Geoffroy de La Tour Landry

Best known as the author of The Book of the Knight of La Tour-Landry, this French nobleman wrote for a very practical audience: his own children. He is generally identified as Geoffroy IV de La Tour Landry, and his famous conduct book was compiled around 1371–1372 as advice and moral instruction for his daughters.

The work mixes cautionary tales, religious lessons, and everyday social guidance, which helps explain why it remained widely read long after his lifetime. For modern readers, its appeal is not just historical; it also preserves the voice of a father trying to shape his family’s behavior in a changing medieval world.

Although few personal details are firmly documented, his reputation has lasted because this one book became an important source for understanding medieval education, gender expectations, and noble household culture in France and beyond.