mous French
warrior of his age, was born of an ancient but undistinguished family,
at the castle of La Motte-Broon, near Rennes, about 1314. The date is
doubtful, the authorities varying between 1311 and 1324. The name is
spelt in various ways in contemporary records, _e.g._, Claquin,
Klesquin, Guescquin, Glayaquin, etc. The familiar form is found on his
monument at St. Denis, and in some legal documents of the time. In his
boyhood Bertrand was a dull learner, spending his time in open-air
sports and exercises, and could never read or write. He was remarkable
for ugliness, and was an object of aversion to his parents. He first
made himself a name as a soldier at the tournament held at Rennes in
1338 to celebrate the marriage of Charles of Blois with Jeanne de
Penthievere, at which he unseated the most famous competitors.

But this playing at fighting was not enough for his ambition; and in
the war which followed between Charles of Blois and John de Montfort,
for the possession of the Duchy of Brittany, he served his
apprenticeship as a soldier. As he was not a great baron with a body
of vassals at his command, he put himself at the head of a band of
adventurers, and fought on the side of Charles and of France. He
distinguished himself by a brilliant action at the siege of Vannes in
1342; and after that he disappears from history for some years. In
1351, having shortly before been made a knight, he was sent into
England with the lords of Brittany to treat for the ransom of Charles
of Blois, who had been defeated and captured by the English in 1347.
When Rennes was besieged by the Duke of Lancaster, in 1356, Du
Guesclin forced his way with a handful of men into the town, and
successfully defended it till June, 1357, when the siege was raised in
pursuance of the truce of Bordeaux. For this service he was rewarded
with the lordship of Roche d'Airien.

At the expiration of the truce he distinguished himself by the defence
of Dinan, and here he engaged in single combat with Sir Thomas
Canterbury. Shortly afterward he married; and about the same time he
passed into the service of France, and greatly distinguished himself
at the siege of Melun (1359). In April, 1364, in conjunction with
Boucicault, he recovered Mantes and Meulan from the King of Navarre;
and in May he defeated the Navarrese under Captal de Buch at Cocherel,
and took their leader prisoner. The king now created him Marshal of
Normandy and Count of Longueville.