Charles VII of France

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Detail from a portrait of Charles VII, by Jean Fouquet, tempera on wood, Louvre Museum, Paris, c. 1445.

French Monarchy- Capetian Dynasty (Valois branch) Philip VI Children    John II John II Children    Charles V    Louis I of Anjou    John, Duke of Berry    Philip II, Duke of Burgundy 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

Charles VII the Victorious, or the Well-Served (French: Charles VII le Victorieux, or le Bien-Servi) (February 22, 1403 – July 22, 1461) was king of France from 1422 to 1461, a member of the Valois Dynasty.

Born in Paris, Charles was the fifth and only surviving son of Charles VI of France and Isabeau de Bavière. Four of his elder brothers were dauphin in their turn but died without issue during the lifetime of their parents: Charles (1386), Charles (1392-1401), Louis, Duke of Guyenne (1397-1415) and Jean, Duke of Touraine (1398-1417). Charles, being the fifth dauphin, added to instability of the kingdom, which was under English attack. His survival was in doubt (apparently his own parents were not eager to protect him nor keep him as heir). There was also considerable doubt about his legitimacy, his mother being renowned for her affairs.

As a young man he was taken in by his future mother-in-law Yolande of Aragon, Queen of the Four Kingdoms, kept away from the royal court, and kept protected. On the death of his father in 1422, the French throne did not pass to Charles but to his infant nephew, King Henry VI of England in accordance with his father's Treaty of Troyes signed in 1420. The English right to the throne of France had been granted as part of the Treaty in an effort to put an end to the raging Hundred Years' War. Under the Treaty, King Henry of England ruled Northern France through a regent in Normandy; the Dauphin was disinherited and pronounced a bastard by Queen Isabeau. Charles and his advisors, who did not accept the treaty, set up court in a fortified castle at Chinon.

Without any organized French army, the English strengthened their grip over France until March 8, 1429 when Joan of Arc, claiming divine inspiration, urged Charles to declare himself king and raise an army to liberate France from the English.

One of the important factors that aided in the ultimate success of Charles VII was the support from the powerful and wealthy family of his wife Marie d'Anjou (1404-1463), particularly the mother-in-law the Queen Yolande of Aragon. Despite whatever affection he had for his wife, the great love of Charles VII's life was his mistress, Agnès Sorel.

After the French won the Battle of Patay, Charles was crowned King Charles VII of France on July 17, 1429, in Reims Cathedral. Over the following two decades, King Charles VII recaptured Paris from the English and eventually recovered all of France with the exception of the northern port of Calais.

While Charles VII's legacy is far overshadowed by the deeds and eventual martyrdom of Joan of Arc, he did something his predecessors had failed to do by uniting most of the country under one French king and, starting with the general parliament at Orleans in 1439, creating for the first time a standing army, which would yield the powerful gendarme cavalry companies notable in the wars of the sixteenth century. He established the University of Poitiers in 1432 and his policies brought some economic prosperity to the citizens. Although his leadership was sometimes marked by indecisiveness, hardly any other leader left a nation so much better improved than when he came on the scene.

King Charles VII died on July 22, 1461 at Mehun-sur-Yèvre, but his latter years were marked by an open revolt by his son who succeeded him as Louis XI.

[edit] Children

Children of Charles VII include:

• Louis XI, King of France (1423-1483)
• John of France (1424-1425)
• Radegonde de France (1428-1444)
• Catherine (1428-1446), married Charles de Charolais, future Charles le Téméraire, Duke of Burgundy, in 1440
• Jacques de France (1432-1437)
• Yolande de France (1434-1478), married the future Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy in 1452. Upon his death in 1472, she became regent of Savoy.
• Joan (1435-1482), married the future John II, Duke of Bourbon in 1452
• Margaret of France (1437-1438)
• Mary of France (7 September 1438 - 14 February 1439)
• Joan of France (7 September 1438 - 26 December 1446)
• Madeleine of France (1443-1486), married Gaston de Foix, prince de Viane, in 1462
• Charles, Duc de Berry (1446-1472)

[edit] Charles VII in the Arts

• Two Russian operas from the late 19th century portray Charles VII (and Agnès Sorel) among the dramatis personae. These are Pyotr Tchaikovsky's The Maid of Orleans and César Cui's The Saracen.

• Charles VII has been represented in the movies by Raymond Hatton (1917), Jean Debucourt (1929), Gustaf Gründgens (1935), Emlyn Williams (1935), Max Adrian (1944), José Ferrer (1948), Paul Colline (1955), Richard Widmark (1957), Daniel Gélin (1978), Keith Drinkel (1979), Oleg Kulko (1993), John Malkovich (1999), Neil Patrick Harris (1999)

Preceded by Charles VI

King of France October 21, 1422/July 17, 1429–July 22, 1461

Succeeded by Louis XI