Charles VI called
the Beloved and
the Mad ( or
le Fou), was the
King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy. By the end of his reign much of France was under foreign occupation.
Early life
He was born in Paris, the son of
King Charles VCharles V , called the Wise, was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380 and a member of the House of Valois...
and Joan of Bourbon. At the age of eleven, in 1380, he was crowned King of France in the cathedral at
ReimsReims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
. He married
Isabeau of BavariaIsabeau of Bavaria was Queen consort of France as spouse of King Charles VI of France, a member of the Valois Dynasty...
in 1385. Until he took complete charge as king in 1388, France was ruled primarily by his uncle,
Philip the Bold, Duke of BurgundyPhilip the Bold , also Philip II, Duke of Burgundy , was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and his wife, Bonne of Luxembourg. By his marriage to Margaret III, Countess of Flanders, he also became Count Philip II of Flanders, Count Philip IV of Artois and Count-Palatine Philip IV...
. During that time, the power of the royal administration and the authority to tax was reestablished, following the tax revolt known as the
HarelleThe Harelle was a revolt that occurred in the French city of Rouen in 1382 followed by the Maillotins Revolt a few days later in Paris, and numerous other revolts across France in the subsequent week. France was in the midst of the Hundred Years War, and had seen decades of warfare, widespread...
, after his father had repealed the taxes on his deathbed.
Charles VI was known both as
Charles the Beloved and later as
Charles the Mad, since, beginning in his mid-twenties, he experienced bouts of
psychosisPsychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
. These fits of madness would recur for the rest of his life.
Madness
Charles's first known episode occurred in 1392 when his friend and advisor,
Olivier de ClissonOlivier de Clisson , nicknamed "The Butcher", was a Breton soldier, the son of the Olivier de Clisson who was put to death in 1343 on the suspicion of having wished to give up Nantes to the English.- Biography :...
, was the victim of an attempted murder. Although Clisson survived, Charles was determined to punish the would-be assassin,
Pierre de CraonPierre de Craon , known as "le Grand", was a medieval French aristocrat notorious for his riotous temperament, culminating in his attempted murder of Olivier de Clisson, Constable of France...
, who had taken refuge in
BrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
.
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 1 July 1392. The progress of the army was slow, nearly driving Charles into a frenzy of impatience.
As the king and his escort were travelling through a forest on a hot August morning, a barefoot leper 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 one of his chamberlains and a group of soldiers were able to grab him from his mount and lay him on the ground. He lay still and did not react, but fell into a coma. The king had killed a knight called "The Bastard of Polignac", and several other men, the number of which varies among contemporary chronicles.
The king continued to suffer from periods of mental illness throughout his life. During one attack in 1393 Charles could not remember his name and did not know he was king. When his wife came to visit, he asked his servants who she was and ordered them to take care of what she required so that she would leave him alone. During an episode in 1395–1396 he claimed that his name was George and that his coat of arms was a lion with a sword thrust through it. At this time, he recognized all the officers of his household but did not know his wife or his children. Sometimes he ran wildly through the corridors of his Parisian residence, the Hôtel Saint-Pol, and to keep him inside, the entrances were walled up. In 1405, he refused to bathe or change his clothes for five months. His later psychotic episodes were not described in detail - probably because of the similarity of his behavior and delusions.
Pope Pius IIPope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Piccolomini was Pope from August 19, 1458 until his death in 1464. Pius II was born at Corsignano in the Sienese territory of a noble but decayed family...
, who was born in the middle of the reign of Charles VI, wrote in his
Commentaries that there were times when Charles thought that he was made of glass, and this caused him to protect himself in various ways so that he would not break. This condition has come to be known as glass delusion.
The Bal des Ardents
On 29 January 1393, at the behest of the king, a grand party was organized to celebrate the wedding of one of the queen's ladies-in-waiting at the Hotel de Saint Pol. At the suggestion of a Norman Squire, Huguet de Guisay, the King and four other lords dressed up as
wild menThe wild man is a mythical figure that appears in the artwork and literature of medieval Europe, comparable to the satyr or faun type in classical mythology and to Silvanus, the Roman god of the woodlands.The defining characteristic of the figure is its "wildness"; from the 12th century...
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". At the suggestion of one of the "wild men," Yvain de Foix, the king commanded – in view of the obvious danger of fire – that the torch-bearers were to stand at the side of the room. Nonetheless, the King's brother,
Louis of Valois, Duke of OrléansLouis I was Duke of Orléans from 1392 to his death. He was also Count of Valois, Duke of Touraine , Count of Blois , Angoulême , Périgord, Dreux, and Soissons....
, who had arrived late, approached with a lighted torch in order to discover the identity of the masqueraders, and he accidentally set one of them on fire. Alternatively, it may have been a plot to kill the mentally deficient king. In any case, there was panic as the fire spread. The Duchess of Berry, to save a dancer who had come near her to intrigue and tease her, threw the train of her gown over him, and it was soon revealed to her that the life she had saved was the king's. Several Knights who tried to put out the flames were severely burned on their hands. Four of the wild men perished: Sir Charles de Poiters son of the
Count of ValentinoisCount of Valentinois , is an extinct title in the French peerage. It later became the Duke of Valentinois. It originally indicated administrative control of the County of Valentinois ....
, Huguet de Guisay, Yvain de
FoixFoix is a commune, the capital of the Ariège department in southwestern France. It is the least populous administrative centre of a department in all of France, although it is only very slightly smaller than Privas...
and the Count of
JoignyJoigny is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France.It is located on the banks of the Yonne River.-Notable people :...
. Another, Jean son of the Lord de
NantouilletNantouillet is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-External links:* * *...
, saved himself by jumping into a dishwater tub. This incident became known as the
Bal des ArdentsThe Bal des Ardents was an incident that occurred on 28 January 1393 when the French king Charles VI of France was almost killed and four members of the French nobility burned to death while at a celebratory dance held by the Queen, for the remarriage of a lady-in-waiting, the dancers were...
(the "Ball of the Burning Men").
Struggles for power
With the King mad, his uncles
Philip the BoldPhilip the Bold , also Philip II, Duke of Burgundy , was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and his wife, Bonne of Luxembourg. By his marriage to Margaret III, Countess of Flanders, he also became Count Philip II of Flanders, Count Philip IV of Artois and Count-Palatine Philip IV...
,
Duke of BurgundyDuke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...
, and
John, Duke of BerryJohn of Valois or John the Magnificent was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. He was the third son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxemburg; his brothers were King Charles V of France, Duke Louis I of Anjou and Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy...
, took control and dismissed Charles's advisers and various officials he had appointed. Another contender for power was the King's brother, Louis I de Valois, Duke of Orléans. This was to be the start of a series of major feuds among the princes of royal blood which would cause much chaos and conflict in France even beyond Charles's reign.
The first major feud was between Philip the Bold and Louis, duke of Orléans who both tried to fill the power vacuum left by the King's condition. Philip's death in April 1404 did not bring an end to Louis's problems. John the Fearless, the new Duke of Burgundy took over and the feud escalated. In 1407, the Duke of Orléans was murdered in the streets of Paris. John did not deny responsibility, claiming that Louis was a tyrant who squandered money.
Louis's son, Charles, new Duke of Orléans, turned to his father-in-law,
Bernard VII, Count of ArmagnacBernard VII, Count of Armagnac was the Count of Charolais, Count of Armagnac, and Constable of France. He was the son of John II and Jeanne de Périgord. He succeeded in Armagnac at the death of his brother, John III, in 1391...
, for support. This resulted in the
Armagnac-Burgundian Civil WarThe Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War was a French civil war between the Armagnac and Burgundian factions from 1407 to 1435 AD. It occurred while France was already being ravaged by the Hundred Years' War against the English and the wars surrounding the Western Schism of the papacy.-Causes:The war's...
.
Charles VI's 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.
The English invasion
Charles VI's reign was marked by the continuing conflict with the English known as the
Hundred Years' WarThe Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
. An early attempt at peace occurred in 1396 when Charles's daughter, the almost seven-year-old
Isabella of Valois, married the 29-year-old
Richard II of EnglandRichard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
.
By 1415, however, the feud between the Royal family and the house of Burgundy had led to chaos and anarchy throughout France. Taking advantage,
Henry V of EnglandHenry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
led an invasion which culminated in October when the French army was defeated at the
Battle of AgincourtThe Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
.
With the English taking over the country, John the Fearless sought to end the feud with the Royal family by negotiating with the
DauphinCharles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
, the King's heir. They met at the bridge at
MontereauMontereau-Fault-Yonne, or simply Montereau, is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-Name:...
on 10 September 1419 but during the meeting, John was killed by
Tanneguy du ChâtelTanneguy du Chastel was a French military leader of the Hundred Years' War.- Life :In 1415, he was provost of Paris, charged with keeping order in the city. During the civil war between the Armagnacs and Burgundians, he was one of the leaders of the Armagnac faction under Bernard VII, Count of...
, a follower of the Dauphin. John's successor, Philip the Good, threw in his lot with the English.
(Philip the Good would later make peace with the Dauphin, now Charles VII, with the
Treaty of ArrasThe Congress of Arras was a diplomatic congregation established in Arras in 1435 between representatives of England, France, and Burgundy. Toward the close of the Hundred Years' War, both the Congress and Treaty of Arras represented diplomatic failures for England and major successes for...
when, under the inspiration of
Joan of ArcSaint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
, the tide of the war turned in favour of the French. Joan was burned at the stake when Burgundy handed her over to the English.)
In 1420, King Charles signed the
Treaty of TroyesThe Treaty of Troyes was an agreement that Henry V of England and his heirs would inherit the throne of France upon the death of King Charles VI of France. It was signed in the French city of Troyes on 21 May 1420 in the aftermath of the Battle of Agincourt...
which recognized Henry of England as his successor, disinherited his son, the
Dauphin CharlesCharles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
claiming he was illegitimate, and betrothed his daughter,
Catherine of ValoisCatherine of France was the Queen consort of England from 1420 until 1422. She was the daughter of King Charles VI of France, wife of Henry V of Monmouth, King of England, mother of Henry VI, King of England and King of France, and through her secret marriage with Owen Tudor, the grandmother of...
, to Henry (see English Kings of France).
Many historians have misinterpreted this treaty and the disinheriting of the Dauphin Charles. The Dauphin sealed his fate, in the eyes of the king, by committing treason: he declared himself regent, usurping royal authority, and refused to obey the king's order to return to Paris. It is important to remember that when the Treaty of Troyes was finalized in May 1420, the Dauphin Charles was only 17-years-old. He was then a weak figure who was easily manipulated by his advisors.
Charles VI died in 1422 at Paris and is interred with his wife Isabeau de Bavière in
Saint Denis BasilicaThe Cathedral Basilica of Saint Denis is a large medieval abbey church in the commune of Saint-Denis, now a northern suburb of Paris. The abbey church was created a cathedral in 1966 and is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Denis, Pascal Michel Ghislain Delannoy...
. Both their grandson, the one-year-old
Henry VI of EnglandHenry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
, and their son,
Charles VIICharles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
, were proclaimed King of France, but it was the latter who became the actual ruler with the support of
Joan of ArcSaint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
.
Charles VI appears to have passed on his mental illness to his grandson Henry, whose inability to govern led England to a civil strife of its own known as the
Wars of the RosesThe Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
.
Ancestors
Marriage and issue
Charles VI married:
Isabeau of BavariaIsabeau of Bavaria was Queen consort of France as spouse of King Charles VI of France, a member of the Valois Dynasty...
(ca. 1371 – 24 September 1435) on 17 July 1385.
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
| Charles, Dauphin |
25 September 1386 |
28 December 1386 |
Died young. First Dauphin. |
| Joan |
14 June 1388 |
1390 |
Died young. |
| Isabella |
9 November 1389 |
13 September 1409 |
Married (1) Richard II, King of EnglandRichard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
(1367–1400) in 1396. No issue.
Married (2) Charles, Duke of OrléansCharles of Valois was Duke of Orléans from 1407, following the murder of his father, Louis I, Duke of Orléans, on the orders of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy...
(1394–1465) in 1406. Had issue. |
| Joan |
24 January 1391 |
27 September 1433 |
Married John VI, Duke of Brittany John VI the Wise , was duke of Brittany, count of Montfort, and titular earl of Richmond, from 1399 to his death...
(1389–1442) in 1396. Had issue. |
| Charles, Dauphin |
6 February 1392 |
13 January 1401 |
Died young. Second Dauphin. |
| Mary Marie of Valois was a French Princess, the daughter of Charles VI of France and his wife Isabeau of Bavaria. She was a member of the House of Valois and became a nun.-Life:...
|
22 August 1393 |
19 August 1438 |
Never married – became an abbess An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....
. No issue. Died of the Plague |
MichelleMichelle of France was a Duchess consort of Burgundy. She was a daughter of Charles VI of France and Isabella of Bavaria-Ingolstadt...
|
11 January 1395 |
8 July 1422 |
Married Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy (1396–1467) in 1409. Had no surviving issue. |
| Louis, Dauphin |
22 January 1397 |
18 December 1415 |
Married Margaret of Burgundy Margaret of Burgundy was the daughter of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, and Margaret of Bavaria. Her maternal grandparents were Albert I, Duke of Bavaria and Margaret of Brieg....
. No issue. Third Dauphin. |
| John, Dauphin |
31 August 1398 |
5 April 1417 |
Married Jacqueline, Countess of HainautJacqueline of Wittelsbach was Duchess of Bavaria-Straubing, Countess of Hainaut and Holland from 1417 to 1432...
(1401–1436) in 1415. No issue. Fourth Dauphin. |
CatherineCatherine of France was the Queen consort of England from 1420 until 1422. She was the daughter of King Charles VI of France, wife of Henry V of Monmouth, King of England, mother of Henry VI, King of England and King of France, and through her secret marriage with Owen Tudor, the grandmother of...
|
27 October 1401 |
3 January 1438 |
Married (1) Henry V, King of EnglandHenry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
(1387–1422) in 1420. Had issue.
Married (?) (2) Owen TudorSir Owen Meredith Tudor was a Welsh soldier and courtier, descended from a daughter of the Welsh prince Rhys ap Gruffudd, "Lord Rhys". However, Owen Tudor is particularly remembered for his role in founding England's Tudor dynasty – including his relationship with, and probable secret marriage to,...
(1400–1461). Had issue. |
Charles VII, King of FranceCharles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
|
22 February 1403 |
21 July 1461 |
Married Marie of AnjouMarie of Anjou was the Queen consort of King Charles VII of France from 1422 to 1461. Her mother, Yolande of Aragon, played a leading role in the last phase of the Hundred Years' War.-Family:...
(1404–1463) in 1422. Had issue. The fifth Dauphin. |
| Philip |
10 November 1407 |
10 November 1407 |
Died young. |
He also had one illegitimate child by
Odette de ChampdiversOdette de Champdivers was the mistress of Charles VI of France...
,
Marguerite bâtarde de FranceMarguerite de Valois, la demoiselle de Belleville, also known as Marguerite bâtarde de France was the illegitimate daughter of King Charles the Mad and his beloved mistress Odette de Champdivers. She was their only child....
(d. ca.1458).
Cultural references
The
RomanticRomanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
French poet
Gérard de NervalGérard de Nerval was the nom-de-plume of the French poet, essayist and translator Gérard Labrunie, one of the most essentially Romantic French poets.- Biography :...
wrote a poem dedicated to the king: "Rêverie de Charles VI".
Vladimir NabokovVladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
's novel,
Pale FirePale Fire is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is presented as a 999-line poem titled "Pale Fire", written by the fictional John Shade, with a foreword and lengthy commentary by a neighbor and academic colleague of the poet. Together these elements form a narrative in which both authors are...
features an insane character whose name may be any of the following: Charles Kinbote, Professor V. Botkin, or King Charles the Beloved, the last king of Zembla (a country that may or may not exist in the world of the novel).
The novel
The Notebooks of Malte Laurids BriggeThe Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge was Rainer Maria Rilke's only novel. It was written while Rilke lived in Paris, and was published in 1910. The novel is semi-autobiographical, and is written in an expressionistic style...
by
Rainer Maria RilkeRené Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke , better known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was a Bohemian–Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language...
describes the old age of Charles VI at length.
The story "
Hop-Frog"Hop-Frog" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1849. The title character, a dwarf taken from his homeland, becomes the jester of a king particularly fond of practical jokes...
, or The Eight Chained
Ourang-OutangsOrangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
" by
Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
involves a scene strikingly similar to the
Bal des Ardents. (Full text at Wikisource)
The Edith Pattou novel
EastEast is a 2003 novel by the author Edith Pattou. It is an adaptation of an old Norwegian folk tale entitled "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" and is an ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults...
mentions Charles of France's second son, Charles, to be the white bear.
King Charles VI, and his madness, are mentioned at length in the historical novel Het Woud der Verwachting/Le Foret de Longue Attente/In a Dark Wood Wandering (1949) by Hella S. Haasse.
Christine de Pisan dedicates a poem to King Charles VI "Prière pour le roi Charles" in which she pleas for the health of her king.
Sources
- Famiglietti, R.C., Royal Intrigue: Crisis at the Court of Charles VI, 1392–1420, New York; AMS Press, 1986.
- Famiglietti, R.C., Tales of the Marriage Bed from Medieval France (1300–1500), Providence; Picardy Press, 1992.
- Tuchman, Barbara, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century, New York; Ballantine Books, 1978.