Bertrand d'Ornesan, also Bertrand d'Ornezan, Baron de Saint-Blancard (French pronunciation: [bɛʁtʁɑ̃ dɔʁnəzɑ̃ də sɛ̃ blɑ̃kaʁ]; d. 1540), was a French admiral in the service of King Francis I of France. He was general of the galleys of the Mediterranean (Amiral de la Flotte du Levant).

Bertrand d'Ornesan tried to establish a French trading post at Pernambuco, Brazil in 1531.^[1]

In 1533 Bertrand d'Ornesan joined the Ottoman embassy to France (1533) going to meet Francis I.^[2]

For about twenty years, he was a business partner of the Marseilles banker Madeleine Lartessuti, who financed his fleet and was reportedly also his lover. ^[3]

In 1537, Ornesan began a two-year involvement in operations with the Ottoman Empire under terms of the Franco-Ottoman alliance between Francis I and Suleiman the Magnificent. He led a fleet of galleys to Corfu to join the fleet of Barbarossa at the siege of Corfu, but finally failed to convince the Ottomans to participate in a proposed major expedition against Italy.^[4] Saint-Blancard had left Marseille on 15 August with 12 galleys and arrived at Corfu in early September 1537.^[4][5] Eventually Suleiman, worried by a plague among his troops,^[6] decided to return with his fleet to Istanbul by mid-September without having captured Corfu.^[4]

The fleet of Saint-Blancard wintered in Chios until 17 February 1538.^[7] It was decided that three ships would go to Constantinople, while the rest of the fleet returned to France. In Constantinople, they were received by the French ambassador Charles de Marillac.^[8] Hayreddin Barbarossa provided for the expenses, and the French galleys finally left on 11 April 1538 to return to Nice through Monastir.^[9]

Jean de la Vega, a member of his staff, wrote the account of his travels.^[10]

• Garnier, Edith L'Alliance Impie Editions du Felin, 2008, Paris ISBN 978-2-86645-678-8 Interview