1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:04,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:14,160 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener Discretion advised, Hey, this 3 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 1: is Dana Schwartz, the host of Noble Blood. I am 4 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,160 Speaker 1: so excited that my novel Immortality is now I'm pretty 5 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,079 Speaker 1: sure officially out in the world, and it would mean 6 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:27,080 Speaker 1: the world to me if you went out and ordered 7 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: a copy, or found one, or gave it as a gift. 8 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:32,280 Speaker 1: It's a story of a young woman in regency London 9 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: and a lot of historical characters that I've covered on 10 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:38,000 Speaker 1: this podcast and make an appearance. I don't want to 11 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:40,600 Speaker 1: spoil more than that, but if you like this podcast, 12 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,240 Speaker 1: I really think you'll like it. It's called Immortality, a 13 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:45,839 Speaker 1: love story, let's see. Other than that, if you want 14 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:48,480 Speaker 1: to support our show, you can do that at patreon 15 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: dot com slash Noble Blood Tales. We have merch that 16 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: I've linked in the episode description and as always, just 17 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:05,319 Speaker 1: thanks for listening. Let's get into it. Paris, fourteen o seven. 18 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 1: On a cold November night, Jacquette Griffard was putting her 19 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:12,840 Speaker 1: baby to bed on the top floor of their house 20 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:17,119 Speaker 1: on the Rueviet Detont around her residents of the city 21 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: were settling in. Torches were extinguished, and doors were being 22 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:25,679 Speaker 1: barred against the chilled night air. From the street below her, 23 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:29,400 Speaker 1: Jacques could hear the clip clup of a mule's hoofs 24 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: She peered out of her window and saw a small 25 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:38,240 Speaker 1: party traveling toward her, a nobleman at its center, singing merrily. 26 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 1: She watched the group for a minute and then turned 27 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:45,240 Speaker 1: back to her baby. Suddenly she heard a cry from 28 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: the street. Kill him, Kill him, A man shouted. Jaquette 29 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: ran back to the window and looked down in horror 30 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: as a group of masked men emerged from the shadows 31 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:00,520 Speaker 1: and set upon the nobleman and his party. A man 32 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: in a red hood swung his axe at the nobleman, 33 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: severing his hand and knocking him to the ground. The 34 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 1: noblemen looked frantically around him. Two of his attendants had 35 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:14,520 Speaker 1: abandoned him in their fright, another two had been carried 36 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,800 Speaker 1: away by their spook horse. Two more had tried to 37 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 1: defend their lord, only to be brought down by the mob. 38 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 1: The nobleman was alone, surrounded by assailants. Blood gushed from 39 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:30,800 Speaker 1: the stump of his wrist as he crouched pitifully on 40 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:34,359 Speaker 1: the ground. What is this, he pleaded, What are you doing? 41 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: The masked men said nothing, just closed in, slashing him 42 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: with their swords and axes. They meant to kill him, 43 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: but they took their time with it, dealing the nobleman painful, 44 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 1: not fatal blows. Blood sprayed the street. Jacquette stood frozen 45 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: at her window, holding her baby as one man raised 46 00:02:56,840 --> 00:02:59,959 Speaker 1: his axe and brought it down on the nobleman's head, 47 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 1: splitting his skull nearly in half, sending part of his 48 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: brain into the gutter. Shocked out of her silence, Jacques 49 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: had screamed from her second story window. Murder, murder. She 50 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 1: didn't know it then, but she had just witnessed one 51 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:21,919 Speaker 1: of the worst crimes of medieval France, a brutal act 52 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 1: that would lead to civil war. Because the nobleman who 53 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: now lay dead in the street, oozing blood, missing teeth 54 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,720 Speaker 1: and a hand and part of his brain was Louis, 55 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:40,520 Speaker 1: Duke of Orleans, brother of the King of France. I'm 56 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: Dana Schwartz, and this is noble blood. Close relatives of 57 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 1: royals are often powerful figures in society, but rarely more 58 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: so than during the reign of King Charles, the sixth 59 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 1: of France. Since thirteen ninety two, Charles had suffered bouts 60 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:09,560 Speaker 1: of severe mental illness, rendering him unable to rule. For 61 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: more on Charles's specific problems, including periods of believing he 62 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 1: was made of glass, you can listen to our episode Charles, 63 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:21,320 Speaker 1: the Beloved, the Mad, the Fool. You might recall a 64 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: sad story we talked about in that episode from before 65 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:28,240 Speaker 1: Charles's descent into madness, where he and some of his 66 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:33,600 Speaker 1: men dressed up as wild men for a costume ball. Unfortunately, 67 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:37,920 Speaker 1: their costumes were extremely flammable, and when the king's brother 68 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: leaned in with a torch to get a better look 69 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:44,600 Speaker 1: at them, the men went up in flames. The king survived, 70 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:48,480 Speaker 1: but four of his friends did not. Years later, the 71 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:52,560 Speaker 1: king would fall into the madness that incapacitated him as 72 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: a ruler. During the king's absences, control of the country 73 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 1: fell to his closest relatives, his uncles, the Dukes of Berry, 74 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 1: Burbant and Burgundy, and his brother Louis, Duke of Orleans, 75 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 1: who happened to have been the one with the torch 76 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 1: leaning in on that fateful night during the ball of 77 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 1: the Burning Men. For most of the thirteen nineties. The 78 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,400 Speaker 1: most prominent of these men controlling France was the Duke 79 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:25,120 Speaker 1: of Burgundy, a man called Philip the Bold. A commanding character, 80 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:28,560 Speaker 1: Philip had earned his nickname thanks to his bravery in 81 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 1: battle when he was just fourteen. Now middle aged, Philip 82 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: controlled unparalleled wealth and land, and used his position on 83 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: the King's Council as his uncle to take even more. 84 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: Philip wasn't alone in this self interested approach to ruling. 85 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:50,040 Speaker 1: Being on the King's Council gave all of the dukes 86 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:53,240 Speaker 1: the power to enrich themselves, and they didn't hesitate to 87 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:57,040 Speaker 1: do so. Many of them had served on Charles's Regency 88 00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:00,120 Speaker 1: Council during the first years of his reign, since the 89 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:02,640 Speaker 1: king had been crowned at the young age of eleven, 90 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,040 Speaker 1: and they had suffered during the years between charles coming 91 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 1: of age and his first episode of mental illness, a 92 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 1: period during which Charles, as a lucid king, brought on 93 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 1: new advisers who advocated for a more equitable distribution of wealth. 94 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 1: These policies had won Charles the love of his subjects, 95 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:26,479 Speaker 1: but not long after he first fell ill in thirteen 96 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: ninety two, they were reversed by the Dukes, who resumed 97 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:34,839 Speaker 1: their earlier program of raiding the treasury and using their 98 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: ill gotten gains to bribe government officials. France was in 99 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:43,960 Speaker 1: a precarious position given its ongoing war with England at 100 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,480 Speaker 1: this point whereabout sixty years into the One Hundred Years War, 101 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 1: but instead of seriously defending their country, the Dukes used 102 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 1: the war as a pretext for raising taxes and reaping 103 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: the prophets. By the late thirteen ninety five, the Dukes 104 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: were all enormously rich, that is, except for the King's 105 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:09,360 Speaker 1: brother Louis. Unlike their uncles, Louis had struggled to assert 106 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:12,960 Speaker 1: himself in the Royal Council. He was also disliked by 107 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:16,720 Speaker 1: much of French society, especially because of his role as 108 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:20,920 Speaker 1: guy who brought a torch to party with flammable costumes. 109 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 1: In general, the French saw Louis as a reckless, greedy 110 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 1: womanizer with an unhealthy interest in the occult. The perception 111 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: wasn't too far off base. Louis loved to gamble, throw 112 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 1: extravagant parties, investigate the dark arts, and seduce married noble women. 113 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:42,880 Speaker 1: He was even rumored to have a private portrait gallery 114 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: consisting of nude paintings of his conquests. In one particularly notorious, 115 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:54,120 Speaker 1: possibly apocryphal, incident of debauchery, Louis was said to have 116 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 1: invited a nobleman to his palace. When the man arrived, 117 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:01,200 Speaker 1: Louis took him into a room which had a naked 118 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:04,560 Speaker 1: woman lying on the bed, her face covered by a veil. 119 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:09,160 Speaker 1: Louis asked the nobleman to judge how beautiful his mistress was. 120 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 1: The horrified man quickly realized that the veiled naked woman 121 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:17,320 Speaker 1: was his wife. Pretty rude of Louis, and if I 122 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 1: had to weigh in, probably a pretty good way of 123 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:25,280 Speaker 1: making enemies. But Louis was also a savvy politician. He 124 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: knew that he had one major advantage over his uncle's 125 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:33,520 Speaker 1: his close relationship with his brother, the King. Louis and 126 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 1: Charles had been inseparable since childhood, when their parents' early 127 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 1: deaths had made them reliant on one another. The King 128 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:46,440 Speaker 1: was also fond of Louie's Italian wife, Valentina Visconti, too fond, 129 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 1: some thought, leading to Valentina's exile from court in thirteen 130 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:55,760 Speaker 1: ninety six due to her rumored witchcraft stories for another time, 131 00:08:56,920 --> 00:09:01,560 Speaker 1: and soon the tide would change. Louis, not his uncles, 132 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:09,880 Speaker 1: would become the dominating force on the king's council. The 133 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:13,960 Speaker 1: transition began in thirteen ninety nine, when an epidemic of 134 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:18,320 Speaker 1: plague exploded in Paris. Louis stayed in the city with 135 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:22,080 Speaker 1: the king, even as other dukes retreated to their country. 136 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 1: Estates This period of constant companionship cemented the brother's relationship forever. 137 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:33,400 Speaker 1: Louis began to receive royal grants, increasing his territory and 138 00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:38,000 Speaker 1: his treasury immensely. With his new resources, he executed a 139 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:42,240 Speaker 1: political shake up, filling the government with his allies, and 140 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:47,200 Speaker 1: as his power grew, Louis's public reputation underwent a makeover. 141 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 1: He became more discreet in his affairs, more mature in 142 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:55,520 Speaker 1: his interests. A man who had once been criticized for 143 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:59,840 Speaker 1: his inappropriate fondness for the finer things was now praise 144 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:04,440 Speaker 1: for his excellent taste. He wasn't extravagant with his money, 145 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:08,280 Speaker 1: he was just generous with it, courtiers exclaimed, as they 146 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:14,079 Speaker 1: conveniently benefited from said generosity. For many As the historian 147 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:19,040 Speaker 1: Jonathan Sumpton writes, Louis was quote the kingly figure that 148 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:23,720 Speaker 1: Charles the sixth might have been less impressed by the 149 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:27,360 Speaker 1: new Louis was Philip, Duke of Burgundy, who saw his 150 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:32,680 Speaker 1: influence wayne as Louis waxed. By Philip's death in fourteen 151 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:35,960 Speaker 1: oh four, Louis had all but supplanted him as the 152 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:40,920 Speaker 1: most powerful man on the Council and perhaps the kingdom. 153 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:46,480 Speaker 1: This reversal did not sit well with Philip's son and heir, John, 154 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 1: Like his father, John was intelligent, ambitious, and determined, but 155 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 1: he lacked his father's legendary diplomatic skills. John was quick 156 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:02,400 Speaker 1: to anger, constantly paranoid, and prone to violence. In the 157 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:07,280 Speaker 1: cutthroat political environment of the Royal Council, these qualities would 158 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:12,080 Speaker 1: both help and hurt him. He adopted a populist strategy, 159 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:16,079 Speaker 1: casting himself as an opponent of the corrupt of indulgent 160 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 1: elites who raised taxes on the poor to feed their 161 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:25,080 Speaker 1: expensive habits, a political class whose most viable representative was Louis, 162 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:32,000 Speaker 1: Duke of Orleons. To what extent John actually believed in 163 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:36,040 Speaker 1: the principles he publicly proclaimed is difficult to know. His 164 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 1: tirades against the government handouts to the rich never stopped 165 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:43,640 Speaker 1: him from accepting those same handouts, but he was a 166 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:48,679 Speaker 1: genuinely skilled administrator and military leader, and the excesses and 167 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:53,240 Speaker 1: inefficiencies he saw in the French government must have infuriated him. 168 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 1: This conflict between John and Louis quickly escalated. The French public, 169 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:03,440 Speaker 1: especially the Parisians, were sick of the high taxes raised 170 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:07,520 Speaker 1: by the Royal Council. Simultaneously, the members of the Royal 171 00:12:07,559 --> 00:12:11,439 Speaker 1: Council were getting concerned at how much power Louis had. 172 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:15,559 Speaker 1: In July fourteen o five, things came to a head 173 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:20,400 Speaker 1: when King Charles, briefly of sound mind, agreed to summon 174 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:25,480 Speaker 1: an emergency council in Paris to address the state of affairs. John, 175 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:30,360 Speaker 1: with his characteristic light touch, decided to bring six hundred 176 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:33,440 Speaker 1: armed men with him to the meeting. Upon hearing of this, 177 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:36,640 Speaker 1: Louis rallied his own troops and headed to the city. 178 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:40,400 Speaker 1: Battle lines were drawn in the Royal Council, which was 179 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:44,760 Speaker 1: pretty evenly split between the two men, but those lines 180 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 1: were also being drawn in Paris, where nearly all of 181 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:53,720 Speaker 1: the citizens supported John. For months, France teetered on the 182 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:58,559 Speaker 1: edge of civil war, but war is expensive. The Dukes, 183 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:03,280 Speaker 1: who had allied themselves with Louis and John eventually started 184 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:08,600 Speaker 1: to withdraw their men, citing costs. Louis and John, despite 185 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:13,240 Speaker 1: their vast wealth, were also feeling the financial burn. On 186 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:17,560 Speaker 1: October sixteenth, the men reached a truce, vowing to keep 187 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:22,360 Speaker 1: the peace and be brothers forever. Unsurprisingly, this happy moment 188 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:27,040 Speaker 1: did not last. To prevent further power struggles of this sort, 189 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:31,280 Speaker 1: the Council was recognized with Queen Isabeu, the King's wife, 190 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:34,440 Speaker 1: at its head. The thought was that the Queen would 191 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:38,440 Speaker 1: be an impartial vote, serving only the best interests of 192 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 1: her husband and their kingdom. In reality, it put Isabeau 193 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:47,079 Speaker 1: in an impossible position and gave Louis an advantage. Over 194 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:51,280 Speaker 1: the years, he and Isabeau had formed a close relationship, 195 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: which was sometimes rumored to be romantic. Throughout fourteen oh 196 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:00,520 Speaker 1: five and fourteen o six, Louis and John made maintained 197 00:14:00,559 --> 00:14:05,160 Speaker 1: a cordial, if chile relationship, but they couldn't trust each other, 198 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:09,800 Speaker 1: and in April fourteen oh seven, Louis struck a decisive 199 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:13,720 Speaker 1: blow against his rival at a meeting attended by the King, 200 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:17,520 Speaker 1: the Dauphin, and all of the major Royal Council members 201 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:20,800 Speaker 1: except for John, who was not invited, the Council was 202 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:26,160 Speaker 1: once again reorganized. John's allies were removed not just from 203 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:30,200 Speaker 1: the Council, but also from the Treasury and Finance departments. 204 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 1: When John learned of this policy upon his arrival in 205 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:37,200 Speaker 1: Paris a week later, there was nothing he could do. 206 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:41,480 Speaker 1: With the most important government bodies now aligned against him, 207 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:44,920 Speaker 1: it was impossible for John to access the money the 208 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:48,720 Speaker 1: crown had previously given him to support his duchy. It 209 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:53,000 Speaker 1: was a dire state of affairs. Without money to administer 210 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: his territory, John stood to lose everything. It seemed he 211 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:02,320 Speaker 1: had only one course of an action, reconcile with Louie, 212 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:05,840 Speaker 1: who it appeared, had bested him once and for all. 213 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 1: Despite his stubbornness, John was a clear eyed strategist. Louie 214 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:15,760 Speaker 1: was too powerful to be beaten, So in November John 215 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 1: agreed to a formal reconciliation organized by their uncle, the 216 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 1: Duke of Barry. He and Louis went to Mass together 217 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:30,440 Speaker 1: on November twentieth and exchanged vows of perpetual friendship. Louie, 218 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:36,080 Speaker 1: perhaps relishing his victory, seemed inclined toward graciousness. The two 219 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:39,520 Speaker 1: men had a drink together on November twenty second, and 220 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 1: made plans to meet for dinner later that week. Observers 221 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:47,600 Speaker 1: heaved a collective sigh of relief. With these two great 222 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:52,560 Speaker 1: forces finally at peace, the whole country could now rest easy, 223 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:59,280 Speaker 1: or so they thought, after that fatal ball of the 224 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:03,400 Speaker 1: Burning Man. Back in thirteen ninety three, Louis had endowed 225 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:06,920 Speaker 1: a chapel at the Celestine Priory in Paris as a 226 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:11,320 Speaker 1: part of his penance. Men can contain multitudes. Along with 227 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:16,040 Speaker 1: his proclivity for beautiful women and illicit stories of sorcery, 228 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:20,840 Speaker 1: Louis was also deeply religious. He occasionally spent the night 229 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:24,720 Speaker 1: at the chapel, meditating and praying in the small sleeping 230 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:28,520 Speaker 1: chamber he'd built for that purpose. After one such night 231 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: in November fourteen o seven, according to the seventeenth century 232 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:37,800 Speaker 1: historian Louis Bourie, Duke, Louis woke up panting in terror. 233 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:41,600 Speaker 1: He'd had a terrible nightmare, he told the prior, a 234 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:45,880 Speaker 1: dream of his own death. He found himself, as he said, 235 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:50,600 Speaker 1: in a magnificent orchard filled with gleaming fruit. But when 236 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:53,720 Speaker 1: he reached for the fruit, the figure of death appeared 237 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:58,880 Speaker 1: before him, brandishing its Scythe the black shrouded skeleton told Louis, 238 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: I carry away both the young and the old. Louis 239 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:07,720 Speaker 1: blinked and found himself before the throne of God, waiting 240 00:17:07,840 --> 00:17:11,680 Speaker 1: in agony for judgment. Would it be heaven or hell? 241 00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:15,360 Speaker 1: He would not find out, at least not that night, 242 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:20,800 Speaker 1: because at the moment of judgment Louis awoke profoundly. Rattled 243 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:24,000 Speaker 1: by the dream. He hurried to the Prior and begged 244 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:27,639 Speaker 1: to confess his sins. The Prior heard his confession and 245 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:31,240 Speaker 1: absolved him, but Louis could not shake the dread the 246 00:17:31,359 --> 00:17:35,600 Speaker 1: dream had imparted. It was a strange time for Louis 247 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:38,679 Speaker 1: to be dreaming of his death. After a number of 248 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:42,960 Speaker 1: tumultuous years, his political position was more secure than ever. 249 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 1: He had wealth, influence, and a burgeoning relationship with his 250 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:51,720 Speaker 1: former enemy, John, Duke of Burgundy. But within the week 251 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:59,000 Speaker 1: Louis was dead. Though the Duke may have predicted his 252 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:02,600 Speaker 1: own death, nooe else saw it coming. The people of France, 253 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: noble and common alike, were shocked and horrified by the 254 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:10,040 Speaker 1: brutal crime. The Duke of Orleans may not have been 255 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:13,800 Speaker 1: the most popular figure, but certainly no one deserved to 256 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:19,280 Speaker 1: die like that. The government quickly began an investigation, led 257 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:23,000 Speaker 1: by the Provost of Paris, Guillaume de Tignoville, who the 258 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:28,120 Speaker 1: historian Eric Jagger describes in Blood Royal as quote one 259 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:33,639 Speaker 1: of history's first detectives. De Tignonville had no shortage of suspects. 260 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:37,280 Speaker 1: There were furious husbands of all the women Louis had seduced. 261 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 1: There were angry Parisians impoverished by louis policies. There were 262 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:45,320 Speaker 1: English spies who wanted to weaken the country. There were 263 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:49,159 Speaker 1: the lesser lords whose property Louis had absorbed in his 264 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:53,040 Speaker 1: pursuit of power. And there were his political rivals, including 265 00:18:53,119 --> 00:18:58,000 Speaker 1: of course John. But John and Louis had recently reconciled, 266 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:01,560 Speaker 1: and the Duke of Burgundy seemed devastated by the death 267 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:06,080 Speaker 1: of his longtime enemy turned newfound friend. He had helped 268 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:10,600 Speaker 1: escort Louis Coffin into the Celestine Priory, where he wept 269 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:15,520 Speaker 1: through the funeral service, so Tignonville had to look elsewhere. Fortunately, 270 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:19,840 Speaker 1: there was no shortage of witnesses, including Jacquette, the young 271 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:24,080 Speaker 1: woman who had watched the attack from her window. Deitignonville 272 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:28,119 Speaker 1: and his staff interviewed them all soon a picture of 273 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:32,320 Speaker 1: the crime emerged, and it was not one of random violence, 274 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:37,240 Speaker 1: but of careful, premeditated murder. On the night of his death, 275 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:40,840 Speaker 1: Louis had gone to visit Queen Isabeau at her residence, 276 00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:44,879 Speaker 1: the Hotel Barbette. Two weeks earlier. Isabeau had lost a 277 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 1: newborn son shortly after his birth, and Louis visited regularly 278 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:53,120 Speaker 1: in an attempt to keep her spirits up. At eight o'clock, 279 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:56,280 Speaker 1: a man came to the house, announcing himself as a 280 00:19:56,359 --> 00:19:59,479 Speaker 1: valet of the king and declared that the king needed 281 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:02,959 Speaker 1: to speak to to his brother at once. Louis, along 282 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:07,040 Speaker 1: with his small traveling party, quickly departed, setting off down 283 00:20:07,119 --> 00:20:10,199 Speaker 1: the rue Ville de Tompe. At the intersection of the 284 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:14,760 Speaker 1: Rue des Rosier, he was attacked. After their deadly work 285 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:19,160 Speaker 1: was done, the assailants fled, knocking out any lit torches 286 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:23,480 Speaker 1: they passed to obscure their path and throwing cowtrops clusters 287 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:27,560 Speaker 1: of metal spikes meant to disable pursuing men or horses 288 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:31,680 Speaker 1: behind them. Several observers claimed to have seen the men 289 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:35,159 Speaker 1: coming from a house across the street from Jaquettes, and 290 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:39,600 Speaker 1: d Tignonville later determined that the assassins had rented the 291 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:44,159 Speaker 1: home under false names, using it as a base of operations. 292 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:48,000 Speaker 1: The assailants had begun their search for a house more 293 00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:52,399 Speaker 1: than five months earlier, hinting at the level of planning involved. 294 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:58,159 Speaker 1: All of Paris watched d Tignonville's progress closely. The city 295 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:01,280 Speaker 1: was on lockdown, with all all the gates leading out 296 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:05,560 Speaker 1: tightly shut, and people were arming themselves, fearful that the 297 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:09,720 Speaker 1: murder was only the beginning of the bloodshed. After all, 298 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:12,800 Speaker 1: Louis had been the closest thing they had to a 299 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:16,560 Speaker 1: king at the time, given his brother's mental illness. Now 300 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:20,280 Speaker 1: that Louis was dead, who would keep order in France? 301 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 1: The dukes of the Royal council were asking themselves the 302 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:32,600 Speaker 1: same question. On November twenty seventh, they summoned D'itignonville to 303 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:36,000 Speaker 1: a meeting and asked him to report on his progress. 304 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:40,120 Speaker 1: D'etignonville replied that he had learned many things, but had 305 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:45,199 Speaker 1: not yet gathered enough evidence to conclusively identify the murderers. 306 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,160 Speaker 1: To get to the truth, he told the assembled men 307 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 1: he might need to search the royal residences, including their own. 308 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:57,959 Speaker 1: It was a bold request, one that these high ranking 309 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:01,480 Speaker 1: dukes had every right to refuse, but they knew that 310 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:06,000 Speaker 1: the stability of the government relied on uncovering the murderer. 311 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:10,800 Speaker 1: One by one, they agreed to let de Tignonville search 312 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:15,720 Speaker 1: their homes. All of them agreed, that is, except for John, 313 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:20,919 Speaker 1: Duke of Burgundy. At de Tignonville's request, he had gone pale. 314 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:26,960 Speaker 1: As everyone awaited his answer, an awkward silence grew. Suddenly 315 00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:30,960 Speaker 1: John stood and beckoned for two of his uncles, the 316 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:34,240 Speaker 1: Dukes of Barry and Anjou, to join him in a 317 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:39,040 Speaker 1: side room. Confused, the men agreed. Once they were out 318 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:43,400 Speaker 1: of the council's hearing, John turned to his uncles and exclaimed, 319 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:46,639 Speaker 1: I did it. By the tempting of the devil, I 320 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:51,320 Speaker 1: did it. The Dukes were horrified and shocked. The Duke 321 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:56,800 Speaker 1: of Berry, who had facilitated Louis and John's reconciliation ceremony 322 00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:01,280 Speaker 1: only days earlier, cried, now I have lost two nephews. 323 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:05,520 Speaker 1: But they agreed to keep John's confession quiet for the 324 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:09,399 Speaker 1: moment in order to determine next steps. The Duke of 325 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:12,959 Speaker 1: Anjou returned to the main room and adjourned the meeting. 326 00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:17,480 Speaker 1: D'itignonville didn't know what John had said, but it's likely 327 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:21,159 Speaker 1: he could guess it was the conclusion he had predicted. 328 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:24,600 Speaker 1: His request to search the Duke's houses had been his 329 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:29,639 Speaker 1: way of flushing John out. Despite the Duke's outward grief, 330 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:34,480 Speaker 1: D'itignonville had quickly narrowed in on him after witnesses reported 331 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:42,919 Speaker 1: seeing the fleeing assassins wearing the Burgundian colors. The next morning, 332 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:46,720 Speaker 1: Barry and Anjou called a meeting of the Royal Council. 333 00:23:47,359 --> 00:23:51,200 Speaker 1: They purposefully did not invite John, but he showed up anyway. 334 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:55,760 Speaker 1: When Barry, shocked at John's boldness, turned him forcefully away, 335 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:59,680 Speaker 1: John was confused. He seemed to have taken Barry and 336 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:03,399 Speaker 1: Honor Jeu's silence the day before as a tacit approval 337 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:07,360 Speaker 1: of his actions, but it wasn't. He stormed down the stairs, 338 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:10,280 Speaker 1: bumping into another uncle, the Duke of Bourbanc, who asked 339 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:14,399 Speaker 1: where he was going. Furious and flustered, John allegedly yelled, 340 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 1: I'm going out to piss smooth move. In reality, John 341 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:24,240 Speaker 1: was fleeing Paris. His uncle's rejection revealed to him that 342 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: he was no longer safe, and indeed, when the Duke 343 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:31,400 Speaker 1: of Bourbant, learned of John's confession from Barry and Anjou. 344 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:35,440 Speaker 1: He demanded to know why John had been allowed to leave. Quote. 345 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:38,720 Speaker 1: This thing must be handled in the right way, he declared. 346 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:42,280 Speaker 1: But it was too late. Somehow, John and his retinue 347 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:45,639 Speaker 1: had managed to slip through one of the city's closed gates, 348 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:50,040 Speaker 1: and they were gone. Gone too were the actual killers, 349 00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:54,119 Speaker 1: retainers of John's who had been paid handsomely for their work. 350 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,440 Speaker 1: By the beginning of December, John was safely back in 351 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:02,880 Speaker 1: his own territories. In Paris, the Dukes were at a standstill. 352 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:06,960 Speaker 1: They were worried that sending men after John would provoke 353 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 1: an armed retaliation, leading to civil war. The king, however, 354 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:13,879 Speaker 1: was in a period of good health and he was 355 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 1: more willing to act. On December tenth, Louis's widow, Valentina, 356 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:22,119 Speaker 1: arrived in Paris after more than a decade in exile 357 00:25:22,359 --> 00:25:26,760 Speaker 1: remember her alleged witchcraft. She pleaded with King Charles for 358 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:30,720 Speaker 1: justice for her husband, and he agreed, declaring that he 359 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:36,680 Speaker 1: would avenge Louis, But in early January he relapsed into psychosis. 360 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:41,080 Speaker 1: The weak willed Dukes walked back his promises to Valentina 361 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:45,880 Speaker 1: and instead decided to organize a conference with John set 362 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:50,680 Speaker 1: for January. Emboldened by the lack of response from Paris, 363 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:54,760 Speaker 1: John decided to double down. He told his uncles in 364 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:57,720 Speaker 1: December that he had been possessed by the devil when 365 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:01,439 Speaker 1: he decided to murder Louis. Now oh he changed his tune, 366 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:05,760 Speaker 1: shaping a shocking defense for himself in which he claimed 367 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:08,640 Speaker 1: it was not the devil who inspired him to kill, 368 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:14,000 Speaker 1: but God. At the conference on January twentieth, fourteen o eight, 369 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:18,640 Speaker 1: John astounded listeners by declaring that the murder had been 370 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:24,760 Speaker 1: both righteous and necessary given Louis's immoral character and abuses 371 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:29,080 Speaker 1: of power, and John continued he would return to Paris 372 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:31,680 Speaker 1: to make his case to anyone who wished to hear. 373 00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:37,040 Speaker 1: This was just what the other dukes had most feared. Paris, 374 00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:41,119 Speaker 1: where Louis taxes had hurt thousands, was home to the 375 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:46,480 Speaker 1: most receptive audience for John's arguments, and an inflamed populace 376 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:51,640 Speaker 1: riled up with tales of justifiable murder was a recipe 377 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:59,359 Speaker 1: for disaster. On February twenty eighth, fourteen o eight, John 378 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:04,359 Speaker 1: rode into Paris, despite warnings from the Royal Council. He 379 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:08,399 Speaker 1: had brought hundreds of armed men with him. Thousands of 380 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:12,600 Speaker 1: Parisians thronged the streets to witness his entrance, cheering him 381 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:16,760 Speaker 1: on loudly. Despite all of the fans, John knew his 382 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:22,080 Speaker 1: popularity wasn't universal. He quickly set about adding a fortified 383 00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:25,879 Speaker 1: tower to his Paris mansion so he could sleep in safety. 384 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:29,840 Speaker 1: And when he showed up at his public defense, a 385 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:34,240 Speaker 1: carefully staged show trial that John himself had organized, he 386 00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:37,919 Speaker 1: was wearing chain mail under his fine robes. It was 387 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:42,000 Speaker 1: now March eighth, and most of the high ranking citizens 388 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:45,040 Speaker 1: of Paris had turned up at the Hotel Saint pot 389 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:50,000 Speaker 1: the King's main residence, to hear John's attempt to justify 390 00:27:50,119 --> 00:27:54,120 Speaker 1: his action. Notably absent was the King, who was suffering 391 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:58,960 Speaker 1: another bad spell. Presiding instead was the eleven year old Daufin, 392 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:02,840 Speaker 1: who sat along side the dukes of Barry, Bourbon, Anjou, 393 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:05,959 Speaker 1: and Burgundy himself on a bench at the front of 394 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:10,560 Speaker 1: the hall. John had enlisted Jean Petit, a theologian from 395 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:14,640 Speaker 1: the University of Paris, to present his defense, and Petit 396 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:18,439 Speaker 1: came ready to rumble, standing in front of the crowd 397 00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:23,320 Speaker 1: Petit delivered a shocking four hour long speech, which began 398 00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:28,360 Speaker 1: with the statement that it is quote permissible and meritorious 399 00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:32,359 Speaker 1: to kill a tyrant, and the Duke of Orleans was 400 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:36,960 Speaker 1: a tyrant end quote. Continued with an allegory in which 401 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:40,360 Speaker 1: Louis was the devil and John the holy Avenger, and 402 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:44,760 Speaker 1: he moved into allegations of witchcraft, including claims that Louis 403 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:48,960 Speaker 1: had used demonic powers to create cursed swords with which 404 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:52,239 Speaker 1: to kill the king. He also outlined a variety of 405 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:55,200 Speaker 1: ways that Louis had betrayed the king and the French, 406 00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:59,320 Speaker 1: and concluded with the statement that John deserved not just 407 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:03,520 Speaker 1: a royal pardoned for his act, but also quote love, honor, 408 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:08,960 Speaker 1: and riches. When Petty finished, a stunned silence filled the hall. 409 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:13,280 Speaker 1: None of those present had expected John to be particularly 410 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:17,000 Speaker 1: repentant for his crime, but no one had expected him 411 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:20,880 Speaker 1: to actively argue he deserved to be rewarded for what 412 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:24,560 Speaker 1: he had done. When Pettit asked if John endorsed all 413 00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:28,760 Speaker 1: he had said, John replied that he did. Later, John 414 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:34,280 Speaker 1: would have Pettit's oration made into four costly, beautifully illuminated 415 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:39,280 Speaker 1: books titled The Justification of the Duke of Burgundy. Despite 416 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:44,600 Speaker 1: John's satisfaction with Pettit's speech, not everyone on Team Burgundy 417 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:49,080 Speaker 1: was so enthusiastic. John Gearson, once an ally of John's, 418 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:54,000 Speaker 1: would later write that the justification was quote text for damnation, 419 00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:57,960 Speaker 1: a treatise for death, a charter of dishonor, and a 420 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:03,960 Speaker 1: message from the pit of hell Well. The only person 421 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:08,960 Speaker 1: whose opinion really mattered, though, was King Charles. The next day, 422 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:13,480 Speaker 1: with the King briefly lucid, John and his allies pushed 423 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:18,040 Speaker 1: Charles for a royal pardon, which the king granted. Charles 424 00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:22,000 Speaker 1: also signed a document, likely drafted by John's team, that 425 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:26,720 Speaker 1: empowered John to pursue and punish anyone who insulted him, 426 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:31,680 Speaker 1: the fifteenth century equivalent of a license to kill. Unsurprisingly, 427 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:35,520 Speaker 1: this outcome did not sit well with many nobles, especially 428 00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:39,720 Speaker 1: not Queen isobe Or Louis's widow Valentina. When John was 429 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:42,840 Speaker 1: forced to return to his lands to quell an uprising 430 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:48,239 Speaker 1: in July, Valentina and Isabeau began plotting their revenge. On 431 00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:51,320 Speaker 1: July second, at a council meeting attended by the King, 432 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:55,760 Speaker 1: John's royal pardon was revoked. Two months later, the women 433 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:59,240 Speaker 1: hosted a show trial of their own, at which John 434 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:03,400 Speaker 1: was bounced for his treachery and ordered to surrender to 435 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:08,360 Speaker 1: the King's justice. Meanwhile, John was decisively putting down a 436 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:12,080 Speaker 1: rebellion in Liege. His commanding performance at the Battle of 437 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:15,640 Speaker 1: Utte earned him the nickname John the Fearless, which would 438 00:31:15,640 --> 00:31:18,160 Speaker 1: stick with him for the rest of his life. The 439 00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:22,800 Speaker 1: battle also brought monetary reward in the form of compensation 440 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:27,520 Speaker 1: paid by the newly defeated rebels. His newly energized army 441 00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:33,000 Speaker 1: and his newly fleshed treasury terrified the Orleanists. With these resources, 442 00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:37,040 Speaker 1: John might be able to take Paris, and indeed, when 443 00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:41,120 Speaker 1: John returned to Paris in November, he brought two thousand 444 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:46,160 Speaker 1: troops with him. Afraid of war, the Royal Council once 445 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:52,200 Speaker 1: again capitulated to John. They met little opposition. Valentina, her 446 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:56,440 Speaker 1: husband's greatest advocate, had died in December, and the couple's 447 00:31:56,480 --> 00:32:01,200 Speaker 1: surviving children were still young. The oldest, Charles, the new 448 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:05,320 Speaker 1: Duke of Orleans, was only fourteen, so it wasn't hard 449 00:32:05,440 --> 00:32:10,240 Speaker 1: for the Royal councilors to push through their plan for reconciliation. 450 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:14,720 Speaker 1: On March ninth, fourteen, oh nine, the houses of Burgundy 451 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:19,520 Speaker 1: and Orleans met at the Chatre Cathedral to reconcile the king. 452 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:25,200 Speaker 1: Slipping in and out of sanity, presided. Speaking first, John 453 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:29,120 Speaker 1: declared that while he did not apologize for having Louis killed, 454 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:32,400 Speaker 1: he did apologize for the pain that this act had 455 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:37,040 Speaker 1: caused the king. The King accepted his, let's say, non apology. 456 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:41,560 Speaker 1: Now it was the Orleans brother's turn. The boys were 457 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:45,360 Speaker 1: sobbing and had to be pushed to recite their statement 458 00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:49,959 Speaker 1: of pardon. It was humiliating for the boys and horrifying 459 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:53,880 Speaker 1: to many onlookers. The Clerk of Parliament wrote of the 460 00:32:53,960 --> 00:33:02,440 Speaker 1: ceremony peace, peace, and yet no peace. Far from assuaging 461 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:08,080 Speaker 1: the Orlean supporters or Orleanists, the Treaty of Chartre recommitted 462 00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:12,760 Speaker 1: them to revenge. The young Charles of Orleans began to 463 00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:17,600 Speaker 1: recruit allies, including the powerful Count Bernard of Armagnac, whose 464 00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:22,760 Speaker 1: daughter he would eventually marry in Paris. John was inadvertently 465 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:28,200 Speaker 1: helping Charles cause through a series of short sighted, poorly executed, 466 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:32,280 Speaker 1: and tactless political moves. Through the fall of fourteen o nine, 467 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:36,800 Speaker 1: John alienated nearly all the most powerful dukes of the Council. 468 00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:42,760 Speaker 1: Charles and his party eagerly welcomed these discontented dukes. In 469 00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:47,440 Speaker 1: April fourteen ten, the Orleanists vowed to raise an army 470 00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:52,520 Speaker 1: against John. In response, John started mustering his own troops. 471 00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:57,120 Speaker 1: By fourteen eleven, the Orleanists and the Burgundians were engaged 472 00:33:57,200 --> 00:34:01,080 Speaker 1: in a full blown civil war. I'll note here that 473 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:06,080 Speaker 1: histories of the time usually refer to the Orleanists as Armagnacs, 474 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:08,759 Speaker 1: thanks to the central role at this point of the 475 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:12,080 Speaker 1: Count of Armagnac, but we'll keep calling them for the 476 00:34:12,120 --> 00:34:15,000 Speaker 1: sake of this episode the Orleanists, so you know, these 477 00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:18,200 Speaker 1: are the men who supported the deceased Duke of Orleans 478 00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:21,360 Speaker 1: and then his young son, the new Duke of Orleans, 479 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:26,520 Speaker 1: for more than two years. The civil war devastated the 480 00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:31,000 Speaker 1: cities and countryside around Paris. Civilians were just as likely 481 00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:35,080 Speaker 1: to be killed as soldiers. Towns were burned and homes looted. 482 00:34:35,520 --> 00:34:39,399 Speaker 1: The two parties would occasionally pause to draw up some 483 00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:44,040 Speaker 1: sort of unsatisfactory treaty, which would quickly be broken. It 484 00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:48,239 Speaker 1: seemed like the war would never end, but in mid 485 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:55,200 Speaker 1: fourteen thirteen, something crucial shifted Parisians, longtime supporters of John 486 00:34:55,520 --> 00:34:59,240 Speaker 1: began to turn against him. They blamed him for the war, 487 00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:02,640 Speaker 1: which was ruining their businesses and cutting off the city's 488 00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:08,120 Speaker 1: food supply. Pro or Leanest sentiment rose, and then, in 489 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:12,120 Speaker 1: a fitting moment for this Satan filled saga, a flier 490 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:17,160 Speaker 1: began appearing all around Paris, addressed from the dark Lord himself. 491 00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:20,439 Speaker 1: It was a thank you letter of sorts, in which 492 00:35:20,640 --> 00:35:24,480 Speaker 1: Lucifer the quote King of Hell, Prince of the Shadows, 493 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:28,480 Speaker 1: master Regent, guardian and governor of all the devils in Hell, 494 00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:32,840 Speaker 1: expressed his gratitude for the service of his quote dearest 495 00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:36,400 Speaker 1: and well loved lieutenant and Proctor General in the West, 496 00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:39,759 Speaker 1: John of Burgundy. There's not much you could do to 497 00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:45,120 Speaker 1: contest an endorsement from Satan, and John saw quite literally 498 00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:49,200 Speaker 1: the writing on the wall. He had lost Paris. On 499 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:54,680 Speaker 1: August twenty third, he once again fled the city. Outside 500 00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:58,160 Speaker 1: of the ongoing fighting, the French had to worry about 501 00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:02,359 Speaker 1: the English. Both the brig Jundians and the Orleanists had 502 00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:06,399 Speaker 1: requested French assistance in the Civil War, giving the new 503 00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:09,680 Speaker 1: English King, Henry the Fifth a clear picture of the 504 00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:14,480 Speaker 1: internal French turmoil. He knew it was the perfect opportunity 505 00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:18,759 Speaker 1: to strike, and in fourteen fifteen he did, taking the 506 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:23,320 Speaker 1: city of Harflour after a relatively short siege. The French, 507 00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:27,560 Speaker 1: already ravaged by years of civil war, did their best 508 00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:31,520 Speaker 1: to resist, bringing a massive force to face the English 509 00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:35,600 Speaker 1: at Agincours in late October. But maybe you know this 510 00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:41,240 Speaker 1: story already. The French forces weren't enough. The English annihilated 511 00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:45,480 Speaker 1: the French in one of history's most famous defeats. Charles 512 00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:49,279 Speaker 1: of Orleans, leader of the Orleanists, was captured by the 513 00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:53,480 Speaker 1: English at Agincour and spent the next twenty five years 514 00:36:53,560 --> 00:36:57,680 Speaker 1: as a prisoner in England. John of Burgundy, by contrast, 515 00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:02,440 Speaker 1: had failed to show at the battle, even as the 516 00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:08,280 Speaker 1: country fought off the English. The infighting continued. In fourteen eighteen, 517 00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:13,800 Speaker 1: John retook Paris, executing a bloody coup which left hundreds dead. 518 00:37:14,239 --> 00:37:17,680 Speaker 1: But eventually even he could not deny the threat the 519 00:37:17,719 --> 00:37:22,320 Speaker 1: English represented. If the French wanted to repel their foreign enemies, 520 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:26,880 Speaker 1: they needed to unite internally. John began negotiations with the 521 00:37:27,040 --> 00:37:31,719 Speaker 1: teenaged Dauphin of France, who had created a shadow Orleanist 522 00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:36,520 Speaker 1: government in Borges. Following John's capture of Paris. The Daupho 523 00:37:36,719 --> 00:37:40,520 Speaker 1: seemed amenable to the idea of a truce, but his advisers, 524 00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:44,160 Speaker 1: middle aged men who had spent the past decade fighting 525 00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:51,000 Speaker 1: for the Orleanist cause, were not as enthusiastic. Nonetheless, negotiations progressed, 526 00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:54,680 Speaker 1: and a treaty of reconciliation was drawn up in July 527 00:37:54,960 --> 00:37:59,480 Speaker 1: fourteen nineteen. The Duke and the Dauphin planned to formalize 528 00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:03,880 Speaker 1: the treaty on the bridge at Montreau in September. A 529 00:38:03,920 --> 00:38:07,320 Speaker 1: special enclosure was built in the center of the bridge 530 00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:10,440 Speaker 1: for the meeting, with heavy wooden doors on each side. 531 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:13,839 Speaker 1: The men would each enter from one side, accompanied by 532 00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:17,440 Speaker 1: only ten companions. All were to be unarmed, though they 533 00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:20,959 Speaker 1: were allowed to wear armor. Of course. Each man also 534 00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:24,960 Speaker 1: brought hundreds more armed men to wait just outside the enclosure, 535 00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:30,120 Speaker 1: just in case. At five o'clock on September tenth, fourteen nineteen, 536 00:38:30,480 --> 00:38:33,799 Speaker 1: John the Fearless entered the enclosure through his side of 537 00:38:33,840 --> 00:38:37,640 Speaker 1: the bridge. He wore scarlet robes and dripped with jewels. 538 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:41,879 Speaker 1: The Dauphant was already waiting for him. Removing his hat, 539 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:45,840 Speaker 1: John knelt before the prince and greeted him. The Dauphant 540 00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:49,080 Speaker 1: bade him to stand, telling him he had spoken well. 541 00:38:49,600 --> 00:38:53,320 Speaker 1: For a moment, the promise of peace hung over the bridge. 542 00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:57,480 Speaker 1: But then the Daufant looked to his advisers, and one 543 00:38:57,520 --> 00:39:01,680 Speaker 1: of them yelled kill. Kill. The door on the Dauphanse 544 00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:06,120 Speaker 1: side of the enclosure swung open, and armed men flooded in. 545 00:39:06,719 --> 00:39:10,960 Speaker 1: They swarmed the Duke, swinging at him with axes and swords, 546 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:15,200 Speaker 1: brutally wounding him before they struck the final blow. The 547 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:19,800 Speaker 1: parallels to Louise's murder were intentional. One of the killers, 548 00:39:20,040 --> 00:39:24,680 Speaker 1: a devoted Orleanist, almost severed John's hand. As the Duke 549 00:39:24,760 --> 00:39:27,759 Speaker 1: tried to defend himself. He shouted, you cut off my 550 00:39:27,920 --> 00:39:31,480 Speaker 1: master's hand, and I shall cut off yours. On the 551 00:39:31,560 --> 00:39:34,759 Speaker 1: other side of the bridge, the Duke's troops were desperately 552 00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:37,360 Speaker 1: trying to get into the enclosure, but they were brought 553 00:39:37,440 --> 00:39:40,480 Speaker 1: down by the dauphaans archers who had appeared on the 554 00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:43,600 Speaker 1: river banks. There was nothing they could do anyway. The 555 00:39:43,719 --> 00:39:47,840 Speaker 1: Duke was dead. The Dauphin's men stripped his body of 556 00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:50,839 Speaker 1: its finery and threw it in a wooden coffin, which 557 00:39:50,960 --> 00:39:55,279 Speaker 1: was eventually buried at a nearby church. The assassination of 558 00:39:55,440 --> 00:39:58,839 Speaker 1: John of Burgundy was a victory for the Orleanists, but 559 00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:04,680 Speaker 1: ultimately a tremendous tragedy for France. The Civil War reignited 560 00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:09,319 Speaker 1: more fiercely than before, and eventually led John's son, the 561 00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:12,880 Speaker 1: new Duke of Burgundy, to ally himself with the English 562 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:16,560 Speaker 1: instead of the French for more than fifteen years. The 563 00:40:16,640 --> 00:40:20,600 Speaker 1: whole country suffered immensely in the all out war that followed, 564 00:40:20,880 --> 00:40:24,120 Speaker 1: and though cause and effect is a tricky business to 565 00:40:24,239 --> 00:40:27,520 Speaker 1: trace in history, it's hard to imagine that things would 566 00:40:27,560 --> 00:40:30,680 Speaker 1: have played out exactly the same way had not the 567 00:40:30,760 --> 00:40:34,920 Speaker 1: Duke of Burgundy's men set out on a dark Parisian 568 00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:39,040 Speaker 1: night to kill their master's mortal enemy. But in a 569 00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:42,520 Speaker 1: classic case of two wrongs don't make a right, it's 570 00:40:42,560 --> 00:40:45,239 Speaker 1: equally hard to imagine that France would have been so 571 00:40:45,560 --> 00:40:48,719 Speaker 1: terribly affected by the English had it not been for 572 00:40:48,840 --> 00:40:52,440 Speaker 1: the killing of John of Burgundy. More than a century 573 00:40:52,480 --> 00:40:56,720 Speaker 1: after John's death, in fifteen twenty one, King Francis of France, 574 00:40:56,880 --> 00:41:01,719 Speaker 1: who was in fact Louis Great great grandson, was presented 575 00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:05,799 Speaker 1: with the Duke's skull by a Burgundian monk Sire. The 576 00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:08,840 Speaker 1: monk is alleged to have said pointing to a wound 577 00:41:08,920 --> 00:41:13,080 Speaker 1: in the skull. By that whole the English entered France. 578 00:41:18,120 --> 00:41:22,120 Speaker 1: That's the story of the assassination of Louis of Orleans. 579 00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:25,160 Speaker 1: But keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear 580 00:41:25,239 --> 00:41:29,320 Speaker 1: a little bit more about the legendary rivalry between Louis 581 00:41:29,520 --> 00:41:42,239 Speaker 1: and John of Burgundy. Although John and Louis's rivalry eventually 582 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:47,440 Speaker 1: reached murderous proportions, it also had its pettier moments. Take 583 00:41:47,520 --> 00:41:51,279 Speaker 1: their emblems, for example, Like all good royals, each man 584 00:41:51,360 --> 00:41:55,319 Speaker 1: had selected a symbolic image to represent themselves, which they 585 00:41:55,320 --> 00:41:58,720 Speaker 1: had embroidered on their clothes and engraved on their armor 586 00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:03,040 Speaker 1: and carved into the castles. For his emblem, Louis chose 587 00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:07,160 Speaker 1: a wooden club. In response, John made his emblem a 588 00:42:07,239 --> 00:42:12,680 Speaker 1: carpenter's plane capable of shaving down, say, a wooden club. 589 00:42:13,480 --> 00:42:17,160 Speaker 1: After the murder, some Parisians were said to have remarked, 590 00:42:17,320 --> 00:42:20,879 Speaker 1: the knotty club has been planed. And then there were 591 00:42:21,040 --> 00:42:24,239 Speaker 1: their mottoes. When John and Louis had nearly gone to 592 00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:27,640 Speaker 1: war against one another in the summer of fourteen oh five, 593 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:32,440 Speaker 1: their troops had paraded around carrying banners emblazoned with their 594 00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:37,680 Speaker 1: leader's respective mottoes. Louis read I want it or I 595 00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:41,920 Speaker 1: challenge him, depending on the translation, but I want it 596 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:45,719 Speaker 1: is a fair translation, and John's you might be able 597 00:42:45,719 --> 00:43:04,000 Speaker 1: to guess it. His banners read I have it. Noble 598 00:43:04,040 --> 00:43:07,080 Speaker 1: Blood is a production of iHeart Radio and Grimm and 599 00:43:07,120 --> 00:43:11,720 Speaker 1: Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by me Danashwortz. 600 00:43:12,160 --> 00:43:17,320 Speaker 1: Additional writing and researching done by Hannah Johnston, Hannah'swick, Mira Hayward, 601 00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:21,120 Speaker 1: Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodman. The show is produced by 602 00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:26,200 Speaker 1: rima Il Kali, with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive 603 00:43:26,239 --> 00:43:30,520 Speaker 1: producers Aaron Manke, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more 604 00:43:30,560 --> 00:43:35,800 Speaker 1: podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 605 00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:42,640 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.