1407: The Assassination of Louis of Orléans and the Start of Civil War
p5Charles VI: Minority, Madness, and Civil War (1380–1422) · HIGH MIDDLE AGES
After 1392, the king’s intermittent incapacity made the council unstable. Two poles opposed each other: the party of Louis of Orléans (the king’s brother) and that of the Dukes of Burgundy. Their rivalry concerned power, but above all access to fiscal resources and offices.
👥 A Monarchy without a Constant Arbitrator
When Charles VI was in crisis, royal arbitration disappeared. Decisions were made by force of circumstance, and state policy became the stake of a court competition that spread throughout the kingdom.
⚔️ 23 November 1407: Political Murder
On 23 November 1407, John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, had Louis of Orléans assassinated. The shock was immense: it was a murder within the royal family itself, transforming a rivalry into a lasting conflict.
This assassination opened a civil war between the Armagnacs (around the allies of Orléans) and the Burgundians (around the Duchy of Burgundy), fracturing the kingdom and offering its external enemies an opportunity to return.
🧠 Key Takeaways
- The king’s madness made government vulnerable to factions.
- 1407 was a tipping point: politics became civil war.