History of the Stewarts | Castles and Buildings
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Scotland, led by the Duke of Albany, the Earl of Douglas and Sir John Stuart, lord of Darnley. For the next five years the Scots provided crucial support to the Dauphin, who assumed the name of Charles VII on the death of his father in 1422. They allowed the party of Charles VII to resist the English, until fortune changed sides with the counter-offensive led by Joan of Arc in
1429-31. In particular, a stunning victory was achieved at Baugé in 1421, during which the Duke of Clarence, brother of the English king, was killed. The Scottish troops were heavily defeated at Cravant in 1423 and at Verneuil in 1424, and again trying to relieve the besieged town of Orléans in 1429. Orléans was however relieved later that year by Joan of Arc, and Paris and Normandy were retaken in 1436. The remnants of the Scottish force stayed in the service of the king of France,reorganized as the Gardes Écossaises when a permanent French army was formed in 1475,and remained the premier corps of the King´s Household Troops until the Revolution. The
captainship of these troops remained hereditary in the Stuart of Darnley family until the
17th century.
Charles VII had little money with which to reward his supporters. One way to express his
gratitude was to bestow honours; and giving fiefs was a way to help them support the costs
of war far from home.
The Stuarts of Darnley, Lords of Aubigny
After the battle of Baugé, Sir John Stuart, lord of Darnley, was given the lordship of Concressault in Berry and later, in 1422 or 1424 (sources vary), the nearby lordship of Aubigny-sur-Nère, for
himself and his male heirs. As was customary with grants of royal estates, Aubigny was to return to the crown upon extinction of the male line of the grantee.
John Stuart was captured by the English during the battle of Cravant and thus missed the defeat at Verneuil, at which both the Earl of Buchan and the Earl of Douglas were killed. Charles VII obtained his release by the payment of a ransom and Sir John Stuart took
over as commander of the remaining Scottish troops. In 1426 he
Joan of Arc and the Garde Écossaise took part in a victory over the English at Mont St. Michel, which won him the right to quarter his own arms with the French royal arms. In 1427 he was made count of Evreux.
Sir John Stuart, 1st Lord of Aubigny, was killed in battle in February 1429, trying to relieve
Orléans, and was buried in the cathedral church there. His eldest son Alan inherited the
lands in Scotland, and his second son John inherited Aubigny as the 2nd Lord.
John (d. 1482) was succeeded by his son Bernard (c1452-1508), 3rd Lord of Aubigny, who among other things commanded the French troops that helped the Earl of Richmond to defeat Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 and become King Henry VII of England.
After a major fire in 1512, the Stuarts rebuilt Aubigny in the renaissance style and also constructed a new chateau.
In 1673 Louis XIV gave the duchy of Aubigny to Louise de Keroualle. Although she spent most of her time at La Verriere, Louise created a large garden at the Chateau d´ Aubigny.
The 13th century Eglise St- Martin in the transitional Gothic style was largely rebuilt by the Stuarts.
Aubigny is very proud of its Scottish heritage and has Franco-Scottish Fete each year in July. it has its own Pipe band and tartan. Aubigny is twinned with Haddington in East Lothian - which also has strong links with the Stuarts.
The Stewart Society Gathering in 2016 will be in Aubigny.