Charles VI (3 December 1368 – 21 October 1422), nicknamedthe Beloved (French:le Bien-Aimé) and in the 19th century,[1]the Mad (French:le Fol orle Fou), wasKing of France from 1380 until his death in 1422. He is known for hismental illness andpsychotic episodes that plagued him throughout his life.
Charles ascended the throne at age 11, his fatherCharles V leaving behind a favorable military situation, marked by the reconquest of most of the English possessions in France. Charles VI was placed under the regency of his uncles:Philip II, Duke of Burgundy;Louis I, Duke of Anjou;John, Duke of Berry; andLouis II, Duke of Bourbon. He decided in 1388, aged 20, to emancipate himself. In 1392, while leading a military expedition against theDuchy of Brittany, the king had his first attack ofdelirium, during which he attacked his own men in the forest ofLe Mans. A few months later, following theBal des Ardents (January 1393) where he narrowly escaped death from burning, Charles was again placed under the regency of his uncles, the Dukes of Berry and Burgundy.
From then on, and until his death, Charles alternated between periods of mental instability and lucidity. Power was held by his influential uncles and by his wife,Queen Isabeau. His younger brother,Louis I, Duke of Orléans, also aspired to the regency and saw his influence grow. The enmity between the Duke of Orléans and his cousinJohn the Fearless, successor of Philip the Bold asDuke of Burgundy, plunged France into theArmagnac–Burgundian Civil War of 1407–1435, during which the king found himself successively controlled by one or the other of the two parties.
In 1415, Charles's army was crushed by the English at theBattle of Agincourt. The king subsequently signed theTreaty of Troyes, which entirely disinherited his son, theDauphin and futureCharles VII, in favour ofHenry V of England. Henry was thus maderegent and heir to the throne of France, and Charles married his daughterCatherine to Henry. However, Henry died shortly before Charles, which gave theHouse of Valois the chance to continue the fight against theHouse of Lancaster, leading to eventual Valois victory and the end of theHundred Years' War in 1453. Charles was succeeded in law by his grandson (Henry V's son), the infantHenry VI of England, but Charles's own son was crowned first inReims Cathedral and was widely regarded even before his coronation as the true heir by the French people.
Charles VI was born in Paris, in the royal residence of theHôtel Saint-Pol, on 3 December 1368, the son of KingCharles V of theHouse of Valois and ofJoanna of Bourbon.[2] As the eldest son of the king, Charles was heir to the French throne and held the titleDauphin of France. By that time, the region ofDauphiné was under the effective French rule, but the emperorCharles IV still considered it as part of theKingdom of Burgundy (Arles) within theHoly Roman Empire, and thus an arrangement was made in 1378, by appointing the young French prince Charles as theimperial vicar of Burgundy, but only for his lifetime.[3]
At his father's death on 16 September 1380, Charles inherited the throne of France. Hiscoronation took place on 4 November atReims Cathedral.[4] Charles was only eleven years old when he was crowned king. During his minority,France was ruled by Charles's uncles asregents. Although the royalage of majority was 14 (the "age of accountability" underRoman Catholiccanon law), Charles was 21 when he formally terminated the regency.
The regents werePhilip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy,Louis I, Duke of Anjou, andJohn, Duke of Berry – all brothers of Charles V – along withLouis 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 theKingdom of Naples after 1382, dying in 1384; John of Berry was concerned only with his interests inLanguedoc,[5] and not particularly enthusiastic with royal politics; and Louis of Bourbon was a largely unimportant figure, owing to his eccentric personality (showing signs ofmental illness) and comparatively low status (he was from a junior branch of the royal bloodline).
During the regency, the financial resources of the kingdom, painstakingly built up by Charles V, were squandered for the personal profit of the dukes, whose interests were frequently divergent or even opposing. The new royal administration took steps to centralize power by usurping control of political offices and reimposing several unpopular taxes. The latter policy represented a reversal of the deathbed decision by Charles V to repeal them, and led to tax revolts, known as theHarelle.[6] The dukes also engaged instate capture; for instance, theBattle of Roosebeke (1382) was fought solely for Philip's benefit.
Charles VI finally stripped his corrupt uncles of their positions in 1388. To guide his rule, he restored to office the highly competent advisors of Charles V, known as theMarmousets,[7] who ushered in a new period of high esteem for the crown. Charles VI was initially referred to asCharles the Beloved by his subjects.[citation needed]
The coronation of Charles VI
Charles seized by madness in the forest near Le Mans
A coin of Charles VI, a "double d'or", minted inLa Rochelle in 1420
Charles VI's early successes with the Marmousets as his counselors quickly dissipated as a result of the bouts ofpsychosis he experienced from his mid-twenties. Mental illness may have been passed on for several generations through his mother, Joanna of Bourbon, with familial schizophrenia syndrome.[8] The true cause of his illness is not known. Since the development of the modern psychiatry in the late 19th century, it has generally been assumed that Charles had suffered fromschizophrenia,[9] but alternative theories have over the years includedmanic-depressive psychosis,[10][11] familialsarcoidosis causingneurosarcoidosis,[12] severearsenic poisoning,[13]typhus-inducedencephalopathy,[14]porphyria,[15] and others. Typhus could explain his skin plaque or rashes along with his fits of delirium.[16] Although still called by his subjectsCharles the Beloved, he became known also asCharles the Mad.
Charles's first known episode occurred in 1392 when his friend and advisor,Olivier de Clisson, was the victim of anattempted murder. Although Clisson survived, the king was determined to punish the would-be assassin,Pierre de Craon, who had taken refuge inBrittany.John IV, Duke of Brittany, was unwilling to hand him over, so Charles prepared a military expedition.
Contemporaries reported that Charles appeared to be in a "fever" to begin the campaign and was disconnected in his speech. He set off with an army on 1 July 1392. The progress of the army was slow, driving Charles into a frenzy of impatience. As the king and his escort were traveling through the forest nearLe Mans on a hot August morning, a barefootleper dressed in rags rushed up to the king's horse and grabbed hisbridle. "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.[17]
After the company emerged from the forest at noon, a page who was drowsy from the sun dropped the king'slance, 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 then drew his sword, spurred his mount, and attacked his own knights before one of hischamberlains 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 then fell into a coma; as a temporary measure, he was taken to the castle ofCreil,[18] where it was hoped that good air and pleasant surroundings might bring him to his senses. The king had killed a knight known as "the Bastard of Polignac" and several other men during the attack.[19]
Periods of mental illness continued throughout Charles's life. During one episode 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 help her so he would be left alone.[20] During another episode in 1395–96, the king claimed he wasSaint George and that hiscoat of arms was a lion with a sword thrust through it.[21] At this time, he recognized all the officers of his household, but not his wife or children. At times, the king ran wildly through the corridors of 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.[22]
Charles's 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 hisCommentaries that there were times when Charles thought that he was made of glass, and thus tried to protect himself in various ways so that he would not break. He reportedly had iron rods sewn into his clothes so that he would not shatter if he came into contact with another person.[23] This condition has come to be known asglass delusion.
Charles's secretary,Pierre Salmon, spent considerable time in discussion with the king during his periods of intermittent psychosis. Hoping to find a remedy for the king’s illness, stabilize the kingdom’s volatile political situation, and safeguard his own position, Salmon oversaw the production of two distinct, richly illuminated versions of his Dialogues, a set of guidebooks to good kingship.[24]
TheBal des Ardents, miniature of 1450–80 showing the dancers' costumes on fire
On 29 January 1393, amasked ball, which later became known as theBal des Ardents ("Ball of the Burning Men"), was organized by Isabeau of Bavaria to celebrate the wedding of one of herladies-in-waiting at the Hôtel Saint-Pol. At the suggestion of Huguet de Guisay, the king and four other lords[25] dressed up aswild men and performed a dance while 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."[26]
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 younger brotherLouis I, Duke of Orléans, who had arrived late, approached with a lighted torch to discover the identity of the dancers, and accidentally set one of them on fire. There was panic as the flames spread. TheDuchess of Berry threw the train of her gown over the king to protect him.[27] Several knights who tried to put out the flames were severely burned. Four of the dancers perished: Charles de Poitiers, son of theCount of Valentinois; Huguet de Guisay; Yvain deFoix; and the Count ofJoigny. Another – Jean, son of the Lord ofNantouillet – saved himself by jumping into a dishwater tub.[28]
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 of the Jews against Christians, and that theprosecutors had made several investigations and discovered that the Jews broke the agreement with the king on many occasions.[citation needed] Therefore, the king decreed, as an irrevocable law and statute, that no Jew would dwell in his domains ("Ordonnances", vii. 675). According to theMonk of St. Denis, the king signed this decree at the insistence of Isabeau ("Chron. de Charles VI." ii. 119).[29] The decree was not immediately enforced, a respite being granted to the Jews so that they have enough time to 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. Theprovost was to escort the Jews to the frontier of the kingdom. Subsequently, the king released Christians from their debts.
With Charles mentally ill, from 1393 his wife Isabeau presided over a regency council, on which sat the grandees of the kingdom. Philip the Bold, who acted as regent during the king's minority (from 1380 to 1388), was initially a great influence on the queen. However, influence progressively shifted to Orléans, the king's brother, who was not only another contender for power, but, it was suspected, the queen's lover as well.[30] Charles's other uncles were less influential during the regency, but John of Berry served as a mediator between the Orléans party (what would become theArmagnacs) and the Burgundy party (Bourguignons). The rivalry would increase bit by bit and eventually 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 sonJohn the Fearless took over the political aims of his father, and the feud with Orléans escalated.
In 1407, Orléans was murdered in therue Vieille du Temple in Paris. John the Fearless did not deny responsibility, claiming that Orléans was a tyrant who squandered money. Orléans' sonCharles, 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 theArmagnac–Burgundian Civil War, which lasted from 1407 until 1435, beyond Charles's reign, though the war with the English was still in progress.
With the English taking over much of France, John the Fearless sought to end the feud with the royal family by negotiating with the DauphinCharles VII, the king's heir. They met at the bridge atMontereau on 10 September 1419, but during the meeting, John the Fearless was killed byTanneguy du Chastel, a follower of the Dauphin. His successor,Philip the Good, the new Duke of Burgundy, threw in his lot with the English.
Charles VI's reign was marked by the continuing conflict with the English, known as theHundred Years' War. An early attempt at peace occurred in 1396 when his daughter, the almost seven-year-oldIsabella of Valois, married the 29-year-oldRichard II of England. By 1415, however, the feud between the French royal family and theHouse of Burgundy led to chaos and anarchy throughout France, a situation thatHenry V of England was eager to take advantage of. Henryled an invasion that culminated in the defeat of the French army at theBattle of Agincourt in October.
On 21 May 1420, Henry V and Charles VI signed theTreaty of Troyes, which named Henry as Charles's successor and stipulated that Henry's heirs would succeed him on the throne of France. It disinherited the Dauphin Charles, then only aged 17. The treaty also betrothed Charles VI's daughter,Catherine of Valois, to Henry. Disinheriting the Dauphin in favor of Henry was a blatant act against the interests of the Frencharistocracy, supported by the Duke of Burgundy. The Dauphin, who had declared himself regent for his father when the Duke of Burgundy invaded Paris and captured the king, had established a court atBourges. By 1421, it was implied in Burgundian propaganda that the young Charles was illegitimate.[31]
In the same time (1421), emperorSigismund appointed a prominent noblemanLouis II of Chalon-Arlay as theimperial vicar of theKingdom of Burgundy (Arles), in hope to restore some imperial authority over the region, includingDauphiné,Viennois andProvence, thus trying to suppress French interests and rising ambitions of powerful Burgundian duke Philip the Good, but the attempt failed.[32]
Charles VI died on 21 October 1422 in Paris, at the Hôtel Saint-Pol.[33] He was interred inSaint Denis Basilica, where his wife Isabeau would join him after her death in September 1435.
Henry V died just a few weeks before Charles, in August 1422, leaving an infant son, who became KingHenry VI of England. Therefore, according to the Treaty of Troyes, with the death of Charles VI, Henry VI became King of France. His coronation as such was in Paris (held by the English since 1418) at the cathedral ofNotre Dame de Paris on 26 December 1431.
The son disinherited by Charles VI, the Dauphin Charles, continued the fight to regain his kingdom. In 1429,Joan of Arc led his forces to victory against the English and took him to be crowned inReims Cathedral as King Charles VII on 17 July 1429. He became known as "Charles the Victorious" and was able to restore the French line to the throne of France by defeating the English in 1450.[34]
^Ashrafian, Hutan (23 December 2016). "Charles VI of France and Henry VI of England: Familial Sarcoidosis in the Hundred Years' War".Sarcoidosis, Vasculitis, and Diffuse Lung Diseases.33 (4):416–417.ISSN2532-179X.PMID28079856.
^W. H. Jervis,A History of France: from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Second Empire in 1870, (London: John Murray, 1884), 228, §5; Jean Juvenal des Ursins,Histoire de Charles VI, Roy de France, (Paris: A. Desrez, 1841), 377; Michaud, J. F and L. G.,Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne, 85 vols., (Paris: L. G. Michaud, 1813), 8:114 sub Charles VI.
^R. C. Famiglietti,Royal Intrigue: Crisis at the Court of Charles VI, 1392–1420, New York, 1986, p. 4, citing the chronicle of theReligieux de Saint-Denis, ed. Bellaguet, II, pp. 86–88.
^R. C. Famiglietti,Royal Intrigue: Crisis at the Court of Charles VI, 1392–1420, New York, 1986, p. 5, citing the chronicle of the Religieux de Saint-Denis, ed. Bellaguet, II, pp. 404–05.
^R. C. Famiglietti,Royal Intrigue: Crisis at the Court of Charles VI, 1392–1420, New York, 1986, p. 6, citing the chronicle of the Religieux de Saint-Denis, ed. Bellaguet, III, p. 348
^Enea Silvio Piccolomini (Papa Pio II),I Commentarii, ed. L. Totaro, Milano, 1984, I, p. 1056.
^Tuchman, Barbara (1978).A Distant Mirror. Alfred A Knopf. See the chronicle of the Religieux de Saint-Denis, ed. Bellaguet, II, pp. 64–71, where the squire's name is given correctly as "de Guisay".
^Froissart's Chronicles, ed. T. Johnes, II (1855), p. 550. Note that Froissart and the Religieux de Saint-Denis differ as to when the four men died. Huguet de Guisay had held the office of cupbearer of the king.
^History of the reign of Charles VI, titledChronique de Religieux de Saint-Denys, contenant le regne de Charles VI de 1380 a 1422, encompasses the king's full reign in six volumes. Originally written inLatin, the work was translated to French in six volumes by L. Bellaguet between 1839 and 1852.
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