Jean d'Aulon

Jean d'Aulon (1390–1458; sometimes spelled Jehan Daulon) was a French knight and lord best known for serving alongside Jeanne d'Arc as her soldier, steward, bodyguard, and squire. d'Aulon was an avid and detailed journaler and his records, considered to be honest and straightforward, set the foundation for what we know about Jeanne d'Arc, including her apparent amenorrhea.

Biography Early life Jean d'Aulon was born in County of Fézensac in the Duchy of Gascony in 1390, the descendant of noble families from Comminges and Aulon, Haute-Garonne. He held this position for seven years and, following the death of King Charles VI, served as an advisor to King Charles VII. Between 1425 and 1429, he oversaw several different military groups in places such as Foix, Toulouse, Montargis, Loches, and Guyenne. d'Aulon was with her during the Siege of Orléans not long after her visit to the King, and he helped her secure the St. Loup fortress. d'Aulon and the other soldiers lived in close quarters with her as they traveled and slept beside her on the ground.

d'Aulon was alongside d'Arc as she visited Chinon, Poitiers, Tours, and Blois to be approved to fight by the King's advisors, then into battle against the English in Orléans, Jargeau, Meung-sur-Loire, Beaugency, Patay, Reims, Paris, Lagny-sur-Marne, and Compiègne. He was also present at the failed Siege of La Charité. His army captured and imprisoned d'Arc and around 200 of her soldiers, including d'Aulon and her brother Pierre, on 23 May 1430. The English paid d'Arc's 10,000 livre tournois (approximately €140,169) ransom and brought her to Rouen, where she was put on trial for heresy and eventually burned at the stake. d'Aulon would later be a major voice in her re-trial in France. d'Aulon remained imprisoned in Clairoix for about two years until he was freed on a ransom of 500 écus, which he borrowed from Georges de La Trémoille and repaid, likely with the help of Charles VII, within two years.

Family and later life His first marriage was to a daughter of Jean Juvénal des Ursins , chairman of the parliament, between 1415 and 1417 in Paris; his wife was likely Michelette or, less likely, her sister Benoîte. Following his wife's death in the mid-1420s, Daughters of Destiny (1954) — Robert Dalban Joan of Arc, the Power and the Innocence (1989) — Éric Vasberg Joan the Maid (1994) — Jean-Pierre Becker The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) — Desmond Harrington.

Video games A character named Jean appears in the video game Jeanne d'Arc and it is disputed if he is based on Jean de Metz or d'Aulon. The character is aristrocratic and carries a spear, and he and Bertrand de Poulengy join d'Arc's cause at Neufchâteau, upon orders of the commander of Vaucouleurs.