Charles VII (France)

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Charles VII

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Charles VII (Charles the Well Served), 1403-61, king of France (1422-61), son and successor of Charles VI. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years War . Although excluded from the throne by the Treaty of Troyes , Charles took the royal title after his father's death (1422) and ruled S of the Loire, while John of Lancaster, duke of Bedford , who was regent for King Henry VI of England, controlled the north and Guienne (Aquitaine). Vacillating and easily influenced by corrupt favorites, particularly Georges de La Trémoille , Charles waged only perfunctory warfare against the English. He was prodded into action by the siege of Orléans (1429) in which Joan of Arc helped save the city from the English. After the capture of Orléans, Charles was crowned (1429) at Reims. He reverted to his earlier inactivity until 1433, when La Trémoille was replaced by more scrupulous and energetic advisers, such as the comte de Richemont (later Arthur III , duke of Brittany) and the comte de Dunois . In 1435, Charles agreed to the Treaty of Arras , which reconciled him with the powerful duke, Philip the Good of Burgundy, who had been an ally of the English. He recovered Paris the following year. In 1440, Charles suppressed the Praguerie , and in 1444 a truce was signed with England, which lasted until 1449. By the battle of Formigny and the capture of Cherbourg (1450) the English were expelled from Normandy, and the battle of Castillon (1453) resulted in their withdrawal from Guienne. Charles, although dominated by his mistress, Agnès Sorel , proved an able administrator. He reorganized the army and remodeled French finances, established heavy taxation, particularly through the taille, a direct land tax. In 1438, Charles issued the pragmatic sanction of Bourges, which established the liberty of the French Roman Catholic Church from Rome. In his reign commerce was expanded by the enterprise of Jacques Cœur . The end of Charles's rule was disturbed by the intrigues of the dauphin, who succeeded him as Louis XI .

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Charles VII

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | © World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Charles VII ( the Well-served) (1403–61) King of France (1422–61). The son of Charles VI, he was excluded from the throne by the Treaty of Troyes, but gained power as dauphin s of the River Loire when Charles VI died, while the n remained in English hands. With the support of Joan of Arc, he checked the English at Orléans and was crowned king at Reims (1429). The Treaty of Arras (1435) ended the hostility of Burgundy, and by 1453 the English had been driven out of most of France. The king strengthened his authority by re-establishing regular taxation and creating a standing army.

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Charles VII

A Dictionary of World History | 2000 | © A Dictionary of World History 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Charles VII (1403–61) King of France (1422–61). During his youth France was badly ruled by his father Charles the Mad and much territory was lost. Internal quarrels and war with England dominated his reign. At the time of his accession to the throne, much of northern France was under English occupation, including Reims, where he should have been crowned. After the intervention of JOAN OF ARC, however, the French experienced a dramatic military revival and Charles was crowned at Reims in 1429. He established greater control over the Church in the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges of 1438, which upheld the right of the French Church to administer its property and nominate clergy to benefices, independently of the papacy. His reign eventually saw the defeat of the English and the end of the HUNDRED YEARS WAR. Having recovered most of the land his country had lost to the English, he modernized the administration of the army and did much to lay the foundations of French power in the following decades.

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DNA analysis of hair from the royal mistress of Charles VII of France has indicated that she may have been murdered in 1450 by mercury poisoning.(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: History Today; 6/1/2005; 584 words ; ...hair from the royal mistress of Charles VII of France has indicated that she may have...official mistress to a king of France, Agnes Sorel died, aged twenty...future king Louis XI, the son of Charles, paid an official to poison Sorel...
To the battlefield or the table?(Charles VII)
Magazine article from: Calliope; 4/1/2008; ; 700+ words ; ...factions that vied for Charles' support. Since he had been named Dauphin, Charles had tried to win over...to be crowned king of France as well. To do so, however...would mean eliminating Charles VII. Some on the French side...
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Magazine article from: Calliope; 4/1/2008; ; 700+ words ; ...The coronation of France's revered king Charlemagne...Her Dauphin was now Charles VII, the consecrated king of France. As she watched the...kneel in front of Charles VII. Embracing the king...another 20 years before France was liberated. Joan...
Meeting with the Dauphin.(Joan of Arc's meeting with Charles VII)
Magazine article from: Calliope; 4/1/2008; ; 700+ words ; ...addressed as her Dauphin. Charles was, in fact, the legitimate heir to the throne of France, but he had been exiled...VI king of England and France. Although Charles had continued to call himself regent of France, his situation was desperate...
Henry VII and Charles the Bold: brothers under the skin? (similarities in ruling styles)(includes bibliography)
Magazine article from: History Today; 4/1/1996; ; 700+ words ; ...1485-1509 as Henry VII) and Charles the Bold (1467-77...threshold of Tudor glory. Charles was the great destroyer...earlier campaigns against France - in addition to meeting...notably that of the court. Charles' average annual expenditure...
The Man Who Sacked Rome: Charles de Bourbon, Constable of France, 1490-1527.
Magazine article from: Renaissance Quarterly; 3/22/1996; ; 700+ words ; ...the foremost nobles of France as well as a heroic and...appointment as constable of France in 1515. In that year...s enemy, the Emperor Charles V, and to begin preparations...domains and rights in France. Pitts shows how he...enemy, Pope Clement VII. However, he was mortally...
On to Orleans!(Joan of Arc and Chales VII)
Magazine article from: Calliope; 4/1/2008; ; 700+ words ; ...chosen to aid France in ending the...Dauphin crowned as Charles VII. Her first task...was crowned Charles VII of France. Although the...areas of northern France switched their loyalty to Charles VII, thereby helping...
Gregory VII and the Politics of the Spirit.
Magazine article from: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life; 1/1/1999; ; 700+ words ; ...century and Pope Gregory VII. Next month: David Novak...eleventh century, Gregory VII. In thinking about the...a meadow in Clermont, France calling on Christians...only to be stopped by Charles Martel in 732 at the battle of Poitiers in southern France. In the face of such...
The man who would be king Blair Worden praises this vivid Life of Perkin Warbeck, the Flemish boatman's son who staked a claim for Henry VII's throne
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Magazine article from: History Today; 1/1/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...coronation of the Dauphin as Charles VII of France at Reims in July were principally...She inspired the indecisive Charles, uncertain of his own legitimacy...Dauphin (by then actually Charles VII) to his duty to save France from ruin. The treatise declared...

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