Charles VI of France

Charles VI
Charles VI

Charles VI the Well-Beloved, later known as the Mad (French: Charles VI le Bien-Aimé, later known as le Fol) (December 3, 1368 – October 21, 1422) was a King of France (1380 – 1422) and a member of the Valois Dynasty.

Early life

French Monarchy-
Capetian Dynasty
(Valois branch)

Philip VI
Children
   John II
John II
Children
   Charles V
   Louis I of Anjou
   John, Duke of Berry
   Philip II, Duke of Burgundy
Charles V
Children
   Charles VI
   Louis, Duke of Orléans
Charles VI
Children
   Isabella of Valois
   Catherine of Valois
   Charles VII
Charles VII
Children
   Louis XI
Louis XI
Children
   Charles VIII
Charles VIII

He was born in Paris, the son of King Charles V and Jeanne de Bourbon. At the age of eleven, he was crowned King of France in 1380 in the cathedral at Reims. Until he took complete charge as king in 1388, France was ruled by his uncle, Philip the Bold.

Charles VI was known both as Charles the Well Beloved and later as Charles the Mad, since, beginning in his mid-twenties, he experienced bouts of psychosis. These fits of madness would recur for the rest of his life. Based on his symptoms, doctors believe the king may have suffered from schizophrenia, porphyria or bi-polar disorder.

The King goes mad

His first known fit occurred in 1392 when his friend and advisor, Olivier de Clisson, was the victim of an attempted murder. Although Clisson survived, Charles was determined to punish the would-be assassin Pierre de Craon who had taken refuge in Brittany. Contemporaries said Charles appeared to be in a "fever" to begin the campaign and appeared disconnected in his speech. Charles set off with an army on July 1, 1392. The progress of the army was slow, nearly driving Charles into a frenzy of impatience.

While travelling through a forest on a hot August morning, a barefoot man dressed in rags rushed up to the King's horse and grabbed his bridle. "Ride no further, noble King!" he yelled. "Turn back! You are betrayed!" The king's escorts beat the man back but did not arrest him, and he followed the procession for a half-hour, repeating his cries.

The company emerged from the forest at noon. A page who was drowsy from the sun dropped the king's lance, which clanged loudly against a steel helmet carried by another page. Charles shuddered, drew his sword and yelled "Forward against the traitors! They wish to deliver me to the enemy!" The king spurred his horse and began swinging his sword at his companions, fighting until his chamberlain and a group of soldiers were able to grab him from his mount and lay him on the ground. He laid still and did not react, falling into a coma. The king killed at least one knight in his delirium, and possibly more (the exact numbers differ in the chronicles from the time).

Charles' uncle Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (aka Philip the Bold) assumed the regency on the spot, dismissing Charles' advisers in the process. This was to be the start of a major feud which would divide the Kings of France and the Dukes of Burgundy for the next 85 years.

The king would suffer from periods of mental illness throughout his life. During one attack in 1393, Charles could not remember his name, did not know he was king and fled in terror from his wife. He did not recognize his children, though he knew his brother and councillors and remembered the names of people who had died. In later attacks, he roamed his palaces howling like a wolf, refused to bathe for months on end and suffered from delusions that he was made of glass.

The Bal des Ardents

In January 1393, Queen Isabeau de Bavière organised a party to celebrate the marriage of one of her ladies-in-waiting. The King and five other lords dressed up as wild men and danced about chained to one another. The King's brother, Louis of Valois, Duke of Orléans, approached with a lighted torch. One of the dancers caught fire and there was panic. The Duchesse de Berry, who recognized Charles, threw her robe over him and saved his life. Four of the other men perished. This incident became known as the Bal des Ardents (the 'Ball of the Burning Men').

Most accounts seem to agree that Louis' action was an accident; he was merely trying to find his brother. Be that as it may, Louis soon afterwards pursued an affair with the Queen and was murdered by his political rival John, Duke of Burgundy (aka John the Fearless) in 1407.

Charles' royal secretary Pierre Salmon spent much time in discussions with the king while he was suffering from his intermittent but incapacitating psychosis. In an effort to find a cure for the king's illness, stabilize the turbulent political situation, and secure his own future, Salmon supervised the production of two distinct versions of the beautifully illuminated guidebooks to good kingship known as Pierre Salmon's Dialogues.

Dealing with England

Charles VI's reign was marked by the continuing war with the English (the Hundred Years' War). An early attempt at peace occurred in 1396 when Charles' daughter, the seven-year-old Isabella of Valois married the 29-year-old Richard II of England.

The peace in France did not last. The feud between the Royal family and the house of Burgundy led to chaos and anarchy. Taking advantage, Henry V of England led an invasion which culminated in 1415 when the French army was defeated at the Battle of Agincourt. In 1420, Charles -- now utterly incapacitated by his disease -- signed the Treaty of Troyes which recognized Henry as his successor, declared his son a bastard and bethrothed his daughter, Catherine of Valois, to Henry. Many citizens, including Joan of Arc, believed that the king only agreed to such disastrous and unprecedented terms, under the mental stress of his illness and that, as a result, France could not be held to them.

Charles VI died in 1422 at Paris and is interred with his wife, Isabeau de Bavière in Saint Denis Basilica.

He was eventually succeeded by his son Charles VII. Ironically, Catherine of Valois passed Charles' mental illness onto her son, Henry VI, and his inability to govern helped spark the Wars of the Roses.

Marriage and Issue

Charles VI married:

Isabeau de Bavière (1371 – September 24, 1435) on July 17, 1385.

Name Birth Death Notes
Charles, Prince of France September 26, 1386 December 28, 1386 Died young. No issue.
Joan, Princess of France June 14, 1388 1390 Died young. No issue.
Isabella, Princess of France November 9, 1389 September 13, 1409 Married (1) Richard II, King of England (1367 - 1400) in 1396. No issue.
Married (2) Charles, Duke of Orleans (1394 - 1465) in 1406. Had issue.
Joan, Princess of France January 24, 1391 September 27, 1433 Married John VI, Duke of Brittany (1389 - 1442) in 1396. Had issue.
Charles, Prince of France February 6, 1392 January 13, 1401 Died young. No issue.
Mary, Princess of France August 24, 1393 August 19, 1438 Never married - became an abbess. No issue.
Michelle, Princess of France January 11, 1395 July 8, 1422 Married Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy (1396 - 1467) in 1409.
Louis, Duke of Guyenne January 22, 1397 December 18, 1415 Married Margaret of Burgundy.
John, Duke of Touraine August 31, 1398 April 4, 1417 Married Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut (1401 - 1436) in 1415. No issue.
Catherine, Princess of France October 27, 1401 January 3, 1437 Married (1) Henry V, King of England (1387 - 1422) in 1420. Had issue.
Married (?) (2) Owen Tudor (1400 - 1461). Had issue.
Charles VII, King of France February 22, 1403 July 21, 1461 Married Marie of Anjou (1404 - 1463) in 1422. Had issue.
Philip, Prince of France November 10, 1407 November 10, 1407 Died young. No issue.

He also had one illegitimate child by Odette de Champdivers, Marguerite bâtarde de France (1407–1458).


Preceded by:
Charles V
King of France
September 16, 1380–October 21, 1422
Succeeded by:
Charles VII

Cultural References

The story "Hop-Frog, or The Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs" by Edgar Allan Poe involves a scene strikingly similar to the Bal des Ardents.

Sources

Tuchman, Barbara, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century. New York; Ballantine Books, 1978.

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