Charles, Duke of Orleans d1465
Charles, Duke of Orleans was born on 24 Novemer 1394. He died aged 70 on 4 January 1465. He was the eldest son of Louis I, Duke of Orleans, who was assassinated by men under the command of John the Fearless of Burgundy in 1407. Having assumed his title at an early age, Charles was heavily influenced by his uncle, the Duke of Armagnac, which has led to Charles’ followers being known as the Armagnacs.
Civil War in France
The death of his father at the hands of assassins had a profound effect on Charles. He saw his mother succumb to grief and made his kinsmen swear an oath that they would exact vengeance for the unlawful killing: one that was never punished by the King. The Armagnac faction, supported by other disaffected nobles, including Princes, formed the League of Glen. They waged Civil War against the Burgundians, including sieges of Paris, halted only by the Campaigns of the English against France from 1415.
English Invasion of 1415
1415 saw the English invade Normandy. Charles, Duke of Orleans was one of the nobles who raised forces to defend France from Henry Vs army. In the debacle that befell the French nobility at Agincourt, Charles was found unwounded but trapped beneath the bodies of his dead comrades. The English took him prisoner and sent him, with orders from the King that he was not to be ransomed, nor harmed, back to England.
Charles, Duke of Orleans in captivity in England
Charles was to spend 25 years as a captive in England. As leader of the Armagnac faction the English refused to countenance a ransom for the Duke, it was better to have him safe in English hands in England. Like many prisoners of note, the Dukes captivity was not particularly difficult. He was moved around the country but largely had freedom under the watchful eye of his captors.
The Duke of Orleans as a Valentine’s Poet
This freedom led to the Duke being able to continue writing poems[i], something that he did from childhood to his death. It has led some to call him the first Valentines Day poet, a claim for which there is no basis as Valentines Day was already established.
Saint Valentin choisissent ceste annee
Ceulx et celles de l’amoureux party.
Seul me tendray, de confort desgarny,
Sur le dur lit d’ennuieuse pensee.
(Let men and women of Love’s party
Choose their St. Valentine this year!
I remain alone, comfort stolen from me
On the hard bed of painful thought)[ii].
Charles’ release was eventually secured in 1440 after the intervention of Burgundy. It saw the Armagnacs and Burgundians set aside their differences. He married Marie of Cleves and the couple had 3 children, one of whom, Louis, went on to become King of France from 1498.
[i] Jackson, Eleanor. “Charles of Orleans in The Tower of London, from ‘A Volume of Poems of Charles of Orleans and Other Works.’” British Library, 14 Feb. 2021, [blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2021/02/charles-dorl%C3%A9ans.html]
[ii] D’Orlans, Charles. Poetry of Charles D’Orlans and His Circle: A Critical Edition of Bnf Ms. Fr. 25458, Charles D’Orlans’ Personal Manuscript. Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (ACMRS), 2011. Pages 134-35
Featured Image of Charles, Duke of Orleans
Statuts, Ordonnances et Armorial de l’Ordre de la Toison d’Or (Statutes, Ordonnances and armorial of the Order of the Golden Fleece) Place of origin, date: Southern Netherlands; 1473. Public Domain. Via Wikimedia.
