Individual Details
Jacques de Luxembourg
(Abt 1419 - 1487)
- 69 Knight in the Order of The Golden Fleece - 1468
Jacques was the youngest of seven children of Pierre de Luxembourg, comte de St.Pol, Brienne and Conversano and Margherita del Balzo. On 16 July 1435 Jacques married Isabelle de Roubaix, only child of Pierre de Roubaix, sire d'Herzelles and Marguerite de Ghistelles. They had three daughters who would have progeny.
Jacques' life was often taken up with military campaigning. In 1445 his sister Catherine married Arthur of Brittany, comte de Richemont, brother of the duke of Brittany. Jacques received an income from Arthur de Richemont, and served with him in a number of campaigns. In 1446 Jacques is mentioned as serving under his older brother Louis, comte de Saint-Pol, in the force that Louis sent to help the duke of Kleef against the archbishop of Cologne. In 1449 he was lieutenant-general to his brother-in-law Arthur de Richemont in the struggle to drive the English from the duchy of Brittany. He followed Richemont, constable of France, throughout the campaign in Normandy against the English, and fought alongside him in the defeat of the English at the battle of Formigny (15 April 1450), then at the conquest of Cotentin and the siege of Caen. In the spring of 1452 he was one of the leaders of the vanguard of the army assembled by Philippe 'the Good' against the revolt in Ghent. At the Battle of Basel near Rupelmonde, his horse was shot from under him; he was wounded and escaped death thanks to Jacques de Lalaing. He was knighted at the Battle of Gavre, on 23 July 1453, where he commanded a thousand archers.
On 30 October 1457 he accompanied his brother-in-law, now duke of Brittany, for his entry into Rennes, and on the following 29 December he was at Tours with the king of France, taking part in the funeral service for King Ladislaus 'Postumus' of Hungary. He was close to his brother-in-law Arthur, and spent time at the Breton court, probably in 1458. There the poet and composer Antoine Busnoys (1430-1492) dedicated at least one poem to Jacques.
In 1461 Jacques accompanied Duke Philippe to Reims for the coronation of Louis XI. In 1464 he was captain of Rennes, and through his relationships with the young duke of Brittany at the court of the count of Charolais he brought about the alliance between them. Through this he acquired the enmity of the king of France; he justified himself before Duke Philippe in the presence of a mission from France. At the beginning of 1465 he represented the duke at the celebrations for the marriage of his niece Elizabeth Widville, daughter of his sister Jacquetta, with King Edward IV of England, at the same time successfully completing a diplomatic mission for the count of Charolais, for which he received the lordship of Lannoy which had been seized from Jean de Lannoy.
There is an interesting reference to this episode in the _Histoire de Louis XI_ by Charles Pinot Duclos (1704-1772): 'At a time when efforts were being made to convert the truce concluded between France and England into a solid peace, for which a marriage between Edward (King Edward IV of England) and Bonne of Savoy was to be the basis, this prince fell in love with Elisabeth Rivers (Elizabeth Widville) daughter of Richard Dondeville (Richard Widville, 1st Earl Rivers) and Jacqueline of Luxembourg (Jacquetta de Luxembourg), and widow of the knight John Gray (Sir John Grey of Groby). Edward, preferring this widow to the princess of Savoy, to the great dissatisfaction of the nation, had requested the count of Charolais (Charles 'the Bold', future duke of Burgundy) to send some representatives to the wedding (it took place on 1 May 1464); the count sent Jacques of Luxembourg, uncle of Elizabeth, with three hundred of the most distinguished and splendid gentlemen of Burgundy. Such a superb embassy, by raising the status of Elizabeth, appeased the English, and so pleased Edward that he assured the Count of Charolais he could count on troops from England.'
Jacques next took part in the War of the Public Good, and at the battle of Monthléry on 16 July 1465 he was one of the leaders of the left flank of the Burgundian army. In 1466 he fought for the count of Charolais at the siege of Dinant. In 1467 he attended the funeral services for Duke Philippe at Bruges. He took part in the campaign against Ličge, fought at the Battle of Brustem on 28 October and entered the city with Charles, now duke of Burgundy, on 17 November. In 1468 he was present at Bruges for the wedding of Charles with Margaret of York, and took part there in the tourney of the Tree of Gold. In that year Charles made Jacques a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. He was one of the leaders of the army which the duke led at Péronne, and took part in the new campaign against Ličge. At the beginning of 1471 he was garrisoned at Bapaume, and then in the campaign against the French he commanded the entire vanguard of the Burgundian army, In 1474 he was at the siege of Neuss, and in the following year he was garrisoned at Arras with the comte de Romont. In the course of a sortie on 27 June the Burgundians were routed, and he himself was wounded in the face and captured by the French. Louis XI forced him to wear a 'fillette', a heavy iron ball and chain attached to the ankle. His capture irritated his eldest brother Louis (1418-1475), who had followed Richemont in 1465 as constable of France. Philippe de Commynes in his _Memoirs_ has an account of this episode.
'You have heard how Sir Jacques de Saint-Pol (Jacques de Luxembourg) and others had been captured before Arras. This capture displeased the Constable (Louis de Luxembourg) considerably because Sir Jacques was a very good brother to him. This was not the only misadventure to befall him because at the same time his son, the count of Roussy (Antoine de Luxembourg, Comte de Brienne de Ligny et de Roussy), who was the duke's governor of Burgundy, was also captured. The Constable's wife (Jeanne de Bar, Comtesse de Marle et Soissons) a lady of great merit and sister to the Queen (Commynes is wrong here; the sister of Charlotte de Savoie, Louis XI's queen, was Marguerite de Savoie, married to Pierre de Luxembourg, son of the Constable.) who protected and favoured her, also died whilst the intrigues, which had begun against him (as you have heard) and which had been brought to a successful conclusion at Bouvignes, were still in progress. Ever since that time the Constable had felt insecure and suspicious about both sides and especially he was fearful of the King. It clearly seemed to him that the King repented having withdrawn his consent to the documents agreed at Bouvignes. The count of Dammartin and others were quartered with the men-at-arms close to Saint Quentin. The Constable feared them as his enemies and kept himself shut up in Saint Quentin where he had just three hundred infantry from his own lands, because he was not entirely sure of the reliability of the men-at-arms (of the royal ordonnance companies which he commanded). He was very troubled because the King urged him several times to take the field to serve him in Hainault, and to lay siege to Avesnes at the moment when the Admiral (Louis bâtard de Bourbon, Comte de Rousillon, Admiral of France), with the other force, was wasting Artois with fire, as I told you. Eventually he did so but in great dread, as he was very afraid. He was only there a few days and kept a strong bodyguard about him. He then retired to his own places and sent word the King that he had raised the siege. I know all about this because the King ordered me to listen to his messenger. He justified himself by saying that he had been reliably informed that there were two men in the army who had been ordered by the King to assassinate him. He mentioned so many pieces of incriminating evidence that people were almost beginning to believe him and to suspect one of the two of having told him something about which they should have kept quiet. I do not want to name anyone or speak further about this affair.
'The Constable sent frequent messages to the duke of Burgundy's army. I believe he was trying to get him away from this foolish expedition. When his messengers had returned he sent some news to the King which he thought would please him and let him know some of the small matters why he had sent to the duke. He thought that by doing this he would satisfy the King. Sometimes he sent word that the duke's affairs were progressing well, in order to frighten the King a little. But he was himself so frightened that he might be attacked that he asked the duke to send him his brother, Sir Jacques de Saint Pol (who was at Neuss, prior to his capture), also the lord of Fiennes (Jacques I de Luxembourg, Seigneur de Fiennes et de Gavre, nephew of the Constable and his brother Jacques) and other of his relatives whom he could put into Saint Quentin with their men, and who would not have to wear the St. Andrew's cross. He promised the duke he would hold Saint Quentin for him and restore it to him some time later and would give him his sealed undertaking. This the duke agreed to do. When Sir Jacques, the lord of Fiennes and other relatives twice found themselves within a league or two of Saint Quentin and ready to enter it, the Constable found that his fear had evaporated, repented of his decision and sent them away. He did this three times, so much did he want to remain in this state of balance, steering between the two, because he was extremely afraid of both of them. I learnt these things from many people, especially from Sir Jacques de Saint Pol himself. He told the King about them when he had been brought a prisoner before him; I was the only other person present. His willing replies to the King's questions did him a lot of good. The King asked him how many men he had to get into town with. He replied that on the third occasion he had about three thousand men. The King also asked him whether, if he had found himself the stronger, he would have held it for the King or the Constable. Sir Jacques replied that on the first two occasions he came only to reinforce his brother but on the third occasion, seeing that the Constable had twice deceived both his master and himself, if he had got the upper hand he would have kept the town for his master without doing anything violent or prejudicial to the Constable, except that he would not have sallied out at his command. Consequently, shortly afterwards, the King released Sir Jacques de Saint Pol from prison and gave him men-at-arms and fine possessions. He employed him up to his death and this good fortune was the result of his replies.'
Jacques became the king's counsellor and chamberlain, and before 1480 he was made a knight of the Order of Saint-Michel, because of which he was excluded from the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1481. In 1486 Jacques was in the royal army which fought against the Burgundians at Artois.
Jacques was a serious collector of manuscripts, of which six have been preserved: two books of hours, the prayers of St. Augustine, a book of devotion, a treatise on tourneys which the author, Antoine de Sale, had dedicated to him in January 1459, and a collection of poems, some of which Jacques had written.
In 1465 Jacques had become lord of Escaudoeuvres. After his death in 1487 his widow Isabelle sold the lands in 1488 to the bishop of Cambrai, though the lordship remained in Hainault. In the following year it moved to the Berghes family, which kept it until 1536 when Robert de Cro˙, bishop of Cambrai, bought it.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Jacques was the youngest of seven children of Pierre de Luxembourg, comte de St.Pol, Brienne and Conversano and Margherita del Balzo. On 16 July 1435 Jacques married Isabelle de Roubaix, only child of Pierre de Roubaix, sire d'Herzelles and Marguerite de Ghistelles. They had three daughters who would have progeny.
Jacques' life was often taken up with military campaigning. In 1445 his sister Catherine married Arthur of Brittany, comte de Richemont, brother of the duke of Brittany. Jacques received an income from Arthur de Richemont, and served with him in a number of campaigns. In 1446 Jacques is mentioned as serving under his older brother Louis, comte de Saint-Pol, in the force that Louis sent to help the duke of Kleef against the archbishop of Cologne. In 1449 he was lieutenant-general to his brother-in-law Arthur de Richemont in the struggle to drive the English from the duchy of Brittany. He followed Richemont, constable of France, throughout the campaign in Normandy against the English, and fought alongside him in the defeat of the English at the battle of Formigny (15 April 1450), then at the conquest of Cotentin and the siege of Caen. In the spring of 1452 he was one of the leaders of the vanguard of the army assembled by Philippe 'the Good' against the revolt in Ghent. At the Battle of Basel near Rupelmonde, his horse was shot from under him; he was wounded and escaped death thanks to Jacques de Lalaing. He was knighted at the Battle of Gavre, on 23 July 1453, where he commanded a thousand archers.
On 30 October 1457 he accompanied his brother-in-law, now duke of Brittany, for his entry into Rennes, and on the following 29 December he was at Tours with the king of France, taking part in the funeral service for King Ladislaus 'Postumus' of Hungary. He was close to his brother-in-law Arthur, and spent time at the Breton court, probably in 1458. There the poet and composer Antoine Busnoys (1430-1492) dedicated at least one poem to Jacques.
In 1461 Jacques accompanied Duke Philippe to Reims for the coronation of Louis XI. In 1464 he was captain of Rennes, and through his relationships with the young duke of Brittany at the court of the count of Charolais he brought about the alliance between them. Through this he acquired the enmity of the king of France; he justified himself before Duke Philippe in the presence of a mission from France. At the beginning of 1465 he represented the duke at the celebrations for the marriage of his niece Elizabeth Widville, daughter of his sister Jacquetta, with King Edward IV of England, at the same time successfully completing a diplomatic mission for the count of Charolais, for which he received the lordship of Lannoy which had been seized from Jean de Lannoy.
There is an interesting reference to this episode in the _Histoire de Louis XI_ by Charles Pinot Duclos (1704-1772): 'At a time when efforts were being made to convert the truce concluded between France and England into a solid peace, for which a marriage between Edward (King Edward IV of England) and Bonne of Savoy was to be the basis, this prince fell in love with Elisabeth Rivers (Elizabeth Widville) daughter of Richard Dondeville (Richard Widville, 1st Earl Rivers) and Jacqueline of Luxembourg (Jacquetta de Luxembourg), and widow of the knight John Gray (Sir John Grey of Groby). Edward, preferring this widow to the princess of Savoy, to the great dissatisfaction of the nation, had requested the count of Charolais (Charles 'the Bold', future duke of Burgundy) to send some representatives to the wedding (it took place on 1 May 1464); the count sent Jacques of Luxembourg, uncle of Elizabeth, with three hundred of the most distinguished and splendid gentlemen of Burgundy. Such a superb embassy, by raising the status of Elizabeth, appeased the English, and so pleased Edward that he assured the Count of Charolais he could count on troops from England.'
Jacques next took part in the War of the Public Good, and at the battle of Monthléry on 16 July 1465 he was one of the leaders of the left flank of the Burgundian army. In 1466 he fought for the count of Charolais at the siege of Dinant. In 1467 he attended the funeral services for Duke Philippe at Bruges. He took part in the campaign against Ličge, fought at the Battle of Brustem on 28 October and entered the city with Charles, now duke of Burgundy, on 17 November. In 1468 he was present at Bruges for the wedding of Charles with Margaret of York, and took part there in the tourney of the Tree of Gold. In that year Charles made Jacques a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. He was one of the leaders of the army which the duke led at Péronne, and took part in the new campaign against Ličge. At the beginning of 1471 he was garrisoned at Bapaume, and then in the campaign against the French he commanded the entire vanguard of the Burgundian army, In 1474 he was at the siege of Neuss, and in the following year he was garrisoned at Arras with the comte de Romont. In the course of a sortie on 27 June the Burgundians were routed, and he himself was wounded in the face and captured by the French. Louis XI forced him to wear a 'fillette', a heavy iron ball and chain attached to the ankle. His capture irritated his eldest brother Louis (1418-1475), who had followed Richemont in 1465 as constable of France. Philippe de Commynes in his _Memoirs_ has an account of this episode.
'You have heard how Sir Jacques de Saint-Pol (Jacques de Luxembourg) and others had been captured before Arras. This capture displeased the Constable (Louis de Luxembourg) considerably because Sir Jacques was a very good brother to him. This was not the only misadventure to befall him because at the same time his son, the count of Roussy (Antoine de Luxembourg, Comte de Brienne de Ligny et de Roussy), who was the duke's governor of Burgundy, was also captured. The Constable's wife (Jeanne de Bar, Comtesse de Marle et Soissons) a lady of great merit and sister to the Queen (Commynes is wrong here; the sister of Charlotte de Savoie, Louis XI's queen, was Marguerite de Savoie, married to Pierre de Luxembourg, son of the Constable.) who protected and favoured her, also died whilst the intrigues, which had begun against him (as you have heard) and which had been brought to a successful conclusion at Bouvignes, were still in progress. Ever since that time the Constable had felt insecure and suspicious about both sides and especially he was fearful of the King. It clearly seemed to him that the King repented having withdrawn his consent to the documents agreed at Bouvignes. The count of Dammartin and others were quartered with the men-at-arms close to Saint Quentin. The Constable feared them as his enemies and kept himself shut up in Saint Quentin where he had just three hundred infantry from his own lands, because he was not entirely sure of the reliability of the men-at-arms (of the royal ordonnance companies which he commanded). He was very troubled because the King urged him several times to take the field to serve him in Hainault, and to lay siege to Avesnes at the moment when the Admiral (Louis bâtard de Bourbon, Comte de Rousillon, Admiral of France), with the other force, was wasting Artois with fire, as I told you. Eventually he did so but in great dread, as he was very afraid. He was only there a few days and kept a strong bodyguard about him. He then retired to his own places and sent word the King that he had raised the siege. I know all about this because the King ordered me to listen to his messenger. He justified himself by saying that he had been reliably informed that there were two men in the army who had been ordered by the King to assassinate him. He mentioned so many pieces of incriminating evidence that people were almost beginning to believe him and to suspect one of the two of having told him something about which they should have kept quiet. I do not want to name anyone or speak further about this affair.
'The Constable sent frequent messages to the duke of Burgundy's army. I believe he was trying to get him away from this foolish expedition. When his messengers had returned he sent some news to the King which he thought would please him and let him know some of the small matters why he had sent to the duke. He thought that by doing this he would satisfy the King. Sometimes he sent word that the duke's affairs were progressing well, in order to frighten the King a little. But he was himself so frightened that he might be attacked that he asked the duke to send him his brother, Sir Jacques de Saint Pol (who was at Neuss, prior to his capture), also the lord of Fiennes (Jacques I de Luxembourg, Seigneur de Fiennes et de Gavre, nephew of the Constable and his brother Jacques) and other of his relatives whom he could put into Saint Quentin with their men, and who would not have to wear the St. Andrew's cross. He promised the duke he would hold Saint Quentin for him and restore it to him some time later and would give him his sealed undertaking. This the duke agreed to do. When Sir Jacques, the lord of Fiennes and other relatives twice found themselves within a league or two of Saint Quentin and ready to enter it, the Constable found that his fear had evaporated, repented of his decision and sent them away. He did this three times, so much did he want to remain in this state of balance, steering between the two, because he was extremely afraid of both of them. I learnt these things from many people, especially from Sir Jacques de Saint Pol himself. He told the King about them when he had been brought a prisoner before him; I was the only other person present. His willing replies to the King's questions did him a lot of good. The King asked him how many men he had to get into town with. He replied that on the third occasion he had about three thousand men. The King also asked him whether, if he had found himself the stronger, he would have held it for the King or the Constable. Sir Jacques replied that on the first two occasions he came only to reinforce his brother but on the third occasion, seeing that the Constable had twice deceived both his master and himself, if he had got the upper hand he would have kept the town for his master without doing anything violent or prejudicial to the Constable, except that he would not have sallied out at his command. Consequently, shortly afterwards, the King released Sir Jacques de Saint Pol from prison and gave him men-at-arms and fine possessions. He employed him up to his death and this good fortune was the result of his replies.'
Jacques became the king's counsellor and chamberlain, and before 1480 he was made a knight of the Order of Saint-Michel, because of which he was excluded from the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1481. In 1486 Jacques was in the royal army which fought against the Burgundians at Artois.
Jacques was a serious collector of manuscripts, of which six have been preserved: two books of hours, the prayers of St. Augustine, a book of devotion, a treatise on tourneys which the author, Antoine de Sale, had dedicated to him in January 1459, and a collection of poems, some of which Jacques had written.
In 1465 Jacques had become lord of Escaudoeuvres. After his death in 1487 his widow Isabelle sold the lands in 1488 to the bishop of Cambrai, though the lordship remained in Hainault. In the following year it moved to the Berghes family, which kept it until 1536 when Robert de Cro˙, bishop of Cambrai, bought it.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Events
| Birth | Abt 1419 | ||||
| Marriage | 16 Jul 1435 | Isabelle de Roubaix | |||
| Death | 1487 |
Families
| Spouse | Isabelle de Roubaix ( - 1502) |
| Child | Yolande de Luxembourg ( - 1533) |
| Father | Pierre de Luxembourg (1390 - 1433) |
| Mother | Margherita del Balzo (1394 - 1469) |