Charles VI le Fou

King of France · 1380-1422 · born on 3 December 1368, died on 21 October 1422

Anointed at twelve in 1380, Charles VI began his reign under the tutelage of his uncles, whom he set aside in 1388 to govern in person. In 1392, while leading an expedition against the duke of Brittany, he was struck by the first attack of madness, on 5 August, in the forest of Le Mans.

From then on, the king alternated flashes of lucidity with long periods of dementia. Nicknamed “the Beloved” before his crises, he kept the affection of his subjects. His reign was torn apart by the civil war between the Armagnacs and the Burgundians, which continued throughout the Hundred Years’ War. In 1420, the Treaty of Troyes disinherited his son — the future Charles VII — in favour of Henry V of England.

Overwhelmed by the factions, Charles VI died in 1422, a few months after Henry V. His reign, which had opened under good auspices, ended with a weakened and deeply divided kingdom.

In the tree of power

Further reading