Jean de Vienne

Jean de Vienne (1341 – 25 September 1396) was a French knight, general and Admiral of France during the Hundred Years' War. Early life Jean de Vienne was born at Dole in the Franche-Comté, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. As a nobleman, he started his military career at the age of 19, and was made a knight at 21. At 1366-1367 he took a part of a Savoyard crusade led by Amadeus VI of Savoy against Bulgaria. Career By the age of 24, de Vienne was made Captain-General for the Franche-Comté. In 1373, Charles V made him Amiral de France. Working with determination, de Vienne reorganised the navy, started an important programme of construction, created an effective coast guard, navigation police, organised watches along the coasts, and attributed licences for building and selling of ships.