Armand de Mestral of Canada in 2007. He is married to Rosalind Pepall, a curator at the Musée de Beaux Arts and they have two sons Philippe and Charles. He is the nephew of George de Mestral the inventor of Velcro. Armand de Mestral Armand de Mestral, (born 17 November 1941) is a Canadian academic and international arbitration expert. Born in Montreal, Quebec, de Mestral is a law professor at the McGill University and an expert in international law. He also teaches courses on constitutional law and the law of the European Union. He has an undergraduate and master's degree from Harvard University,
Swiss mercenaries the spear, the pike and halberd. Hiring them was made even more attractive because entire ready-made Swiss mercenary contingents could be obtained by simply contracting with their local governments, the various Swiss cantons—the cantons had a form of militia system in which the soldiers were bound to serve and were trained and equipped to do so. Some Swiss also hired themselves out individually or in small bands. The warriors of the Swiss cantons had gradually developed a reputation throughout Europe as skilled soldiers, due to their successful defense of their liberties against their Austrian Habsburg overlords, starting as early as