John The Fearless Duke Of BURGUNDY

1371 - 1419  (48 years)

• Name	John The Fearless Duke Of BURGUNDY  [1, 2]
  Birth	1371  [2]
  Gender	Male
  Fact	Count of Flanders   [1]
  Fact	Duke of Burgundy   [1]
  Death	10 Sep 1419	Assassinated   [1, 2]
  Notes	Duke John I aka Jean de Valois and Jean de Bourgogne (May 28, 1371, Dijon ? September 10, 1419, on the bridge of Montereau), also known as the Fearless (French: sans peur) was Duke of Burgundy from 1404 to 1419. John was the son of Philip II, the Bold and Margaret III, Countess of Flanders. As heir apparent, he used the title of Count of Nevers from 1384 to 1405, when after his accession he ceded it to his brother Philip In 1385, John married Margaret of Bavaria, daughter of Albrecht of Bavaria, Count of Holland and Hainaut, to consolidate his position in the Low Countries, after cancelling his engagement with Catherine of Valois, daughter of king Charles V of France. They had the following children: Catherine (1391?1414, Ghent) Marie (1393 ? October 30, 1463, Monterberg bei Kalkar). She married Adolph I, Duke of Cleves. They were the great-grandparents of Johann III, Duke of Cleves, father of Anne of Cleves who was fourth Queen consort of Henry VIII of England. Marguerite, duchess of Guyenne (1394 ? February 2, 1441, Paris), married on August 30, 1404 Louis of Valois the Dauphin (heir of king Charles VI of France), then on October 10, 1422 Arthur de Richemont, the future Duke of Brittany Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (1396?1467) Isabelle (d. September 18, 1412, Rouvre), married at Arras on July 22, 1406 to Olivier de Ch‚tillon-Blois, Count of PenthiËvre and PÈrigord Jeanne (b. 1399, Bouvres), d. young Anne of Burgundy (1404 ? November 14, 1432, Paris), married John, Duke of Bedford Agnes of Burgundy (1407 ? December 1, 1476, Ch‚teau de Moulins), married Charles I, Duke of Bourbon John also had several illegitimate children. Before his accession to the Duchy, 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 (September 25, 1396) with such enthusiasm and bravery that he was given the nickname of Fearless (Sans-Peur). Nevertheless he was taken prisoner and released only in the next year, against an enormous ransom paid by his father. [edit] John vs OrlÈans John was invested as duke of Burgundy in 1404 and almost immediately entered into open conflict against Louis of OrlÈans, younger brother of the increasingly mad Charles VI. Both men attempted to fill the power vacuum left by the demented king. John played a game of marriages, exchanging his daughter Marguerite for Michelle of Valois, who would marry his heir Philip III. He did not overlook, however, the importance of the middle class of merchants and tradesman or the University of Paris. Louis tried to gain the favor of Queen Isabella, and may have become her lover. After a game of hide and seek in which his son-in-law, the Dauphin, was successively kidnapped and recovered by both parties, the Duke of Burgundy managed to gain appointment by royal decree ? during one of the King's "absent" periods when mental illness manifested itself ? as guardian of the Dauphin and the king's children. This did not improve the relations between John and Louis. Soon the two rivals descended into making open threats. Their uncle, John, Duke of Berry, secured a vow of solemn reconciliation, but three days later, on November 23, 1407 Louis was brutally assassinated in the streets of Paris. He was attacked after mounting his horse by a party of men who literally amputated his arms so that he was defenseless. 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 OrlÈans party, John managed to recover the king's favour. In the treaty of Chartres, signed on March 9, 1409, the king absolved the Duke of Burgundy of the crime, and he and Louis's son Charles pledged a reconciliation. A later edict renewed John's guardianship of the Dauphin. [edit] John vs Armagnac Even with the OrlÈans dispute resolved to his favour, John would not have an easy life. Charles of OrlÈans gathered allies, among them Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac, to support his claims for the property that had been confiscated from him. Peace was solemnly sworn in 1410, and John returned to Burgundy, and Bernard remained in Paris and reportedly shared the queen's bed. Armagnac's party was not contented with political power, and, after a series of riots and attacks against the citizens, John was recalled to the capital. However, he was sent back to Burgundy in 1413. At this time king Henry V of England invaded French territory and threatened to attack Paris. John participated in the peace negotiations, but with dubious intent. Although he talked of helping his sovereign, his troops took no part in the Battle of Agincourt (in 1415), where two of his brothers, Antoine, Duke of Brabant, and Philip II, Count of Nevers, died fighting for France. Assassination of the Duke of Burgundy, John the Fearless, on the Bridge of Montereau, in 1419. ? facsimile of a miniature in the "Chronicles" of Monstrelet, manuscript of the fifteenth century, in the Library of the Arsenal of Paris. [edit] John vs the Dauphin Two years later, John's troops set about the task of gaining Paris. On May 30, 1418, he captured the city, but not before the Dauphin, the future Charles VII of France, had escaped. John then installed himself in the city and made himself protector of the King. Although not an open ally of the English, John did nothing to prevent the surrender of Rouen in 1419. With the whole of northern France in English hands and Paris occupied by Burgundy, the Dauphin tried to bring about a reconciliation with John. They met in July and swore peace on the bridge of Pouilly, near Melun. On the grounds that peace was not sufficiently assured by the Pouilly meeting, a fresh interview was proposed by the Dauphin to take place on September 10, 1419 on the bridge at Montereau. John of Burgundy was present with his escort for what he considered a diplomatic meeting. He was, however, assassinated by the Dauphin's companions. He was later buried in Dijon.
  Person ID	I09040	Main Tree

  
  

  Father	Philip II Duke Of BURGUNDY,   b. 17 Jan 1342   d. 27 Apr 1404 (Age 62 years)
  Relationship	Natural
  Mother	Margaret Of FLANDERS,   b. 1350   d. 1405 (Age 55 years)
  Relationship	Natural
  Marriage	19 Jun 1369  [2]
  Family ID	F07031	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Margaret Of BAVARIA,   b. 1363   d. 23 Jan 1423, Dijon (Age 60 years)
  Marriage	1385  [2]
  Children	1. Philip III The Good Duke Of BURGUNDY,   b. 1396   d. 15 Jun 1467 (Age 71 years)  [Natural]   2. Agnes Of BURGUNDY,   b. 1407   d. 1476 (Age 69 years)  [Natural]   3. Anne Of BURGUNDY   d. 14 Nov 1432  [Birth]
  Family ID	F07058	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Fact - - Count of Flanders Fact - - Duke of Burgundy  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S01910] Blood Royal, Issue of the Kings and Queens of Medieval England 1066-1399 by. T. Anna Leese. [S03581] Wikipedia Encyclopedia.