His Role in Medieval Conflicts Between Church and State
Raymond de Turenne (Raimondo di Turenna), nephew of two popes, is famously known as the “Scourge of Provence” for his conflicts against Queen Marie of Blois (Maria di Blois) and the two antipopes Clement VII and Benedict XIII. He was one of the most daring captains of the 14th century and a formidable negotiator when it came to his own interests. He also fought in Italy during the War of the Eight Saints, though without distinguishing himself in any notable way.
Born: 1352
Death: 1413, April
| Year, Month | State, Mercenary Company | Opponent | Command | Area of Activity | Actions Undertaken and Other Salient Facts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1368 | |||||
| Mar. | France | He faces in Provence Bertrand du Guesclin both at the siege of Tarascon and in the battles of Arles and Céreste, near Apt. He takes part in the repression of the so-called “laboureux,” who have rebelled against the exactions of the two opposing armies. | |||
| 1371 | Church | Milan | Piedmont | He distinguishes himself at the siege of Cuneo with Count Amadeus of Savoy; he is tasked with assaulting the city’s walls first. The Visconti forces yield to his attack. | |
| 1372 | Piedmont | He is knighted near Cuneo by Count Amadeus of Savoy. | |||
| 1373 | |||||
| — | Piedmont, Lombardy | He continues to serve in the papal army against the Visconti. He follows the Savoyards into the Canavese, crosses the Ticino River, and enters Lombardy; he crosses the Adda River and overcomes at Mapello the obstacles posed by enemy fortresses. | |||
| May | Lombardy | He is blocked with Otto of Brunswick at Montichiari by Milanese fortifications. He defeats the Visconti forces in the battle of the same name. | |||
| 1374 | France | At the beginning of the year, he returns to Avignon. He opposes the last remnants of the Tuchins in Languedoc and Thibaud de Budos, eager to recover his castle of Portes. | |||
| 1375 | |||||
| First half | Church | Del Balzo | France | Juan Fernández de Heredia entrusts him, along with Bernardon de la Salle (Bernardo della Sala), to attack the Prince of Orange Raimondo del Balzo, who threatens Avignon. He assaults Gigondas, Jonquières, and Suze-la-Rousse. A truce follows; the two captains are engaged to oppose the Bretons of Olivier du Guesclin. The adversaries are forced to recross the Rhône River. | |
| Oct.–Dec. | France | His father Guillaume Roger, Count of Beaufort, grants him the viscounty of Châlus on the occasion of his marriage. His family controls numerous fiefs in Provence, including Les Baux-de-Provence, Saint-Rémy, Pertuis, Meyrargues, Pennes; in the Baronnies, Séderon, Châteauneuf-de-Mazenc, Savasse; and in Languedoc, along the Rhône River, Alès, Anduze, Bagnols-sur-Cèze, Cornillon, Portes-Bertrand, Saint-Étienne-Vallée-Française. In December, Emperor Charles of Bohemia enfeoffs his father with lands in Tuscany included in the diocese of Chiusi and under the jurisdiction of Cortona. | |||
| 1376 | |||||
| Oct.–Nov. | Church | Florence | 120 lances | France and Lazio | He is contracted with 120 lances by Pope Urban V; he is granted a provision of 449 florins every two months. His service will last until January 1377, and he will receive a total of 11,230 florins. He disembarks with the pope at Civitavecchia and escorts him to Rome. He fights the Florentines and their allies in the War of the Eight Saints. |
| 1377 | |||||
| Apr. | Lazio | He assaults Viterbo at the head of 300 lances. He positions himself near Bolsena, setting an ambush to catch Francesco di Vico, who, according to his spies, is returning there with a small escort. Instead, the papal troops are caught by surprise. Giovanni di Vico, informed of his approach, exits Bolsena with all his troops, defeats Raimondo di Turenna’s lances, and captures the condottiero himself along with 20 knights of the golden spurs, all nephews of the pope and cardinals. | |||
| Sept. | Tuscany | He, along with Jean de Malestroit and Silvestro di Budes, is tasked with uniting their troops to march jointly on Florence. The three captains refuse to form a single army. Raimondo di Turenna moves to Maremma with 1,800 lances and besieges Grosseto; he is confronted by John Hawkwood, who forces him to withdraw. | |||
| 1378 | |||||
| Apr. | Pope Gregory XI dies. The Florentines turn to Raimondo di Turenna, Cardinal Corsini, and Cardinal Jacopo Orsini to reassure the new Pope Urban VI of their devotion. | ||||
| — | Turenne | Treignac | France | He allies with Perrot de Fontaines (Perrot le Béarnais) to counter Guichard de Comborn, Lord of Treignac, who wishes to recover the viscounty of Comborn. With the help of crossbowmen from Turenne, Perrot le Béarnais seizes Chamberet. The Count of Valentinois grants the captain the lordship of two small castles north of Brive and invites him to settle there. In the same year, his father Guillaume Roger, brother of Pope Gregory XI, cedes him Saint-Rémy. | |
| 1381 | France | Perrot le Béarnais settles in Chalucet. Raimondo di Turenna, however, cannot rid himself of other mercenaries like Noli Barbe in Beynat and Le Pescher and Ramont de Chalucet in Sérilhac. | |||
| 1383 | |||||
| Oct. | Turenne | Antipope, Anjou | France | He opposes Clement VII and Louis of Anjou. The antipope cannot resist his incursions, which bring desolation around Avignon. At the end of October, enemy forces take advantage of his absence in Flanders, due to the revolt of the Maillotins, to seize Grillon from the Marquis of Canilhac. | |
| 1385 | France | He settles in the castle of Les Baux (Les Baux-de-Provence). Initially, he has good relations with Margaret of Blois, widow of King of Provence Louis I of Anjou; soon he is disappointed by some of the queen’s decisions. | |||
| 1386 | |||||
| Mar. | France | He lays waste to Provence, taking advantage of the conflict that troubles his adversaries in the Kingdom of Naples. He launches raids in Aureille; assaults Orgon. His main opponent is now Antipope Clement VII, who has not returned to his family the lands donated by Pope Gregory XI. | |||
| 1389 | France | As Captain of the Comtat Venaissin, he continues to distinguish himself over the next decade for the sackings perpetrated in the Baronnies and Valdaine. | |||
| 1390 | |||||
| Aug. | France | He is in Mende, where John of Armagnac attempts, on behalf of the King of France, to end the conflict opposing him to the antipope. | |||
| 1391 | |||||
| Oct. | France | He concludes a treaty with Queen Maria of Blois, granting him the lands of Pennes, Les Baux-de-Provence, Meyrargues, the port of Sainte-Réparade, and half of the bishopric of Valernes; he also receives 14,000 francs as compensation for damages, plus interest, and is promised a rich income. In exchange, he must cede the fortresses of Montpaon and Castillon and recognize himself as a vassal of King of Sicily Louis II of Anjou. The truce is soon broken. While Maria of Blois seeks to bind Raimondo di Turenna to herself through the marriage of Charles of Anjou with his daughter Antoinette, King of France Charles VI hinders the project by proposing that the young woman marry Marshal Boucicaut instead. The pretender to the throne of Naples and the county of Provence bans him from her states, provoking brutal reprisals from him and his mother Aliénor de Comminges, Lady of Meyrargues. | |||
| 1393 | |||||
| July–Aug. | France | The conflict becomes increasingly fierce. Raimondo di Turenna is challenged to a duel by Jean de Vienne. In August, a bounty is placed on his head by supporters of Antipope Clement VII. In response, he declares himself a devoted servant of the Pope of Rome Boniface IX and vassal of King of Naples Ladislaus of Anjou. He assaults Avignon and occupies much of the Comtat Venaissin. | |||
| 1394 | |||||
| Dec. | France | At the end of the month, he is condemned by the antipope for lèse-majesté, treason, and rebellion. All his goods are confiscated, and his subjects are released from their allegiance. | |||
| 1395 | |||||
| Apr.–May | France | He is reported at the papal court of Avignon, where he reconciles with Antipope Clement VII. | |||
| 1396 | |||||
| Spring | Turenne | Antipope | France | He resumes hostilities with the new antipope Benedict XIII and Maria of Blois. A new agreement is reached, establishing an indemnity of 60,000 francs in his favor—necessary to pay the salaries of the companies he hired, which must be dismissed—in addition to the reciprocal release of prisoners. | |
| Aug. | France | Once again, the agreements are not upheld. A league forms in Provence against him. War resumes. | |||
| 1397 | France | Mid-year, Seneschal Georges de Marle besieges Pertuis, which surrenders in December. | |||
| 1398 | |||||
| June | France | He is attacked by his son-in-law, Boucicaut. Raimondo di Turenna is definitively defeated. | |||
| 1402 | |||||
| Apr. | France | At Brantes, at the foot of Mont Ventoux, involved in a transaction between Odon de Villars, husband of his niece Alice del Balzo, and their nephew Philippe de Lévis. | |||
| 1408 | |||||
| Feb. | France | Antipope Benedict XIII, at the request of his son-in-law Marshal Boucicaut, absolves him from the excommunications imposed by his predecessor Clement VII. | |||
| 1411 | |||||
| Sept. | France | King of France Charles VI sends a message to the seneschal of Limousin to destroy the fortress of Cazillac, which has become a refuge for the king’s enemies, at the request of Raimondo di Turenna. | |||
| 1413 | |||||
| Apr. | He dies. A fresco depicts him in the castle of Les Baux. He is also portrayed twice by Benvenuto di Giovanni in the hospital of Santa Maria della Scala in Siena. He marries Maria of Boulogne. |
Sources
-“Se rendit célèbre sous le nom de Fléau de Provence en luttant contre Marie de Blois, comtesse de Provence et les deux antipapes d’Avignon Clement VII er Benoit XIII… Raymond de Turenne est de ceux qui portent coutumièrement leur bon droit à la pointe de leurs épées et leurs documents en leur armes.” Da un giudizio della scrittrice provenzale M. MAURON riportato da WIKIPEDIA
-“Le vicomte, l’un de plus hardis capitaines du XIVe siècle, fonça tete baissée pour défendre sa gloire et sa dignité en se trouvant devoir combattre à la fois les troupes pontificales, dont il était encore nominatevement le Capitaine, l’armée de Georges da Marles, Sénechal de Provence, celle du Recteur du Comtat, Odon de Villars, et celle de son beau-frère, Louis II de Poitiers, comte de Valentinois. Raymond de Turenne, avec ce sens du moment qu’ont les hommes de grand destin et son extraordinaire aptitude à se saisir de toutes les opportunités, se révela non seulement un redoutable guerrier mais aussi et surtout un remarquable négociateur pour tout ce qui avait trait à son propre interéts. Energique et vif de repartie, perspicace et actif, ses dèfis et ses ruses diplomatiques firent autant pour la réputation du vicomte que la destinée dèrisoire et étonnante de ce belliciste hors pair. Et son apport du gain découvrit une manière de s’enrichir…Pour ce noble assaiffé de désir de vengeance, cette vie de hasard à laquelle son tempérement hardi l’invitait, ne pouvait qu’aboutir sur ces guerres continuelles expéditives, son impétuosité et sa bravoire, en firent un chef de guerre cruel aussi sauvage qu’un loup et aussi fort qu’un ours.” WIKIPEDIA
-“Il était de taille pleine et carrèe, plutot grand que petit, avoit des membres forts et robustes, la teste grosse et ronde, le visage plein et gras, le teint couleur de miel et tirant sur la basané, avoit le poil crespé er noir, les sourcils et yeux de mesme, à l’entre-deux des sourcils ayant la chair surenflée et avoit le nez qui tirait sur l’aquilin..Au demeurant ayant l’aspect assez fier et agréable tout ensemble, rassemblant à un homme de bonne et haute maison et qui facilement ne supportoit pas une injustice.” Da una descrizione dell’affresco che lo rappresenta nel castello di Beaux di C. De Nostredame riportata da WIKIPEDIA
Fonte immagine: wikipedia
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