Charles VI of France

 

Charles VI the Mad
King of France (more...)
Reign	16 September, 1380 – 21 October, 1422
Coronation	4 November 1380, Reims
Titles	Dauphin of Viennois: As heir (3 December 1368 – 16 September 1380); As King: (16 September 1380–26 September 1386); (28 December 1386–6 February 1392)
Born	3 December 1368(1368--)
	Paris, France
Died	21 October 1422 (aged 53)
	Paris, France
Buried	Saint Denis Basilica
Predecessor	Charles V
Successor	Charles VII
Consort	Isabeau of Bavaria (1370-1435)
Issue	Isabelle, Queen of England (1389-1409) Louis, Dauphin (1397-1415) John, Dauphin (1398-1417) Michelle Catherine, Queen of England (1401-1437) Charles VII (1403-1461)
Royal House	Chateau du Pierrefonds
Father	Charles V (1338-1380)
Mother	Joanna of Bourbon (1338-1378)

Charles VI (3 December 1368 – 21 October 1422), called the Beloved (le Bienaimé) and the Mad (le Fol or le Fou), was the King of France from 1380 to his death and a member of the House of Valois.

Early life

He was born in Paris, the son of King Charles V and Jeanne de Bourbon. At the age of eleven, he was crowned King of France in 1380 in the cathedral at Reims. He married Isabeau of Bavaria in 1385. Until he took complete charge as king in 1388, France was ruled by his uncle, Philip the Bold.

Charles VI was known both as Charles the Well Beloved and later as Charles the Mad, since, beginning in his mid-twenties, he experienced bouts of psychosis. These fits of madness would recur for the rest of his life. Based on his symptoms, doctors believe the king may have suffered from schizophrenia, porphyria or Bipolar disorder.

The King goes mad

His first known fit occurred in 1392 when his friend and advisor, Olivier de Clisson, was the victim of an attempted murder. Although Clisson survived, Charles was determined to punish the would-be assassin Pierre de Craon who had taken refuge in Brittany. Contemporaries said Charles appeared to be in a "fever" to begin the campaign and appeared disconnected in his speech. Charles set off with an army on July 1, 1392. The progress of the army was slow, nearly driving Charles into a frenzy of impatience.

While travelling through a forest on a hot August morning, a barefoot man dressed in rags rushed up to the King's horse and grabbed his bridle. "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 a half-hour, repeating his cries.

The company emerged from the forest at noon. A page who was drowsy from the sun dropped the king's lance, 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 spurred his horse and began swinging his sword at his companions, fighting until his chamberlain and a group of soldiers were able to grab him from his mount and lay him on the ground. He laid still and did not react, falling into a coma. The king killed 6 knights, and possibly more (the exact numbers differ in the chronicles from the time).

Charles' uncle Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, assumed the regency on the spot, dismissing Charles' advisers in the process. This was to be the start of a major feud which would divide the Kings of France and the Dukes of Burgundy for the next 85 years.

The king would suffer from periods of mental illness throughout his life. During one attack in 1393, Charles could not remember his name, did not know he was king and fled in terror from his wife. He did not recognize his children, though he knew his brother and councillors and remembered the names of people who had died. In later attacks, he roamed his palaces howling like a wolf, refused to bathe for months on end and suffered from delusions that he was made of glass.

The Bal des Ardents

French Monarchy-
Capetian Dynasty,
House of Valois

Philip VI Children    John II John II Children    Charles V    Louis I of Anjou    John, Duke of Berry    Philip the Bold Charles V Children    Charles VI    Louis, Duke of Orléans Charles VI Children    Isabella of Valois    Catherine of Valois    Charles VII Charles VII Children    Louis XI    Charles, Duke of Berry Louis XI Children    Charles VIII Charles VIII

In January 1393, Queen Isabeau de Bavière organised a party to celebrate the marriage of one of her ladies-in-waiting. The King and five other lords dressed up as wild men and danced about chained to one another. They were "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".^[1] In view of the obvious danger of fire, there was a ban on torches in the room. Nonetheless, the King's brother, Louis of Valois, Duke of Orléans, approached with a lighted torch, according to some accounts teasing the dancers with it. One of the dancers caught fire and there was panic. The Duchesse de Berry, who recognized Charles, covered him with her dress and saved his life. Four of the other men perished. This incident became known as the Bal des Ardents (the "Ball of the Burning Men").

Most accounts seem to agree that Louis' action was an accident; he was merely trying to find his brother. Be that as it may, Louis soon afterwards pursued an affair with the Queen and was murdered by his political rival John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy in 1407.

Charles' royal secretary Pierre Salmon spent much time in discussions with the king while he was suffering from his intermittent but incapacitating psychosis. In an effort to find a cure for the king's illness, stabilize the turbulent political situation, and secure his own future, Salmon supervised the production of two distinct versions of the beautifully illuminated guidebooks to good kingship known as Pierre Salmon's Dialogues.

Dealing with England

Charles VI's reign was marked by the continuing war with the English (the Hundred Years' War). An early attempt at peace occurred in 1396 when Charles' daughter, the not quite seven-year-old Isabella of Valois married the 29-year-old Richard II of England.

The peace in France did not last. The feud between the Royal family and the house of Burgundy led to chaos and anarchy. Taking advantage, Henry V of England led an invasion which culminated in 1415 when the French army was defeated at the Battle of Agincourt. In 1420, Charles -- now utterly incapacitated by his disease -- signed the Treaty of Troyes which recognized Henry as his successor, declared his son a bastard and betrothed his daughter, Catherine of Valois, to Henry (see English Kings of France).

In fact there really were many doubts as to the Dauphin Charles' legitimacy, his mother being notorious for her affairs. He was also of a weak and feeble nature which caused conflict with both her and his own son, the future Louis XI.

Many people, including Joan of Arc, believed that the king only agreed to such disastrous and unprecedented terms under the mental stress of his illness and that, as a result, France could not be held to them.

Charles VI died in 1422 at Paris and is interred with his wife, Isabeau de Bavière in Saint Denis Basilica.

He was eventually succeeded by his son Charles VII. Henry VI of England's inability to govern England helped spark the Wars of the Roses.

Ancestors

Charles VI's ancestors in three generations

Charles VI of France	Father: Charles V of France	Paternal Grandfather: John II of France	Paternal Great-grandfather: Philip VI of France
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Joan the Lame
		Paternal Grandmother: Bonne of Bohemia	Paternal Great-grandfather: John I of Bohemia
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Elisabeth I of Bohemia
	Mother: Joanna of Bourbon	Maternal Grandfather: Peter I, Duke of Bourbon	Maternal Great-grandfather: Louis I, Duke of Bourbon
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Mary of Avesnes
		Maternal Grandmother: Isabelle de Valois	Maternal Great-grandfather: Charles of Valois
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Mahaut of Chatillon

Marriage and Issue

Charles VI married:

Isabeau of Bavaria (1371 – September 24 1435) on July 17 1385.

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
Charles, Dauphin	September 26, 1386	December 28, 1386	Died young. No issue. First Dauphin.
Joan	June 14, 1388	1390	Died young. No issue.
Isabella	November 9, 1389	September 13,1409	Married (1) Richard II, King of England (1367 - 1400) in 1396. No issue. Married (2) Charles, Duke of Orleans (1394 - 1465) in 1406. Had issue.
Joan	January 24, 1391	September 27 1433	Married John VI, Duke of Brittany (1389 - 1442) in 1396. Had issue.
Charles of France, Dauphin	February 6, 1392	January 13 , 1401	Died young. No issue. Second Dauphin.
Mary	August 24, 1393	August 19, 1438	Never married - became an abbess. No issue.
Michelle	January 11, 1395	July 8 1422	Married Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy (1396 - 1467) in 1409.
Louis, Dauphin	January 22, 1397	December 18 1415	Married Margaret of Burgundy. Third Dauphin.
John, Dauphin	August 31, 1398	April 4, 1417	Married Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut (1401 - 1436) in 1415. No issue. Fourth Dauphin.
Catherine	October 27, 1401	January 3, 1437	Married (1) Henry V, King of England (1387 - 1422) in 1420. Had issue. Married (?) (2) Owen Tudor (1400 - 1461). Had issue.
Charles VII, King of France	February 22, 1403	July 21,1461	Married Marie of Anjou (1404 - 1463) in 1422. Had issue. The fifth Dauphin.
Philip	November 10, 1407	November 10, 1407	Died young. No issue.

He also had one illegitimate child by Odette de Champdivers, Marguerite bâtarde de France (1407–1458).

Cultural References

The novel The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge by Rainer Maria Rilke describes the old age of Charles VI at length.

The story "Hop-Frog, or The Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs" by Edgar Allan Poe involves a scene strikingly similar to the Bal des Ardents. (Full text at Wikisource)

References

1. ^ Barbara Tuchman;A Distant Mirror,1978,Alfred A Knopf Ltd

Sources

• Tuchman, Barbara, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century, New York; Ballantine Books, 1978.

Charles VI of France House of Valois Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty Born: 3 December 1368 Died: 21 October 1422
Preceded by Charles I of Viennois	Dauphin of Viennois, Count of Valentinois and of Diois as 'Charles II' 3 December 1368–16 September, 1380	Succeeded by Himself as King of France
French nobility
Preceded by Vacant (John, 2nd Dauphin)	Dauphin of France as 'Charles, 3rd Dauphin' 3 December 1368–16 September, 1380	Succeeded by Vacant (eventually Charles, 4th Dauphin)
Regnal titles
Preceded by Charles V	King of France September 16, 1380–October 21, 1422	Succeeded by Charles VII of France and Henry VI of England
Preceded by Himself as Dauphin of France	Dauphin of Viennois, Count of Valentinois and of Diois as 'Charles II of Viennois' 16 September 1380–26 September 1386; 28 December 1386–6 February 1392	Succeeded by Charles III of Viennois
Preceded by Charles III of Viennois		Succeeded by Charles IV of Viennois

Chronology of French monarchs from 987 to 1870
Medieval France House of Capet	Hugues (987-996) • Robert II (996-1031) • Henri I (1031-1060) • Philippe I (1060-1108) • Louis VI (1108-1137) • Louis VII (1137-1180) • Philippe II (1180-1223) • Louis VIII (1223-1226) • Louis IX (1226-1270) • Philippe III (1270-1285) • Philippe IV (1285-1314) • Louis X (1314-1316) • Jean I (1316) • Philippe V (1316-1322) • Charles IV (1322-1328) • Philippe VI (1328-1350) • Jean II (1350-1364) • Charles V (1364-1380) • Charles VI (1380-1422) • Charles VII (1422-1461) • Louis XI (1461-1483) • Charles VIII (1483-1498)
Early Modern France House of Valois	Louis XII (1498-1515) • François I (1515-1547) • Henri II (1547-1559) • François II (1559-1560) • Charles IX (1560-1574) • Henri III (1574-1589)
Early Modern France House of Bourbon	Henri IV (1589-1610) • Louis XIII (1610-1643) • Louis XIV (1643-1715) • Louis XV (1715-1774) • Louis XVI (1774-1792)
— First Republic —
First Empire House of Bonaparte	Napoléon I (1804-1814)
Bourbon Restoration I House of Bourbon	Louis XVIII (1814-1815)
Hundred Days House of Bonaparte	Napoléon I (1815) • Napoléon II (1815)
Bourbon Restoration II House of Bourbon	Louis XVIII (1815-1824) • Charles X (1824-1830) • Louis XIX (1830) • Henri V (1830)
July Monarchy House of Orléans	Louis-Philippe (1830-1848)
— Second Republic —
Second Empire House of Bonaparte	Napoléon III (1852-1870)
— Third, Fourth and Fifth Republic —
List of French monarchs — List of Queens and Empresses of France — History of France

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