elegant style. By 1393, he was rector of the University of Paris, a man of learning, with a
talent for friendship. He traveled to Avignon to pursue a career at the (anti)papal court
and in 1397 was secretary to Benedict XIII. Until the last years of his life, he continued to
be involved with the antipopes, and although he pressed for a solution to the western
Schism, his life was blighted by his associations. In 1432, he returned to the Collège de
Navarre, where he remained, writing, until his death. Nicholas is best remembered for
151 extant letters combining elegance and Christian learning.
Lesley J.Smith
[See also: AVIGNON PAPACY]
Nicholas of Clamanges. Opera omnia, ed. Johannes Martini Lydius. 2 vols. Leiden, 1613. [There
exist numerous modern editions of individual letters or groups of letters.]
Coville, Alfred. Recherches sur quelques écrivains du XIVe et du XVe siècle. Paris: Droz, 1935, pp.
208–317.
Ouy, Guy. “Le Collège de Navarre, berceau de l’humanisme français.” In Actes du 95e Congrès
des Sociétés Savantes. 2 vols. Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, 1975, Vol. 1, 283–98.
NICOPOLIS
. The Battle of Nicopolis (September 25, 1396), between Crusaders and Ottoman Turks,
was one of the greatest military disasters encountered by French cavalry in the 14th
century. Under Bayazid I (r. 1389–1402), the Turks had captured Nicopolis, a Bulgarian
fortress on the Danube, in 1393. Sigismund, king of Hungary, appealed to the West for
assistance against the Turkish advance. England and France agreed to a joint crusading
expedition, to be led by the dukes of Burgundy, Orléans, and Lancaster, but after a series
of delays these three experienced princes dropped out. The expedition of 1396, largely a
Burgundian project, was led by the duke’s inexperienced son, John the Fearless, then
count of Nevers. Although accompanied by some of the most prestigious French military
commanders, John was unable to maintain a unified command and was too readily
influenced by younger lords who placed personal glory ahead of strategic objectives.
After some minor victories, the crusaders approached Nicopolis, where the French
rejected Sigismund’s prudent battle plan and insisted on leading a cavalry charge.
Inflicting many casualties at first, they were lured into an ambush and crushed by the
Turks, who thereby secured for centuries their position in the Balkans. A few of the most
notable French leaders were held for ransom, but most were massacred.
John Bell Henneman, Jr.
Atiya, Aziz S. The Crusade of Nicopolis. London: Methuen, 1934.
Delaville le Roulx, Joseph M.A. La France en orient au XIVe siècle: expeditions du maréchal
Boucicaut. 2 vols. Paris: Bibliothèque des Écoles Françaises d’Athènes et de Rome, 1886.
Palmer, John J.N. England, France, and Christendom, 1377–99. Chapel Hill: University of North
Carolina Press, 1972.
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