born с 1395, Bourges, Fr.
died Nov. 25, 1456, probably Chios in the Aegean Sea
French merchant and royal official.
A member of the council of King Charles VII, he was put in charge of tax collection, and was ennobled in 1441. He built a great commercial empire that dealt in salt, silks, and many other commodities, and with his huge wealth he funded the king's reconquest of Normandy (1450) and made loans to many aristocrats. Falsely accused of poisoning the king's mistress and of dishonest speculation, he was arrested in 1451 but escaped to Italy. He died while commanding a naval expedition against the Turks.