Dunois, Jean, Count de (c. 1403–1468)

French soldier. Commonly known as the ‘Bastard of Orléans’, he was the natural son of Louis, Duke of Orléans (brother of Charles VI). He held Orléans till the arrival of Joan of Arc in 1429, and with her won the Battle of Patay. He joined the league of rebellious nobles in 1464, and, as a result, Louis XI temporarily deprived him of his estates.

Dunois fought at Beauge in 1421 and Verneuil in 1424, and defeated the English at Montargis in 1427. He laid siege to Chartres and Lagny in 1432, and drove the English from Paris in 1436, and later from Normandy and many cities in Guienne.