Episode 23: Le Morte d’Orleans

Posted byJosh ZuckerPosted inUncategorized
Valentina Visconti, the widow of Louis of Orleans, begs King Charles VI for justice in the aftermath of her husband’s murder in this 1836 painting by Alexandre Marie Colin. Louis was assassinated in 1407 on the orders of his cousin the Duke of Burgundy.

The Duke of Orleans is dominant in Paris and he takes every opportunity to exclude his cousin John the Fearless from power. Seeing every opportunity vanish before his eyes, the Duke of Burgundy decides to take drastic steps and arranges for Louis of Orleans to be assassinated. But once the breach has been opened, can it ever be mended?

Time Period Covered: 1406 – 1408

Notable People: John the Fearless, Louis Duke of Orleans, John Duke of Berry, Queen Isabeau, Valentina Visconti, John V Duke of Brittany, Louis II Duke of Anjou, Jean de Montagu, Jean Petit

Notable Events/Developments: The Assassination of the Duke of Orleans, The Justification of the Duke of Burgundy

The Duke of Orleans is murdered on the Rue Vieille-du-Temple. The Duke was lured into the street by a false message and struck down on his way to see his brother.
The Duke of Orleans shows off his lover to her unsuspecting husband in this 1825 painting by Eugène Delacroix. The lover in question is Mariette d’Enghien who gave birth to Jean de Dunois, Bastard of Orleans and companion of Joan of Arc.

Sources

John the Fearless by Richard Vaughan

The Hundred Years War: Cursed Kings by Jonathan Sumption

The Chronicles of Enguerrand De Monstrelet

Royal Intrigue Crisis at the Court of Charles VI 1392-1420 by R.C. Famiglietti

The Waning of the Middle Ages by Johan Huizinga

The Golden Age of Burgundy by Joseph Calmette

The Life and Afterlife of Isabeau of Bavaria by Tracy Adams

Wise and Foolish Kings by Anne Denieul-Cormier

The Promised Lands by Wim Blockmans and Walter Prevenier

Medieval Flanders by David Nicholas

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