Awarded the Grand Prix Gobert by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres.
This sixth volume covers the intrigues of the Dauphin Louis against his father Charles VII. Rehabilitation of Jeanne d'Arc, 1450-1456. Fall of Constantinople and Projects for Crusade, 1453-1455. The Court in 1454 and 1455. Expedition against the Count of Armagnac. Conspiracy of the Duke of Alençon, 1455-1456. Escape of the Dauphin, 1454-1456. Intervention of the Duke of Burgundy in the Dauphin Affair, 1456. Threat of rupture with the Duke of Burgundy, 1457. Relations with Castile and Scotland. Continuation of negotiations with the Duke of Burgundy, 1454-1457. The Affair of Luxembourg, 1455-1458. The trial of the Duke of Alençon, 1436-1458. Policy of Charles VII in Germany. The Grand Embassy of the Duke of Burgundy, 1458-1459. Policy of Charles VII in Italy. The occupation of Genoa. The Congress of Mantua, 1454-1459. Policy of Charles VII in England. Continuation of the quarrels with the Duke of Burgundy, 1458-1459. Imminent rupture between Charles VII and Philippe le Bon, 1460. Charles VII & Philippe le Bon under Arms, 1461. Administration from 1454 to 1461. Royalty, Central Administration, Parlement, Estates General, Clergy, Nobility, Third Estate, Finance, Army, Commerce, Industry. Charles VII Protector of Arts and Letters. Last moments of Charles VII. This work is thoroughly sourced, with copious notes, which must be consulted for comprehensive understanding, and features a large index.
Charles VII, in six volumes, was one of the major works of Gaston Du Fresne de Beaucourt (1833-1902), who began research on his subject in 1856, and began publishing the series in 1881. One must assume that a man who worked on a six volume biography of a king was not opposed to monarchy. Although Beaucourt had a charitable view of his subject, if not of jealous and protective admiration, he did not fail to do his duty and discuss views opposed to his own. The work as a whole is a precursor in some ways to total history, in which the subject is put in context of everything that was written about him in the sources. One must assume that Beaucourt read every document penned during the reign of Charles VII, at least as it related to royal history. The result is an astounding monument.
This is the first and only translation of Beaucourt into English. Every effort has been made to convey the spirit of the writing style of Beaucourt while making it accessible to a modern English speaking audience.
