Jean I de Croÿ


Jean I de Croÿ, Seigneur de Croÿ et d'Araines, Baron de Renty et de Seneghem, was the founder of the House of Croÿ.

Biography

His parents were Guillaume I, Seigneur de Croÿ and Isabeau de Renty.
Jean I de Croÿ was responsible for the ascendancy of his family to a position of supreme power in medieval Burgundy. He served Philip the Bold and his son John the Fearless in the capacity of councillor and chamberlain.
In 1384, he married a wealthy heiress, Marguerite de Craon, successfully suing her first husband's family upon her death. In 1397, Jean acquired the lordship of Chimay, which was to become a core dominion of the Croÿ family. Four years later, he was appointed Governor of Artois and led the ducal armies against the rebellious citizens of Liege. He was recorded as the Grand-Bouteiller of King Charles VI of France in 1412, when he laid siege to Bourges.
The following year, Isabeau of Bavaria had him apprehended and incarcerated in the castle of Montlhéry, whence he escaped. Jean, together with one of his sons, was killed at the Battle of Agincourt on October 25, 1415.
He had seventeen children, including: