Sir Robert Knolles or Knollys ( – 15 August 1407; aged 81–82) was an English knight of the Hundred Years' War, who, operating with the tacit support of the crown, succeeded in taking the only two major French cities, other than Calais and Poitiers, to fall to Edward III. His methods, however, earned him infamy as a freebooter and a ravager: the ruined gables of burned buildings came to be known as "Knollys' mitres".
Early life
The parentage and early life for Knolles is sparse. It is often erroneously stated that his mother was Eve Calveley, a close relative of Sir Hugh Calveley.
Breton war of succession
Knolles was more than likely one of the fifteen men that travelled with Sir Hugh Calveley to participate in the ongoing conflict in Brittany, with Knolles almost certainly serving as a longbowman in his company. With France in disarray after the Battle of Poitiers, King Charles II of Navarre assumed command of the rebellion in Paris, and Knolles joined up with the army of Charles's brother Philip as they temporarily held the capital against the Dauphin in 1358.
Knolles' finest hours were to come that autumn when he led a Great Company of 2,000–3,000 Anglo-Gascons into the Loire Valley, establishing several forward garrisons at important towns like Châteauneuf-Val-de-Bargis. He then advanced into the Nivernais, which was unsuccessfully defended for Margaret III of Flanders by the Archpriest Arnaud de Cervole, the adventurer who had raised the first Great Company the previous year.
In 1359 Knolles reached Auxerre, which fell after a two-month siege on 10 March. After the city had surrendered, Knolles was knighted by two subordinates, previously he had formally only been ranked as a squire. The sack of Auxerre proceeded with little violence and destruction, Knolles and his soldiers were professionals who intended to maximize their profit. The city was carefully ransacked for valuables and the citizens assessed for ransom. At the end a huge ransom was extorted for not destroying the city, although this was only partly paid. The following month he returned to Chateauneuf to plot the invasion of the Rhône Valley with Hugh Calveley. Marching south, a forward base was established on the Allier at Pont-du-Chateau, from where they launched the invasion of the Velay. Knolles then reunited with Calveley to besiege the important city of Le Puy, which fell in July 1359. As they continued to the Papal city of Avignon, their path was barred by the army of Thomas de la Marche, deputy for Louis II, Duke of Bourbon, at which point both English commanders retreated and dissolved their companies.
At the climax of the Breton War of Succession he participated in John de Montfort's siege of Auray in July 1364, the prelude to John's decisive victory at the Battle of Auray in September. He joined the Black Prince at the Battle of Nájera (Navarrete) of 1367.