Combat of the Thirty

Combat of the Thirty
Part of the Breton War of Succession

Penguilly l'Haridon: Le Combat des Trente
Date26 March 1351
Location
Guillac, Duchy of Brittany
47°56′15″N 02°29′13″W / 47.93750°N 2.48694°W / 47.93750; -2.48694
Result Franco-Breton victory
Belligerents
House of Blois, Brittany
Kingdom of France		 House of Montfort, Brittany
Kingdom of England
Commanders and leaders
Jean de Beaumanoir Robert Bemborough †
Strength
30 knights and squires 30 knights and squires
Casualties and losses
2 dead[1] 9 dead[1]
Combat of the Thirty is located in Brittany
Combat of the Thirty
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Location within Brittany
Banner attributed to Breton and French knights at the Combat of the Thirty in 1351, during the Breton civil war

The Combat of the Thirty (French: Combat des Trente, Breton: Emgann an Tregont), occurring on 26 March 1351,[2] was an episode in the Breton War of Succession fought to determine who would rule the Duchy of Brittany. It was an arranged fight between selected combatants from both sides of the conflict, fought at a site midway between the Breton castles of Josselin and Ploërmel among 30 champions, knights, and squires on each side. The challenge was issued by Jean de Beaumanoir, a captain of Charles of Blois supported by King Philip VI of France, to Robert Bemborough, a captain of Jean de Montfort supported by Edward III of England.

After a hard-fought battle, the Franco-Breton Blois faction emerged victorious. The combat was later celebrated by medieval chroniclers and balladeers as a noble display of the ideals of chivalry. In the words of Jean Froissart, the warriors "held themselves as valiantly on both sides as if they had been all Rolands and Olivers".[3]

  1. ^ a b Grant, R. G. (2017). 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History. Chartwell Books. p. 195. ISBN 978-0785835530.
  2. ^ Combat of the Thirty (1351) in: John A. Wagner. Encyclopedia of the Hundred Years War. – Westport: Greenwood Press, 2006, p. 103.
  3. ^ Jean Froissart's Chronicles Amiens ms. version.