Geoffroi de Charny
Geoffroi de Charny (c. 1306 – 19 September 1356) was a French knight of Burgundian nobility who exemplified chivalric ideals through his military service to King John II in the Hundred Years' War, his authorship of treatises on knighthood, and his heroic death bearing the royal Oriflamme standard at the Battle of Poitiers.[1][2]
Born as the third son of Jean de Charny, lord of Charny, and Marguerite de Joinville, de Charny entered military service early, participating in campaigns in Gascony from 1337, the siege of Tournai in 1340, and conflicts in Brittany between 1341 and 1342.[1]
He was captured by the English twice—once in 1340 and again around 1350—each time securing his release through ransom, the second amounting to 12,000 golden scudi in 1351, after which he served as a diplomat and captain in Calais.[1][3]
De Charny contributed to the theoretical foundations of the Company of the Star, a French chivalric order established by King John II in 1352 to rival England's Order of the Garter and elevate knightly conduct.[2][3]
Around 1350, he composed the Book of Chivalry (Livre de chevalerie), a moral guide emphasizing prowess, loyalty, moderation, and the emulation of monastic discipline among knights, alongside at least two other works on chivalric virtues and questions for knightly debate.[2][3]
At Poitiers, de Charny refused to yield the Oriflamme despite overwhelming odds, dying in defense of it as chroniclers like Jean Froissart later praised him as the "most worthy and valiant" knight on the field.[1][3]
His family is documented as the first known custodians of the Shroud of Turin, which his widow Jeanne de Vergy displayed in the collegiate church of Lirey after his death, though de Charny himself never disclosed its provenance.[1][2]