The Battle of St Aubin du Cormier was one of the most bloody, as well as
hardest fought, as far as the vanguard of the Breton army was concerned,
that ever took place on French soil. The French lost the brave James
Galliot and twelve hundred men-at-arms, while the Breton army lost six
thousand men, including Lord Woodville, and all those who wore red
crosses; and among them the Breton nobles,--the Comtes de Leon, De
Montfort, and Pont l'Abbe; while the poor young Seigneur De Rohan, who
was only fifteen years old, was slain with the English pages and
esquires.
The Duke of Orleans and the Prince of Orange were taken prisoners.
The latter only saved his life by throwing himself down among the Swiss
infantry and pretending to be dead. He was discovered by a French
archer, and sent prisoner to Lusignan. The Duke of Orleans would have
been beheaded had it not been for the prayers of his deserted wife, the
"good Lady Jane," daughter of Louis XI. He was imprisoned for some
time, but eventually lived to marry, not only the lady who was the cause
of all this strife, but also, as his second wife, the lovely young Tudor
Princess, Mary, great-niece of the last Lord of the Wight, who had
fought and died so valiantly by his side at St Aubin du Cormier.
The wily old Marechal de Rieux retired to Dinan, and held out there
until the general pacification, which ensued soon after; while the Lord
d'Albret also saved himself by flight.
The disastrous consequences of the ill-fated expedition of Sir Edward
Woodville were indicated by a Statute, which was passed with a view to
increasing the population. No individual was to hold a farm, or land,
or tithe of more than ten marks annual value.
Sir Reginald Bray, a very distinguished soldier, and old follower of
Henry VII., was sent to govern the island, but no nobleman was
henceforth invested with the independent power and authority of Lord of
the Wight, the future governors being styled Captains and Governors.
Sir Reginald Bray was succeeded by Sir Nicholas Wadham, after whom the
first of the Isle of Wight branch of the Worsley family came into the
island as Captain of the Wight.
But the last Lord and Captain of the Wight died valorously in harness
among his knights and esquires, in the sunny land of France, as became a
valiant gentleman of England, and no man after him was ever invested
with such name and state.