Bernard Stewart, 3rd Lord of Aubigny
Bernard Stewart, 4th Seigneur d'Aubigny (French: Bérault Stuart) (c. 1452 – 15 June 1508) was a French soldier, commander of the Garde Écossaise, and diplomat belonging to the Scottish family of Stewart of Darnley. Early life Bernard was the grandson of Sir John Stewart of Darnley, who was given the lands of Aubigny-sur-Nere and Concressault by Charles VII of France for his service during the Hundred Years' War. Like his father and grandfather he was high in favour with the French King and was chosen as commander of the royal bodyguard. Because of his family background he was chosen as the envoy to James III of Scotland to announce the accession of King Charles VIII of France. He was also given the task of signing a treaty with the Scots renewing the Auld Alliance, which he proceeded to sign on 22 March 1484. Battle of Bosworth The Lord of Aubigny was also the medium of communication with the section of Scottish lords who favoured Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond in his rebellion against his distant cousin King Richard III of England. Henry was still an exile living in France along with the chief supporters of the House of Lancaster, the experienced John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford and Henry's uncle Jasper Tudor, 1st Duke of Bedford. They relied heavily on the French king to finance the army and to be able to provide foot soldiers capable of fighting. In 1485, Bernard Stewart was chosen to command the French troops that accompanied the invasion and helped the Earl of Richmond become King Henry VII of England at the Battle of Bosworth Field establishing the Tudor Dynasty. Italian wars In 1494, Charles VIII of France laid claim to the Kingdom of Naples and sent the Lord of Aubigny to Rome to press his claims to Pope Alexander VI. When Alexander refused to recognize Charles' claim to Naples the king raised an army of 25,000 men (including 8,000 Swiss mercenaries) and began his descent into Italy. Stewart received orders from Charles VIII to lead one thousand of the king's cavalry over the Alps and into Lombardy and after taking part with Charles in the conquest of Romagna accompanied him in the triumphal entry into Florence on 15 November 1494. After this victory Stewart was made governor of Calabria and lieutenant-general of the French army. The French quickly overran the disunited Italian peninsula and arrived in Naples on 21 February 1495, King Ferdinand II of Naples having fled to Sicily at the arrival of the French army. There, in temporary exile, Ferdinand joined his cousin Ferdinand II of Aragon King of Spain and Sicily who offered him assistance to regain his kingdom. In response to Charles' invasion the League of Venice was created, which threatened to cut the invading army off in the south while the league occupied the north cutting the line of communications and supply. On 30 May 1495, Charles split his army taking half of his troops northward to fight