Born into a provincial noble family, Agnès Sorel first took by storm the French court of King Charles VII of France in 1444 when she was aged about 20 (she was presumably born in 1422). Agnès died young under rather mysterious circumstances at the age of only 28. Her life...
A forgotten Valois prince: Charles, Count d’Angoulême and father of King François I (part 2)
Charles d’Orléans, Count d’Angoulême, spent a lot of money on books. He had a network of agents in Italy, France, and other countries, who purchased rare and old manuscripts for him. The count collected in his library at Château de Cognac. His large library included more than 1000 manuscripts. Charles...
A forgotten Valois prince: Charles, Count d’Angoulême and father of King François I (part 1)
Charles d’Orléans, Count d’Angoulême (born in 1459 and died on the 1st of January 1496) was a member of the French Valois-Orléans-Angoulême branch of the royal House of Valois. He was descended from Louis I, Duke d’Orléans, who was the youngest surviving son of King Charles V of France known...
Valentina Visconti, Duchess d’Orléans: a devoted wife falsely accused of witchcraft
Valentina Visconti was born in Milan in 1370 or 71 to Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the 1st Duke of Milan, and his first spouse, Isabelle de Valois. Isabelle was a daughter of King Jean II the Good (le Bon) and his first wife, Bonne de Luxembourg. The girl’s name was unusual...
Jean de Valois, Duke de Berry: though a politician, but more a devout art collector
Jean de Valois, Duke de Berry (known as Jean the Magnificent) was born on the 30th of November 1340 (died on the 15th of June 1416). Jean had many titles: he was Duke de Berry and d’Auvergne, as well as Count de Poitiers and de Montpensier. He was the 3rd...
Charles d’Orléans: life, poetry, incarceration
Charles d’Orléans was born in Paris at Hôtel Saint-Pol on the 24th of November 1394. It was a bad irony that he first saw the world on the next day after his father’s barbaric assassination in the dark street of Paris upon the orders of Jean the Fearless, Duke of...
The brutal murder of Louis I d’Orléans in the streets of Paris
Today is a tragic day: another anniversary of the brutal assassination of Louis I d’Orléans, the second surviving son of King Charles V of France known as the Wise (le Sage) and his consort, Jeanne de Bourbon. Louis was a younger brother to King Charles VI called the Mad (le...
Charlotte de Savoy: a virtuous and traditional Queen of France
Charlotte de Savoy, a daughter of Duke Louis de Savoy and his wife, Anne of Cyprus, was born on the 11th of November 1441 or 1443. She was one of her parents’ 19 children; 14 of them survived into adulthood. Although the House of Savoy often intermarried with their French...
Anne de Beaujeu: marriage and the Peace of Étaples
On the 3rd of November 1473, the 12-year-old Princess Anne, the eldest surviving daughter of King Louis XI of France and his wife, Charlotte de Savoy, married the 34-year-old Pierre de Bourbon. Pierre’s older brother, Duke Jean de Bourbon, ceded the title of ‘Seigneur de Beaujeu’ to Pierre, and the...
The Treaty of Brétigny: English temporary triumph over the French
On the 24th of October 1360, the Treaty of Brétigny was ratified, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years’ War. This treaty was a sheer calamity for France and a temporary victory for England. This document was drafted on the 8th of May 1360 between King...
Marie d’Anjou: a model queen as wife of King Charles VII of France
Marie d’Anjou, who was a daughter of Louis II d’Anjou and his wife, Yolande of Aragon, was born on the 14th of October 1404. Marie was betrothed to Charles de Valois for years: their betrothal agreement had first been signed when he had been the youngest son of Charles VI...
Doomed Dauphin Charles Orland and Anne de Bretagne’s unsuccessful pregnancies
Charles Orland, Dauphin of France, was born on the 11th of October 1492. His parents were King Charles VIII of France called the Affable (l’Affable) and Anne de Bretagne (Anne of Brittany), who was his consort and Duchess of Brittany in her own right. Charles Orland was their eldest son,...
Pierre II, Duke de Bourbon: a husband of the formidable Anne de Beaujeu
Pierre II, Duke de Bourbon, breathed his last on the 10th of October 1503 in Moulins, France, at the age of 64 (he was born on the 1st of December 1438). He was the son of Charles I, Duke de Bourbon, and Agnes de Bourgogne. Although he was originally betrothed...
Louis II, Duke d’Anjou: unsuccessful quest for the throne of Naples
Louis II, Duke d'Anjou and Count de Provence from 1384 to 1417, was born on the 5th of October 1377. The eldest son of Louis I of Anjou and Marie de Blois, Louis was a member of the House of Valois-Anjou, which was founded by his father. Louis I of...
The Treaty of Arras of 1435: the end of the civil strife in France
The Treaty of Arras, signed on the 21st of September 1435, ended the enmity between King Charles VII of France and Philippe the Good, Duke of Burgundy. It was a huge diplomatic victory for Charles VII: his Burgundian cousin finally recognized him as the rightful French monarch. The alliance between...