The House of La Trémoïlle (Maison de La Trémoille in French) was a French noble family from Poitou whose name comes from the village La Trimouille in the départment of Vienne. This family has been known since the middle of the 11th century, and since the 14th century its members have been conspicuous in French history as nobles, military leaders and crusaders, and influential as political leaders, diplomats, Huguenots and courtiers. The male line of the family died out in 1933, while female line heirs of the last duke have kept the La Trémoïlle surname alive in Belgium. Lords and crusaders Pierre, the first known seigneur (or sire) of La Trémoïlle, was settled in Poitou, and died after 1040. His descendant, Guy, accompanied Godefroy de Bouillon to the Holy Land as a crusader in 1096. Upon his return, he had the abbey of Reims rebuilt, and died after 1145. His son, Guillaume, joined the expedition of Louis VII of France to the Holy Land as a crusader. Guillaume's great-grandson, Thibaut, crusaded alongside St. Louis, and was killed, along with three of his sons, on 8 February 1250 in battle at Mansoura in Egypt. In 1269 another Guy de La Trémoïlle, who is numbered "I" in the family lineage, paid homage to his liege, Alphonse, Count of Poitou, and died sometime after 1301. Guy IV (d. 1350), predeceased his father, Guy III, having been designated Grand Panetier of France. His son, Guy V (1346-1398), was called "The Valiant" according to Père Anselme, being a renowned warrior, the confidante of Philip the Hardy of Burgundy, and later counselor in the service of Charles VI of France, whose Oriflamme he carried into battle against the English in 1382. He journeyed with Louis II, Duke of Bourbon on crusade to Africa, and died in Rhodes en route to France, having been ransomed in 1396 following imprisonment at Nicopolis. His son George (1382-1444), became Grand Chamberlain of France in 1406 and husband in 1416 of Joan II, Countess of Auvergne, thereby also acquiring the counties of Boulogne and Guînes. His rivalry with Arthur de Richemont, rather than hostility to Joan of Arc, is believed to have slowed her crusade's momentum against the English, allowing them to capture and burn her at the stake in 1431. His family's rise to wealth and power made him a target, and he was ransomed after capture thrice; after the