Bertrand du Guesclin

Timeline

1. 1340–1350Broons · BrittanyBorn to a noble family near Broons in Brittany, he rose to prominence in the 1340s during the War of the Breton Succession and local conflicts, earning a reputation for bravery and unconventional tactics, and was active in Franco-English border warfare in the mid-to-late 1340s.
2. 1351–1369Nájera · CastileAfter the 1350s he was hired to fight for Castile and other powers, was captured after the Battle of Nájera in 1367, and in 1369 gained the favor of King Charles V of France, beginning systematic participation in the strategic counteroffensive against the English.
3. 1370–1380Paris · Île-de-FranceAppointed Marshal of France in 1370, he pursued a strategy of avoiding decisive battles and wearing down English-held areas, gradually recovering lost territory in northern and western France, and died of illness during the siege of Châteauneuf-de-Randon in 1380, buried at Saint-Denis.