Jean de Monchy
French noble governor and commander (1500-1563) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jean de Monchy, seigneur de Sénarpont (1500–1563) was a French noble, governor and military commander during the Italian Wars and the early French Wars of Religion. Beginning his career under François I he served as the governor of Corbie from 1541 to 1550. At this time the kingdom regained control of Boulogne and the new king Henri II appointed him governor of the important port city. He was briefly the bailli (bailiff) of Amiens simultaneously. In 1557 the French were faced with disaster at the Saint-Quentin and in the aftermath Sénarpont enjoyed command as temporary lieutenant-general of maritime Picardie. Keen to avenge the defeat, Henri decided upon an attack against Calais, Sénarpont would be dispatched on several reconnaissance missions to assess the viability of this proposal, and it was determined to go ahead with the attack. Sénarpont participated in both the naval preparations and the land attack on Calais that saw it returned to France in January 1558.
Jean de Monchy | |
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seigneur de Sénarpont | |
Born | 1500 |
Died | 1563 |
Noble family | Maison de Monchy |
Spouse(s) | Marguerite d'Abbeville Madeleine de Suze |
Issue | François de Monchy Antoine de Monchy Sidrach de Monchy Gédeon de Monchy Charlotte de Monchy Françoise de Monchy |
In the aftermath of this victory he would be with the army of Marshal Thermes at the disastrous battle of Gravelines at which one of the French armies was destroyed. He was taken prisoner and would not be ransomed until after the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559. After his release, he was established as the lieutenant-general of Picardie, replacing the sieur de Villebon. This made him the effective governor of the province for much of the time. He was charged in September 1560 with leading negotiations over the exact borders with Spanish Vlaanderen, however the commission ultimately wasn't able to conclude much before it was overtaken by various disorders. He was briefly removed as lieutenant-general at this time, though restored shortly thereafter. He was close with the new Protestant governor of Picardie the prince de Condé and with the outbreak of the first French War of Religion in April 1562, he joined Condé at Orléans for his rebellion. After a failed attempt on Calais he distanced himself from the war, returning to his estates after Condé entered alliance with the English. He died in 1563.