[MR] Wikipedia: Death of John, Duke of Berry

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble friends,

I made a terrible faux pas. Charles V was indeed king of France, but it was
his son Charles VI (John of Berry's nephew) who went mad.

Charles VI's daughter Catherine of Valois was married off to English King
Henry V. Their child was Henry VI, was also plagued by a madness that led
to his eventual deposition and murder by Edward IV (who then usurped the
throne). Interesting speculation: Did Catherine of Valois carry a defective
gene inherited from her father to her son?

Yours Aye,

Mungo  🦆

On Mon, Jun 15, 2026 at 6:27 AM Garth Groff and Sally Sanford <
mallardlodge1000 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Noble Friends,
>
> On this date in 1416 John, Duke of Berry, died of natural causes.
>
> John was the third among the four surviving sons of French King John II
> (aka "John the Good"). King John created duchies to provide income for the
> three junior sons, so in 1360 the younger John was created Duke of Berry
> and Auvergne. He was also Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. Not a bad haul!
>
> John's eldest brother was the next king of France Charles V (aka "Charles
> the Mad"). John served as co-regent of France from 1382-1388 during
> Charles' periods of insanity. He was brother to Louis I, Duke of Anjou, and
> Philip II (Philip "the Bold"), Duke of Burgundy, both of whom were
> co-regents. The regency broke down as the next generation succeeded to the
> office, eventually resulting in civil war between the Armagnac/Anjou and
> Burgundian factions. John generally sided with the Armagnacs, but tried
> (pretty much unsuccessfully) to be a voice of reason between the two
> factions. Meanwhile France drifted from defeat to defeat by the English in
> the Hundred Years War.
>
> The Duke of Berry is best known for his art patronage, particularly The *Très
> Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, *a lavishly illustrated Book of Hours, as
> well as other surviving illuminated books and several expensive decorative
> items. John liked living the high life, and employed the only best artisans
> and poets, but this left him deeply in debt by his death in 1416.
>
> More about John, Duke of Berry is found at
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John,_Duke_of_Berry .
>
> A Wikipedia page on the *Très Riches Heures* is at
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C3%A8s_Riches_Heures_du_Duc_de_Berry .
>
> An electronic version of the whole book is at
> https://les-tres-riches-heures.chateaudechantilly.fr/ .
>
> Yours Aye,
>
> Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
> Continuing a crusade to keep the original Merry Rose relevant and in
> business.
>