[MR] Wikipedia: Death of Charles the Mad

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble friends,

On this date in 1422, Charles VI, the King of France died. He is also known
as *Charles le Fol* (English: "Charles the Mad") for the insanity which
plagued him for most of his adult life.

Charles came to the throne on 16 September 1380 at the age of 11. Because
of his age, Charles was guided by a council of regents, notably his uncles
Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and John, the famous Duke of Berry. At
the age of 20 in 1388, Charles assumed full reign of France.

His first major bout of madness came in July 1392. After a botched
assination attempt on a royal advisor, Charles mounted an expedition to
arrest the would-be killer Pierre de Craon who was hiding in Brittany under
the protection of John, Duke of Brittany (Brittany was at that time
independent from France). Along the route Charles was harassed by a mad
leper who warned the king that doom would fall upon him unless he turned
back. This appeared to rattle Charles, and later when a page accidently
clanged a lance, Charles went berserk, shouting that he had been betrayed.
He drew his sword and killed at least one of his own knights and several
other men. The king was finally dragged from the saddle by his men and then
lapsed into a coma from which he did not emerge for two months.

After seeming to recover, Charles held a masque called the Bal des Ardents
in January 1393. He and several of his high nobles danced as wild men in
costumes with hair held on by pitch. One of the men caught fire from a
torch, and it spread to the other dancers. Although the king escaped with
only superficial burns, four of his fellow dancers were burned to death
before the horrified court.

Although Charles did have periods of sanity, from this point on he was
largely confined to his bricked-up palace in Paris, the *Hôtel
Saint-Pol.* Charles
sometimes did not recognize his Queen or other family members, often
refused to bathe for months on end, and wandered mindlessly through the
palace. He also developed the "glass delusion", believing that he was made
of glass and would shatter if anyone touched him.

Some commentators believe that Charles inherited his madness through his
mother, Joanna of Bourbon, whose ancestors also had issues with mental
health. Charles' daughter Catherine of Valois, married Henry V of England,
and possibly passed the illness to their son who reigned King Henry VI. He
later suffered bouts of mental instability, leading to his eventual
overthrow by Edward IV and possible murder while imprisoned in the Tower of
London. But that's another story for later.

You can read more about Charles the Mad at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_VI_of_France .

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
Continuing a crusade to keep the original Merry Rose relevant and in
business.