The Glass King

He is still remembered in history as Charles the Beloved (or Charles the Mad depending on which biography you read).  Even a brief look at the long and tumultuous life of Charles VI  of France shows how he came by both labels.  It's often difficult to get a clear idea of how mental illness was dealt with through the centuries since the mentally ill rarely find their way into history.  Except of course, when mental illness involved heads of state or other politically important people.  When an absolute monarch such as Charles VI went insane, millions of lives could be affected.  

Crowned as King of France in 1380 at the age of eleven, Charles's uncle Philip served as regent for his first eight years as king.  Despite his rule beginning hopefully enough with an arranged marriage to Isabeau of Bavaria, Charles first began experiencing bouts of psychosis in his early twenties.   While no true clinical descriptions of his psychotic episodes exist, it seems likely to have been some form of schizophrenia.  Despite relatively long periods of  normalcy, Charles' condition would worsen over time. 

The first recorded episode,  and probably the most severe occurred on August 5, 1392.  While in pursuit of a fugitive suspected of an assassination attempt, Charles was riding towards the Breton border with his entourage (including his brother and uncles).  He had been drinking heavily the night before and, despite the hot weather, was wearing a thick velvet jacket and coat.  When they reached the forest of Le Mans, a roughly dressed man (possibly a leper) seized the bridle of the king's horse and screamed that the king would be destroyed if he did not turn back.  The entourage forced the stranger to release the bridle and he was driven off without further incident.   As the royal expedition later exited the forest, one of the king's pages accidentally dropped the lance that he had been carrying.  Startled by the sound, Charles drew his sword and shouted, "Forward against the traitors!  They wish to deliver me to the enemy!".  He then lashed out with his sword and killed four of the five knights nearest to him (the number of knights killed varies in different historical accounts) including one of his own noblemen.  His uncle, the Duke of Burgundy, managed to mobilize the surviving knights and they restrained the king before he could do any more damage.  As Charles lay prostrate on the ground, he was struck mute and his eyes were rolling wildly from side to side (possibly an oculogyric crisis).  He had to be taken back to his castle in an ox-cart. 

Although Charles eventually recovered, he would be prone to intermittent attacks of madness for the rest of his life.  His uncles, who had acted as Charle's regents before he reached adulthood, took control of the government.  This eventually triggered a succession crisis since Charles' younger brother, the Duke of Orleans, insisted that he should rule given the king's "absence".  The uncles overrode him but their mutual animosity contributed to the political unrest of that era.  Despite early optimism that Charles' reign would bring a new era of peace for France, his madness instead helped extend the Hundred Years War  (which was actually 116 years long.  Just saying). 

One of the most horrifying events of Charles' reign occurred in January 1393.  As part of a wedding celebration involving one of Isabeau's ladies-in-waiting,  Charles and some of his friends decided to dress up as "wild men" with costumes of linen and hemp soaked in pitch to make themselves look especially hairy and wild.  The  costumed revelers then chained themselves together and danced for the other guests (it probably seemed like a good idea at the time).  Given their highly flammable costumes, all naked flames were banned but the king's brother then appeared with a lit torch as he had been unaware of the nature of the spectacle.  A "wild man" got too close to the torch and his costume caught fire, quickly spreading to the others.  One reveler burned to death on the spot while two others died later.  Only the quick action of a young duchess kept the king from burning to death as well (she threw her skirts over him to douse the flame).  The disaster has gone down in history as "le Bal des Ardents" (Ball of the Burning Men) and likely did little to help the king's already fragile mental state. 

Historical accounts of the various episodes of madness that Charles experienced throughout his reign tend to vary.  At times not even recognizing his queen or other family members, he would often spend nights running through the castle howling like a wolf.  To keep him inside, the queen and his courtiers ordered the entrances to his residence walled up.  Later in life, he would often refuse to bathe or change his clothes.  He even developed the strange delusion that he was made of glass and insisted on protecting himself to keep from breaking.   Much of the responsibility of caring for the ailing king fell on Queen Isabeau who became increasingly unpopular due to her autocratic rule and extravagant habits.

Given the desperate search for anyone who could cure the king's madness, various charlatans offered their services.  In 1397, two Augustinian monks with a reputation as occult experts  declared that the king was the victim of sorcery.    After reciting some incantations, the king had a brief lucid episode and the monks were richly rewarded.  When Charles had the inevitable relapse, the monks accused the king's brother and his barber of casting spells and both were arrested.  After an investigation turned up no evidence of wrongdoing, the monks were tortured and forced to confess that they were sorcerors themselves.  They were tried, beheaded, and their bodies were drawn and quartered.  Amazingly enough, this failed to discourage others from offering their services in curing the king although their luck was no better.

Never well-liked due to her German background and failure to learn proper French, Isabeau became the target of repeated rumours of infidelity.   Whether or not the rumours were true, her husband's paranoia ensured that men kept their distance from the queen.  In 1417, Queen Isabeau was banished because her husband suspected her of having an affair with her grande maitre, Louis de Bostedon.   Although he could do nothing to the queen herself, Charles ordered Louis arrested and imprisoned.  He then had the unfortunate courtier sewn into a leather sack inscribed with the words Laissez passer la justice du roy (Let the king's justice be carried out) and thrown into the river Seine (even insane kings had to be obeyed).  Two years earlier, following the defeat of the French forces at the Battle of Agincourt, both Charles and Isabeau had been forced to sign the Treaty of Troyes which disinherited their son in favour of King Henry V of England and his wife Catherine (who also happened to be their daughter).  Since Charles was considered to be incompetent, most of the blame for that disastrous treaty fell on Isabeau despite the fact that she had no real choice in the matter. 

After Charles' death in 1422, France effectively became an English territory under the rule of Henry V's descendants.  Henry himself had died within a few months of Charles leaving his young son, Henry VI as nominal ruler of both countries.  As it happened, this set the stage for a far more well known story of madness and monarchy involving a teenaged girl named Jeanne d'Arc (a.k.a. Joan of Arc).  Inspired by voices only she could hear which told her to restore France to French rule, Joan would later lead an army that eventually established Charles and Isabeau's son, Charles VII, as King of France.

But that's another story.

Comments

[Debra Stang]

I always think it's interesting to read about the psychological symptoms displayed by different historical figures. Now, what do you make of Joan of Arc? :-)

Debra Stang
Alliant Professional Networking Specialist
A Great Source for Online CE

[Romeo Vitelli]

I'll get around to her one of these days...