Charles I d'Albret | |
Noble Family: | Albret |
Father: | Arnaud Amanieu, Lord of Albret |
Mother: | Margaret of Bourbon |
Spouse: | Marie de Sully |
Issue: | Jeanne d'Albret, Countess of Foix Charles II, Lord of Albret Guillaume, Lord of Orval Jean d'Albret Catherine d'Albret |
Birth Date: | December 1368 |
Death Place: | Azincourt, France |
Place Of Burial: | Vieil-Hesdin, France |
Charles I d'Albret (December 1368 – 25 October 1415) was the Lord of Albret and the Constable of France from 1402 until 1411, and again from 1413 until 1415. He was also the co-commander of the French army at the Battle of Agincourt where he was killed by the English forces led by King Henry V.
Charles was born into an old Gascon family, the son of Arnaud, Lord of Albret, and Margaret de Bourbon. He served under Bertrand du Guesclin as a young man and fought at the battle of Roosebeke. He was made the constable of France by Charles VI in 1403, but dismissed when the Burgundian faction gained power at court. He was restored to his office in 1413 when the Armagnac faction regained power. An important figure at the French court, he is the subject of two of Christine de Pizan's Autres Ballades (#2 and #3).
Although nominal commander of the French army in the Agincourt campaign together with Marshal Boucicaut, the two professional soldiers could not exercise effective control over the higher-ranking French nobles on the day of the battle. Constable d'Albret was killed at Agincourt during the battle on 25 October 1415, against the English troops led by King Henry V. He was interred at the Friary church in Vieil-Hesdin.
He married Marie de Sully, daughter of Louis de Sully and Isabel de Craon, on 27 January 1400 and had issue: