Charles VII of France was born on 22nd February 1403. As the eleventh child, and fifth born son of King Charles VI and Queen Isabeau, there was little expectation that the infant Charles would ever inherit the throne. However, by 1417 all four of his elder brothers had died childless, leaving him as heir to the throne of France.
Agincourt, Normandy and Charles’ disinheritance
Charles’ coming of age and inheritance of the title Dauphin came as France was in a desperate position. 1415 had seen disaster at Agincourt, followed by Henry V’s gradual conquest of Normandy and parts of France.
When negotiations with the English opened at Troyes, Charles was excluded by his mother. The Dauphin had forces in the field as the talks took place. He was denounced by his own parents and disinherited by the terms of the Treaty of Troyes.
Charles as ‘King of the Bourges’
Following this, France was divided into areas controlled by Henry V as Regent, and those, largely in central France, controlled by forces loyal to Charles as Dauphin. This led to a sarcastic nickname of ‘King of the Bourges’ being used in reference to Charles.
Charles married Marie of Anjou, daughter of Yolande of Aragon, in 1422. It was an astute marriage diplomatically, gaining his cause the backing of his influential mother-in-law.
Joan of Arc and rise of Charles VII
The turnaround in Charles’ fortunes coincided with the emergence of Joan of Arc. The Dauphinist force soon began to become victors, rather than vanquished, allowing him to be crowned as King of France in 1429.
The links with Yolande of Aragon also bore fruit. She helped to ensure that his government had competent officials, and she aided in negotiations that resulted in the Treaty of Arras in 1435. Paris was retaken the following year, and Charles’ introduction of a professional army helped France to begin recovering lands in Normandy.
France recovered
Charles’ achievement in seeing the English lose all of her French territories except Calais is remarkable given the situation he found himself in at the time of his father’s death.
Charles himself was to live until 1461. France had stabilised politically and the threat from England was all but at an end.
Featured Image
Portrait of Charles VII, king of France 1422-1461