John | |
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Duke of Berry | |
Image of John, Duke of Berry from the Très Riches Heures
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Born |
Château de Vincennes |
30 November 1340
Died | 15 June 1416 Paris |
(aged 75)
Spouse |
Joan of Armagnac Joan II, Countess of Auvergne |
Issue |
Jean de Valois, Count of Montpensier Bonne, Viscountess of Carlat Marie, Duchess of Auvergne |
House | Valois-Burgundy |
Father | John II of France |
Mother | Bonne of Bohemia |
John of Berry or John the Magnificent (French: Jean de Berry; 30 November 1340 – 15 June 1416) was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. He was the third son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxemburg; his brothers were King Charles V of France, Duke Louis I of Anjou and Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy. He is primarily remembered as a collector of the important illuminated manuscripts and other works of art commissioned by him, such as the Très Riches Heures.
He was born at the castle of Vincennes on 30 November 1340. In 1356, he was made Count of Poitou by his father, and in 1358 he was named king's lieutenant of Auvergne, Languedoc, Périgord, and Poitou to administer those regions in his father's name while the king was a captive of the English. When Poitiers was ceded to England in 1360, John II granted John the newly raised duchies of Berry and Auvergne. By the terms of the Treaty of Brétigny, signed that May, John became a hostage of the English Crown and remained in England until 1369. Upon his return to France, his brother, now King Charles V, appointed him lieutenant general for Berry, Auvergne, Bourbonnais, Forez, Sologne, Touraine, Anjou, Maine, and Normandy.