Simon Morhier

Who was Simon Morhier?

Simon Morhier, provost of Paris during the English occupation in the 15th century, was seigneur of Gilles, near Nogent-le-Roi, in the Chartrain country.

Being a member of the duke of Burgundy's party, he was appointed provost at Paris by John, Duke of Bedford, on December 1, 1422. He was taken prisoner at the siege of Montargis in 1427, and again at the battle of Rouvrai in 1429; but in September of the latter year he repulsed Joan of Arc's attack upon Paris.

After a campaign in Cotentin in 1435, he was once more taken prisoner at the bridge of Charenton in 1436. Remaining faithful to the English party, he became captain of Dreux, a councillor of Henry VI, and treasurer of France and Normandy. He assisted in the defence of Meaux, of Creil and of Pontoise, and must have died between 1450 and 1456.

See the Nouvelle biographie generale, vol. xxxvi.; and a note on Simon Morhier in the memoirs of the Antiquarian Society of France, vol. xxv.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed.. Encyclopædia Britannica. Cambridge University Press.