Garde Écossaise The Garde Écossaise ( , " Scots Guard " ) was an elite Scottish military unit founded in 1418 by the Valois Charles VII of France , to be personal bodyguards to the French monarchy . They were assimilated into the " Maison du Roi " and later formed the first company of the " Garde du Corps du Roi " ( Life Guards ) . In 1450 , King James II sent a company of 24 noble Scots under the command of Patrick de Spens , son of his custodian . This company takes the name of " archiers du corps " or " gardes de la manche " . On 31 August 1490 , this company , these of Patry Folcart , Thomas Haliday and a part of the company of Robin Petitloch begin to be the first company of " archiers de la garde du roi " under the command of Guillaume Stuier ( Stuart ) . At the beginning " la compagnie écossaise des gardes du corps du roi " included 100 " gardes du corps " ( 25 bodyguards and 75 " archiers " ) . Each bodyguard had four men - at - arms under his command , ( a squire , an archer , a cranequinier and a servant ) , one of them acquired the name of " premier homme d ' armes du royaume de France " . They were finally disbanded in 1830 at the abdication of Charles X . History . Overview . Scottish warriors were believed to have fought for Charlemagne and later in the Armies of Charles the Simple in 882 . However , it was not until 1295 and the agreements that would become known as the Auld Alliance , that there was much documentary evidence of French soldiery in Scotland or Scottish soldiery in France . From the outset of the Hundred Years War , there were Scottish companies officially fighting for Philip IV of France . At the Battle of Poitiers , the 1st Earl of Douglas and the future 3rd Earl of Douglas fought for John II , where the future 3rd Earl was captured along with many Scottish knights , notwithstanding the French king himself . In the 1360s there were Scotsmen to be found in the army of Bertrand du Guesclin . In the early 15th century France was split into Armagnac - Burgundian civil strife following the descent into madness of Charles V . Henry V of England saw his opportunity and allied himself with John the Fearless and invaded . The Dauphin despairingly sought allies , and found them amongst the Scots and the Castilians . La Grande Armée Écossaise . In 1418 Robert Stewart , Duke of Albany appointed his son , John Stewart , 2nd Earl of Buchan , Chamberlain of Scotland to command the Scottish expeditionary force , the largest army that medieval Scotland had ever sent abroad . 7000 - 8000 men arrived at La Rochelle in October 1419 and made their way to Tours to greet the Dauphin . The first thing the future Charles VII did was to shower munificence upon the Scottish nobles . Buchan received Châtillon - sur - Indre , the Earl of Wigtoun received Dun - le - Roi , Sir John Stewart of Darnley received Concressault and Aubigny , and Thomas Seton the castle of Langeais . The Scottish leaders were persuaded to return to Scotland to recruit more troops . The Scottish leadership returned in 1420 with another 4000 - 5000 reinforcements . While their leaders were at home the Dauphin assigned the Scottish contingent throughout his armies and garrisons and picked a number , roughly one hundred of the best warriors , to be his personal body guard . The Scotsmen fought with distinction throughout France with a notable win at the Battle of Baugé in 1421 , where the Duke of Clarence was said to have been felled by Buchan ' s Mace . However , the Scots faced a calamity at the Battle of Verneuil in 1424 , when they lost 6000 men . Although saddened by the loss of so many of his loyal Scotsmen , Charles VII continued to honour the survivors . The Scots had a further setback at the Battle of the Herrings in 1429 . The Scottish Army in France fragmented into free companies ( a headache for the French state ) , and also into Compagnies d ' ordonnance within the French Army . Life Guards . However the King kept about him his " Garde Écossaise " . The Scottish Guards had likely protected him during the murder of John the Fearless at the bridge of Montereau , and rescued him from a fire in Gascony in 1442 . There were Scottish Guards who fell at the Battle of Montlhéry defending their King , Louis XI of France , in 1465 . It was an officer of the Life guards , Patrick de Spens , who wounded the Charles the Rash Duke of Burgundy , who died soon after in January 1477 . The king Charles VIII takes the motto of this officer in his honour : " Si Deus ( pro nobis ) , Quis contra ( nos ) ? " Later History . The Garde Écossaise survived until the end of the Bourbon Monarchy as the senior or Scottish Company of the Gardes du Corps ( Body Guards ) . There were four companies of Body Guards and a detachment of them accompanied the French King wherever he went , posted guards on his sleeping place and even escorted his food from kitchen to table . During the reign of Francis I the " garde " were held up by blizzards near the Simplon Pass after a defeat at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 . Some of the men reputedly settled there and their descendants became known as the " Lost Clan " . From the 16th century onwards recruitment of the unit was primarily from Frenchmen and the Scottish element gradually died out . However the name was retained as were certain words of command which had originated in Scots . In 1623 , the Earl of Enzie began to rebuild the regiment ' s Scottish identity with new recruits , but it is not clear how long this revival lasted after his return to Scotland in 1637 . By the reign of Louis XV the Scottish Company numbered 21 officers and 330 men in a mounted unit which last saw active service when they escorted Louis at the Battle of Lawfeld on 1 July 1747 . On this and other occasions the Scottish Company carried claymores with steel basket guards instead of the swords of the other French heavy cavalry . They were distinguished from the other companies of the Body Guards by wearing white bandoleers garnished with silver lace . The Scottish Company provided a special detachment of 24 " Gardes de la Manche " ( literally " Guards of the Sleeve " ) who stood in close attendance to the king during court ceremonies . The name indicated that they stood so close to the monarch as to be brushed by his sleeve . The " Gardes de la Manche " were distinguished by a heavily embroidered white and gold cassock which they wore over the blue and red and silver uniform of the Body Guard . Final disbandment . All four companies of the Body Guard were disbanded in 1791 . However they were re - established at the time of the First Bourbon Restoration under an ordinance dated 25 May 1814 . Until their final dissolution in 1830 the Senior Company retained the title of " les fiers Ecossais " ( the proud Scots ) .