John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Buchan
Encyclopedia
John Stewart, Earl of Buchan
(c. 1381 – 17 August 1424) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who fought alongside Scotland's French allies during the Hundred Years War. In 1419 he was sent to France by his father the Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland, with an army of 6,000 men. Stewart led the combined Franco-Scottish army at the Battle of Baugé
on 21 March 1421, where he comprehensively defeated the English forces, proving that the English could at last be beaten.
However, two years later, Stewart was defeated and captured by Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury
at the Battle of Cravant
in 1423. After the battle he was exchanged, and after his release in 1424 he was appointed Constable of France
making him the effective Commander-in-Chief of the French army. On August 17, 1424 Buchan was killed at the disastrous Battle of Verneuil
, along with most of the Scottish troops in France.
and his second wife Muriella Keith. He succeeded to the Earldom of Buchan after the death of his uncle Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan (the Wolf of Badenoch), in 1405. In 1406 the Duke of Albany became Regent of Scotland, making him the most powerful man in Scotland, king in all but name.
.
, sailing to La Rochelle
in a Spanish fleet. At first Stewart's soldiers prove unpopular amongst the French, owing to their fondness for food and drink, but success in battle would make the Scottish army extremely welcome in France. Stewart was commander of the combined Franco-Scottish army at the battle of Baugé
on 21 March 1421, where he won a great victory over the English, the first major setback suffered by the English armies during the Hundred Years War since the reign of Richard II
. Buchan had been appointed by the Dauphin
to defend Anjou
against the Duke of Clarence
, brother of King Henry V
. Clarence was among the first to fall, wounded by Sir John Swinton and dispatched by Buchan's battle axe.
Baugé was a huge boost to the morale of the Scottish and French, proving that the English were not invincible. On hearing of the Franco-Scottish victory, Pope Martin V
remarked that "the Scots are well-known as an antidote to the English."
, Buchan found himself in command of a mixed force of French and Scots soldiers. Buchan confronted a combined Anglo-Burgundian army at the village of Cravant
in Burgundy, at a bridge and ford on the banks of the river Yonne, a left-bank tributary of the Seine
, southeast of Auxerre
. Buchan's forces outnumbered the English and Burgundians on the opposite bank more than two to one. The combined English and Burgundian forces, numbering some 4,000 men, were led by Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury
.
For three hours the forces stared each other down, neither willing to attempt an opposed river crossing. Salisbury finally took the initiative and his army began to cross the waist-high river, some 50 metres wide, under a covering hail of arrows from English archers. Meanwhile, another English force under Baron Willoughby de Eresby forced a passage through the Scots across the narrow bridge and divided the Dauphin's army.
When the French ranks began to withdraw, the Scots refused to flee and were cut down by the hundreds. Over 3,000 of them fell at the bridgehead or along the riverbanks, and over 2,000 prisoners were taken, including the Earl of Buchan and the commander of the Dauphin's forces, the Comte de Vendôme. The Dauphin's forces retreated to the Loire, leaving many prisoners behind and over 6,000 dead. Buchan may well have considered himself lucky to be taken alive. King Henry V of England
had re-asserted the English claim of suzerainty
over Scotland, and therefore executed Scots prisoners of war on the grounds that they were traitors, fighting against their own King.
After the battle Buchan was exchanged, and after his release in 1424 he was appointed Constable of France
making him the effective Commander-in-Chief of the French army. To recover from the losses sustained at Cravant, fresh troops under the Earl of Douglas
were dispatched from Scotland to France.
, along with most of the Scottish troops in France. Buchan and his generals unwisely chose to face the English army, led by by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford
in open battle. Bedford's army attacked aggressively from the south to take the Scots in the rear. Abandoned by their French allies and almost completely surrounded, the Scots made a ferocious last stand, but were overwhelmed.
Verneuil was one of the bloodiest battles of the Hundred Years War, described by the English as a second Agincourt
. Altogether some 6000 allied troops were killed, including 4000 Scots. The English lost 1600 men, an unusually high figure for them, far greater than their losses at Agincourt, indicating the ferocity of the fight. The Earl of Douglas
fought on the losing side for the last time, joined in death by Buchan.
Stewart's death had important consequences for domestic politics in Scotland. His death fatally weakened the position of his brother Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany, who was soon afterwards arrested and executed by James I of Scotland, leading to the almost complete ruin of the Albany Stewarts.
A bust of Stewart is displayed to this day in the Galerie des Batailles
, in the Château de Versailles, opened in 1837.
Earl of Buchan
The Mormaer or Earl of Buchan was originally the provincial ruler of the medieval province of Buchan. Buchan was the first Mormaerdom in the High Medieval Kingdom of the Scots to pass into the hands of a non-Scottish family in the male line. The earldom had three lines in its history, not counting...
(c. 1381 – 17 August 1424) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who fought alongside Scotland's French allies during the Hundred Years War. In 1419 he was sent to France by his father the Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland, with an army of 6,000 men. Stewart led the combined Franco-Scottish army at the Battle of Baugé
Battle of Baugé
The Battle of Baugé, fought between the English and the Franco-Scots on 21 March 1421 in Baugé, France, east of Angers, was a major defeat for the English in the Hundred Years' War...
on 21 March 1421, where he comprehensively defeated the English forces, proving that the English could at last be beaten.
However, two years later, Stewart was defeated and captured by Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury
Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury
Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury, 6th and 3rd Baron Montacute, 5th Baron Monthermer, and Count of Perche, KG was an English nobleman...
at the Battle of Cravant
Battle of Cravant
The Battle of Cravant was an encounter fought on 31 July 1423, during the Hundred Years' War between English and French forces, a victory for the English and their Burgundian allies. After the Treaty of Troyes in 1420, the English king was permitted to occupy all the country north of the Loire...
in 1423. After the battle he was exchanged, and after his release in 1424 he was appointed Constable of France
Constable of France
The Constable of France , as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France and Commander in Chief of the army. He, theoretically, as Lieutenant-general of the King, outranked all the nobles and was second-in-command only to the King...
making him the effective Commander-in-Chief of the French army. On August 17, 1424 Buchan was killed at the disastrous Battle of Verneuil
Battle of Verneuil
The Battle of Verneuil was a battle of the Hundred Years' War, fought on 17 August 1424 near Verneuil in Normandy and was a significant English victory.-The black time:...
, along with most of the Scottish troops in France.
Early life
Stewart was born c.1381, the son of Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of AlbanyRobert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany
Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany , a member of the Scottish royal house, served as Regent to three different Scottish monarchs...
and his second wife Muriella Keith. He succeeded to the Earldom of Buchan after the death of his uncle Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan (the Wolf of Badenoch), in 1405. In 1406 the Duke of Albany became Regent of Scotland, making him the most powerful man in Scotland, king in all but name.
Family
Stewart married Elizabeth Douglas (1385x1401–c.1451), daughter of Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas. They had just one child, Margaret Stewart (before 1425–before 1461), who married George Seton, 1st Lord SetonGeorge Seton, 1st Lord Seton
George Seton, 1st Lord Seton, of Seton, East Lothian, was a Lord of Parliament, Lord Auditor, and a Scottish ambassador.-Family:...
.
Hundred Years War
In 1419 Stewart's father sent him to France with an army of 6,000 men to fight in the Hundred Years' WarHundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
, sailing to La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
in a Spanish fleet. At first Stewart's soldiers prove unpopular amongst the French, owing to their fondness for food and drink, but success in battle would make the Scottish army extremely welcome in France. Stewart was commander of the combined Franco-Scottish army at the battle of Baugé
Battle of Baugé
The Battle of Baugé, fought between the English and the Franco-Scots on 21 March 1421 in Baugé, France, east of Angers, was a major defeat for the English in the Hundred Years' War...
on 21 March 1421, where he won a great victory over the English, the first major setback suffered by the English armies during the Hundred Years War since the reign of Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
. Buchan had been appointed by the Dauphin
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
to defend Anjou
Anjou
Anjou is a former county , duchy and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire...
against the Duke of Clarence
Duke of Clarence
Duke of Clarence is a title which has been traditionally awarded to junior members of the English and British Royal families. The first three creations were in the Peerage of England, the fourth in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the fifth in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.The title was first...
, brother of King Henry V
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
. Clarence was among the first to fall, wounded by Sir John Swinton and dispatched by Buchan's battle axe.
Baugé was a huge boost to the morale of the Scottish and French, proving that the English were not invincible. On hearing of the Franco-Scottish victory, Pope Martin V
Pope Martin V
Pope Martin V , born Odo Colonna, was Pope from 1417 to 1431. His election effectively ended the Western Schism .-Biography:...
remarked that "the Scots are well-known as an antidote to the English."
Capture and Ransom
In the early summer of 1423, at the Battle of CravantBattle of Cravant
The Battle of Cravant was an encounter fought on 31 July 1423, during the Hundred Years' War between English and French forces, a victory for the English and their Burgundian allies. After the Treaty of Troyes in 1420, the English king was permitted to occupy all the country north of the Loire...
, Buchan found himself in command of a mixed force of French and Scots soldiers. Buchan confronted a combined Anglo-Burgundian army at the village of Cravant
Cravant, Yonne
Cravant is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France....
in Burgundy, at a bridge and ford on the banks of the river Yonne, a left-bank tributary of the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
, southeast of Auxerre
Auxerre
Auxerre is a commune in the Bourgogne region in north-central France, between Paris and Dijon. It is the capital of the Yonne department.Auxerre's population today is about 45,000...
. Buchan's forces outnumbered the English and Burgundians on the opposite bank more than two to one. The combined English and Burgundian forces, numbering some 4,000 men, were led by Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury
Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury
Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury, 6th and 3rd Baron Montacute, 5th Baron Monthermer, and Count of Perche, KG was an English nobleman...
.
For three hours the forces stared each other down, neither willing to attempt an opposed river crossing. Salisbury finally took the initiative and his army began to cross the waist-high river, some 50 metres wide, under a covering hail of arrows from English archers. Meanwhile, another English force under Baron Willoughby de Eresby forced a passage through the Scots across the narrow bridge and divided the Dauphin's army.
When the French ranks began to withdraw, the Scots refused to flee and were cut down by the hundreds. Over 3,000 of them fell at the bridgehead or along the riverbanks, and over 2,000 prisoners were taken, including the Earl of Buchan and the commander of the Dauphin's forces, the Comte de Vendôme. The Dauphin's forces retreated to the Loire, leaving many prisoners behind and over 6,000 dead. Buchan may well have considered himself lucky to be taken alive. King Henry V of England
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
had re-asserted the English claim of suzerainty
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...
over Scotland, and therefore executed Scots prisoners of war on the grounds that they were traitors, fighting against their own King.
After the battle Buchan was exchanged, and after his release in 1424 he was appointed Constable of France
Constable of France
The Constable of France , as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France and Commander in Chief of the army. He, theoretically, as Lieutenant-general of the King, outranked all the nobles and was second-in-command only to the King...
making him the effective Commander-in-Chief of the French army. To recover from the losses sustained at Cravant, fresh troops under the Earl of Douglas
Earl of Douglas
This page is concerned with the holders of the extinct title Earl of Douglas and the preceding feudal barons of Douglas, South Lanarkshire. The title was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1358 for William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, son of Sir Archibald Douglas, Guardian of Scotland...
were dispatched from Scotland to France.
Battle of Verneuil
However, despite these welcome reinforcements, disaster would soon overtake Stewart and his Scottish army. On August 17, 1424 Buchan was killed at the Battle of VerneuilBattle of Verneuil
The Battle of Verneuil was a battle of the Hundred Years' War, fought on 17 August 1424 near Verneuil in Normandy and was a significant English victory.-The black time:...
, along with most of the Scottish troops in France. Buchan and his generals unwisely chose to face the English army, led by by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, KG , also known as John Plantagenet, was the third surviving son of King Henry IV of England by Mary de Bohun, and acted as Regent of France for his nephew, King Henry VI....
in open battle. Bedford's army attacked aggressively from the south to take the Scots in the rear. Abandoned by their French allies and almost completely surrounded, the Scots made a ferocious last stand, but were overwhelmed.
Verneuil was one of the bloodiest battles of the Hundred Years War, described by the English as a second Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
. Altogether some 6000 allied troops were killed, including 4000 Scots. The English lost 1600 men, an unusually high figure for them, far greater than their losses at Agincourt, indicating the ferocity of the fight. The Earl of Douglas
Earl of Douglas
This page is concerned with the holders of the extinct title Earl of Douglas and the preceding feudal barons of Douglas, South Lanarkshire. The title was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1358 for William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, son of Sir Archibald Douglas, Guardian of Scotland...
fought on the losing side for the last time, joined in death by Buchan.
Legacy
A bust of Stewart is displayed to this day in the Galerie des Batailles
Galerie des Batailles
The Galerie des Batailles is a 120 metre long and 13 metre wide gallery occupying the first floor of the aile du midi of the Palace of Versailles, joining onto the grand and petit 'appartements de la reine'...
, in the Château de Versailles, opened in 1837.