Tard-Venus (French, "latecomers") were

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

groups of ''

routiers Routiers () were mercenary soldiers of the Middle Ages. Their particular distinction from other paid soldiers of the time was that they were organised into bands (''rutta'' or ''routes''). The term is first used in the 12th century but is partic ...

'' (mercenaries or bandits) that ravaged Europe in the later years of the reign of King

John II of France John II (; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed between a thir ...

History

When the

Treaty of Brétigny A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, conventio ...

was signed May 8, 1360, the peace that resulted left many soldiers and those who provided services to the armies without employment. While the

King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

evacuated his forces from France and paid them, some captains of the garrisons,

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

s and

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Boys served a knight as an attendant, doing simple but important tasks such as saddling a horse or caring for the knight's weapons and armour. Terminology ''Squire'' ...

s left to find employment as mercenaries for the

King of Navarre This is a list of the kings and queens of kingdom of Pamplona, Pamplona, later kingdom of Navarre, Navarre. Pamplona was the primary name of the kingdom until its union with Kingdom of Aragon, Aragon (1076–1134). However, the territorial desig ...

. Additionally the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

mercenaries, as well as mercenaries and adventurers from Brabant,

Gascony Gascony (; ) 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 of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, Hainault,

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

and France, were left to fend for themselves. Dismissed, they formed bands and began to

pillage Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

. In

Champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

, they captured the castle of

Joinville Joinville () is the largest city in Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the Southern Brazil, Southern Region of Brazil. It is the third largest municipality in the southern region of Brazil, after the much larger state capitals of Curitib ...

, seizing a considerable amount of booty for ransom. They roamed and looted the Champagne region and devastated the bishoprics of

Langres Langres () is a commune in France, commune in northeastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Haute-Marne, in the Regions of France, region of Grand Est. History As the capital ...

Toul Toul () is a Communes of France, commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle Departments of France, department in north-eastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, Fra ...

and

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

, and then penetrated

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

supported by some Burgundian knights and squires. After settling around Besançon, Dijon and Beaune, they took and plundered Vergy, Gevrey-in-Beaune and ravaged the region. Brigniais

In all there may have been 15,000 men in these groups. The most powerful captains included: *

Seguin de Badefol Seguin de Badefol was a Medieval leader of a large bandit army or routier With 2000 troops he was the head of the largest group of Tard-Venus. Private life He was born in 1330 in the castle of Badefols, the son of Seguin Gontaut de Badefol ...

, at the head of 2,000 mercenaries * Talbart Talbardon * Guiot du Pin * Frank Hennequin * Camus Bour * Bour Lesparre * Bour Breteuil * Naudon de Bageran * Lamit * Hagre of 'Escot * Ourri the German * Bernard de la Salle *

Robert Briquet Robert Birkhead (Briquet) was a mercenary captain during the Hundred Years War. Robert Birkhead was an English captain of a Great Company in the fourteenth century. His name was frequently corrupted by French chroniclers to Briquet, but his real ...

* Amanieu Ortigue Garciot Castel * Guyonnet Pau * Bascot de Mauléon * Petit Meschin In mid-Lent all these groups turned towards the rich

papal The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

, attacking the county of Macon,

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

and

Forez Forez (; ) is a Provinces of France, former province of France, corresponding approximately to the central part of the modern Loire (department), Loire ''département in France, département'' and a part of the Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dôme ''dépa ...

on the way. They occupied the priory of Estivareilles. After their victory, the bands turned to looting the district. Seguin Badefol, with 3000 fighters, took hostages for ransom in Macon County. Other gang leaders such as Naudon de Bageran, Espiote, Creswey Robert Briquet, and Camus bour, marched on

to kidnap the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

and cardinals. On 3 June 1362, this army was defeated by 400

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking Ethnicity, ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern Nation state, nation-state of Spain. Genetics, Genetically and Ethnolinguisti ...

and Castilian soldiers under the orders of

Henry of Trastamara Henry II (13 January 1334 – 29 May 1379), called Henry of Trastámara or the Fratricidal (''el Fratricida''), was the first King of Castile and León from the House of Trastámara. He became king in 1369 by defeating his half-brother Peter the ...

at Montpensier. Learning of that defeat the other bands fled to the fortress of

Pont-Saint-Esprit Pont-Saint-Esprit (, literally "Holy Spirit Bridge"; ) is a commune in the Gard département in southern France. It is situated on the river Rhône and is the site of a historical crossing, hence its name. The Ardèche flows into the Rhône, jus ...

, where they found immense wealth and occupied a strategic crossroads. At the news of the capture of Pont-Saint-Esprit, many bands in Champagne moved into the Rhone valley.Également écrit Jean de Grôlé ou Jean de Groslée With starvation beginning to take in Avignon, Pope Innocent VI preached ''a crusade against the robbers'', but failing to pay these Crusaders many returned home, but some joined the ranks of the bandits. The complete failure of the crusade forced Innocent VI to give to French King John II, 60,000 gold florins to pay off the brigands and take them to Italy. Key leaders of the band enlist to serve

Galeazzo II Visconti Galeazzo II Visconti ( – 4 August 1378) was a member of the Visconti of Milan, Visconti dynasty and a ruler of Milan, Italy. His most notable military campaigns were against Pope Gregory XI, around 1367. These battles fought between the pap ...

and Bernabo Visconti, lords of Milan. Seguin Badefol holding the city of

Anse Anse may refer to: Places * Anse, Belgium, a municipality * Canton of Anse, Rhône department, France, an administrative division ** Anse, Rhône, a commune and seat of the department * Anse, Mississippi, an unincorporated community in the United ...

, refused to go to Italy and continued to

for more than a year before retiring with his treasures to

, his native country. Later he served Charles II of

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

, where he died by poison

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, together with western and southern Asia. It has been cultivated since ancient times and i ...

References

{{Mercenary companies Mercenary units and formations of the Middle Ages Military units and formations of the Hundred Years' War