- Bérard d'Albret, Lord of Vayres
Bérard d’Albret, lord of Vayres and
Vertheuil (d. 1346), was a cadet member of the House of Albret inGascony and a English commander during theHundred Years War .He was the son of
Amanieu VIII and younger brother ofBernard Ezi IV .Bérard remained a supporter of the English side after the
War of Saint-Sardos in 1324 when many of his family defected to the French.At the onset of the Hundred Years’ War, in 1337, he was captain of
Blaye andPuynormand on the northern march of what remained of theDuchy of Aquitaine .On
20 April 1339 a French force transported by galleys attacked Blaye from the river side. The defenders were caught completely by surprise and both town and citadel was taken. Bérard was captured and brought as a prisoner to the Temple inParis .By 1345 he was back in Gascony serving with his older brother
Bernard Ezi IV under Henry of Grosmont, Earl of Lancaster. In August Lancaster captured Bergerac, the principal French garrison town inPérigord , by storm. When the Earl marched onward on10 September he left the brothers in command of the town with a force of 1,500 men.References
*Sumption, Jonathan. "The Hundred Years War I, Trial by Battle"
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