[MR] Birth of John Duke of Berry

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

On this date in 1340, John, Duke of Berry (and a whole mess of other
titles), was born. He was the third son of King John II of France.

John, the Duke, rose to be one of the most important figures in France. He
and his brother Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, were the most powerful
men on the regency council that ruled France during the minority and later
insanity of their nephew, King Charles VI (aka "Charles the Mad"). Rivalry
between Philip and another royal nephew, Louis the Duke of Orléans,
eventually led to a disastrous civil war between Burgundy and the Orléans/
Armagac faction. Although allied with the Armagacs via the marriage of his
daughter Bonne of Berry into the Armagac house, John attempted to moderate
between the two sides. Sorry, but he failed. Failed miserably. The
factional fighting allowed the English to make all sorts of mischief in
France during that phase of the Hundred Years War, and eventually Burgundy
allied itself with England.

John is best remembered as a prolific art patron and collector. His
illuminated manuscript LE TRES RICHES HEURES, is one of the greatest art
treasures of France. Thanks to the flattery by the artists he patronized,
the Heures and other works include portraits of John, so his face is well
known (along with his fuzzy hat, his various castles, his banquets, and a
lot of other interesting stuff). It was just one of a number of costly
illuminated books John commissioned. When John died in 1416, he was deeply
in debt through high living and his art collections. Like they say, "Die
broke!" The Duke of Berry not only died broke, but he did it with real
class.

More about the Duke of Berry is at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John,_Duke_of_Berry .

LE TRES RICHES HEURES, including many of illuminations, can be explored at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Très_Riches_Heures_du_Duc_de_Berry .

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆