CHRONICLES OF THE REIGN OF CHARLES VI, KING OF FRANCE

Jean Juvénal des Ursins

Written by one of the most engaging writers of the 15th century, the Chronicles of the Reign of Charles VI (1380-1422) is a vivid depiction of a society on the brink of collapse: a monarch sinking into insanity, a country ruined by the Franco-English war and plagues, and delivered to clans (Armagnacs and Burgundians) ready for all kinds of reneging and violence in order to seize a faltering power. It was also a time of hope, as a political society emerged from this chaos in search of reform, concerned with the public good and peace. The voice of the first great French political consciences is expressed in the assemblies but also in the secrecy of nightly conciliations. A time when the irrational still reigns, scrutinizing the stars, questioning witches and monks in search of messages from heaven.
Jean Juvénal des Ursins, finally recognized as the author of this book marked by the memories and the strong personality of his father, witness and actor of this contrasted time, draws a personal and striking picture. His Chronicles, now made available in modern French, is rich in lessons for any period crossed by crises, which sees the old authority collapsing and emerging in pain and hope of new legitimacies.

Jean Juvénal des Ursins, born in 1388 and died in 1473, was the son of the powerful provost of the merchants of Paris, a close friend of King Charles VI. A lawyer at the Parliament, he had a brilliant career as a political orator, diplomat and prelate. Archbishop of Rheims, he presided over the rehabilitation trial of Joan of Arc (1456).