Facts :
king Charles VII (1403-1461) ruled from 1422 to 1461. His reign witnessed the expulsion of the English from France and the reestablishment of a strong French monarchy after the disasters of the Hundred Years War, 1337-1453.
Charles VII was the fifth son of Charles VI of France and his wife. He was never expected to become king. However, only two of his elder brothers reached the age of maturity and then died before their father.
Charles became dauphin when his second eldest brother, Jean, died in April. His first older brother, Louis, had died in December 1415.
At 19 years of age, he inherited a divided country, torn by civil war and foreign invasion, and without an organized royal army of any distinction.
1418
The Burgundian faction siezed Paris and killed many in the Orleanist-Armagnac camp. The dauphin Charles escaped to Melum and then to Bourges. He assumed the title of lieutenant-general in the name of his father, Charles VI, who suffered fits of madness.
There is a tone of resentment in many works that final victory in the Hundred Years' War was at the hands of a non-warrior king.
Many who might be sympathetic with the French cause cannot forgive Charles VII for his so-called 'betrayal' of the Maid. These perceptions have been encouraged by the imaginative, unflatering portrayals of Charles VII in many novels and plays relating to Jeanne d'Arc's story.
Charles 's father, who suffered from recurrent madness, implied that Charles was illegitimate since his mother, Isabelle of Bavaria, was known to be a woman of loose morals
By the Treaty of Troyes (1420) his father was forced to disinherit him in favor of the English king, Henry V.
At the beginning of his reign Charles was impoverished, threatened by English armies, and without a loyal nobility. At first Charles was not equal to his task; he was not warlike and was sickly, physically weak, and personally unattractive.
Charles VII was also known as Charles The Well-served, or The Victorious (French Charles Le Bien-servi, or Le Victorieux
Charles became dauphin (heir to the throne) at the age of 14. He was named Lieutenant General of the kingdom, but his mother left Paris and allied herself with John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy. On May 29, 1418, the Burgundians occupied the capital, and Charles had to flee to Bourges.
May 1413 rioting Parisians invaded the Hôtel Saint-Paul, where he lived. Toward the end of that year, he was betrothed to Mary of Anjou, the nine-year-old daughter of Louis II of Anjou, king of Naples, and his wife, Yolande of Aragon. Charles went to live in Anjou, where Yolande, energetic and accustomed to rule, established her influence over him.
In April of 1422 Charles celebrated his marriage at Bourges. He then resumed warfare, occupied La Charité, and threatened Burgundian territory.
With his court removed to Bourges south of the Loire River, Charles was disparagingly called the “King of Bourges”, because the area around this city was one of the few remaining regions left to him. However, his political and military position improved dramatically with the emergence of Jeanne d'Arc as a spiritual leader in France.
Bibliography :
http://xenophongroup.com/montjoie/chas_vii.htm
http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/german-history-biographies/charles-vii-france
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-VII-king-of-France
king Charles VII (1403-1461) ruled from 1422 to 1461. His reign witnessed the expulsion of the English from France and the reestablishment of a strong French monarchy after the disasters of the Hundred Years War, 1337-1453.
Charles VII was the fifth son of Charles VI of France and his wife. He was never expected to become king. However, only two of his elder brothers reached the age of maturity and then died before their father.
Charles became dauphin when his second eldest brother, Jean, died in April. His first older brother, Louis, had died in December 1415.
At 19 years of age, he inherited a divided country, torn by civil war and foreign invasion, and without an organized royal army of any distinction.
1418
The Burgundian faction siezed Paris and killed many in the Orleanist-Armagnac camp. The dauphin Charles escaped to Melum and then to Bourges. He assumed the title of lieutenant-general in the name of his father, Charles VI, who suffered fits of madness.
There is a tone of resentment in many works that final victory in the Hundred Years' War was at the hands of a non-warrior king.
Many who might be sympathetic with the French cause cannot forgive Charles VII for his so-called 'betrayal' of the Maid. These perceptions have been encouraged by the imaginative, unflatering portrayals of Charles VII in many novels and plays relating to Jeanne d'Arc's story.
Charles 's father, who suffered from recurrent madness, implied that Charles was illegitimate since his mother, Isabelle of Bavaria, was known to be a woman of loose morals
By the Treaty of Troyes (1420) his father was forced to disinherit him in favor of the English king, Henry V.
At the beginning of his reign Charles was impoverished, threatened by English armies, and without a loyal nobility. At first Charles was not equal to his task; he was not warlike and was sickly, physically weak, and personally unattractive.
Charles VII was also known as Charles The Well-served, or The Victorious (French Charles Le Bien-servi, or Le Victorieux
Charles became dauphin (heir to the throne) at the age of 14. He was named Lieutenant General of the kingdom, but his mother left Paris and allied herself with John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy. On May 29, 1418, the Burgundians occupied the capital, and Charles had to flee to Bourges.
May 1413 rioting Parisians invaded the Hôtel Saint-Paul, where he lived. Toward the end of that year, he was betrothed to Mary of Anjou, the nine-year-old daughter of Louis II of Anjou, king of Naples, and his wife, Yolande of Aragon. Charles went to live in Anjou, where Yolande, energetic and accustomed to rule, established her influence over him.
In April of 1422 Charles celebrated his marriage at Bourges. He then resumed warfare, occupied La Charité, and threatened Burgundian territory.
With his court removed to Bourges south of the Loire River, Charles was disparagingly called the “King of Bourges”, because the area around this city was one of the few remaining regions left to him. However, his political and military position improved dramatically with the emergence of Jeanne d'Arc as a spiritual leader in France.
Bibliography :
http://xenophongroup.com/montjoie/chas_vii.htm
http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/german-history-biographies/charles-vii-france
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-VII-king-of-France
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