Charles VI of France

Charles VI the Beloved
Charles VI by the painter known as the Master of Boucicaut (1412)
King of France
Reign	16 September 1380 – 21 October 1422
Coronation	4 November 1380
Predecessor	Charles V
Successor	Charles VII or Henry VI of England (disputed)
Regents	See Philip II, Duke of Burgundy John, Duke of Berry Louis I, Duke of Anjou Louis II, Duke of Bourbon Louis I, Duke of Orléans John, Duke of Burgundy Henry V, King of England
Born	(1368-12-03)3 December 1368 Paris, Île-de-France, France
Died	21 October 1422(1422-10-21) (aged 53) Paris, France
Burial	Saint Denis Basilica
Spouse	Isabeau of Bavaria
Issue among others...	Isabella, Queen of England Joan, Duchess of Brittany Marie, Prioress of Poissy Michelle, Duchess of Burgundy Louis, Dauphin of Viennois John, Dauphin of Viennois Catherine, Queen of England Charles VII of France
House	Valois
Father	Charles V of France
Mother	Joan of Bourbon
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Charles VI (3 December 1368 – 21 October 1422), called the Beloved (French: le Bien-Aimé) and the Mad (French: le Fol or le Fou), was King of France for 42 years from 1380 to his death in 1422, the fourth from the House of Valois.

Charles VI was only 11 when he inherited the throne in the midst of the Hundred Years' War. The government was entrusted to his four uncles, the dukes of Burgundy, Berry, Anjou, and Bourbon. Although the royal age of majority was fixed at 14, the dukes maintained their grip on Charles until he took power at the age of 21. During the rule of his uncles, the financial resources of the kingdom, painstakingly built up by his father, Charles V, were squandered for the personal profit of the dukes, whose interests were frequently divergent or even opposed. As royal funds drained, new taxes had to be raised, which caused several revolts.

In 1388 Charles VI dismissed his uncles and brought back to power his father's former advisers. Political and economic conditions in the kingdom improved significantly, and Charles earned the epithet "the Beloved". But in August 1392 en route to Brittany with his army in the forest of Le Mans, Charles suddenly went mad and slew four knights and almost killed his brother, Louis I, Duke of Orléans.^[1]

From then on, Charles' bouts of insanity became more frequent and of longer duration. During these attacks, he had delusions, believing he was made of glass or denying he had a wife and children.^[1] He could also attack servants or run until exhaustion, wailing that he was threatened by his enemies. Between crises, there were intervals of months during which Charles (now "the Mad") was relatively sane.^[1] However, unable to concentrate or make decisions, political power was effectively exercised by his relatives (the princes of blood) and other leading French nobles, whose rivalries and disputes would cause much chaos and conflict in France.

A fierce struggle for power developed between the king's brother, Louis of Orléans, and cousin, John of Burgundy. When John instigated the murder of Louis in 1407, the conflict degenerated into a civil war between John's supporters – the Burgundians – and opponents – the Armagnacs. Both sides offered large parts of France to the English (who were still nominally at war with the Valois monarchy) in exchange for their support. John of Burgundy himself was assassinated (1419), with Charles VI's son, heir, and namesake, Charles, being involved. In retaliation, John's son, Philip of Burgundy, led Charles VI to sign the infamous Treaty of Troyes (1420), which disinherited his offspring and recognized King Henry V of England as his legitimate successor on the throne of France.

When Charles VI died, the succession was claimed both by the King of England and by the disinherited younger Charles, who found the Valois cause in a desperate situation.

Early life[edit]

Charles was born in Paris, in the royal residence of the Hôtel Saint-Pol, on 3 December 1368, the son of the king of France Charles V, of the House of Valois, and of Joan of Bourbon. As heir to the French throne, his older brothers having died before he was born, Charles had the title Dauphin of France. At his father's death on 16 September 1380, he inherited the throne of France. His coronation took place on 4 November 1380, at Reims Cathedral.^[2] Although the royal age of majority was 14 (the "age of accountability" under Roman Catholic canon law), Charles did not terminate the regency and take personal rule until 1388.^[3]

Regency[edit]

Charles VI was only 11 years old when he was crowned King of France. Although Charles was entitled to rule personally from the age of 14, the dukes maintained their grip on power until Charles terminated the regency at the age of 21.

During his minority, France was ruled by Charles' uncles, as regents. The regents were Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, Louis I, Duke of Anjou, and John, Duke of Berry - all brothers of Charles V - along with Louis II, Duke of Bourbon, Charles VI's maternal uncle. Philip took the dominant role during the regency. Louis of Anjou was fighting for his claim to the Kingdom of Naples after 1382, dying in 1384; John of Berry was interested mainly in the Languedoc,^[4] and not particularly interested in politics; and Louis of Bourbon was a largely unimportant figure, due to his personality (showing signs of mental instability) and status (since he was not the son of a king).

During the rule of his uncles, the financial resources of the kingdom, painstakingly built up by his father Charles V the Wise, were squandered for the personal profit of the dukes, whose interests were frequently divergent or even opposing. During that time, the power of the royal administration was strengthened and taxes re-established. The latter policy represented a reversal of the deathbed decision of the king's father Charles V to repeal taxes, and led to tax revolts, known as the Harelle. Increased tax revenues were needed to support the self-serving policies of the king's uncles, whose interests were frequently in conflict with those of the crown and with each other. The Battle of Roosebeke (1382), for example, brilliantly won by the royal troops, was prosecuted solely for the benefit of Philip of Burgundy. The treasury surplus carefully accumulated by Charles V was quickly squandered.

Charles VI brought the regency to an end in 1388, taking up personal rule. He restored to power the highly-competent advisors of Charles V, known as the Marmousets,^[5] who ushered in a new period of high esteem for the crown. Charles VI was widely referred to as Charles the Beloved by his subjects.

Wife and children[edit]

He married Isabeau of Bavaria on 17 July 1385,^[6] when he was 17 and she was 14 (and considered an adult at the time). Isabeau had 12 children, most of whom died young. Isabeau's first child, named Charles, was born in 1386, and was Dauphin of Viennois (heir apparent), but survived only 3 months. Her second child, Joan, was born on 14 June 1388, but died in 1390. Her third child, Isabella, was born in 1389. She was married to Richard II, King of England in 1396, at the age of 6, and became Queen of England. Richard died in 1400 and they had no children. Richard's successor, Henry IV, wanted Isabella to then marry his son, 14-year-old future king Henry V, but she refused. She married again in 1406, this time to her cousin, Charles, Duke of Orléans, at the age of 17. She died in childbirth at the age of 19.

Isabeau's fourth child, Joan, was born in 1391, and was married to John VI, Duke of Brittany in 1396, at an age of 5; they had children. Isabeau's fifth child born in 1392 was also named Charles, and was Dauphin. Charles VI then became insane. The young Charles was betrothed to Margaret of Burgundy in 1396, but died at the age of 9. Isabeau's sixth child, Mary, was born in 1393. She was never married, and had no children. Isabeau's seventh child, Michelle, was born in 1395. She was engaged to Philip, son of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, in 1404 (both were then aged 8) and they were married in 1409, aged 14. She had one child who died in infancy, before she died in 1422, aged 27.

Isabeau's eighth child, Louis, was born in 1397, and was also Dauphin. He married Margaret of Burgundy, who had previously been betrothed to his brother Charles. The marriage produced no children by the time of Louis's death in 1415, aged 18.

Isabeau's ninth child, John, was born in 1398, and was also Dauphin from 1415, after the death of his brother Louis. He was married to Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut in 1415, then aged 17, but they did not have any children before he died in 1417, aged 19. Isabeau's tenth child, Catherine, was born in 1401. She was married firstly to Henry V, King of England in 1420, and they had one child, who became Henry VI of England. Henry V died suddenly in 1422. Catherine may then have secretly married Owen Tudor in 1429 and had additional children, including Edmund Tudor, the father of Henry VII. She died in 1437, aged 36.

Isabeau's eleventh child, also named Charles, was born in 1403. In 1413, Queen Isabeau and Yolande of Aragon finalized a marriage contract between Charles and Yolande's daughter Marie of Anjou, Charles' second cousin. Since both Dauphin Louis and then Dauphin John died while in the care of John the Fearless, the Duke of Burgundy and regent for the insane King Charles, Yolande became Charles' protectress. Charles became the new Dauphin in 1417 upon the death of his brother John. Now with the heir to the throne of France under her protection, Yolande refused Queen Isabeau's orders to return Charles to the French Court, reportedly replying, "We have not nurtured and cherished this one for you to make him die like his brothers or to go mad like his father, or to become English like you. I keep him for my own. Come and take him away, if you dare." After the death of Charles VI in 1422, the English regents claimed the crown of France for Henry VI, then aged 1, according to the terms of the Treaty of Troyes. However, Charles, aged 19, repudiated the treaty and claimed the throne for himself as King Charles VII, sparking fresh fighting with the English. His marriage to Marie of Anjou in 1422 produced many children, most of whom died at a very early age. Charles VII died in 1461 at age 58, the most long-lived of Isabeau's children.

Isabeau's twelfth and the last child, Philip, was born in 1407, but died shortly after.

Reign[edit]

Mental illness[edit]

Charles VI's early successes with the Marmousets as his counselors quickly dissipated as a result of the bouts of psychosis he experienced beginning in his mid-twenties. Mental illness may have been passed on for several generations through his mother, Joanna of Bourbon.^[7] Although still called by his subjects Charles the Beloved, he became known also as Charles the Mad from then on.

Charles's first known episode occurred in 1392 when his friend and advisor, Olivier de Clisson, was the victim of an attempted murder. Although Clisson survived, Charles was determined to punish the would-be assassin, Pierre de Craon, who had taken refuge in Brittany. John V, Duke of Brittany was unwilling to hand him over, so Charles prepared a military expedition.

Contemporaries said Charles appeared to be in a "fever" to begin the campaign and disconnected in his speech. Charles set off with an army on 1 July 1392. The progress of the army was slow, which nearly drove Charles into a frenzy of impatience.

As the king and his escort were traveling through the forest near Le Mans on a hot August morning, a barefoot leper dressed in rags rushed up to the King's horse and grabbed his bridle. "Ride no further, noble King!" he yelled: "Turn back! You are betrayed!" The king's escorts beat the man back, but did not arrest him, and he followed the procession for half an hour, repeating his cries.^[8]

The company emerged from the forest at noon. A page who was drowsy from the sun dropped the king's lance, which clanged loudly against a steel helmet carried by another page. Charles shuddered, drew his sword and yelled "Forward against the traitors! They wish to deliver me to the enemy!" The king spurred his horse and began swinging his sword at his companions, fighting until one of his chamberlains and a group of soldiers were able to grab him from his mount and lay him on the ground. He lay still and did not react, but fell into a coma. The king had killed a knight known as "The Bastard of Polignac" and several other men.^[9]

Periods of mental illness continued throughout the king's life. During one in 1393, he could not remember his name and did not know he was king. When his wife came to visit, he asked his servants who she was and ordered them to take care of what she required so that she would leave him alone.^[10] During an episode in 1395–96 he claimed he was Saint George and that his coat of arms was a lion with a sword thrust through it.^[11] At this time, he recognized all the officers of his household, but did not know his wife nor his children. Sometimes he ran wildly through the corridors of his Parisian residence, the Hôtel Saint-Pol, and to keep him inside, the entrances were walled up. In 1405, he refused to bathe or change his clothes for five months.^[12] His later psychotic episodes were not described in detail, perhaps because of the similarity of his behavior and delusions. Pope Pius II, who was born during the reign of Charles VI, wrote in his Commentaries that there were times when Charles thought that he was made of glass, and this caused him to protect himself in various ways so that he would not break. He reportedly had iron rods sewn in his clothes, so that he would not shatter if he came into contact with another person.^[13] This condition has come to be known as glass delusion.

Charles VI's secretary, Pierre Salmon, spent much time in discussions with the king while he was intermittently psychotic. In an effort to find a cure for the king's illness, stabilize the turbulent political situation, and secure his own future, Salmon supervised the production of two distinct versions of the beautifully illuminated guidebooks to good kingship known as Pierre Salmon's Dialogues.

Bal des Ardents[edit]

On 29 January 1393, a masked ball, which became known as the Bal des Ardents ("Ball of the Burning Men") because of the tragedy that ensued, had been organized by Isabeau of Bavaria to celebrate the wedding of one of her ladies-in-waiting at the Hôtel Saint-Pol. At the suggestion of Huguet de Guisay, the king and four other lords^[14] dressed up as wild men and danced about. They were dressed "in costumes of linen cloth sewn onto their bodies and soaked in resinous wax or pitch to hold a covering of frazzled hemp, so that they appeared shaggy & hairy from head to foot".^[15] At the suggestion of one Yvain de Foix, the king commanded that the torch-bearers were to stand at the side of the room. Nonetheless, the king's brother Louis I, Duke of Orléans, who had arrived late, approached with a lighted torch in order to discover the identity of the masqueraders, and he set one of them on fire. There was panic as the fire spread. The Duchess of Berry threw the train of her gown over the king.^[16] Several knights who tried to put out the flames were severely burned. Four of the wild men perished: Charles de Poitiers, son of the Count of Valentinois; Huguet de Guisay; Yvain de Foix; and the Count of Joigny. Another – Jean, son of the Lord of Nantouillet – saved himself by jumping into a dishwater tub.^[17]

Expulsion of the Jews, 1394[edit]

On 17 September 1394, Charles suddenly published an ordinance in which he declared, in substance, that for a long time he had been taking note of the many complaints provoked by the excesses and misdemeanors that the Jews had committed against Christians, and that the prosecutors, having made several investigations, had discovered many violations by the Jews of the agreement they had made with him. Therefore, he decreed, as an irrevocable law and statute, that thenceforth no Jew should dwell in his domains ("Ordonnances", vii. 675). According to the Religieux de St. Denis, the king signed this decree at the insistence of the queen ("Chron. de Charles VI." ii. 119).^[18] The decree was not immediately enforced, a respite being granted to the Jews in order that they might sell their property and pay their debts. Those indebted to them were enjoined to redeem their obligations within a set time, otherwise their pledges held in pawn were to be sold by the Jews. The provost was to escort the Jews to the frontier of the kingdom. Subsequently, the king released the Christians from their debts.

Struggles for power[edit]

French Monarchy
Capetian Dynasty (House of Valois)
Philip VI
Children John II Philip, Duke of Orléans
John II
Children Charles V Louis I of Anjou John, Duke of Berry Philip the Bold
Charles V
Children Charles VI Louis, Duke of Orléans
Charles VI
Children Isabella of Valois Michelle of Valois Catherine of Valois Charles VII
Charles VII
Children Louis XI Charles, Duke of Berry
Louis XI
Children Charles VIII
Charles VIII
v t e

With Charles VI mentally ill, from 1393 his wife Isabeau presided over a regency counsel, on which sat the grandees of the kingdom. Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, who acted as regent during the king's minority (from 1380 to 1388), was a great influence on the queen (he had organized the royal marriage during his regency). Influence progressively shifted to Louis I, Duke of Orléans, the king's brother, another contender for power, and it was suspected, the queen's lover.^[19] Charles VI's other uncles were less influential during the regency: Louis II of Naples was still engaged managing the Kingdom of Naples, and John, Duke of Berry, served as a mediator between the Orléans party (what would become the Armagnacs) and the Burgundy party (Bourguignons). The rivalry would increase bit by bit and in the end result in outright civil war.

The new regents dismissed the various advisers and officials Charles had appointed. On the death of Philip the Bold in April 1404, his son John the Fearless took over the political aims of his father, and the feud with Louis escalated. John, who was less linked to Isabeau, again lost influence at court.

Wars with Burgundy and England[edit]

In 1407, Louis of Orléans was murdered in the rue Vieille du Temple in Paris. John did not deny responsibility, claiming that Louis was a tyrant who squandered money. Louis' son Charles, the new Duke of Orléans, turned to his father-in-law, Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac, for support against John the Fearless. This resulted in the Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War, which lasted from 1407 until 1435, beyond Charles' reign, though the war with the English was still in progress.

With the English taking over much of the country, John the Fearless sought to end the feud with the royal family by negotiating with the Dauphin Charles, the king's heir. They met at the bridge at Montereau on 10 September 1419, but during the meeting, John was killed by Tanneguy du Chastel, a follower of the Dauphin. John's successor, Philip the Good, the new Duke of Burgundy, threw in his lot with the English.

English invasion and death[edit]

Charles VI's reign was marked by the continuing conflict with the English, known as the Hundred Years' War. An early attempt at peace occurred in 1396 when Charles' daughter, the almost seven-year-old Isabella of Valois, married the 29-year-old Richard II of England. By 1415, however, the feud between the French royal family and the House of Burgundy led to chaos and anarchy throughout France that Henry V of England was eager to take advantage of. Henry led an invasion that culminated in the defeat of the French army at the Battle of Agincourt in October.

In 1420, the Treaty of Troyes was an agreement signed by Henry V of England and Charles VI of France, recognizing Henry as Charles' successor, and stipulating that Henry's heirs would succeed him on the throne of France. It disinherited the Dauphin Charles (with further claim, in 1421, that the young Charles was illegitimate). It also betrothed Charles VI's daughter, Catherine of Valois, to Henry V (see English Kings of France). The treaty disinheriting the Dauphin of France in favor of the English crown was a blatant act against the interests of the French aristocracy. The Dauphin sealed his fate, in the eyes of the mad king, when he declared himself regent, seized royal authority, and refused to obey the king's order to return to Paris.^[20] When the Treaty of Troyes was finalized in May 1420, the Dauphin Charles was only 17 years old.

Charles VI died on 21 October 1422 in Paris, at the Hôtel Saint-Pol. He was interred in Saint Denis Basilica, where his wife Isabeau of Bavaria would join him after her death in September 1435.

Upon the death of Charles VI, his infant grandson, who had become King Henry VI of England at the death of his own father in August 1422, was, according to the Treaty of Troyes, also King of France, and his coronation as such took place at the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris on 26 December 1431. In the meantime, the Dauphin Charles, who had settled in Bourges, Paris being occupied by the English-Bourguignons since 29 May 1418, had to wait the arrival of Joan of Arc to be taken to the cathedral of Reims for his coronation as Charles VII, King of France on 17 July 1429. During his reign, Charles VII, the (disinherited) son of Charles VI, became known as "Charles the Victorious".^[21]

Personal life[edit]

Ancestors[edit]

Marriage and issue[edit]

Charles VI married Isabeau of Bavaria (ca. 1371 – 24 September 1435) on 17 July 1385. She gave birth to 12 children:

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
Charles, Dauphin of Viennois	25 September 1386	28 December 1386	Died young. First Dauphin.
Jeanne	14 June 1388	1390	Died young.
Isabella	9 November 1389	13 September 1409	Married (1) Richard II, King of England, in 1396. No issue.[22] Married (2) Charles, Duke of Orléans, in 1406. Had issue.
Jeanne	24 January 1391	27 September 1433	Married John V, Duke of Brittany, in 1396. Had issue.
Charles, Dauphin of Viennois	6 February 1392	13 January 1401	Died young. Second Dauphin. Engaged to Margaret of Burgundy after his birth.
Marie	22 August 1393	19 August 1438	Never married – became an abbess. No issue. Died of the Plague
Michelle	11 January 1395	8 July 1422	Married Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1409.[23] Had no surviving issue.
Louis, Dauphin	22 January 1397	18 December 1415	Married Margaret of Burgundy. No issue. Third Dauphin.
John, Dauphin	31 August 1398	5 April 1417	Married Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut, in 1415. No issue. Fourth Dauphin.
Catherine	27 October 1401	3 January 1437	Married (1) Henry V, King of England, in 1420. Had issue. Married (?) (2) Owen Tudor. Had issue.
Charles, Dauphin of Viennois	22 February 1403	21 July 1461	The fifth Dauphin became Charles VII, King of France, after his father's death. Married Marie of Anjou in 1422. Had issue.
Philip	10 November 1407	November 1407	Died young.

He also had one illegitimate child by Odette de Champdivers: Marguerite, bâtarde de France (d. ca.1458).

Cultural references[edit]

• Christine de Pizan dedicates a poem to Charles VI Prière pour le roi Charles in which she pleas for the health of her king.
• The Romantic French poet Gérard de Nerval wrote a poem dedicated to the king: "Rêverie de Charles VI".^[24]
• The novel The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge by Rainer Maria Rilke describes the old age of Charles VI at length.
• King Charles VI, and his madness, are mentioned at length in the historical novel In a Dark Wood Wandering (1949) by Hella S. Haasse.
• The historical novel Blood Royal (aka The Queen's Lover) by Vanora Bennett, about Charles VI's daughter Catherine of Valois, refers to the King, his reign, family and his madness at length.
• Charles VI is a character in William Shakespeare's Henry V, as "King of France".
• The character Maqroll is reading a history of Charles in the novel "The Snow of the Admiral" by Alvaro Mutis (1986).

See also[edit]

• Henry of Marle (died 1418)

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

Sources[edit]

• Famiglietti, R.C., Royal Intrigue: Crisis at the Court of Charles VI, 1392–1420, New York; AMS Press, 1986.
• Famiglietti, R.C., Tales of the Marriage Bed from Medieval France (1300–1500), Providence; Picardy Press, 1992.
• Potter, Philip J., Kings of the Seine: The French Rulers from Pippin III to Jacques Chirac, 2006, PublishAmerica, Baltimore, ISBN 978-1-4137-8857-0.

External links[edit]

• "Biography of Charles VI the mad of France (1368-1422)". guusbeltman.nl. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
• Britannica, eds. (1998-07-20). "Charles VI king of France". Encyclopædia Britannica.CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list (link)
• "Charles VI". Shakespeareandhistory.com.
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911), "Charles VI (1368–1422), king of France", Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.), 5, Cambridge University Press.

Charles VI of France House of Valois Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty Born: 3 December 1368 Died: 21 October 1422
Regnal titles
Preceded by Charles V	King of France 16 September 1380 – 21 October 1422	Succeeded by Charles VII contested by Henry II
	Dauphin of Viennois 3 December 1368 – 26 September 1386	Succeeded by Charles III
Preceded by Charles III	Dauphin of Viennois 28 December 1386 – 6 February 1392	Succeeded by Charles IV