John, Count of Angoulême

John of Orléans, Count of Angoulême and of Périgord (French: Jean d'Orléans, comte d'Angoulême, 26 June 1399 – 30 April 1467), was a younger son of Louis I, Duke of Orléans, and Valentina Visconti,[1] and a grandson of Charles V of France. He was the younger brother of the noted poet, Charles, Duke of Orléans, and grandfather of Francis I of France.

John, Count of Angoulême
John, Count of Angoulême
Born	28 June 1399
Died	30 April 1467 (aged 67) Cognac
Noble family	House of Valois-Angoulême
Spouse(s)	Marguerite de Rohan
Issue Charles, Count of Angoulême Joan
Father	Louis I, Duke of Orléans
Mother	Valentina Visconti

John was handed over to the English in 1412, according to the terms of the Treaty of Buzançais,[2] and not released until 1444. In 1415 he was joined by his older brother Charles, with whom he shared an interest in literature.[3] He had to sell part of his estates to pay for his ransom, but still collected many books. After that, he fought under the orders of his illegitimate half-brother, Dunois, driving the English out of Guyenne in 1451.

On 31 August 1449, he married Marguerite de Rohan,[4] daughter of Alain IX of Rohan and Margaret of Brittany.[5] They had:

• Louis (1455–1458)
• Charles (1459–1496).[4] Father of Francis I, King of France
• Joan (1462–1520), who married Charles François de Coetivy, count de Taillebourg.

He also had an illegitimate son, Jean de Valois, bastard of Angoulême, who was legitimised in 1458.

"Good Count John" died in 1467. He is buried in the Cathedral of Angoulême.

References

1. Adams 2010, p. 255.
2. Kosto 2012, p. 121.
3. Knecht 1994, p. 1.
4. O'Day 2010, p. 239.
5. Booton 2010, p. 321-322.

Sources

• Adams, Tracy (2010). The Life and Afterlife of Isabeau of Bavaria. Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Booton, Diane E. (2010). Manuscripts, Market and the Transition to Print in Late Medieval Brittany. Ashgate.
• Knecht, R.J. (1994). Renaissance Warrior and Patron: The Reign of Francis I. Cambridge University Press.
• Kosto, Adam J. (2012). Hostages in the Middle Ages. Oxford University Press.
• O'Day, Rosemary (2010). The Routledge Companion to the Tudor Age. Routledge.