dunois

15th-century French noble

Jean d'Orléans, Count of Dunois, known as the "Bastard of Orléans" or simply Jean de Dunois, was a French military leader during the Hundred Years' War who participated in military campaigns with Joan of Arc. He was the illegitimate son of Louis I, Duke of Orléans – himself a son of King Charles V of France – and his mistress Mariette d'Enghien. His nickname, the "Bastard of Orléans", was a term of higher hierarchy and respect, since it acknowledged him as a first cousin to the king and acting head of a cadet branch of the royal family during his half-brother's captivity. In 1439 he received the county of Dunois from his half-brother Charles, Duke of Orléans, and later king Charles VII made him count of Longueville.

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