Charles I De Valois Duke Of ORLEANS

Notes:

Charles of Valois, Duke of OrlÈans (November 24, 1394 ? January 5, 1465) became Duke of OrlÈans in 1407, following the murder of his father, Louis, Duke of OrlÈans on the orders of Duke John-the-Fearless of Burgundy. He was also Duke of Valois, Count of Beaumont and of Blois, lord of Coucy, and the inheritor of Asti in Italy via his mother Valentina Visconti, daughter of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan. He is now remembered as an accomplished poet owing to the more than five hundred extant poems he produced, most written during his twenty-five years spent as a prisoner of war.

Ascending to the title of Duke at the age of fourteen after the assassination of his father, Charles was expected to carry on his father's leadership against the Burgundians, a French faction which supported the Duke of Burgundy. The latter was never punished for his role in Louis' assassination, and Charles had to watch as his grief-stricken mother Valentina Visconti succumbed to illness not long afterwards. At her deathbed, Charles and the other boys of the family were made to swear the traditional oath of vengeance for their father's murder.

During the early years of his reign as Duke, the orphaned Charles was heavily influenced by the guidance of his father-in-law, Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac, for which reason Charles' faction came to be known as the "Armagnacs".

A depiction of Charles' imprisonment in the Tower of London from an illuminated manuscript of his poemsAfter war with the Kingdom of England was renewed in 1415, Charles was one of the many French noblemen wounded in the Battle of Agincourt on October 25, 1415. Captured and taken to England as a hostage, he would remain in captivity for the next twenty-five years. The conditions of his confinement were not strict; he was allowed to live more or less in the manner to which he had become accustomed, like so many other captured nobles. However, he was not offered release in exchange for a ransom, since Henry V of England had left instructions forbidding any release: Charles was the natural head of the Armagnac faction and in the line of succession to the French throne, and was therefore deemed too important to be returned to circulation. It was during these twenty-five years that Charles would write most of his poetry, including melancholy works which seem to be commenting on the captivity itself, such as "Le Foret de Longue Attente".

Finally freed in 1440 by the efforts of his former enemies, Philip III, Duke of Burgundy and his consort Isabella of Portugal, he set foot on French soil again after 25 years, "speaking better English than French" according to one source. Meeting the Duchess of Burgundy after disembarking, the gallant Charles said: "M'Lady, I make myself your prisoner." At the celebration of his third marriage, with Marie of Cleves, he was created a Knight of the Golden Fleece. His subsequent return to OrlÈans was marked by a splendid celebration organized by the citizens.

He made a feeble attempt to press his claims to Asti in Italy, before settling down as a celebrated patron of the arts.

Charles appears in Shakespeare's play Henry V as the "Duke of Orleans".

Charles married Isabella Of VALOIS in 1406 in Compiegne. Isabella (daughter of Charles VI King Of FRANCE and Isabeau Of BAVARIA) was born on 09 Nov 1389 in Paris; died on 13 Sep 1410. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Jeanne Of ORLEANS was born in 1409 in Blois; died in 1432 in Angers.

Family/Spouse: Marie Of CLEVES. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Anne D'ORLEANS was born in 1464; died in 1491 in Poitiers.
2. Marie D'ORLEANS was born on 19 Dec 1457; died in 1493 in Mazares.
3. Louis XII King Of FRANCE was born on 27 Jun 1462 in Chateau de Blois, Blois, Touranine; died on 01 Jan 1515.

Charles married Bonne Of ARMAGNAC in 1410. Bonne died before 1440. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Louis of Valois (March 13, 1372 ? November 23, 1407) was Duke of OrlÈans from 1392 to his death. He was also Count of Valois, Duke of Touraine (1386?1392), Count of Blois (1397?1407), AngoulÍme (1404?1407), PÈrigord, Dreux and Soissons. Louis was son of King Charles V of France and Joanna of Bourbon and younger brother of Charles VI. In 1389, Louis married Valentina Visconti, daughter of Gian Galeazzo, Duke of Milan.

Louis had an important political role during the Hundred Years' War. With the increasing insanity of his elder brother Charles the Mad (who suffered from either schizophrenia, porphyria or bipolar disorder), Louis disputed the regency and guardianship of the royal children with John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy. The enmity between the two was public and a source of political unrest in the already troubled France. Louis had the initial advantage, being of royal blood, but his character and rumour of an affair with consort queen Isabeau of Bavaria made him extremely unpopular. For the following years, the children of Charles VI were successively kidnapped and recovered by both parts, until the Duke of Burgundy managed to be appointed by royal decree guardian of the dauphin and regent of France.

Louis did not give up and took every effort to sabotage John's rule, including squandering the money raised for the relief of Calais, then occupied by the English. After this episode, John and Louis broke into open threats and only the intervention of John of Valois, Duke of Berry and uncle of both men, avoided a civil war. On November 20, 1407 a solemn reconciliation was vowed in front of the court of France, but only three days later, Louis was brutally assassinated in the streets of Paris, when armed men under the orders of the John, Duke of Burgundy, attacked him while he was mounting his horse, and literally amputated his arms, leaving him defenceless.

Louis married Valentina VISCONTI. Valentina (daughter of Gian Galeazzo Visconti I Duke Of MILAN and Isabelle Of FRANCE) was born in 1366 in Milan; died on 04 Dec 1408 in Blois. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]