“Mercadier stretched out his hand as he had in the Stock Yards, but this time he didn’t appear intent on raising any of the dead, not yet. ‘They’re buried in trenches… in circles… yes, yes. Tennessee Artillery, Alabama Infantry, Texas Cavalry. They will make fine hosts,’ he said.” — Excerpt from GARGOYLE BOB novel
Mercadier was a “French” Provençal warrior of the 12th century, and chief of mercenaries in the service of King Richard the Lionheart. After Richard’s return from the Holy Land, Mercadier accompanied him everywhere as his right hand, travelling and fighting by his side.
When Richard was mortally wounded at the siege of Châlus in March 1199, it was Mercadier’s physician who cared for him. Mercadier avenged his death by storming the castle, hanging the defenders and flaying the crossbowman who had shot the king, despite Richard’s last act of pardoning the boy.
Mercadier then entered the service of Prince John and ravaged Gascony and the city of Angers. On Easter Monday, the 10th April, 1200, he was assassinated while on a visit to Bordeaux to pay his respects to Eleanor of Aquitane, mother of Richard and John. His murderer was a man-at-arms employed by Brandin, a rival mercenary captain in the service of John.
One of the bridges of the Chateau-Gaillard is named for him.
