Valentina Visconti
Encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Valentina Visconti, Queen of Cyprus
Valentina Visconti (died 4 December 1408) was the wife of Louis de Valois, Duke of Orléans, a younger brother of Charles VI of France
.
She was born in Milan
and was the daughter of Giangaleazzo Visconti, the first Duke of Milan, and his first wife, Isabelle of Valois (a daughter of John the Good
).
She married her first cousin, Louis de Valois, in September 1389. Because of intrigues at the court of Charles VI and the enmity of the Queen, Isabeau of Bavaria-Ingolstadt, Valentina was exiled from the court and had to leave Paris. There were serious rumours at the time that Isabeau was having an affair with Louis and that Valentina was very close to the King, who was going through a period of madness.
A patroness of Eustache Deschamps
, who wrote poetry in her honour, she was also the mother of one of France's most famous poets, Charles of Orléans.
Louis de Valois was murdered by his cousin and political rival John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy in 1407. Valentina outlived her husband by only a little over a year, dying at Blois
at the age of 38.
Her children were:
Among her later descendants was King Henry IV of France
(1553–1610), founder of the House of Bourbon
.
Valentina Visconti, Queen of Cyprus
Not to be confused with Valentina Visconti, Duchess of OrléansValentina Visconti was a daughter of Bernabò Visconti and his wife Beatrice della Scala...
Charles VI of France
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...
.
She was born in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and was the daughter of Giangaleazzo Visconti, the first Duke of Milan, and his first wife, Isabelle of Valois (a daughter of John the Good
John II of France
John II , called John the Good , was the King of France from 1350 until his death. He was the second sovereign of the House of Valois and is perhaps best remembered as the king who was vanquished at the Battle of Poitiers and taken as a captive to England.The son of Philip VI and Joan the Lame,...
).
She married her first cousin, Louis de Valois, in September 1389. Because of intrigues at the court of Charles VI and the enmity of the Queen, Isabeau of Bavaria-Ingolstadt, Valentina was exiled from the court and had to leave Paris. There were serious rumours at the time that Isabeau was having an affair with Louis and that Valentina was very close to the King, who was going through a period of madness.
A patroness of Eustache Deschamps
Eustache Deschamps
Eustache Deschamps was a medieval French poet, also known as Eustache Morel . Born at Vertus, in Champagne, he received lessons in versification from Guillaume de Machaut and later studied law at Orleans University. He then traveled through Europe as a diplomatic messenger for Charles V...
, who wrote poetry in her honour, she was also the mother of one of France's most famous poets, Charles of Orléans.
Louis de Valois was murdered by his cousin and political rival John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy in 1407. Valentina outlived her husband by only a little over a year, dying at Blois
Blois
Blois is the capital of Loir-et-Cher department in central France, situated on the banks of the lower river Loire between Orléans and Tours.-History:...
at the age of 38.
Her children were:
- Charles, Duke of Orléans (1391–1465), father of King Louis XII of FranceLouis XII of FranceLouis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...
- Philip, Count of Vertus (1396–1420)
- John, Count of AngoulêmeJohn, Count of AngoulêmeJohn of Orléans, Count of Angoulême and of Périgord , 26 June 1399 – 30 April 1467, younger son of Louis I, Duke of Orléans, and Valentina Visconti, and a grandson of Charles V of France. He was the younger brother of the noted poet, Charles, Duke of Orléans, and grandfather of Francis I of...
(1400–1467), grandfather of King Francis I of FranceFrancis I of FranceFrancis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch... - Margaret, Countess of VertusMarguerite d'Orléans, Countess of VertusMarguerite, Countess of Vertus , was born on 4 December 1406. She was the daughter of Louis I, Duke of Orléans, and Valentina Visconti, and the granddaughter and niece of King Charles V of France and King Charles VI of France, respectively...
(1406–1466), married Richard of Brittany, Count of Étampes - Four boys and two girls who died in childhood
Among her later descendants was King Henry IV of France
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
(1553–1610), founder of the House of Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
.