Isabeau of Bavaria - Charles' Illness

Charles' Illness

In 1392 Charles suffered the first in a lifelong series of bouts of insanity. On a hot August day outside Le Mans, he attacked his own household knights including his brother Orléans, killing four men. His uncles, the dukes of Burgundy and Berry, took advantage of the king's illness and quickly seized power and established themselves as regents. The king's sudden onset of insanity was seen by some as a sign of divine anger and punishment and by others as the result of sorcery; although modern historians speculate that Charles may have been experiencing the onset of paranoid schizophrenia.

Bal des Ardents showing Charles VI huddling under the Duchess of Berry's skirt at middle left, and burning dancers in the center

Contemporary chronicler Jean Froissart wrote that the king's illness was so severe that he was "far out of the way; no medicine could help him". He recovered from the first attack of illness, and his physician who treated him, Guillaume de Harsigny, recommended a program of amusements, which prompted a member of the court to suggest that the king surprise the queen and the other ladies as a member of a group of courtiers disguised as wild men who were to make a sudden appearance at the ball given to celebrate the remarriage of Isabeau's lady-in-waiting, Catherine de Fastaverin. Charles was almost killed and four of the dancers were killed in a fire caused by a torch brought in by Orléans at the event, which came to be known as the Bal des Ardents. The event undermined confidence in Charles' capacity to rule; Parisians considered it proof of courtly decadence and threatened to rebel against the more powerful members of the nobility. The public's outrage forced the king and Orléans, whom a contemporary chronicler accused of attempted regicide and sorcery, into offering penance for the event.

The following June he suffered his second attack, which lasted for about six months; he continued to suffer what were called "absences" for the next three decades. For the first 20 years of his illness he seemed capable of governing during the periods between attacks, which caused uncertaintly as to whether a regency should be established or whether Charles should continue to reign. During his attacks of illness, among those who sought to control the government were his brother Orléans, and their cousin, the Duke of Burgundy, John the Fearless.

At the time of Charles' first attack Isabeau was a 22-year old woman with three children, with two having died as infants. By the turn of the century as his illness worsened she was accused of abandoning him, but historian Rachel Gibbons speculates that Isabeau wanted to distance herself from her husband and his illness. During the worst of his illness Charles was unable to recognize Isabeau, demanding her removal whenever she entered his chamber causing her great distress. The Monk of St Denis, Michel Pintoin, wrote in his chronicle, "What distressed above all was to see how on all occasions ... the king repulsed her, whispering to his people, 'Who is this woman obstructing my view? Find out what she wants and stop her from annoying and bothering me.'"

Since the king often did not recognize her during his psychotic episodes and was upset by her presence, it was eventually deemed advisable to provide him with a mistress, Odette de Champdivers, the daughter of a horse-dealer, who according to Tuchman is said to have resembled Isabeau and was called "the Little queen". Odette had probably assumed this role by 1405 with Isabeau's consent, but during his remissions the king still had relations with his wife, whose last pregnancy was in 1407—records show she was in the king's chamber on November 23, 1407, the night of Orléans' assassination and again in 1408.