A staged chivalric combat between 30 knights per side during the Breton War of Succession, celebrated by medieval chroniclers as an ideal of knightly valor.
Key Facts
- Date
- 26 March 1351
- Combatants per side
- 30 knights and squires
- Location
- Midway between Josselin and Ploërmel, Brittany
- Challenge issued by
- Jean de Beaumanoir (Blois faction)
- Challenge recipient
- Robert Bemborough (Montfort faction)
- Victor
- Franco-Breton Blois faction
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Breton War of Succession pitted the supporters of Charles of Blois, backed by King Philip VI of France, against those of Jean de Montfort, backed by Edward III of England. Amid this wider conflict, Jean de Beaumanoir, captain of the Blois faction, issued a formal challenge to Robert Bemborough of the Montfort faction to settle matters through a controlled, agreed combat between selected champions.
On 26 March 1351, thirty champions from each side met at a site between the castles of Josselin and Ploërmel in Brittany. The two groups—knights and squires representing opposing claimants to the Duchy of Brittany—fought a hard contest governed by chivalric convention. After fierce fighting, the Franco-Breton Blois faction emerged victorious over the Montfort-English side.
The outcome delivered a symbolic victory for the Blois cause within the broader Breton succession conflict. The combat was subsequently celebrated by medieval chroniclers, including Jean Froissart, and by balladeers as an exemplary display of chivalric ideals, embedding the episode firmly in medieval cultural memory as a model of knightly conduct.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Jean de Beaumanoir.
Side B
1 belligerent
Robert Bemborough.