John, Duke of Berry

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John
Bonne of Bohemia

John of Berry or John the Magnificent (

Montpensier. He was Regent of France from 1380 to 1388 during the minority of his nephew Charles VI. His brothers were King Charles V of France, Duke Louis I of Anjou and Duke Philip the Bold
of Burgundy.

John is primarily remembered as a collector of the important illuminated manuscripts and other works of art commissioned by him, such as the Très Riches Heures. His personal motto was Le temps venra ("the time will come").[1]

Biography

Coat of arms of John, Duke of Berry, 1360

John was born at the castle of

Auvergne, Languedoc, Périgord, and Poitou to administer those regions in his father's name while the king was a captive of the English. When Poitiers was ceded to England in 1360, his father granted John the newly raised duchies of Berry and Auvergne.[2] By the terms of the Treaty of Brétigny, signed that May, John became a hostage of the English Crown and remained in England until 1369. Upon his return to France, his brother, now King Charles V, appointed him lieutenant general for Berry, Auvergne, Bourbonnais, Forez, Sologne, Touraine, Anjou, Maine, and Normandy
.

Service as regent

Upon the death of his older brother Charles V in 1380, his son and heir,

Lieutenant General in Languedoc in November of the same year,[2] where he was forced to deal with the Harelle
, a peasants' revolt spurred by heavy taxation in support of the war effort against the English. Following the death of Louis of Anjou in 1384, John and his brother, the Duke of Burgundy, were the dominant figures in the kingdom. The king ended the regency and took power into his own hands in 1388, giving the governance of the kingdom largely to his father's former ministers, who were political enemies of the king's powerful uncles. John was also stripped of his offices in Languedoc at that time. John and the duke bided their time, and were soon able to retake power, in 1392, when the king had his first attack of insanity, an affliction which would remain with him throughout his life.

In the 1390s, the Duke of Berry and Burgundy would jockey for royal favor against the Duke of Orléans, Charles VI's brother. In April of 1401, while the Duke of Orléans was away from court, King Charles VI's uncles made him sign the lieutenancy of Languedoc, Berry, Auvergne, and Poitou back over to Jean de Berry.[4]

Great Western schism
that was not unfavorable to French interests.

Later life

In his later years, John became a more conciliatory figure in France. After the death of Philip the Bold in 1404, he was the last surviving son of King John,

Battle of Poitiers 59 years before, he feared the fate of France should the king and his heirs be taken captive and successfully prevented their participation. John died on 15 June 1416 in Paris a few months after the battle, which proved as disastrous as he had feared.[5]

Hans Holbein the younger

Family and children

John had the following issue by his first wife,

Joanna of Armagnac (1346–1387), whom he married in 1360:[6][2]

Illegitimate son by a Scottish woman:

  • Owuoald (1370 – before 1382), born in England during John's captivity.

In 1389 he married his second wife, Joan II, Countess of Auvergne (c.1378-1424).[8][9]

Art patron

A portrait of John kneeling in prayer
Chinese porcelain documented to reach Europe, in 1338.[10]

John of Berry was also a notable patron who commissioned among other works the most famous

Limbourg Brothers, Jacquemart de Hesdin, the Master of the Brussels Initials, and André Beauneveu. His curiosity to illumination and patronage led to much success on preserving and absorbing talented miniaturist painters.[12]
His spending on his art collection severely taxed his estates, and he was deeply in debt when he died in 1416 at Paris.

Works created for him include the manuscripts known as the Très Riches Heures, the

Turin-Milan Hours. Goldsmith's work includes the Holy Thorn Reliquary and Royal Gold Cup, both in the British Museum
.

The web site of the

John the Blind, during the Battle of Crecy (1346), the famed court composer and poet Guillaume de Machaut entered into the service of John of Berry.[14]

Ancestors

Footnotes

  1. ^ Jean de Berry, la science et les Très Riches Heures, la devise Le temps venra et le chiffre EV [article] sem-linkMme Patricia Stirnemann sem-linkJean-Baptiste Lebigue Bulletin de la Société nationale des Antiquaires de France Année 2015 2010 pp. 298-304 [1]
  2. ^ a b c d e f Emmerson 2013, p. 381.
  3. ^ Keane 2016, p. 17.
  4. ^ Lehoux, Françoise (1966). Jean de France, duc de Berri, sa vie, son action politique (1340-1416) (in French). Paris: Éditions A. et J. Picard et Cie. p. 448.
  5. ^ Emmerson 2013, p. 382.
  6. ^ Ars subtilior and the Patronage of French Princes, Yolanda Plumley, Early Music History: Volume 22: Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Music, ed. Iain Fenlon, (Cambridge University Press, 2003), 145-146.
  7. ^ Joni M. Hand, Women, Manuscripts and Identity in Northern Europe, 1350–1550, (Ashgate, 2013), 25.
  8. ^ John, Duke of Berry, Richard C. Famiglietti, Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, ed. William W. Kibler, (Routledge, 1995), 498.
  9. ^ Emmerson 2013, pp. 381–382.
  10. ^ Victoria and Albert Museum
  11. ^ Strayer, J. R. (1982). Dictionary of the middle ages. New York: Scribner.[page needed]
  12. ^ Thomas, Marcel (1980). The Golden Age: Manuscript Painting at the Time of Jean, Duc de Berry. London: Book Club Associates. pp. 10–12.
  13. ^ Dossier thématique : La France en 1400 : Jean de Berry[permanent dead link] at museedulouvre.fr (accessed 20 February 2008)
  14. .

Sources

External links

John, Duke of Berry
Cadet branch of the House of Valois
Born: 30 November 1340 Died: 15 June 1416
Regnal titles
Vacant
Royal domain
Title last held by
John II
Count of Poitou

1357–1416
Vacant
Merged into royal domain
Title next held by
John IV and II
New title Duke of Berry
1360–1416
Duke of Auvergne

1360–1416
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Count of Montpensier

1401–1416
Preceded by
John II and III
Count of Auvergne and Boulogne
1404–1416
with Joanna II
Succeeded byas sole countess
Vacant
Royal domain
Title last held by
Charles
Count of Angoulême

c. 1372 – 1374
Vacant
Title next held by
Louis I
Vacant
Royal domain
Title last held by
Louis II
Count of Étampes

1399–1416
Vacant
Merged into royal domain
Title next held by
Richard