Olivier V de Clisson (23 April 1336 – 23 April 1407), nicknamed "The Butcher", was a Breton soldier, the Constable of France, and the son of Olivier IV de Clisson. His father had been put to death by the French in 1343 on the suspicion of having willingly given up the city of Vannes to the English.
Biography Olivier de Clisson was born on 23 April 1336 at the Château de Clisson in Brittany.
Clisson family context Olivier's father chose the camp of Charles de Blois and the King of France in the Breton War of Succession and was the military commander defending the city of Vannes when the English besieged it in 1342. His father was captured by the English and imprisoned, but was released after a relatively low ransom was paid. Because of the amount, the King of France, Philip VI and his advisers suspected Clisson of conspiring with King Edward III.
After a peace treaty was signed, his father was invited to Paris for a tournament, but was arrested, tried and executed by beheading on 2 August 1343. This expeditious execution shocked the nobility as the evidence of guilt was never made public. Moreover, the notion of betrayal does not refer in the same way for nobles of that time: they claimed the right to choose whom to honor. Olivier IV's body received additional posthumous humiliation: his body was hanged by the armpits at the gallows at Montfaucon in Paris, and his head was piked at the Sauvetout gate of Nantes.
Formative years on the seas and in England Olivier's mother, Jeanne de Clisson née de Belleville, swore Olivier and his brother Guillaume to avenge their father. She raised funds for an army to attack troops loyal to France, stationed in Brittany. Eventually she armed ships and started a piratical war against French ships. These ships were eventually lost and Jeanne with her two sons set adrift for five days. Guillaume died of thirst, cold and exhaustion. Olivier and his mother were finally rescued and taken to Morlaix by Montfort supporters.
It was after these events that Olivier was taken by his mother to England in his youth. Hereafter, he was raised in the court of King Edward III alongside John IV de Montfort, a future claimant of the Ducal throne of Brittany. Olivier's mother Jeanne, eventually married her fourth husband, an English military commander of King Edward III.
Breton War of Succession After ten years in England, Olivier, then twenty-three, accompanied King Edward III and John IV de Montfort at the head of a Breton-English force to Brittany in 1359 as part of a guerrilla campaign near Poitou.
Treaty of Brétigny Under the reign of the new King, John II "The Good" of France, Olivier was reconciled to the French Crown in 1360 as part of the Treaty of Brétigny, drafted on 8 May. Officially ratified on 24 October of that year, this treaty, which had been renamed the Treaty of Calais, sought to defuse sources of conflict between France and England, opening a nine-year truce between the two Kingdoms. As a part of its pursuit to eliminate the reasons for the two countries' animosity, such as the grievances Olivier's family had against the French Monarchy, this treaty, in an attempt to rectify these wrongs, posthumously reinstated the honour of Olivier's father, allowing his relatives to regain the rights and privileges their family's nobility had once provided them.
First marriage In the same year, Olivier also married and Châteaubriant, heiress of the family Laval, and granddaughter of the Duke Arthur II. He therefore became first cousin of both Ducal claimants: John IV de Montfort and Joan, Duchess of Brittany, wife of Charles de Blois, This also made Olivier a relative of the King of France. This alliance opened up new political possibilities. The marriage produced two daughters: Beatrice of Laval, lady Villemomble Margaret
War continues In 1363 Olivier was still on the side of the Breton-English Montfortists and one of the commanders of the Montfort troops who failed to take Nantes, but managed to hold Bécherel.
Capture of the French king In 1364 several months after the accession of another French king, Charles V, John IV took advantage of the troubled situation in France since the capture of King John II the Good and was assisted by the English under John Chandos, the commander who had decided the battle of Poitiers.
Death of Charles de Blois In 1365 John IV besieged the city of Auray. The two opposing Breton armies clashed under the walls of the city on 29 September. Monfortistes were entrenched there and John IV attempted to overcome the numerical inferiority of his army by attacking the Breton-French camp by surprise. The Breton-English commander, however, adopted a proposal from Olivier and waited for the Breton-French army to climb a slope leading to Auray. They managed to divide the troops of Charles de Blois and were fought separately. Isolated from the bulk of his army, Charles de Blois was surrounded and killed in the melee, while Bertrand du Guesclin, the French Commander, was captured but released later with a ransom in 1365. The Breton War of Succession ended with this battle and Olivier had played an important role. Olivier was however injured and lost the use of one eye, earning him the nickname "the one-eyed man of Auray".
First Treaty of Guérande The widow of Charles de Blois, Joan, Duchess of Brittany, acceded to these events, and peace talks between the houses of Blois and Montfort started. John IV was nicknamed the Conqueror and was recognized as the only Duke of Brittany. Olivier, while nursing his injury learnt that John IV had given the English commander, John Chandos, the Gâvre castle and forest, a reward Olivier coveted for his loyal service. Olivier expressed his displeasure at the new Duke, but this did not change the matter. Olivier evidently raged "I would rather give myself to the devil than have an English neighbor" A fortnight later, the Gâvre castle was surprisingly burnt down. In response to this, Duke John IV confiscated the lordship of Châteauceaux from Olivier.
In 1366 Olivier was sent to Paris as the Breton ambassador to ensure that Charles V, King of France, complied to the guarantees of the status of an independent Brittany. On 22 May Olivier was received with great fanfare in Paris.
Battle of Castile In 1367 Olivier participated, with the English General Robert Knolles under command of the Edward the Black Prince, at the battle of Nájera (Castile) and faced troops commanded by the French Constable du Guesclin. The French lost this battle and du Guesclin was captured for the second time.
Change of allegiances In the spring of 1369, Olivier advised the French King in planning a possible invasion of England, to avoid the winter storms of the Channel given the weakness of the French fleet.
In August of the same year, Olivier failed to take Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte for the English, since he was forced to decamp and to negotiate on behalf of Duke John IV with King Charles V.
King Charles V apparently secured the full services of Olivier at this stage by paying him with properties in Normandy. It is with these lands that Olivier exchanged for the lordship of Josselin with the Count of Alençon, his cousin in 1370. A few months later, Olivier formalised his change of allegiance, by signing a charter establishing the suzerainty of the King of France over Josselin, even though it was located in the heart of Brittany. For his part, Duke John IV expressed his displeasure with Olivier in this regard.
Having acquired the lordship of Josselin, Olivier began to build Josselin Castle in 1370, an imposing new fortress with eight towers.History at chateaujosselin.com In the same year, he joined Bertrand du Guesclin, the constable of France, and followed him in campaigns against the English, including the Siege of Brest in 1373.
In 1370 King Charles V requested Olivier to plunder English-controlled southwest France. On 23 October, Olivier allied now with du Guesclin, by the oath of Pontorson, defeated the English at the Battle of Pontvallain, The oath between the new allies stated that the benefits of any gains would be shared. This alliance was indicative of the general state of vassalage links of the era, leading to situations where these links were intertwined and inextricable, each becoming free to choose sides in the interests of the moment. The brotherhood of arms had become greater than the vassal relationship, Olivier respected the oath with Du Guesclin. From this pact, Olivier formally became a Valois, the murderers of his father.
In the same year, during a raid by the English General Robert Knolles outside Paris, Olivier advised the King in a cautious tactic, a defensive strategy to avoid a pitched battle as the French were not sufficiently prepared; Knowles was eventually turned away from capital.
In 1371 the King of France decided to attack the English in their possessions of Guyenne. The Constable and Olivier shared the military command, the former leading the fight in Auvergne and Rouergue, while the second attacked the English positions of Poitou, Saintonge and Anjou during the summer. The English retaliated by leading an expedition against the stronghold of Moncontour, which fell after ten days of siege.
The English controlled cities of Loudun, Saint Jean d'Angely and Saintes were captured in 1372. The people of La Rochelle themselves opened the gates to the French troops. On several occasions, as with Moncontour, the English did not spare prisoners who could pay ransom. The squire of Olivier who was captured in Benon (Saintonge), was tortured and killed. In revenge, Olivier executed fifteen prisoners and developed a reputation for not hesitating to mutilate captive enemies, cutting off arms or legs. du Guesclin evidently remarked "God! The body of St. Benedict, the English are not wrong when they call you the Butcher!"
Breton war debt Brittany was at this stage indebted to the English King Edward III. Thomas Melbourne, Treasurer and Receiver General of the Duchy, and other advisors to the Breton Duke were English. Breton Nobles such as Olivier resented this as well as an increasingly popular discontent over the implementation of a permanent ducal tax, the hearth tax. Duke John IV chose to sign a new treaty of alliance with England explaining to France that he was forced to host English troops in order to counter Olivier's militant presence in Brittany.
In 1373 in response to this, King Charles V ordered the Constable on 1 March to seize the Duchy and ensure the support of Olivier, by giving him the lordship of Guillac. Du Guesclin and Olivier started a propaganda war to discredit the Breton nobility of Duke John IV. English troops were stationed in Derval, Rouge, Brest and Saint-Mathieu. Abandoned by most of the Breton nobility, Duke John IV was forced into exile and crossed the English Channel on 28 April 1373.
Olivier as co-regent of Brittany Olivier could have claimed the title of Duke, but King Charles V chose to hand over Brittany to his brother, the Duke of Anjou, who was married to a daughter of Charles Penthievre Blois, to head the Duchy, with the title of "lieutenant of the King" This appointment was however honorific, as the Duke of Anjou never entered Brittany. Olivier was subsequently appointed co-regent with a Vicount, John I of Rohan.
The summer of 1373 began with the siege of the castle of Derval, symbolic as this castle was the property of the English General, Robert Knolles.