Charles VII 1422-1461
b. 21/22 Feb 1403, Paris
d. 22 Jul 1461, Mehun-sur-Yèvre
Titles: Regent of the Kingdom (Regent du royaume) [June 24, 1418 - October 30, 1422]
By the Grace of God, King of France (Dei gracia Francorum Rex; par la grâce de Dieu, roi de France)
Reign: 30 Oct 1422 - 22 Jul 1461
Chronology: 17 Jul 1429, consecrated and crowned, Notre-Dame Cathedral, Reims
22 Jul 1461, deceased
Name/byname: Count of Ponthieu (comte de Ponthieu) [from 1403/1404]; Duke of Touraine (duc de Touraine) [from 15 Jul 1416]; Dauphin of Viennois (dauphin de Viennois) [from 13 Apr 1417]; byname: Well-Served, Victorious (French: Le Bien-Servi or Le Victorieux)
Charles was the fifth son of King Charles VI and his wife, Isabella of Bavaria. On the death of Dauphin Jean (5 Apr 1417), the king issued lettres patent creating Charles Dauphin of Viennois (13 Apr 1417). On November 6, 1417, he was named lieutenant general of the kingdom, but on May 29, 1418, the Burgundians occupied the capital, and Charles had to flee to Bourges. There he put himself at the head of the Armagnac party and on June 24, 1418 [Compte de René Boulegny], assumed the title of regent for the deranged Charles VI. In 1420, the Treaty of Troyes recognized English king Henry V as heir to the French throne, excluding Charles. Charles's supporters, however, set up an administration in Poitiers and Bourges the jurisdiction of which extended over all of France south of the Loire River. Charles learnt about the death of his father on October 24, 1422, in Mehun-sur-Yèvre. Ruling as regent, he hesitated to accept the title of king for six days, but then agreed to adopt the crown on October 30.
The army of Charles was repulsed at Verneuil in August 1424, and he tried once again to effect a reconciliation with the Duke of Burgundy. In 1425, he dissociated himself from the Armagnacs, but the English and the Burgundians revived the war and on October 12, 1428, laid siege to Orléans. Discouraged by many years of war, the king thought of retiring to Spain or of ceding to English pressure. But the defense of Orléans became for the French a symbol of their struggle against the enemy. Joan de Arc, the visionary peasant girl from Lorraine, restored the French army's confidence and liberated Orléans. On July 17, 1429, after a victorious journey with his army, Charles was crowned at Reims by the archbishop of Chatres, Renaud. In 1435, after protracted negotiations, Philip of Burgundy concluded a separate peace with France at Arras: the King condemned the murder of Philip's father, and the Duke recognized Charles as his sovereign. A new phase then opened up in Charles's life. Between 1425 and 1439, he gradually acquired the right to levy taxes that previously had to be approved by the States General, thus gaining financial independence.
The administration of the realm was reorganized, and in 1438 Charles promulgated the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, limiting papal authority over the church in France. The Sanction also increased the King's control over the granting of ecclesiastical revenues. The discipline of the army was improved and methods of recruitment made more efficient by the ordinances of 1439, 1445, and 1448. In 1437 the King took command of his armies again for the first time since his coronation and returned to Paris, which had been liberated from the English the previous year. The power of the nobility was lessened by his reforms; encouraged by the Duke of Burgundy they formed a coalition against the King (the Praguerie). Charles reacted skillfully and energetically, and the rebellion was put down (1440). Charles renewed the war in 1441 both north of Paris and in Guyenne, in the southwest. In 1444, negotiations finally brought a general truce, but no permanent peace was concluded, and hostilities were resumed in 1449. Charles campaigned successfully in Normandy and took possession of its capital, Rouen, on November 20, 1450. In 1453, after the victory of Castillon and the surrender of Bordeaux, Guyenne returned to France after having been associated with England for three centuries.
Sources: text: Auguste Vallet de Viriville, "Histoire de Charles VII, roi de France, et de son epoque," Paris: Veuve J.Renouard, 1862; La Grande Encyclopédie, inventaire raisonné des sciences, des lettres et des arts, par une société de savants et de gens de lettres (1886-1902); Auguste-Philibert Chaalons d'Argé, "Sacre et couronnement des rois et des empereurs en France," Paris, 1852; R. P. Anselme, "Histoire de la maison royale de France et des grands officiers de la Couronne," Paris: Estienne Loyson, 1674; image: Portrait of Charles VII by Jean
Fouquet.
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Last Update: 15.02.2003
Document updated 01/07/04