On a cloudy winter day on February 22, 1403, Paris was engulfed in fun - another prince was born in the royal family. This event, in itself not so rare, in this case was fateful for France, since its future king Charles 7 was born, who went down in history with the title "Winner". That's just about who and at what cost he managed to defeat, the story will go in our article.
Young Dauphin - heir to the throne
His parents - the French king Charles VI the Mad, who fully justified the nickname given to him, and his wife, the incomparable Isabella of Bavaria, Charles was already the fifth son, but it so happened that all his predecessors died at an early age, freeing him thus the path to the throne.
According to contemporaries, from an early age, the qualities inherent in a true monarch appeared in him - fearlessness, a thirst for power and cold prudence. It seemed that fate itself was destined to command him. However, the path to the throne is not always straight and easy. This fifteen-year-old dauphin, the heir to the throne, had to be convinced when the supporters of the dukeBurgundy, his father's political opponent, captured Paris, forcing him to flee in disgrace.
Barrier to the throne
The next blow of fate Charles 7 received in 1421, when his parents unexpectedly set out to deprive him of the right to the crown, declaring him illegitimate. For this purpose, a version was made public, according to which, he was the fruit of the secret love of his mother, Queen Isabella, and a certain court ladies' man, whose name, however, was not mentioned.
This turn of events threatened with serious complications, confusion and bloodshed, because in this case two more contenders for the throne became the Duke of Orleans and the young son of the recently deceased King Henry V. Young and still inexperienced in political intrigues, Charles needed powerful support, and he got it by marrying the daughter of Yolanda of Aragon, who was the queen of four kingdoms at once - Naples, Jerusalem, Sicily and Aragon.
Appearance of the Maid of Orleans
But, even having the patronage of such an extraordinary mother-in-law and remaining with her support the main contender for the throne, Charles was not able to solve the main problem - to expel the British, who by that time had captured a significant part of the French kingdom and tried to force their henchman.
Having neither the strength nor the determination to fight, the Dauphin limited himself to managing an insignificant territory south of the Loire. It is possible that this land would have had to be ceded if not for a miracle. They became a young girl who lived in the village of Domremi onborder of Lorraine and believed in its higher destiny. Her name was Joan of Arc. She went down in history under the name of the Maid of Orleans.
The long-awaited coronation
Appearing to the local duke and telling him that it was she who was chosen by God to save France, the girl demanded to help her get to the city of Chinon, where, as she knew, Charles 7 was then. Not knowing how to react to such crazy words, the ruler nevertheless provided her with protection and, in addition, provided the necessary papers.
The rest is known more from legends than from documentary sources. But rumor claims that, having learned about the arrival of such an unusual guest, the Dauphin decided to test her. To this end, he put one of the courtiers in his place, and he settled himself a little further away. How great was the general amazement when the village girl, who had never seen Karl before, spoke to him, ignoring the rest of those present.
Considering this as a sign from above, Karl 7 noticeably cheered up. Expressing a desire to finally fulfill his destiny, he immediately went to Reims, where the ceremonies of accession to the throne of French monarchs were traditionally performed. The coronation of Charles 7.
Death of Joan of Arc
Hundreds of volumes of historical research have been written about what happened next. They describe in detail how, inspired by Jeanne, the French, on the way to Reims, liberated one city after another from the British, how Orleans was liberated and how thanks to herCharles 7, King of France, finally ascended the throne. Her fame spread throughout the country, and her name became the banner under which the people drove the invaders from their land.
But they also contain a story about how on May 23, 1430, in the battle for the city of Compiègne, the Maid of Orleans was betrayed by her compatriots and ended up in the hands of the hated English. A week later, she was burned on charges of heresy. Many claim that since then the smoke of her fire fills the air of France with bitterness. The death of the girl became a curse that the entire dynasty of Charles 7 suffered. Having the opportunity to save Jeanne - the heavenly mission that granted him the crown and throne, he vilely left her in the hands of the executioners.
The fighting spirit that the Maid of Orleans instilled in her people proved to be indestructible even after her death. In the next four years, the French almost completely expelled the invaders from their land, and Charles 7, King of France, annexed Burgundy, previously hostile to him, to his possessions.
Under the burden of the curse
Thanks to the expulsion of the British and the pacification of recalcitrant vassals, he went down in history as Charles VII the Conqueror. But the curse that he brought upon himself and his descendants was not slow to affect the last years of his life. It is often said that evil begets evil. Having betrayed his savior, he himself became a victim of the betrayal of the person closest to him - the son and heir to the throne, the future King Louis XI.
Excessive lust for power forced the young Dauphin to entangle his father with a network of dirty intrigues, the purpose of which was to overthrow him. Only the expulsion of Louisin distant possession, Apanage saved the king from an inevitable bloody denouement. But even there, Louis did not deviate from his plan. Fleeing from his place of exile, he joined his father's worst enemy, Duke Philip of Burgundy, ironically nicknamed "The Good".
The Mad King
For almost the entire year 1458, the king lay on the bed of illness, which was the result of an infection that got into the wound he received during the pacification of the rebellious vassal Jean d׳Armagnac. At times, it seemed to the courtiers that he was close to death, but by the will of Providence, the king lived for another three years, repeatedly sending letters to his son, in which he begged to return and promised forgiveness.
But Louis' heart turned to stone. In anticipation of his father's death, he openly expressed his impatience, and even hired astrologers, from whom he hoped to learn her exact day and hour. This was reported to Karl, and his mind could not stand it. The king spent the last year of his life in an unceasing nightmare. Afraid of being poisoned by the order of his son, he barely touched food, which caused him to lose strength and melt in front of those around him. The obsessive idea of the assassination did not allow him to leave his own chambers. Fear of a hired killer turned the king into a prisoner doomed to eternal seclusion.
The end of life and the end of the reign
In the middle of the summer of 1461, the king's condition deteriorated extremely. To the clouding of consciousness was added a swelling of the throat, which did not allow him to take even the meager food that he allowed himself. As a result, on July 22, he died of complete exhaustion and was buried in the abbey of Saint-Denis, where the ashes of his parents rested.
Charles 7, whose brief biography formed the basis of this article, despite the shame associated with the death of Joan of Arc, entered the history of France as a king who did a lot for its prosperity. In particular, under him, the country was centralized under the rule of a single monarch, and for the first time a regular army appeared in it, which included units of the gendarmerie - heavy knights clad in a full set of armor.
It was he who became the founder of the University of Poitiers and the creator of the economic system, which significantly increased the standard of living of all segments of the population. And today, no matter how the researchers of that era treated his personality, they are forced to admit that after 32 years of reign (1429-1461), leaving this world, Charles left France in a better condition than he had received.
