John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy

Also known as: duke Iohn · Family: Burgundy · Role: duke · First appears: Henry IV 18

Around 1405, John Vandenwall led soldiers sent by John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, to Graveling and other coastal fortresses, while the duke assembled an army at Saint-Omer to besiege Calais; the enterprise was halted when the French king countermanded it. In 1411, he had Louis, Duke of Orléans murdered, “murthered at length through the practise of the duke of Burgognie,” deepening France’s factional troubles. By 1412, Charles, Duke of Orléans had allied with other nobles and defied him as a mortal enemy, while Henry IV sent Thomas FitzAlan, Earl of Arundel, Gilbert Umfreville, Earl of Angus, Robert Umfreville, John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, John Grey, and William Porter with archers to aid him; the duke received them joyfully and directed them to Peron.

By about 1417, his wife, Isabella of Bavaria, placed him in supreme authority over the king and realm. Holding that power, he began war against Charles VII, whom he sought to subdue before resisting France’s common enemies. In 1420, he concluded and swore treaties with Henry V and Charles VI, made a private league with Henry V in support of peace and mutual allegiance, and accompanied the English king and French king from Troyes. That year, he also had the remains of his slain father, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, taken to Dijon and reburied.

Around 1421, Charles VII was denounced as guilty of the murder of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, and banished from the realm.