58 MARCH/APRIL 2022
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
(Boucicaut either means “fish basket,” associ-
ated with slyness and greed, or—more flatter-
ingly—“cautious ox,” associated with prudence
and strength). Like his father, he also succeeded
to the office of marshal of France, a position of
great power. As a child, he was a court page and
rode in his first military expedition when he was
just 12. He left accounts of his grueling training
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.
And the battles continued. In 1384 Boucicaut
fought alongside the Teutonic order in their cru-
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
to protect the female relatives of knights away
in battle, on crusades, or who had died. This
order would attract the praise of court writer
SERVICE TO THE LADIES
Courtly love, first developed as a court game, was a template for
chivalric service: The knight promised to serve his lady in the same way
that a vassal promised to serve his king.DEFENSE OF THE FAITH
Defending Christianity and Christian values was the bedrock of the
chivalric life. Many knights took part in the Crusades between
1095 and 1291 as part of their adherence to these tenets.TANNHÄUSER,
KNIGHT OF THE
TEUTONIC ORDERFINE ART/ALBUMCOUNT KRAFT
VON TOGGENBURG III,
APPROACHING HIS
LADYAKG/ALBUM