Charles VII, called the Victorious or the Well-Served, was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a de facto end of the English claims to the French throne.
The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans.
Jean d'Orléans, Count of Dunois, known as the "Bastard of Orléans" or simply Jean de Dunois, was a French military leader during the Hundred Years' War who participated in military campaigns with Joan of Arc. His nickname, the "Bastard of Orléans", was a mark of his high status, since it acknowledged him as a first cousin to the king and acting head of a cadet branch of the royal family during his half-brother's captivity. In 1439 he received the county of Dunois from his half-brother Charles, Duke of Orléans, and later King Charles VII made him count of Longueville.
The Battle of Formigny, fought on 15 April 1450, was a major battle of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. A decisive French victory that destroyed the last significant English field army in Normandy, it paved the way for the capture of their remaining strongholds.
Thomas Basin (1412–1491) was a French bishop of Lisieux and historian.
Georges Chastellain, Burgundian chronicler and poet, was a native of Aalst in Flanders. Chastellain's historical works are valuable for the accurate information they contain. As a poet he was famous among his contemporaries. He was the great master of the school of grands rhétoriqueurs, whose principal characteristics were fondness for the most artificial forms and a profusion of Latinisms and graecisms.
Louis de Brézé, Seigneur d'Anet and Comte de Maulevrier was a French nobleman, the grandson of King Charles VII of France by his natural daughter with his mistress Agnès Sorel.
Waleran de Beaumont (1104–1166) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. In his early adulthood, he was a member of the conspiracy of Amaury III of Montfort; later in his career, he participated in the Anarchy and the Second Crusade. During the reign of Henry II of England, Waleran's close ties to Louis VII of France caused him to fall out of grace.
The Brézé family was an old and distinguished French noble Angevin family.
Antoinette de Maignelais was the cousin of Agnès Sorel, favorite mistress of Charles VII of France until her sudden death in 1450. Married to André de Villequier, one of the king's mignons, she enjoyed a short but fruitful marriage, bearing two sons, until his death in 1454. Antoinette was reportedly her cousin's successor as royal mistress, according to contemporary chroniclers, although she had no children by the king. By 1459 she became the mistress of Francis II, Duke of Brittany. It was rumored that she acted as a spy on Charles VII on behalf of his son, Louis XI.
Gilbert Motier de La Fayette Seigneur of La Fayette, Pontgibaud, Ayes, Nébouzac, Saint-Romain and Montel-de-Gelat was a Marshal of France, namesake of and relation to Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette.
Agnès Sorel, known by the sobriquet Dame de beauté, was a favourite and chief mistress of King Charles VII of France, by whom she bore four daughters. She is considered the first officially recognized royal mistress of a French king. She was the subject of several contemporary paintings and works of art, including Jean Fouquet's Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels.
The Battle of Montlhéry was fought between Louis XI and the League of the Public Weal on 16 July 1465 in the vicinity of Longpont-sur-Orge. It had no clear winner and therefore did not decide the war.
Charlotte de Brézé also known as Charlotte de Valois, was an illegitimate daughter of Charles VII of France by Agnès Sorel. She was the sister of Marie de Valois (1444–1473) and Jeanne de Valois, and the half sister of Louis XI of France.
The Château du Bec-Crespin is a historic castle in Saint-Martin-du-Bec, Seine-Maritime, Upper Normandy, France, 20 km north of Le Havre. It is now a luxury hotel.
Françoise de Brézé, Suo jure Countess of Maulévrier, was a French noblewoman and courtier. She served as Première dame d'honneur to Queen Catherine de' Medici from 1547 until 1560 and was the regent of the Principality of Sedan from 1553 to 1559.
Lyre Abbey was a monastery in Normandy, founded in 1046 at what is now the village of La Vieille-Lyre. From the mid-12th century it was a Benedictine house. It was abolished at the French Revolution and the abbey buildings mostly destroyed.
Louis de Beauvau, lord of Beauvau and Sermaise in Anjou. He was ambassador to Henry VI of England, retainer of the House of Anjou, and close friend of René of Anjou, he was made a knight of the Ordre du Croissant in 1448. On his final diplomatic mission in 1472 to Rome for René, he died.
Pierre I of Beauvau, baron of Beauvau, La Roche-sur-Yon and Champigny-sur-Veude, lord of Craon, of Sablé and Ferté-Bernard by marriage. He was an adviser for Charles VII, and chamberlain, counsellor, governor and lieutenant to dukes, Louis II, Louis III and René of Anjou.
Louise de Brézé (1521–1577), Duchess of Aumale and Dame d'Anet, was a French noblewoman of the 16th century, the second daughter of Diane de Poitiers and Louis de Brézé.
