1.
Henry V of England
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Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 36 in 1422. He was the second English monarch who came from the House of Lancaster, after his fathers death in 1413, Henry assumed control of the country and embarked on war with France in the ongoing Hundred Years War between the two nations. His military successes culminated in his famous victory at the Battle of Agincourt and he was the son of 20-year-old Henry of Bolingbroke, and 16-year-old Mary de Bohun. He was also the grandson of the influential John of Gaunt, at the time of his birth, Richard II of England, his cousin once removed, was king. As he was not close to the line of succession to the throne and his grandfather, John of Gaunt, was the guardian of the king at that time. Upon the exile of Henrys father in 1398, Richard II took the boy into his own charge, the young Henry accompanied King Richard to Ireland, and while in the royal service, he visited Trim Castle in County Meath, the ancient meeting place of the Irish Parliament. He was created Prince of Wales at his fathers coronation, and Duke of Lancaster on 10 November 1399 and his other titles were Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester, and Duke of Aquitaine. A contemporary record notes that during that year Henry spent time at The Queens College, Oxford, under the care of his uncle Henry Beaufort, from 1400 to 1404, he carried out the duties of High Sheriff of Cornwall. It was there that the prince was almost killed by an arrow that became stuck in his face. An ordinary soldier might have died from such a wound, the operation was successful, but it left Henry with permanent scars, evidence of his experience in battle. The Welsh revolt of Owain Glyndŵr absorbed Henrys energies until 1408, then, as a result of the kings ill health, Henry began to take a wider share in politics. From January 1410, helped by his uncles Henry Beaufort and Thomas Beaufort – legitimised sons of John of Gaunt – he had control of the government. Both in foreign and domestic policy he differed from the king, the quarrel of father and son was political only, though it is probable that the Beauforts had discussed the abdication of Henry IV, and their opponents certainly endeavoured to defame the prince. It may be that the tradition of Henrys riotous youth, immortalised by Shakespeare, is due to political enmity. Henrys record of involvement in war and politics, even in his youth, the most famous incident, his quarrel with the chief justice, has no contemporary authority and was first related by Sir Thomas Elyot in 1531. The story of Falstaff originated in Henrys early friendship with Sir John Oldcastle, shakespeares Falstaff was originally named Oldcastle, following his main source, The Famous Victories of Henry V. However, his descendants objected, and the name was changed. That friendship, and the political opposition to Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury. If so, their disappointment may account for the statements of ecclesiastical writers like Thomas Walsingham that Henry, after Henry IV died on 20 March 1413, Henry V succeeded him and was crowned on 9 April 1413 at Westminster Abbey, London, Kingdom of England
2.
Charles VI of France
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Charles VI, called the Beloved and the Mad, was King of France from 1380 to his death. He was a member of 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, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, John, Duke of Berry, Louis I, Duke of Anjou, and Louis II, Duke of 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, 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 fathers 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, 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 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 was relatively sane, however, unable to concentrate or make decisions, political power was taken away from him by the princes of the blood, which would cause much chaos and conflict in France. A fierce struggle for power developed between Louis of Orléans, the brother, and John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy. When John instigated the murder of Louis in November 1407, the conflict degenerated into a war between the Armagnacs and the Burgundians. John offered large parts of France to King Henry V of England, when Charles VI died, he was succeeded by his son Charles VII, who found the Valois cause in a desperate situation. Charles was born in Paris, in the residence of the Hôtel Saint-Pol, on 3 December 1368, the son of the king of France Charles V, of the House of Valois. As heir to the French throne, his brothers having died before he was born. At his fathers death on 16 September 1380, he inherited the throne of France and his coronation took place on 4 November 1380, at Reims Cathedral. Although the royal age of majority was 14, Charles did not terminate the regency and he married Isabeau of Bavaria on 17 July 1385, when he was 17 and she was 14. Isabeau had 12 children, most of whom died young, isabeaus first child, named Charles, was born in 1386, and was Dauphin of Viennois, but survived only 3 months. Her second child, Joan, was born on 14 June 1388 and her third child, Isabella, was born in 1389. She was married to Richard II, King of England in 1396, at the age of 6, Richard died in 1400 and they had no children
3.
Troyes
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Troyes is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about 150 km southeast of Paris and this area is known as the Champagne region of Northern France. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town, Troyes has been in existence since the Roman era, as Augustobona Tricassium, which stood at the hub of numerous highways, primarily the Via Agrippa. It was the civitas of the Tricasses, who had separated by Augustus from the Senones. Of the Gallo-Roman city of the early Empire, some scattered remains have been found, by the Late Empire the settlement was reduced in extent, and referred to as Tricassium or Tricassae, the origin of French Troyes. In the early cathedral on the present site, Louis the Stammerer in 878 received at Troyes the imperial crown from the hands of Pope John VIII, the Abbey of Saint-Loup developed a renowned library and scriptorium. During the Middle Ages, it was an important trading town, the Champagne cloth fairs and the revival of long-distance trade and new extension of coinage and credit were the real engines that drove the medieval economy of Troyes. In 1285, when Philip the Fair united Champagne to the royal domain, the high-water mark of Plantagenet hegemony in France was reversed when the Dauphin, afterwards Charles VII, and Joan of Arc recovered the town of Troyes in 1429. In medieval times Troyes was an important international centre, centring on the Troyes Fair. The name troy weight for gold derives from the standard of measurement evolving here, the great fire of 1524 destroyed much of the medieval city, in spite of the citys numerous canals. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town Hôtels Particuliers of the old town The Hôtel de Ville and they include, Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul Cathedral Saint-Nizier Church, in Gothic and Renaissance style, with remarkable sculptures. The Gothic Saint-Urbain Basilica, with a covered by polished tiles. Proclaimed basilica in 1964, it was built by Jacques Pantaléon, elected pope in 1261, under the name of Urbain IV, very early Gothic, with east end rebuilt around 1500. Remarkably elaborate stone screen of 1508-17 in Flamboyant Gothic style, sculpted by Jean Gailde. The Saint-Jean Church, with a Renaissance chancel, tabernacle of the altar by Giraudon. On the portal, coat of arms of Charles IX, the Gothic Saint-Nicolas Church, dating to the beginning of the sixteenth century, with a calvary chapel shaped rostrum is reached by a monumental staircase. On the south portal, two sculptures by François Gentil, David and Isaiah, saint-Pantaléon Church, with numerous statuary from the sixteenth century. It includes a spire, from a height of 60 m, its external clock with only one hand
4.
Hundred Years' War
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Each side drew many allies into the war. It was one of the most notable conflicts of the Middle Ages, the war marked both the height of chivalry and its subsequent decline, and the development of strong national identities in both countries. After the Norman Conquest, the kings of England were vassals of the kings of France for their possessions in France, the French kings had endeavored, over the centuries, to reduce these possessions, to the effect that only Gascony was left to the English. Through his mother, Isabella of France, Edward III of England was the grandson of Philip IV of France and nephew of Charles IV of France, in 1316, a principle was established denying women succession to the French throne. When Charles IV died in 1328, Isabella, unable to claim the French throne for herself, the French rejected the claim, maintaining that Isabella could not transmit a right that she did not possess. Several overwhelming English victories in the war—especially at Crecy, Poitiers, however, the greater resources of the French monarchy precluded a complete conquest. Historians commonly divide the war into three separated by truces, the Edwardian Era War, the Caroline War, and the Lancastrian War. Later historians adopted the term Hundred Years War as a historiography periodization to encompass all of these events, the war owes its historical significance to multiple factors. By its end, feudal armies had been replaced by professional troops. Although primarily a conflict, the war gave impetus to ideas of French. The wider introduction of weapons and tactics supplanted the feudal armies where heavy cavalry had dominated, the war precipitated the creation of the first standing armies in Western Europe since the time of the Western Roman Empire and thus helping to change their role in warfare. With respect to the belligerents, in France, civil wars, deadly epidemics, famines, English political forces over time came to oppose the costly venture. The dissatisfaction of English nobles, resulting from the loss of their continental landholdings, the root causes of the conflict can be found in the demographic, economic and political crises of 14th century Europe. The outbreak of war was motivated by a rise in tension between the Kings of France and England about Guyenne, Flanders and Scotland. The dynastic question, which due to an interruption of the direct male line of the Capetians, was the official pretext. The question of succession to the French throne was raised after the death of Louis X in 1316. Louis X left only a daughter, and his posthumous son John I lived only a few days, Philip, Count of Poitiers, brother of Louis X, asserted that women were ineligible to succeed to the French throne. Through his political sagacity he won over his adversaries and succeeded to the French throne as Philip V of France, by the same law that he procured, his daughters were denied the succession, which passed to his younger brother, Charles IV, in 1322
5.
Archives Nationales (France)
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In 1800 the Archives Nationales became an autonomous body of the French state. Today, they contain about 406 km. of documents, a mass of documents growing every year. The original documents stored by the Archives Nationales range from AD625 to today, the Archives Nationales are under the authority of the French Archives Administration in the Ministry of Culture. The Archives of France also manage the 100 departmental archives located in the préfectures of each of the 100 départements of France, as well as various other local archives. The Archives Nationales has been located since 1808 in a group of buildings comprising the Hôtel de Soubise and this centre stores all the documents and records from before 1958 as well as the archives of the French heads of state. Since 1867 it has housed the Musée de lHistoire de France. The Archives Nationales, however, do not keep the records of Paris. These were entirely destroyed by fires set by extremists at the end of the Paris Commune in 1871, the oldest document kept at the AN is a papyrus dated AD625 coming from the archives of the Basilica of St Denis seized at the time of the French Revolution. This papyrus is the confirmation of a grant of land in the city of Paris to the Abbey of Saint-Denis issued by King Chlothar II. This document is the oldest original one kept by the Archives Nationales, in total the Archives Nationales possess 47 original documents from the Merovingian period. It was inscribed on UNESCOs Memory of the World Programme Register in 2003 in recognition of its historical significance, the Centre for Contemporary Archives, founded as the Cité interministérielle des archives, opened in Fontainebleau in 1969. It is the repository for documents issued by the French central state since 1958 and it contains 193 km. of archives. The National Overseas Archives, originally the Centre for Overseas Archives, the ANOM also possesses private and corporate archives related to the former French colonies and Algeria. In total the ANOM keeps 37 km. of archives from the 17th to the 20th century covering more than 40 currently independent countries spread over 5 continents. Note that the archives concerning Tunisia and Morocco, which were protectorates and not colonies, are kept by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its Diplomatic Archives. In addition to these 37 km. of archives, the ANOM also possesses 60,000 maps and plans going back to the 17th century,150,000 photographs,20,000 postcards, and 100,000 books. The National Archives of the World of Work, originally the Centre for the Archives of the World of Work and it stores the archives of businesses, trades unions, associations and societies, and architects. In total it contains 35 km. of archives, most of the archives in this centre are private archives
6.
Charles VII of France
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Charles VII, called the Victorious or the Well-Served, was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1422 to his death. In the midst of the Hundred Years War, Charles VII inherited the throne of France under desperate circumstances, in addition, his father Charles VI had disinherited him in 1420 and recognized Henry V of England and his heirs as the legitimate successors to the French crown instead. At the same time, a war raged in France between the Armagnacs and the Burgundian party. However, his political and military position improved dramatically with the emergence of Joan of Arc as a leader in France. Joan of Arc and other charismatic figures led French troops to lift the siege of Orléans, as well as other cities on the Loire river. With the local English troops dispersed, the people of Reims switched allegiance and opened their gates and this long-awaited event boosted French morale as hostilities with England resumed. Following the battle of Castillon in 1453, the French had expelled the English from all their continental possessions except for the Pale of Calais, the last years of Charles VII were marked by conflicts with his turbulent son, the future Louis XI of France. Born at the Hôtel Saint-Pol, the residence in Paris. He was the child and fifth son of Charles VI of France. His four elder brothers, Charles, Charles, Louis and John had each held the title of Dauphin of France in turn, all died childless, leaving Charles with a rich inheritance of titles. By 1419, Charles had established his own court in Bourges and they also decided that a further meeting should take place the following 10 September. On that date, they met on the bridge at Montereau, the Duke assumed that the meeting would be entirely peaceful and diplomatic, thus he brought only a small escort with him. The Dauphins men reacted to the Dukes arrival by attacking and killing him, Charles level of involvement has remained uncertain to this day. Although he claimed to have been unaware of his mens intentions, the assassination marked the end of any attempt of a reconciliation between the two factions Armagnacs and Burgundians, thus playing into the hands of Henry V of England. Charles was later required by a treaty with Philip the Good, the son of John the Fearless, to pay penance for the murder, at the death of his father, Charles VI, the succession was cast into doubt. For those who did not recognize the treaty and believed the Dauphin Charles to be of legitimate birth, for those who did not recognize his legitimacy, the rightful heir was recognized as Charles, Duke of Orléans, cousin of the Dauphin, who was in English captivity. Only the supporters of Henry VI and the Dauphin Charles were able to enlist sufficient military force to press effectively for their candidates, the English, already in control of northern France, were able to enforce the claim of their king in the regions of France that they occupied. Northern France, including Paris, was ruled by an English regent, Henry Vs brother, John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford
7.
Battle of Agincourt
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The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory in the Hundred Years War. The battle took place on Friday,25 October 1415 in the County of Saint-Pol, Artois, Henry V led his troops into battle and participated in hand-to-hand fighting. The French king of the time, Charles VI, did not command the French army himself as he suffered from severe psychotic illnesses with moderate mental incapacitation, instead, the French were commanded by Constable Charles dAlbret and various prominent French noblemen of the Armagnac party. This battle is notable for the use of the English longbow in very large numbers, the battle is the centrepiece of the play Henry V by William Shakespeare. The Battle of Agincourt is well documented by at least seven contemporary accounts, the approximate location of the battle has never been in dispute and the place remains relatively unaltered even after 600 years. Two of the most frequently cited accounts come from Burgundian sources, one from Jean Le Fèvre de Saint-Remy, who was present at the battle, Henry V invaded France following the failure of negotiations with the French. He initially called a Great Council in the spring of 1414 to discuss going to war with France, Henry would marry Princess Catherine, the young daughter of Charles VI, and receive a dowry of 2 million crowns. The French responded with what they considered the terms of marriage with Princess Catherine, a dowry of 600,000 crowns. By 1415, negotiations had ground to a halt, with the English claiming that the French had mocked their claims and ridiculed Henry himself. In December 1414, the English parliament was persuaded to grant Henry a double subsidy, on 19 April 1415, Henry again asked the Great Council to sanction war with France, and this time they agreed. The siege took longer than expected, the town surrendered on 22 September, and the English army did not leave until 8 October. The campaign season was coming to an end, and the English army had suffered many casualties through disease and he also intended the manoeuvre as a deliberate provocation to battle aimed at the dauphin, who had failed to respond to Henrys personal challenge to combat at Harfleur. The French had raised an army during the siege which assembled around Rouen and this was not strictly a feudal army, but an army paid through a system similar to the English. The French hoped to raise 9,000 troops, but the army was not ready in time to relieve Harfleur, after Henry V marched to the north, the French moved to block them along the River Somme. They were successful for a time, forcing Henry to move south, away from Calais, the English finally crossed the Somme south of Péronne, at Béthencourt and Voyennes and resumed marching north. Without a river obstacle to defend, the French were hesitant to force a battle and they shadowed Henrys army while calling a semonce des nobles, calling on local nobles to join the army. By 24 October, both faced each other for battle, but the French declined, hoping for the arrival of more troops. The two armies spent the night of 24 October on open ground, the English had very little food, had marched 260 miles in two and a half weeks, were suffering from sickness such as dysentery, and faced much larger numbers of well equipped French men at arms
8.
John the Fearless
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John the Fearless, also known as John of Valois and John I of Burgundy, was Duke of Burgundy from 1404 to 1419. He was a member of the Burgundian branch of the Valois Dynasty, for a period of time, he served as regent of France on behalf of his first cousin King Charles VI of France, who suffered from severe mental illness. John was born in Dijon on 27 May 1371 to Philip II the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, in 1385, a double wedding for the Burgundian family took place in Cambrai. The marriage took place after John cancelled his engagement to Catherine of France, before his accession to the Duchy of Burgundy, John was one of the principal leaders of the French forces sent to aid King Sigismund of Hungary in his war against Sultan Bayezid I. John fought in the Battle of Nicopolis of 25 September 1396 with such enthusiasm, despite his personal bravery, his impetuous leadership ended in disaster for the European expedition. He was captured and did not recover his liberty until the year after an enormous ransom was paid. Both men attempted to fill the vacuum left by the demented king. John played a game of marriages by exchanging his daughter Margaret of Burgundy for Michelle of Valois, for her part, Margaret was married to Louis, Duke of Guyenne, the heir to the French throne from 1401 until his death in 1415. For all his concentration on aristocratic politics, John nonetheless did not overlook the importance of the class of merchants. Louis tried to gain the favour of the wife of Charles VI, Queen Isabeau of France and this did not improve relations between John and the Duke of Orléans. Soon the two descended into making open threats. Their uncle, John, Duke of Berry, secured a vow of solemn reconciliation on 20 November 1407, the order, no one doubted, had come from the Duke of Burgundy, who shortly admitted to the deed and declared it to be a justifiable act of tyrannicide. After an escape from Paris and a few skirmishes against the Orléans party, in the treaty of Chartres, signed on 9 March 1409, the King absolved the Duke of Burgundy of the crime, and he and Louis son Charles pledged a reconciliation. A later edict renewed Johns guardianship of the Dauphin, even with the Orléans dispute resolved in his favour, John did not lead a tranquil life. Chief among these allies was his father-in-law Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac, because of this alliance, their faction became known as the Armagnacs in opposition to the Burgundians. With peace between the factions solemnly sworn in 1410, John returned to Burgundy and Bernard remained in Paris, at this time, King Henry V of England invaded French territory and threatened to attack Paris. During the peace negotiations with the Armagnacs, Henry was also in contact with John, despite this, he continued to be wary of forming an alliance with the English for fear of destroying his immense popularity with the common people of France. When Henry demanded Burgundys support for his claim to be the rightful King of France, John backed away and decided to ally himself with the Armagnacs
9.
Duke of Burgundy
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Under the Ancien Régime, the Duke of Burgundy was the premier lay peer of the kingdom of France. Beginning with Robert II of France, the title was held by the Capetians and it was granted to Roberts younger son, Robert, who founded the House of Burgundy. When the senior line of the House of Burgundy became extinct, John granted the duchy as an appanage for his younger son, Philip the Bold. The Valois Dukes of Burgundy became dangerous rivals to the line of the House of Valois. When the male line of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy became extinct, today, the title is used by the House of Bourbon as a revived courtesy title. His descendants and their relatives by marriage ruled the duchy until its annexation over a century later by the French crown, their suzerain. Richard the Justiciar Rudolph, then King of France Hugh the Black Gilbert Otto Eudes Henry the Great Otto William In 1004, Burgundy was annexed by the king, Otto William continued to rule what would come to be called the Free County of Burgundy. His descendants formed another House of Ivrea, Robert Henry Robert, son of Robert II of France, received the Duchy as a peace settlement, having disputed the succession to the throne of France with his brother Henry. John II of France, the second Valois king, successfully claimed the Duchy after the death of Philip, John then passed the duchy to his youngest son Philip as an apanage. In 1477, the territory of the Duchy of Burgundy was annexed by France, in the same year, Mary married Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, giving the Habsburgs control of the remainder of the Burgundian Inheritance. They often used the term Burgundy to refer to it, until the late 18th century, at the same time, various members of the French royal family, most notably Louis, Dauphin of France, the father of Louis XV of France, also used the title. Duchess of Burgundy Kingdom of Burgundy King of Burgundy Duchy of Burgundy County of Burgundy Count of Burgundy Dukes of Burgundy family tree Calmette, the Golden Age of Burgundy, the Magnificent Dukes and Their Courts. Les Origines du Duché de Bourgogne
10.
Montereau-Fault-Yonne
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Montereau-Fault-Yonne, or simply Montereau, is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. The city takes its name from its position on the confluence of the Yonne. Fault, also spelled faut comes from the verb faillir in its old meaning to fall, Montereau is where the Yonne falls into the Seine. The town is split in three by the rivers, ville basse situated on the shore and Surville on the hill to the north. The old town centre is located in ville basse while Surville is an assembly of high buildings, erected after World War II. Some of these high rise buildings are now going to be destroyed and replaced by individual houses, the old château-park in Surville however gives a very nice view over the confluent and the Seine-et-Marne region. On the east side, between the two rivers, are the port and an industrial park, in 1359, the King of Navarre Charles II of Navarre, who held the town because of his Champagne ascent, lost it to the regent of France. John the Fearless was killed on the bridge in September,1419 by Tanneguy du Chastel. An inscription on the bridge recalls the event, in the collegiate church Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Loup there is a sword which has long been said to be John the Fearless, but actually this sword is certainly more recent. In 1420, Philip the Good, the son of John the Fearless, seized the town, however, at the end of a long siege, the king Charles VII, helped by Chabannes and Dunois, managed to take it again. In 1567, during the Wars of Religion, Condé briefly seized the town, in 1587, the inhabitants of Montereau sided with the Catholic League, but in 1590 they accepted the legitimacy of the new king Henry IV. Montereau was also the place of one of the last victories of Napoleon on 14 February 1814, inhabitants of Montereau-Fault-Yonne are called Monterelais. The canton, which belonged to the arrondissement of Fontainebleau in the beginning, was attached to Provins in 1926 and it has 14 communes and 33,934 inhabitants. Historically, the city has sported a strong base and thus has strong blue collar roots. In recent decades, unemployment has become a problem, especially within the immigrant community in Surville. Montereau is twinned with the British town of Otley, north of Leeds, communes of the Seine-et-Marne department INSEE1999 Land Use, from IAURIF French Ministry of Culture list for Montereau-Fault-Yonne Map of Montereau-Fault-Yonne on Michelin
11.
Philip the Good
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Philip the Good was Duke of Burgundy as Philip III from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a line of the Valois dynasty. During his reign, Burgundy reached the apex of its prosperity and prestige, Philip is known in history for his administrative reforms, his patronage of Flemish artists such as Jan van Eyck and Franco-Flemish composers such as Gilles Binchois, and the capture of Joan of Arc. In political affairs, he alternated between alliances with the English and the French in an attempt to improve his dynastys position. As ruler of Flanders, Brabant, Limburg, Artois, Hainaut, Holland, Zeeland, Friesland and Namur, born in 1396 in Dijon, Philip was the son of John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria-Straubing. His father succeeded Philips grandfather Philip the Bold as Duke of Burgundy in 1404 and they were married in June 1409. Bonne of Artois lived only a year after Philip married her, Philip was married for a third time to Isabella of Portugal, a daughter of John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, in Bruges on 7 January 1430. Corneille and Anthony were his favorite bastard sons and successively bore the title Grand bâtard de Bourgogne, Philip became duke of Burgundy and count of Flanders, Artois and Franche-Comté upon the assassination of his father in 1419. Philip accused Charles, the Dauphin of France and Philips brother-in-law, of planning the murder of his father, because of this, he continued to prosecute the civil war between the Burgundians and Armagnacs. In 1420, Philip allied himself with Henry V of England under the Treaty of Troyes, in 1423, the marriage of Philips sister Anne to John, Duke of Bedford, regent for Henry VI of England, strengthened the English alliance. In 1430, Philips troops captured Joan of Arc at Compiègne and later handed her over to the English, Philip signed the treaty for a variety of reasons, one of which may have been a desire to be recognised as the preeminent duke in France. He then attacked Calais, a possession of the English, Philip supported the revolt of the French nobles the following year and offered shelter to the Dauphin Louis, who had rebelled against his father Charles VII. In 1456, Philip also managed to ensure his illegitimate son David was elected Bishop of Utrecht and it is not surprising that in 1435 Philip began to style himself the Grand Duke of the West. In 1463, Philip gave up some of his territory to King Louis XI of France and that year he also created an Estates-General for the Netherlands based on the French model. The first meeting of the Estates-General was to obtain a loan for a war against France, in 1465 and 1467, Philip crushed two rebellions in Liège. Philip died in Bruges in 1467, Philips court can only be described as extravagant. He declined membership in the English Order of the Garter in 1422, instead, he created his own Order of the Golden Fleece, based on the Knights of the Round Table and the myth of Jason, in 1430. Philip had no fixed capital and moved the court between various palaces, the urban ones being Brussels, Bruges, and Lille
12.
Isabeau of Bavaria
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Isabeau of Bavaria was born into the House of Wittelsbach as the eldest daughter of Duke Stephen III of Bavaria-Ingolstadt and Taddea Visconti of Milan. She became Queen of France when she married King Charles VI in 1385, at age 15 or 16, Isabeau was sent to France on approval to the young French king, the couple wed three days after their first meeting. Isabeau was honored in 1389 with a coronation ceremony and entry into Paris. In 1392 Charles suffered the first attack of what was to become a lifelong and progressive mental illness, the episodes occurred with increasing frequency, leaving a court both divided by political factions and steeped in social extravagances. A1393 masque for one of Isabeaus ladies-in-waiting—an event later known as Bal des Ardents—ended in disaster with the King almost burning to death, although the King demanded Isabeaus removal from his presence during his illness, he consistently allowed her to act on his behalf. In this way she became regent to the Dauphin of France, Charles illness created a power vacuum that eventually led to the Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War between supporters of his brother, Louis of Orléans and the royal dukes of Burgundy. Isabeau shifted allegiances as she chose the most favorable paths for the heir to the throne, when she followed the Armagnacs, the Burgundians accused her of adultery with Louis of Orléans, when she sided with the Burgundians the Armagnacs removed her from Paris and she was imprisoned. In 1407 John the Fearless assassinated Orléans, sparking hostilities between the factions, the war ended soon after Isabeaus eldest son, Charles, had John the Fearless assassinated in 1419—an act that saw him disinherited. Isabeau attended the 1420 signing of the Treaty of Troyes, which decided that the English king should inherit the French crown after the death of her husband and she lived in English-occupied Paris until her death in 1435. Isabeau was popularly seen as a spendthrift and irresponsible philanderess, Isabeaus parents were Duke Stephen III of Bavaria-Ingolstadt and Taddea Visconti, whom he married for a 100,000 ducat dowry. She was most likely born in Munich where she was baptized as Elisabeth at the Church of Our Lady and she was great-granddaughter to the Wittelsbach Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV. At that period Bavaria counted amongst the most powerful German states, Isabeaus uncle, Duke Frederick of Bavaria-Landshut, suggested in 1383 that she be considered as a bride to King Charles VI of France. Charles, then 17, rode in the tourneys at the wedding and he was an attractive, physically fit young man, who enjoyed jousting and hunting and was excited to be married. Charles VIs uncle, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, thought the proposed marriage ideal to build an alliance with the Holy Roman Empire and against the English. Isabeaus father agreed reluctantly and sent her to France with his brother, her uncle, on the pretext of taking a pilgrimage to Amiens. According to the contemporary chronicler Jean Froissart, Isabeau was 13 or 14 when the match was proposed and about 16 at the time of the marriage in 1385, suggesting a birth date of around 1370. Before her presentation to Charles, Isabeau visited Hainaut for about a month, staying with her granduncle Duke Albert I, ruler of some of Bavaria-Straubing and Count of Holland. Alberts wife, Margaret of Brieg, replaced Isabeaus Bavarian style of dress, deemed unsuitable as French courtly attire and she learned quickly, suggestive of an intelligent and quick-witted character
