Historical Figures

Charles of Orleans (1394 - 1465)

Charles is the son of Louis I, Duke of Orléans, brother of King Charles VI of France. His childhood was marked by the conflict between his father and Jean sans Peur, Duke of Burgundy, a conflict which was at the origin of the civil war between Armagnacs and Burgundians. His father was killed on the order of the Duke of Burgundy in 1407. About ten years old, he married his first cousin Isabelle de Valois, daughter of Charles VI, and widow of Richard II of England. On his death, Charles remarried the daughter of Count Bernard VII of Armagnac, a great feudal of the South-West, transferring the family conflict to the house of Armagnac. In 1415, Charles d'Orléans was taken prisoner at Agincourt and taken to England. He will stay 25 years in England, years during which he will develop a great poetic work. Charles is the father of King Louis XII.