Monicat, Jacques. Les Grandes Compagnies en Velay. Paris: Champion, 1928.
Tuetey, Alexandre. Les écorcheurs sous Charles VII. 2 vols. Montbéliard: Barbier, 1874.
Wright, Nicholas A.R. “‘Pillagers’ and ‘Brigands’ in the Hundred Years War.” Journal of Medieval
History 9(1983):15–25.
BRIGNAIS
. The small fortified town of Brignais (Rhône) near Lyon was the site of an important
14th-century battle. In 1362, eastern France was menaced by numerous unemployed
soldiers (routiers), who had combined to form the “Great Company,” led by Seguin de
Badefol, Perrin Boias, and Perrin de Savoie. John II appointed Jean de Melun, count of
Tancarville, to be royal lieutenant in the region, and he assembled a force of several
thousand men who besieged these brigands at Brignais. Entrenched in a favorable
position, the outnumbered routiers withstood the assault of the royal troops on April 6,
1362, and won a crushing victory in which the leading royal commanders were killed or
captured. This battle represented the nadir of French military fortunes in the 14th century
and hastened the establishment of a regular salaried royal army at the end of 1363.
John Bell Henneman, Jr.
[See also: BADEFOL, SEGUIN DE; BRIGAND/BRIGANDAGE]
Descroix, Bernard. Seguin de Badefol: “ce fils d’iniquité”—qui fit trembler Anse et la France
entière. Lyon: Société d’Archéologie du Beaujolais, 1986.
BRIOUDE
. The church of Saint-Julien in Brioude (Haute-Loire) was erected in the early 5th century
upon the site of its patron’s martyrdom. It soon became a center for pilgrimage, and in the
Merovingian era St. Julien’s cult rivaled that of St. Martin. Destroyed by Muslims, the
church was rebuilt in the late 8th century, and in the 9th century a college of canons was
founded here.
The present structure is the result of a series of building campaigns. In the late 11th
and early 12th centuries, the narthex and the nave were constructed. The choir, with
ambulatory and five radiating chapels, dates from the end of the 12th century, and the
two side porches are from the early 13th. After 1259, the nave was rib-vaulted and rose
windows and bays in the Gothic style were added.
The interior is highly ornamented. Sculpted capitals throughout the church include
figures of angels, Evangelists, sirens, centaurs, antique masks, and knights in combat.
Walls and columns also exhibit remains of polychrome figures and decorative motifs in
vermilion, pink, fiery yellow, grey, green, and violet. An important 12th-century fresco
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