Charles I De Valois Duke Of ORLEANS

Male 1394 - 1465  (70 years)


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  • Name Charles I De Valois Duke Of ORLEANS  [1
    Birth 24 Nov 1394  [1
    Gender Male 
    Death 05 Jan 1465  [1
    Notes 
    • Charles of Valois, Duke of OrlČans (November 24, 1394 ? January 5, 1465) became Duke of OrlČans in 1407, following the murder of his father, Louis, Duke of OrlČans 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 OrlČans 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".
    Person ID I42071  Main Tree

    Father Louis Of Valois Duke Of ORLEANS,   b. 13 Mar 1372   d. 23 Nov 1407 (Age 35 years) 
    Relationship Natural 
    Mother Valentina VISCONTI,   b. 1366, Milan Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 04 Dec 1408, Blois Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 42 years) 
    Relationship Natural 
    Family ID F17530  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Isabella Of VALOIS,   b. 09 Nov 1389, Paris Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 13 Sep 1410 (Age 20 years) 
    Marriage 1406  Compiegne Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Children 
     1. Jeanne Of ORLEANS,   b. 1409, Blois Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1432, Angers Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 23 years)  [Natural]
    Family ID F06796  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 2 Marie Of CLEVES 
    Children 
     1. Anne D'ORLEANS,   b. 1464   d. 1491, Poitiers Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 27 years)  [Natural]
     2. Marie D'ORLEANS,   b. 19 Dec 1457   d. 1493, Mazares Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 35 years)  [Natural]
     3. Louis XII King Of FRANCE,   b. 27 Jun 1462, Chateau de Blois, Blois, Touranine Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 01 Jan 1515 (Age 52 years)  [Natural]
    Family ID F17523  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 3 Bonne Of ARMAGNAC   d. Bef 1440 
    Marriage 1410  [1
    Family ID F17522  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - 1406 - Compiegne Link to Google Earth
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  • Sources 
    1. [S03581] Wikipedia Encyclopedia.