Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/593

* CHARLES II. 513 CHARLES VII. son, Life of Milton (London, 1873-94). For favor- able estimates of Charles, consult : Giiiney, "An Enquirendo into the Wit and Other Good Parts of his Late Majesty King Charles the Second," in Patrius (Boston, 1S97) : and Street, "An Eulojij- of Cliarles the Second," in Quales Ego (London, ISOfx. CHARLES I.. THE B.i,D (translation of Fr. r;ior/<s Ic VInnice) (S23-77). Kinp of France from 843 to 877 ; as Roman ICniperor, Charles II. He was the son of Louis the I'ious. by his sec- ond wife, Judith. The determination of .Judith to secure a kingdom for her son led to repeated wars between the sons of Louis, until, by the Treaty of Verdun (q.v.), in 843, Charles re- ceived the western portion of the empire, which from this time may be called the Kingdom of France; or, more strictly, the West-Frankish Kingdom. The government of Charles was weak : the great nobles were rapidly becom- ing independent : the Xorthmen pillaged the ■country, almost without resistjince on the part of Charles, who bribed them to depart. Yet on the death of the Emperor Louis II., in 875, Charles received the imperial crown, through the favor of the Pope. He died in 877. CHARLES II., THE Fat (translation of Fr. CAor/e.s le (iros, Ger. Knrl der Dirlc) (839-88). King of France after 885 ; as Roman Emperor, Charles III. He was the third son of Louis the Oernian (q.v.). At his father's death, in 876, he became King of only a portion of Germany; but within eight years seven kings of the Caro- lingian line met with untimely deaths, and only one left a legitimate heir. In 885 the only two representatives of the male line were Charles -and a boy five years old. afterwards Charles the Simple of France. Consequently, Charles was recognized as King, and ruled over almost all the lands which had formed the empire of Charles the Great. He was also cro^vned Em- peror of the Romans in 881. He was a weak and cowardly ruler. When the Xorthmen be- sieged Paris he made no resistance, but bribed them to leave the capital, and allowed them to plunder elsewhere. His subjects revolted. He was deposed in 887, and died in .January, 888. CHARLES III., THE Simple (translation of Fr. Charles le Simple, or le Sot) (879-929). Kin" of France from 893 to 929. He was the posthumous son of Louis the Stammerer. At the death of Charles the Fat, Eudes. Count of Paris, was chosen King of France; but many of the Franks were still faithful to the Carolin- gian dj-nasty (q.v.), and rallied about Charles. In 893 he assumed the crown, and, after three years of fighting, forced Eudes to promise him the succession to the kingdom. Consequently, on the death of Eudes, in 898, he was generally recognized as King: but he proved to be a weak ruler. His most important act was the cession of the future Normandy (q.v.) to the Northmen. In 922 his subjects revolted. In 923 he was made a prisoner, and died in captivity in 929. CHARLES rV., THE F.ir (translation of • Fr. fhnrlrs le liel) ( 1294-1328) . King of France from 1322 to 1328, and the last of the Capetian line. He was the youngest son of Philip IV., the Fair, and succeeded his brother, Philip V. His policy was to strengthen and consolidate the royal power. This he did by repressing unruly nobles, increasing the royal revenue, and adding cities, such as those of the Agenais, which ho took from the English, to the royal domains. He introduced some financial reforms and expelled the Lombard bankers, who were much disliked. CHARLES v.. THE Wise (translation of Fr. Charlvs le Sa^e) (1337-80). King of France from 131)4 to 1380. He was the son of King John II., the Good, and on his father's being made prisoner by the English at the battle of Poitiers (September 10, 1350) he assumed the regency. The most significant event of his rule was the vigorous efl'ort of the peasants, aided by a part of the bourgeoisie, to deliver themselves from the tyranny of nobles and the Court, which resulted in the popular uprising called the ■lacquerie (q.v.). I'pcm the death of his father, in 13{)4, Charles ascended the throne. By his cautious policy lie succeeded in introducing order in the kingdom, and in reestablishing the power of the Crown, which had been much shaken. XA'ar with England raged for a number of years, but with results highly favorable to Charles, v. ho stripped his enemies of all their conquests in France except a few fortified places. He died September Ifi, 1380. Charles was a generous patron of literature and the arts. He founded the Bibliothfque Royale, and increased the priv- ileges of the university. He rid himself of the so-called 'grand companies' — bands of mercenaries who were terrorizing many parts of the coimtry — b.v employing them in wars outside of France. (See Du GfEscLix.) He built the Bastille to keep the turbulent citizens of Paris in order. CHARLES VX. ( 1308-1422) . King of France from 13S0 to 1422. He was the son and suc- cessor of Charles V., and less than thirteen years of age at his father's death. For several years he was under the guardianship of four uncles, one of whom (the Duke of Anjou) acted as regent. Their ambitions led to civil war. In 1388 Charles took the government into his own hands, and ruled well for some years, till he be- came insane. A regent was appointed, and party strife broke out again. The two great par- ties into which the nation was divided were those of Orlfans and Burgundy. Each party, at differ- ent times, called in the English to its aid. Henry V. took advantage of the civil conflict, and at the battle of Agincourt, in 1415, won a victory which left France almost helpless. Mur- ders, massacre, and all the horrors of civil war devastated France until, in 1420, a peace was made at Troves, by which Charles VI. disin- herited his son and accepted Henry V. as his successor. He died October 21, 1422. leaving most of France in the hands of the English. See. Agixcourt; Artevelde, Philip van : Fbaxce. CHARLES VII. (1403-61). King of France from 1422 to 1401. He was the fifth son and the successor of Charles 'I., and was born on Feb- ruarv- 22, 1403. When his father died Charles had little prospect of ruling France. Paris and almost all the north were in the hands of the English, who proclaimed as King Henry VI. of England, who was then 18 months old. and made the Duke of Bedford regent. For the first si.x years Charles showed little energy, and was compelled by the English to evacuate Chaiu- liagne and ilainc. In 1427 the French forces obtained their first success, when the English failed in their siege of Montargis: but in Oc- tober, 1428, the latter invested Orleans, which