Orléans, Charles, duc d'
Orléans, Charles, duc d'
(shärl dük dôrlāäN`), 1391–1465, French prince and poet; nephew of King Charles VICharles VI(Charles the Mad or Charles the Well Beloved), 1368–1422, king of France (1380–1422), son and successor of King Charles V. During his minority he was under the tutelage of his uncles (particularly Philip the Bold, duke of Burgundy), whose policies drained
..... Click the link for more information. . After the assassination of his father, Louis d'OrléansOrléans, Louis, duc d'
, 1372–1407, brother of King Charles VI of France, whose chief counselor he was from 1388 to 1392. After 1392, when Charles VI suffered his first attack of insanity, Louis became involved in a long struggle for control with his uncle, Philip
..... Click the link for more information. , he became (1407) titular head of the Armagnacs (see Armagnacs and BurgundiansArmagnacs and Burgundians,
opposing factions that fought to control France in the early 15th cent. The rivalry for power between Louis d'Orléans, brother of the recurrently insane King Charles VI, and his cousin John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy, led to Louis's murder
..... Click the link for more information. ). After the English invasion of France in 1415, Charles was captured at the battle of AgincourtAgincourt
, modern Fr. Azincourt, village, Pas-de-Calais dept., N France. There, during the Hundred Years War, Henry V of England with some 6,000 men defeated a French army six times that size on Oct. 25, 1415.
..... Click the link for more information. and remained in captivity in England until 1440, when he was ransomed.
In retirement at Blois, he devoted the rest of his life to writing verse and to the society of literary men. Among his poems, which are remarkable for their polish and charm, is the rondeau, "Le temps a laissié son manteau" [the season has shed its cloak]. There are translations of his poems by Andrew Lang, W. E. Henley, and Ezra Pound. Charles's son was King Louis XIILouis XII,
1462–1515, king of France (1498–1515), son of Charles, duc d'Orléans. He succeeded his father as duke. While still duke, he rebelled against the regency of Anne de Beaujeu and was imprisoned (1488), but was released (1491) by his cousin King Charles
..... Click the link for more information. .
Bibliography
See biography by E. McLeod (1970).