The Good King : René of Anjou and Fifteenth Century Europe

"Rene of Anjou is best known to English language readers as the father of Margaret, queen of Henry VI. Reni's failure to make good his claim to the kingdom of Naples or to give his daughter a decent dowry condemn him as a loser. Yet he is still remembered in his lands of Anjou and Provence as "good king Rene." This book discusses his career and reputation with his contemporaries and posterity in the context of his family fortunes, patronage of the arts and the crises that beset Europe: conflicts within the Catholic Church, the Empire, Italy and the Hundred Years War."--Jacket King Rene is little known beyond France, yet, through his controversial daughter Margaret of Anjou, he affected events in England during the Wars of the Roses. Rene's court rivalled Burgundy in its rich artistic culture and his claim to the kingdom of Naples started a process that led to enormous changes in the power structure of Southern Europe.$bRene of Anjou is an engaging and complex figure and his qualities as a ruler controversial. A great French prince and claimant to the Crown of Naples, his career began with disastrous defeats by Burgundy and Aragon. Yet the marriage of his daughter Margaret to Henry VI of England confirmed the great influence his family enjoyed with Charles VII of France; he accompanied Charles on the major campaign that marked the end of the Hundred Years War. During the 1440s and 1450s he ruled his domains wisely, staged three great tournaments and founded a knightly order, establishing the glamorous reputation of his court, and composed devotional and chivalrous works. Rene and his martial son, John of Calabria, struggled to deep their favoured position under Louis XI of France. John's premature death doomed the Angevin dynasty to extinction but Rene's diplomatic response to Louis's aggression during his final years saved his subjects from the horrors of civil war and ensured his reputation as a cultivated prince of peace René of Anjou is an engaging and complex figure and his qualities as a ruler controversial. A great French prince and claimant to the Crown of Naples, his career began with disastrous defeats by Burgundy and Aragon. Yet the marriage of his daughter Margaret to Henry VI of England confirmed the great influence his family enjoyed with Charles VII of France; he accompanied Charles on the major campaign that marked the end of the Hundred Years War. During the 1440s and 1450s he ruled his domains wisely, staged three great tournaments and founded a knightly order, establishing he glamorous reputation of his court, and composed devotional and chivalrous works. René and his martial son, John of Calabria, struggled to deep their favoured position under Louis XI of France. John's premature death doomed the Angevin dynasty to extinction but René's diplomatic response to Louis's aggression during his final years saved his subjects from the horrors of civil war and ensured his reputation as a cultivated prince of peace Front Matter....Pages i-xvi Introduction: ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ Kings....Pages 1-10 Anjou, Bar, Lorraine and Provence....Pages 11-44 Naples: the ‘Italian Wasp-Nest’....Pages 45-79 The End of the Hundred Years War....Pages 80-133 René’s Court....Pages 134-197 The Dissolution of René’s apanage....Pages 198-246 Conclusion: the Paradox of the Good King....Pages 247-254 Back Matter....Pages 255-284 King René is little known beyond France, yet, through his controversial daughter Margaret of Anjou, he affected events in England during the Wars of the Roses. René's court rivalled Burgundy in its rich artistic culture and his claim to the kingdom of Naples started a process that led to enormous changes in the power structure of Southern Europe Margaret L. Kekewich. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 255-266) And Index.