Charles VII, called the Victorious 1403-61
King of France

Born in Paris, the son of Charles VI (the Foolish), he came to the throne in 1422, when Paris and the north of the country were in the hands of the English, who proclaimed Henry VI of England King of France, and appointed the Duke of Bedford regent. Charles was compelled to evacuate Champagne and Maine, but at Montargis (1426) the Comte de Dunois gained the first victory over the English, who laid siege to Orleans (1426). Joan of Arc incited the nobles and the people, leading to the end of the siege (1429). The English gradually lost nearly all they had gained in France. After the Treaty of Arras (1435) between the French king and Philip, the Good, Duke of Burgundy, their cause was hopeless, and Charles entered Paris (1436). Bayonne fell (1451), and with the death of Sir John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, under the walls of Castillon (1453), the whole south finally passed to France, and the Hundred Years War came to an end. Charles devoted himself to the reorganization of the government, and during his reign France recovered in some measure from her terrible calamities. He increased his solvency by obtaining the permanent right to tax without the permission of the Estates General, and enhanced his control of the French Church by the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges (1438). His last years were embittered by the conduct of his son, the Dauphin, (later Louis XI). His mistress and confidante from 1444 was Agn�s Sorel.

Bibliography: M G A Vale, Charles VII (1974)