Legend Of Marguerite de Bressieux: Brave Noblewoman Who Sought Revenge For Sexual Assault

A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com – They say it is only a legend, nothing more—a mere whisper carried by the winds of time. You can choose to believe it or dismiss it as fanciful folklore. Yet, isn’t there something enchanting about the possibility that this could be a true story, one that might unfold in any location at any given moment?

According to Humbert de Terrebasse, a compassionate lawyer and insightful historian who lived from 1842 to 1927, this tale finds its roots during the tumultuous era known as the Hundred Years’ War. This prolonged conflict between England and France stretched over more than a century from 1337 to 1453 and was fueled by a complex web of disputes, and the question of the legitimate succession to the French crown.

Marguerite de Bressieux was a French noblewoman born in Anjou, France, and lived in a castle with her parents.

The legend says that the castle was besieged and pillaged by rebel troops attempting to topple King Charles VII on behalf of a Burgundian nobleman, Louis de Chalon, the Prince of Orange.

Marguerite’s father and mother were killed. The soldiers of Chalon raped her, her ladies-in-waiting, and other noblewomen. Marguerite buried the parents and then swore bloody revenge on Chalon and his ruthless men.