Everything about John The Fearless totally explained
John the Fearless (
French:
Jean sans Peur), also
John II, Duke of Burgundy, known as
John of Valois and
John of Burgundy (
May 28 1371 –
September 10 1419), was
Duke of Burgundy from 1404 to 1419.
Biography
Early life
Born in
Dijon, John was the son of
Philip the Bold and
Margaret III, Countess of Flanders. As heir apparent, he used the title of
Count of Nevers from 1384 to 1405, when after his accession he ceded it to his brother
Philip.
In 1385, John married
Margaret of Bavaria, daughter of
Albrecht of Bavaria, Count of Holland and Hainaut, to consolidate his position in the Low Countries, after cancelling his engagement with Catherine of France, daughter of king
Charles V of France.
Before his accession to the
Duchy of Burgundy, John was one of the principal leaders of the French forces sent to aid King
Sigismund of
Hungary in his war against
Sultan Bayezid I. John fought in the
battle of Nicopolis (
September 25,
1396) with such enthusiasm and bravery that he was given the nickname of
Fearless (
Sans-Peur). Nevertheless he was taken prisoner and released only in the next year, against an enormous ransom paid by his father.
Conflict against Louis of Orléans
John was invested as duke of Burgundy in 1404 and almost immediately entered into open conflict against
Louis of Orléans, younger brother of the increasingly mad Charles VI. Both men attempted to fill the power vacuum left by the demented king.
John played a game of marriages, exchanging his daughter Marguerite for Michelle of Valois, who would marry his heir,
Philip the Good. He didn't overlook, however, the importance of the middle class of merchants and tradesman or the University of Paris.
Louis tried to gain the favor of
Queen Isabeau, and may have become her lover. After a game of hide and seek in which his son-in-law, the
Dauphin, was successively kidnapped and recovered by both parties, the Duke of Burgundy managed to gain appointment by royal decree – during one of the King's "absent" periods when mental illness manifested itself – as guardian of the Dauphin and the king's children. This didn't improve the relations between John and Louis.
Soon the two rivals descended into making open threats. Their uncle,
John, Duke of Berry, secured a vow of solemn reconciliation, but three days later, on
November 23,
1407 Louis was brutally assassinated in the streets of Paris. He was attacked after mounting his horse by a party of men who literally amputated his arms so that he was defenseless. The order, no one doubted, had come from the Duke of Burgundy, who shortly admitted to the deed and declared it to be a justifiable act of "
tyrannicide". After an escape from Paris and a few skirmishes against the Orléans party, John managed to recover the king's favour. In the treaty of
Chartres, signed on
March 9,
1409, the king absolved the Duke of Burgundy of the crime, and he and Louis's son
Charles pledged a reconciliation. A later edict renewed John's guardianship of the Dauphin.
Even with the Orléans dispute resolved to his favour, John wouldn't have an easy life. Charles of Orléans gathered allies, among them
Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac, to support his claims for the property that had been confiscated from him. Peace was solemnly sworn in 1410, and John returned to Burgundy, and Bernard remained in Paris and reportedly shared the queen's bed. Armagnac's party wasn't contented with political power, and, after a series of riots and attacks against the citizens, John was recalled to the capital. However, he was sent back to Burgundy in 1413.
At this time king
Henry V of England invaded French territory and threatened to attack Paris. John participated in the peace negotiations, but with dubious intent. Although he talked of helping his sovereign, his troops took no part in the
Battle of Agincourt (in 1415), where two of his brothers,
Antoine, Duke of Brabant, and
Philip II, Count of Nevers, died fighting for France.
Conflict with the Dauphin
» See also
Two years later, John's troops set about the task of gaining Paris. On
May 30,
1418, he captured the city, but not before the
Dauphin (the traditional name of the
heir apparent to the throne of France), the future
Charles VII of France, had escaped. John then installed himself in the city and made himself protector of the King. Although not an open ally of the English, John did nothing to prevent the surrender of
Rouen in 1419. With the whole of northern France in English hands and Paris occupied by Burgundy, the Dauphin tried to bring about a reconciliation with John. They met in July and swore peace on the bridge of Pouilly, near
Melun. On the grounds that peace wasn't sufficiently assured by the Pouilly meeting, a fresh interview was proposed by the Dauphin to take place on
September 10,
1419 on the bridge at Montereau. John of Burgundy was present with his escort for what he considered a diplomatic meeting. He was, however, assassinated by the Dauphin's companions. He was later buried in
Dijon.
Ancestors
Family
John and
Margaret of Bavaria had the following children:
- Catherine (1391–1414, Ghent)
- Marie (1393 – October 30, 1463, Monterberg bei Kalkar). She married Adolph I, Duke of Cleves. They were the great-grandparents of Johann III, Duke of Cleves, father of Anne of Cleves who was fourth Queen consort of Henry VIII of England.
- Marguerite, duchess of Guyenne (1394 – February 2, 1441, Paris), married on August 30, 1404 Louis of Valois the Dauphin (heir of king Charles VI of France), then on October 10, 1422 Arthur de Richemont, the future Duke of Brittany
- Philip the Good (1396–1467)
- Isabelle (d. September 18, 1412, Rouvre), married at Arras on July 22, 1406 to Olivier de Châtillon-Blois, Count of Penthièvre and Périgord
- Jeanne (b. 1399, Bouvres), d. young
- Anne of Burgundy (1404 – November 14, 1432, Paris), married John, Duke of Bedford
- Agnes of Burgundy (1407 – December 1, 1476, Château de Moulins), married Charles I, Duke of Bourbon
John also had several illegitimate children, including the colourful John of Burgundy,
Bishop of Cambrai from 1439 to 1479.
Titles
1384–1404: Count of Nevers as John I
27 April 1404–10 September 1419: Duke of Burgundy as John II
21 March 1405–10 September 1419: Count Palatine of Burgundy as John I
21 March 1405–10 September 1419: Count of Artois as John I
21 March 1405–10 September 1419: Count of Flanders as John I
27 April 1404–28 January 1405: Count of Charolais as John IFurther Information
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