John Of Valois Duke Of BERRY

Notes:

John of Valois, the Magnificent, (November 30, 1340 ? March 15, 1416) was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. He was the third son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxemburg; his brothers were Charles V, King of France, Louis I of Anjou, King of Naples and Philip II, Duke of Burgundy.

Upon the death of his older brother Charles V in 1380, his son and heir, Charles VI was a minor, so Berry and his brothers, along with the king's maternal uncle the Duke of Bourbon acted as regents. Following the death of Louis of Anjou in 1384, Berry and his brother Burgundy were the dominant figures in the kingdom. The king ended the regency and took power into his own hands in 1388, giving the governance of the kingdom largely to his father's former ministers, who were political enemies of the king's powerful uncles. Berry and Burgundy bided their time, and were soon able to retake power, in 1392, when the King had his first attack of insanity, an affliction which would remain with him throughout his life. The two royal dukes continued to rule until 1402, when the king, in one of his moments of lucidity, took power from them and gave it to his brother Louis, Duke of Orleans.

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 OrlÈans
Charles VI
Children
Isabella of Valois
Catherine of Valois
Charles VII
Charles VII
Children
Louis XI
Louis XI
Children
Charles VIII
Charles VIII

In his later years, John became more of a consensual figure in France. After the death of Philip of Burgundy in 1404, he was the last survivor of the sons of King John, and generally tried to play the role of a peacemaker between the factions of his nephews Orleans and John, Duke of Burgundy. After the murder of Orleans at the orders of the Duke of Burgundy, Berry generally took the Orleanist or Armagnac side in the civil war that erupted, but was always a moderate figure, attempting to reconcile the two sides and promote internal peace. It was largely due to his urging that Charles VI and his sons were not present at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Remembering his father's fate as a captive after the Battle of Poitiers 59 years before, Berry feared the fate of France should the king and his heirs be taken captive, and successfully prevented their participation. He died a few months after the battle, which proved as disastrous as he had feared.

John of Berry was also a notable patron who among other works commissioned the most famous Book of Hours, the TrËs Riches Heures. His spending on his art collection severely taxed his estates, and he was deeply in debt when he died in 1416.

Family/Spouse: Joanna Of ARMAGNAC. Joanna was born in 1346; died in 1387. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Count of Montpensier Charles Of BERRY was born in 1362; died in 1382.
2. Marie Of BERRY was born in 1367; died in 1434.
3. Louis Of BERRY was born in 1364; died in 1383.
4. Count of Montpensier John Of BERRY was born in 1363; died in 1401.
5. Bonne Of BERRY was born in 1365; died in 1435.

Notes:

Wikipedia Encyclopedia:
John II of France (French: Jean II de France; April 16, 1319?April 8, 1364), was Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, and Duke of Normandy from 1332, Count of Poitiers from 1344, and Duke of Guyenne from 1345, and King of France from 1350 until his death, as well as Duke of Burgundy from 1361 on. John was a member of the Valois Dynasty and was the son of Philippe VI and Jeanne of Burgundy. John was nicknamed John the Good (Jean le Bon).

John's coronation as king took place in 1350 in the Notre-Dame de Reims. As king, John surrounded himself with poor administrators, preferring to enjoy the good life his wealth as king brought. The men he relied on to administer his kingdom were brutal thieves but eventually King Jean changed.

In the 1356 Battle of Poitiers against Edward, the Black Prince (son of King Edward III of England), Jean suffered a humiliating defeat and was taken as captive back to England. While negotiating a peace accord, he was at first held in the Savoy Palace, then at a variety of locations, including Windsor, Hertford, Somerton Castle in Lincolnshire, and Berkhamsted Castle in Hertfordshire. A local tradition in St Albans is that he was held in a house in that town, at the site of the 15th-century Fleur de Lys inn, before he was moved to Hertford. There is a sign on the inn to that effect, but apparently no evidence to confirm the tradition [1]. Eventually, John was taken to the Tower of London.

As a prisoner of the English, John was granted royal privileges, permitted to travel about, and to enjoy a regal lifestyle. At a time when law and order was breaking down in France and the government was having a hard time raising money for the defense of the realm, his account books during his captivity show that he was purchasing horses, pets and clothes while maintaining an astrologer and a court band.[citation needed]

The 1360 Treaty of BrÈtigny set his ransom at 3,000,000 crowns. In keeping with the honor between himself and King Edward III, and leaving his son Louis of Anjou in English-held Calais as a replacement hostage, John was allowed to return to France to raise his ransom funds.

While King John tried to raise the money, his son Louis, accorded the same royal dignity, easily escaped from the English. An angry King John surrendered himself again to the English, claiming an inability to pay the ransom as the reason. The true motive of John's decision remains murky today, with many pointing to the devastation in France caused by war with England and the Jacquerie peasant uprising as likely candidates. His councillors and nearly the whole nation was critical of the decision, since they had raised the ransom through painstaking sacrifice. However Jean arrived in England in early 1364, looked upon by ordinary citizens and English royalty alike with great admiration. Accordingly, he was held as an honored prisoner in the Savoy Palace but died in London a few months later.

His body was returned to France, where he was interred in the royal chambers at Saint Denis Basilica

John married Bonne Of BOHEMIA. Bonne (daughter of John I King Of BOHEMIA and Elizabeth Of BOHEMIA) was born on 20 May 1315; died on 11 Sep 1349. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]