Page 60 - HISTORY ANGKOR

The Second Boucicaut
Later in the 14th century, the chivalric ideals of
heroes on horseback were increasingly at odds
with the military reality in which soldiers en-

gaged on foot. As a result of this change in mili-
tary strategy, the cavalry of knights on horseback
lost the essential role it had played for 200 years.
By the time the 15th century got under way, it
was reduced to more of a court spectacle. As
knights moved away from the battlefield and to
tournaments, the ceremonial forms of combat
became increasingly elaborate. In this transition,
memorable figures emerged, including Jean II le

Meingre (1366-1421), also known as Boucicaut.
Jean inherited his moniker from his father COUNT KRAFT
(Boucicaut either means “fish basket,” associ- VON TOGGENBURG III,
APPROACHING HIS
ated with slyness and greed, or—more flatter- LADY
ingly—“cautious ox,” associated with prudence FINE ART/ALBUM
and strength). Like his father, he also succeeded

to the office of marshal of France, a position of SERVICE TO THE LADIES
great power. As a child, he was a court page and Courtly love, first developed as a court game, was a template for
rode in his first military expedition when he was chivalric service: The knight promised to serve his lady in the same way
just 12. He left accounts of his grueling training that a vassal promised to serve his king.
schedule to build strength. Boucicaut ran great
distances, perfected jumping from the ground
into his horse’s saddle, and learned to climb
ladders using his arms alone. At age 16, he was
knighted and took part in the Battle of Roose-

beke, Flanders, in which the French won a major
victory. For two decades, he was the hero of the
European battlefields. TANNHÄUSER,
KNIGHT OF THE
And the battles continued. In 1384 Boucicaut TEUTONIC ORDER
fought alongside the Teutonic order in their cru- AKG/ALBUM
sade against the Lithuanians in the Baltic. He
then went to Spain, where he fought for John I

of Castile against the English invader John of
Gaunt. In the Balkans, he backed the Byzantine
emperor against the Turks. In what is now Leb-
anon, he attacked and sacked cities including
Tripoli, Sidon, and Beirut. With one military
success after another, Boucicaut’s career took off
and, in 1391, he was invested marshal of France,
as his father had been before him. For a brief

period, he was also governor of Genoa.
In the late 14th and early 15th centuries,
Boucicaut became involved in setting up chi-
valric orders. Together with 12 other knights,
he founded the White Lady of the Green Shield DEFENSE OF THE FAITH
to protect the female relatives of knights away Defending Christianity and Christian values was the bedrock of the
in battle, on crusades, or who had died. This chivalric life. Many knights took part in the Crusades between

order would attract the praise of court writer 1095 and 1291 as part of their adherence to these tenets.

58 MARCH/APRIL 2022