Charles of Valois, Duke of Berry

For other people with the same name, see Charles, Duke of Berry (disambiguation).

Charles (French: Charles de France; 26 December 1446 – 24/25 May 1472), Duke of Berry, later Duke of Normandy and Duke of Aquitaine, was a son of Charles VII, King of France. He spent most of his life in conflict with his elder brother, King Louis XI.^[1]

Charles
Duke of Berry, Normandy, and Aquitaine
Born	26 December 1446 Tours, Kingdom of France
Died	24/25 May 1472
House	Valois
Father	Charles VII of France
Mother	Marie of Anjou

Early life

Charles was born at Tours, last child and fourth son of Charles VII and Marie of Anjou.^[2] As his elder brother, the Dauphin Louis, had repeatedly run into conflict with his father and since 1456 was living in exile at the court of Burgundy, some expected the crown to pass to Charles. When Charles VII died in 1461, however, Louis XI succeeded nonetheless.

After his accession, Louis XI granted his younger brother the Duchy of Berry as an appanage. Dissatisfied with this, Charles joined with Charles, Count of Charolais, and other powerful nobles such as Francis II, Duke of Brittany in the League of the Public Weal in May 1465 and they placed him at the head of their league.^[3] This started a rebellion which ended in October with the Treaty of Conflans between Louis XI and the Count of Charolais.

Duke of Normandy

Under the treaty, Charles was granted the Duchy of Normandy as an additional appanage.^[4] He proved unable to control his new possession and ran into conflict with his former ally Francis II of Brittany. Louis dispatched the royal army to Normandy and assumed direct royal control of the Duchy. Charles, now reconciled with Duke Francis, fled to Brittany, where he remained until September 1468, when he and Francis signed the Treaty of Ancenis with Louis, promising to abandon the former Count of Charolais, now Duke of Burgundy.

Coat of arms of Charles as Duke of Aquitaine, quartering one of the three lions of Plantagenet, borne by the Kings of England, the former Dukes of Aquitaine

In October 1468 Louis was imprisoned by Charles of Burgundy during a conference at Péronne. In order to obtain his release, Louis agreed to grant Champagne to his brother as compensation for Normandy. Once free, Louis reneged on the promises made under duress but in April 1469, he finally reconciled with his brother, granting him the Duchy of Aquitaine, recently won back from the Kings of England in 1453. Thenceforth Charles quartered the royal arms of France (differenced by a bordure engrailed gules) with one of the three lions of Plantagenet, to signify the duchy.^[5]

Charles also agreed with the Duke of Burgundy to marry the latter's only child and heir, Mary of Burgundy. Louis had no intention of allowing a union between his brother and his enemy's daughter and dispatched envoys to Pope Paul II to ensure that the necessary dispensation, required on grounds of consanguinity, was not granted. Louis was unsuccessful in this endeavour, as the Pope granted the dispensation.

Still, the marriage plan came to nothing as Charles died at Bordeaux in May 1472, probably from a combination of tuberculosis and a venereal disease contracted from his mistress Colette de Chambes, the wife of Louis d'Amboise, Viscount of Thouars.^{[a] [7]}

Charles died 24/25 May 1472^[8] and left no legitimate issue. His apanage of Berry returned to the crown.

Issue

With his mistress Colette de Chambes he had:

• Jeanne de Guyenne (b. 1470), a dominican nun^[9]
• Anne (b. 1471), married in 1490 to François de Volvire, Baron de Ruffec. Without issue.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Charles of Valois, Duke of Berry

16. John II of France 8. Charles V of France 17. Bonne of Bohemia 4. Charles VI of France 18. Peter I, Duke of Bourbon 9. Joanna of Bourbon 19. Isabella of Valois 2. Charles VII of France 20. Stephen II, Duke of Bavaria 10. Stephen III, Duke of Bavaria 21. Elizabeth of Sicily 5. Isabeau of Bavaria 22. Bernabò Visconti 11. Taddaea Visconti 23. Beatrice della Scala 1. Charles of Valois, Duke of Berry 24. John II of France (= 16) 12. Louis I of Naples 25. Bonne of Bohemia (= 17) 6. Louis II of Naples 26. Charles of Châtillon, Count of Blois 13. Marie of Châtillon 27. Jeanne of Penthièvre 3. Marie of Anjou 28. Peter IV of Aragon 14. John I of Aragon 29. Eleanor of Sicily 7. Yolande of Aragon 30. Robert I, Duke of Bar 15. Violante de Bar 31. Marie of Valois

Coats of arms

• 
  Arms as Duke of Berry (1461–1465)
• 
  Arms as Duke of Normandy (1465–1469)
• 
  Arms as Duke of Guyenne (1469–1472)

Notes

1. Monks indicates Louis d'Amboise died in 1470, while his wife died before Charles.^[6]

References

• Biography portal

1. Favier 2001, p. ?.
2. Heers 2016, Charles VII et Louis XI table.
3. Bakos 1997, p. 7.
4. Bakos 1997, p. 10.
5. The Duchy of Aquitaine had been held since pre-heraldic times by the English kings, firstly by King Henry II who married the heiress Eleanor of Aquitaine; thus the duchy was symbolised heraldically only by the arms of Plantagenet
6. Monks 1990, p. 15-16.
7. Monks 1990, p. 15.
8. Tournoy 2006, p. 295.
9. Monks 1990, p. 16.

Sources

• Bakos, Adrianna E. (1997). Images of Kingship in Early Modern France: Louis XI in Political Thought, 1560-1789. Routledge.
• Favier, Jean (2001). Louis XI. Fayard.
• Heers, Jacques (2016). Louis XI. Perrin.
• Tournoy, Gilbert (2006). "An Italian Scribe at Bruges in the Second Half of the Fifteenth Century: Francesco Florio". In Claassens, Geert H. M.; Verbeke, Werner (eds.). Medieval Manuscripts in Transition: Tradition and Creative Recycling. Leuven University Press. pp. 261–308.
• Monks, Peter Rolfe (1990). The Brussels Horloge de Sapience. E.J. Brill.15-16

French royalty
Vacant Title last held by Charles the Victorious	Duke of Berry 1461–1472	Vacant Title next held by Joan
Vacant Title last held by Charles the Wise	Duke of Normandy 1461–1465	Vacant
Vacant Title last held by Louis	Duke of Aquitaine 1469–1472