Bonne of Armagnac

Bonne of Armagnac
Duchess of Orléans
Marriage of Charles and Bonne at the Chateau de Dourdan – from the Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry
Born	19 February 1399 Lavardens
Died	1430–35 Castelnau-de-Montmiral
Spouse	Charles, Duke of Orléans
House	Armagnac
Father	Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac
Mother	Bonne of Berry

Bonne of Armagnac (19 February 1399 – 1430/35) was the eldest daughter of Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac and Constable of France, and of Bonne of Berry.

Marriage

On 15 August 1410 at the age of 11, she married Charles, Duke of Orléans (left an orphan by his father Louis's assassination in 1407). This marriage made the constable not only Charles's father-in-law but also his natural defender. The Orléans party, left without a leader by Louis's death, thus became the Armagnac party, the name it held up to the treaty of Arras in 1435.

Following the French defeat at the Battle of Agincourt on 25 October 1415, Charles was taken prisoner by the English. Bonne had not borne any children prior to his imprisonment. She died sometime between 1430 and 1435 while her husband was still in captivity.

In literature and art

Bonne appears in the critically acclaimed historical novel Het woud der verwachting (1949) by Hella Haasse, (translated into English in 1989 under the title "In a Dark Wood Wandering"). The novel portrays the life of Bonne's husband Charles.

Charles and Bonne's marriage at the Chateau de Dourdan is depicted in the elaborate illuminated manuscript entitled Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry). It was created between c.1412 to 1416, and is considered one of the very best surviving examples. Because it is contemporary with the events depicted, it is an important resource for more accurately understanding the clothing worn by various classes, and other historical aspects of the period, unlike many imagined versions in paintings created in Victorian period. In addition, the individual persons depicted, although not detailed, may be accurate.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Bonne of Armagnac

16. Bernard VI of Armagnac, Count of Armagnac (=28) 8. John I of Armagnac, Count of Armagnac (=14) 17. Cecile de Rodez (=29) 4. John II of Armagnac, Count of Armagnac 18. Jean de Clermont, Count of St. Charolais (=30) 9. Beatrice de Clermont, Dame de Charolais (=15) 19. Jeanne d'Argies (=31) 2. Bernard VII of Armagnac, Count of Charolais, Count of Armagnac 20. Helie IX Talairand, Count of Périgord 10. Roger-Bernard I, Count of Périgord 21. Brunissende de Foix 5. Jeanne de Périgord 22. Bouchard VI of Vendôme 11. Eléonore de Vendôme 23. Alix of Brittany 1. Bonne of Armagnac 24. Philip VI of France 12. John II of France 25. Jeanne of Burgundy 6. John, Duke of Berry 26. John the Blind of Luxembourg 13. Bonne of Luxembourg 27. Elisabeth of Bohemia 3. Bonne de Berry 28. Bernard VI of Armagnac, Count of Armagnac (=16) 14. John I of Armagnac, Count of Armagnac (=8) 29. Cecile de Rodez (=17) 7. Jeanne of Armagnac 30. Jean de Clermont, Count of St. Charolais (=18) 15. Beatrice of Clermont, Dame de Charolais (=9) 31. Jeanne d'Argies (=19)

Sources

• Neillands, Robin (2001). The Hundred Years War. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-26131-7.