
A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...
,
Normandy,
Flanders and
Brittany. When Richard was mortally wounded at the siege of
Châlus
Châlus (; oc, Chasluç) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France.
History
Richard I, King of England was besieging Châlus in 1199 when Pierre Basile wounded him with a crossbow bolt; ...
in March 1199, it was Mercadier's physician who cared for him. According to one account, Mercadier avenged his death by storming the castle, hanging the defenders and
flaying a "
Pierre Basile
Pierre Basile (died 6 April 1199), also named Bertran de Gourdon and John Sabroz, was a Limousin boy famous for shooting King Richard I of England with a crossbow at the siege of Châlus-Chabrol on 25 March 1199. King Richard, who had removed s ...
", the crossbowman who had shot the king, despite Richard's last act pardoning him.
Mercadier then entered the service of
Eleanor of Aquitaine, and ravaged
Gascony
Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...
and the city of
Angers. On Easter Monday, 10 April 1200, he was assassinated while on a visit to
Bordeaux to pay his respects to Eleanor of Aquitaine. His murder was at the hands of six men-at-arms employed by Brandin, a rival mercenary captain in the service of Richard's successor
King John Lackland.
One of the bridges of the
Château Gaillard (built by his employer King Richard) is named for him.
In historical fiction
Books and dramas
Five novels "Les aventures de Guilhem d’Ussel" of
Jean d'Aillon
During the reign of Philip August, Guilhem d’Ussel encounters several chiefs of mercenaries : Mercadier, Lambert Cadoc (Lord of Gaillon) and Brandin.
* De Taille et d'Estoc (The youth of Guilhem d'Ussel)
* Marseille, 1198
* Paris, 1199
* Londres, 1200
* Montségur, 1201
Mercadier also made an appearance in ''
Robin and Marian'', the 1976 film serving as right hand to Richard the Lionheart. Played by Bill Maynard.
Mercardier features prominently in ''The Outlaw Chronicles'' series by
Angus Donald, especially books 4 (''Warlord'') and 5 (''Grail Knight''), as a major antagonist. He is portrayed as a ruthless killer and mercenary leader with few or no redeeming qualities, and as the main perpetrator of English atrocities during the 3rd Crusade and King Richard's wars against the French.
References
Sources
*
*
*"Mercadier", in ''
Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes'', 1st series, t. iii., pp. 417–443.
*''The Art of Warfare in Western Europe during the Middle Ages from the Eighth Century'' (Warfare in History) by J. F. Verbruggen, pp. 116–117*
{{Authority control
1200 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Medieval Occitan people
11th-century French people
Medieval French knights
Christians of the Third Crusade