François d'Espinay dating history

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François d'Espinay, seigneur de Saint-Luc et baron de Crèvecœur (1554  –8 September 1597) was a French noble, courtier, military commander and governor during the later French Wars of Religion. Born into the middling Norman nobility as a son of Valéran d'Espinay and Marguerite de Groucher, Saint-Luc had his debut into French politics with his participation in the siege of La Rochelle in 1573 in which he was injured. When the king's brother, the Duke of Anjou was elected king of the Commonwealth he travelled with the duke to his new kingdom, serving as his Chambellan in the country. Upon Anjou's return to France as Henri III, Saint-Luc maintained his proximity to the king, holding various positions in his household. A man with significant skill in war, he served the crown during the fifth war of religion, fighting at Guise's celebrated victory of Dormans. In the following civil war he fought under the command of the king's brother Alençon at the sieges of La Charité-sur-Loire and Issoire. He was rewarded for his military service with command of various regiments and the position of maître de camp. At the end of the sixth war of religion, the duke of Mayenne secured the strategic Guyenne town of Brouage, which controlled a deep port and salt production. In December 1578 Saint-Luc was appointed governor of Brouage. In May 1579 he added the governate of Aunis to his responsibilities. In the autumn he accompanied Catherine de Medici, mother to the queen on her mission to negotiate with Henri's disgraced favourite Marshal Bellegarde who had set himself up in rebellion.