Mercadier was a "French" Provençal warrior of the 12th century, and chief of mercenaries in the service of Richard I of England

Richard I of England

Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...

.

In 1183 he appears as a leader of Brabant

Duchy of Brabant

The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...

 mercenaries in Southern France. He entered Richard's service in 1184, attacking and laying waste to lands of Aimar V of Limoges

Aimar V of Limoges

Aimar V Boso was the Viscount of Limoges, a petty nobleman in the Loire valley in the Duchy of Aquitaine.Born in Limoges, Aimar was orphaned at a young age and raised by his relatives among the southern French aristocracy...

. In 1188 he managed seventeen castles captured from the Count of Toulouse

Toulouse

Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...

. He accompanied Richard on the Third Crusade but was sent back when Philip Augustus

Philip II of France

Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...

 left for France. On arrival he and his mercenaries defended Richard's estates in the latter's absence.

After Richard's return from the Holy Land

Holy Land

The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...

, Mercadier accompanied him everywhere as his right hand, travelling and fighting by his side. Richard eulogized Mercadier's exploits in his letters, and gave him the estates left by Ademar de Bainac in Limousin

Limousin (province)

Limousin is one of the traditional provinces of France around the city of Limoges. Limousin lies in the foothills of the western edge of the Massif Central, with cold weather in the winter...

, who died without heirs around 1190. During the various wars between Richard and Philip Augustus of France, Mercadier fought successively in Berry

Berry (province)

Berry is a region located in the center of France. It was a province of France until the provinces were replaced by départements on 4 March 1790....

, Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

, Flanders

Flanders

Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

 and Brittany

Brittany

Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

. When Richard was mortally wounded at the siege of Châlus

Châlus

Châlus is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in western France.-History:Châlus' is where Richard I of England was wounded by a crossbow bolt and killed as a result of the wound...

 in March 1199, it was Mercadier's physician who cared for him. Mercadier avenged his death by storming the castle, hanging the defenders and flaying

Flaying

Flaying is the removal of skin from the body. Generally, an attempt is made to keep the removed portion of skin intact.-Scope:An animal may be flayed in preparation for human consumption, or for its hide or fur; this is more commonly called skinning....

 Pierre Basile, the crossbowman who had shot the king, despite Richard's last act pardoning the boy.

Mercadier then entered the service of John

John of England

John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...

, and ravaged Gascony

Gascony

Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...

 and the city of Angers

Angers

Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....

. On Easter Monday, the 10th April, 1200, he was assassinated while on a visit to Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...

 to pay his respects to Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England...

, who was bringing from Spain Blanche of Castile

Blanche of Castile

Blanche of Castile , was a Queen consort of France as the wife of Louis VIII. She acted as regent twice during the reign of her son, Louis IX....

. His murderer was a man-at-arms employed by Brandin, a rival mercenary captain in the service of John.

One of the bridges of the Chateau-Gaillard

Château-Gaillard

Château Gaillard is a ruined medieval castle, located 90 m above the commune of Les Andelys overlooking the River Seine, in the Eure département of historical Normandy, now Upper Normandy, France. It is located some north-west of Paris and from Rouen...

is named for him.