Another addition to Shakespeare and historical figures: Charles VI of France

Excerpts from Wikipedia


"Charles VI (3 December 1368 – 21 October 1422), called the Beloved (French: le Bien-Aimé) and the Mad (French: le Fol or le Fou), was King of France from 1380 to his death. He was a member of the House of Valois.

Charles VI was only 11 when he inherited the throne in the midst of the Hundred Years' War. The government was entrusted to his four uncles: Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy; John, Duke of Berry; Louis I, Duke of Anjou; and Louis II, Duke of Bourbon. Although the royal age of majority was fixed at 14, the dukes maintained their grip on Charles until he took power at the age of 21.

During the rule of his uncles, the financial resources of the kingdom, painstakingly built up by his father, Charles V, were squandered for the personal profit of the dukes, whose interests were frequently divergent or even opposed. As royal funds drained, new taxes had to be raised, which caused several revolts.

In 1388 Charles VI dismissed his uncles and brought back to power his father's former advisers, known as the Marmousets. Political and economic conditions in the kingdom improved significantly, and Charles earned the epithet "the Beloved". But in August 1392 en route to Brittany with his army in the forest of Le Mans, Charles suddenly went mad and slew four knights and almost killed his brother, Louis of Orléans.[1]

From then on, Charles' bouts of insanity became more frequent and of longer duration. During these attacks, he had delusions, believing he was made of glass or denying he had a wife and children.[1] He could also attack servants or run until exhaustion, wailing that he was threatened by his enemies. Between crises, there were intervals of months during which Charles was relatively sane.[1] However, unable to concentrate or make decisions, political power was taken away from him by the princes of the blood, which would cause much chaos and conflict in France.

A fierce struggle for power developed between Louis of Orléans, the king's brother, and John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, the son of Philip the Bold. When John instigated the murder of Louis in November 1407, the conflict degenerated into a civil war between the Armagnacs (supporters of the House of Valois) and the Burgundians. John offered large parts of France to King Henry V of England, who was still at war with the Valois monarchy, in exchange for his support. After the assassination of John the Fearless, his son Philip the Good led Charles the Mad to sign the infamous Treaty of Troyes (1420), which disinherited his offspring and recognized Henry V as his legitimate successor on the throne of France.

When Charles VI died, he was succeeded by his son Charles VII, who found the Valois cause in a desperate situation."


"The English invasion and death[edit]
Charles VI's reign was marked by the continuing conflict with the English, known as the Hundred Years' War. An early attempt at peace occurred in 1396 when Charles' daughter, the almost seven-year-old Isabella of Valois, married the 29-year-old Richard II of England. By 1415, however, the feud between the French royal family and the House of Burgundy led to chaos and anarchy throughout France that Henry V of England was eager to take advantage of. Henry led an invasion that culminated in the defeat of the French army at the Battle of Agincourt in October.

In 1420, the Treaty of Troyes was an agreement signed by Henry V of England and Charles VI of France, recognizing Henry as Charles' successor, and stipulating that Henry's heirs would succeed him on the throne of France. It disinherited the Dauphin Charles (with further claim, in 1421, that the young Charles was illegitimate). It also betrothed Charles VI's daughter, Catherine of Valois, to Henry V (see English Kings of France). The treaty disinheriting the Dauphin of France in favor of the English crown was a blatant act against the interests of France. The Dauphin sealed his fate, in the eyes of the mad king, when he declared himself regent, seized royal authority, and refused to obey the king's order to return to Paris.[19] When the Treaty of Troyes was finalized in May 1420, the Dauphin Charles was only 17 years old.

Charles VI died on 21 October 1422 in Paris, at the Hôtel Saint-Pol. He was interred in Saint Denis Basilica, where his wife Isabeau of Bavaria would join him after her death in September 1435.

Upon the death of Charles VI, his infant grandson, who had become King Henry VI of England at the death of his own father in August 1422, was, according to the Treaty of Troyes, also King of France, and his coronation as such took place at the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris on 26 December 1431. In the meantime, the Dauphin Charles, who had settled in Bourges, Paris being occupied by the English-Bourguignons since 29 May 1418, had to wait the arrival of Joan of Arc to be taken to the cathedral of Reims for his coronation as Charles VII, King of France on 17 July 1429. During his reign, Charles VII, the (disinherited) son of Charles VI, became known as "Charles the Victorious".[20]"

I look forward to adding this to my collection of "historical figures dramatized by Shakespeare". He is, of course, an important figure in Shakespeare's Henry V. Please post your French hammered coins.

France Blanc Guénar 1380-1422

Charles VI - ND (1380-1422) - Mintmark Tours Sixth Point
Catalog: Monnaies Françaises Royales DupR 377
Material: Billon
(2.93 g 27.00 mm)

 

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Nice one Orfew. All of these posts lately have really got me a lot more interested in medieval coins.

 

Got one too.


Charles VI "The Mad”, (1380 - 1422 A.D.)
AR Blanc Guénar
O: + KAROLVS: FRANCORV: REX; Shield of arms.
R: + SIT: nOmE: DnI: BENEDICTV; Cross with two crowns and two lis.
2.9g
29mm
DuP 377

 

Nice score. Nothing to share though...

 

Nice!

 

Interesting times back then...

 

Very nice blanc guenar and interesting write up. I can entertain your thread with an ecu minted by his son Charles VII


Charles VII (1422-1461) - Ecu d'or 3° emission de 1424, atelier de Toulouse (annelet sous la cinquieme lettre)
Croisette sur etoile initiale, KAROLVS : DEI : GRATIA : FRANCORVM : REX, Ecu de France couronné
+ XPC : VINCIT : XPC : REGNAT : XPC : IMPERAT, croix arquée, evidée et fleudelisée, cantonnée de quatre coronelles
3.76 gr, 28 mm
Ref : Ciani # 617

Q

 

Superb Ecu d'or. What a lovely specimen.

 

I only have one coin of Charles VII. It was minted when he was Dauphin.