Jacques Le Gris
| Sir Jacques Le Gris | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1330s Normandy |
| Died | 29 December 1386 Paris, France |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of France
|
| Battles/wars | Hundred Years War |
Sir Jacques Le Gris (c. 1330s – 27 December 1386) was a squire and knight in fourteenth century France who gained fame and infamy when he engaged in the last judicial duel permitted by the Parlement of Paris after he was accused of rape by the wife of his neighbour and rival Sir Jean de Carrouges. Carrouges brought legal proceedings against Le Gris before King Charles VI who after hearing the evidence, authorised a trial by combat to determine the question. The duel attracted thousands of spectators and has been discussed by many notable French writers, from the contemporary Jean Froissart to Voltaire.
Described as a large and physically imposing character with a reputation for womanising, Le Gris was a liege man (feudal retainer) of Count Pierre d'Alençon and a favourite at his court, governing a large swathe of his liege lord's territory in addition to his own ancestral holdings. Le Gris' insistence on defending his case by chivalric trial by combat rather than opting for the safer church trial (to which as a cleric in minor orders he was entitled) attracted widespread support for his cause amongst the French nobility, and controversy continues to this day as to where the real guilt lies in the case.
Jacques Le Gris was born in the 1330s, the son of a minor Norman squire Guillaume Le Gris. Unusually for the time, he was educated, taking minor orders as a cleric in the church and able to read sufficiently well to officiate at mass. Like his father, Le Gris was first a man-at-arms and then squire in the service of the Count of Perche, a role at which he excelled. He also participated in several minor military campaigns in Normandy in the entourage of Robert d'Alençon. In 1370 his long service was rewarded when he was given command of one of his liege lord's castles at the village of Exmes. During his career, he became firm friends with Jean de Carrouges, another squire in the Count's service. Carrouges and Le Gris were so close that in 1377, the same year that Count Robert died, Carrouges made Le Gris godfather to his eldest son, a position of great responsibility and trust.
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