Tag Archives: Malcolm Vale

Book Review: “Charles VII” by M.G. Vale

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This volume is an English language biography of King Charles VII of France first published in 1974. As the author states in the Preface, this is not a conventional biography. His intention is to write a study of this enigmatic king by utilizing the evidence in a selective manner. Vale gives a contemporary assessment of Charles as both a king and a man as its starting point. He states in the beginning that there is precious little evidence about this king’s reign as many of the records no longer exist.

The first chapter is an overview of the king and his reign as it is viewed by historians in books from the past and how the reign is viewed in context. Vale then begins with a view of the king’s early years up until his meeting with Joan of Arc and his coronation at Reims. Other chapters recall his relationship with Joan of Arc, his son Louis and the nobility of France. The last part of the book cover his later years and then there is a section on the ceremonial king. Vale recounts several ceremonies Charles VII participated in and ends with a long description of his funeral.

Vale has a great deal of insight into the personality of Charles. Where some historians view him as a weak and fearful king, Vale believes just the opposite. He interprets Charles’ personality as very strong, militarily and politically. He believes the king played the nobles off against each other and elevated and destroyed these men with a political purpose. There is quite a bit in this book about the nobles who surrounded the king and their impact on his reign as well as his mistresses and mignons who lived close to the king and played a role in his life. The last chapter covers the later years of Charles’ reign and how his illnesses affected him and his government.

Personally, I enjoyed the recounting of Charles’ relationship with his son Louis as well as Vale’s views on Charles’ personality. Vale has a lot of information on the illnesses of the king which is fascinating. He has several theories about what Charles suffered from. The highlight of this book is the reprint of a memorandum that Charles dictated to his secretary in response to demands from his son Louis. Louis had left the kingdom of France and didn’t see his father for many years. Charles refuses Louis’ demands for surety of his safety and status at court and questions why Louis is so fearful and suspicious. This is a unique insight into the mind of the king and his tortured relationship with his son. While this book is not a conventional biography, it is most interesting and I recommend it.

Book Review: “The Princely Court: Medieval Courts and Culture in North-West Europe 1270-1380” by Malcolm Vale

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This is a very informative academic work that considers the historical evidence of court life in the time period listed. Vale looks at the courts of England, Flanders, Brabant, Artois, Hainault and Holland. Interestingly, the first chapter considers the definition of “court” which historians are still discussing to this day. Vale explains there is no definitive definition.

Items discussed in the book include: Organization and structure of medieval princely households, consumption and expenditure, economics and accountancy, transport and logistics, residences and lodgings, court life and culture including courtly pursuits, ritual and ceremony. And finally, court art and style and court patronage. There is an explanation of livery and how the prince delivered clothing or cloth at certain times of the year to servants of the household and the different types of material they were made of. The household was also provided with food, a place to sleep, wood for fires and candles, etc.

Medieval households were rarely static and they traveled between castles and manors and sometimes stayed in inns or monasteries. I enjoyed the discussion on princely court pursuits. Vale talks about how important gambling was at court and playing games of skill and chance. The most popular games were chess, dice and tables. Hunting and the cult of the chase was a leading pursuit. This involved the keeping of horses, hounds and falcons. In addition to providing entertainment, hunting supplied the court with food.

This book has many black and white illustrations to demonstrate the author’s points. The book provides a large collection of charts and tables translated from the primary sources on many different topics and also several appendices. This is a detailed study of court life for anyone interested in the topic.