Mad War

Mad War
The Château de Vitré, one of the main fortifications on the Franco-breton border.
Date 1485-1488 Location France Result Royal victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of France	Rebellious Nobles Duchy of Lorraine Duchy of Brittany Lordship of Albret Principality of Orange County of Angoulême Supported by: Holy Roman Empire Kingdom of England Kingdom of Castile-Leon
Commanders and leaders
Charles VIII of France Anne of France Louis II de la Trémoille	René II, Duke of Lorraine Francis II, Duke of Brittany Jean IV de Rieux Louis II, Duke of Orléans Charles, Count of Angoulême Odet d'Aydie John IV of Orange Alain d'Albret

Rebellious Nobles

Supported by:

The Mad War (la Guerre folle in French), also known as the War of the Public Weal, was a late Medieval conflict between a coalition of feudal lords and the French monarchy. It occurred during the regency of Anne of Beaujeu in the period after the death of Louis XI and before the majority of Charles VIII. The war began in 1485 and ended in 1488.

The principal lords involved were Louis II of Orléans, the cousin of the king (and future Louis XII of France); Francis II of Brittany; René II, Duke of Lorraine; Alain d'Albret; Jean de Châlon, Prince of Orange; and Charles, Count of Angoulême. Other leading lords supported the revolt, including Philippe de Commines and Odet d’Aydie, count of Commines and governor of Guyenne.

As a revolt against French royal authority it was supported by the foreign enemies of the King of France: England, Spain and Austria. Its principal outcome was the absorption of Brittany into the French kingdom.

The derogatory expression "Mad War" to designate this struggle of major feudal lords against central royal power was coined by Paul Emile in his Histoire des faicts, gestes et conquestes des roys de France, published in 1581.

There is some dispute about the extent to which the events can be defined as a single war. It followed a long succession of conflicts between royalty and the great lords of the kingdom in the second half of the 15th century, subsequent to the formation of the League of the Public Weal. As part of these power struggles, in 1484-1485, Louis II of Orléans, supported by Francis II of Brittany and a certain number of lords, attempted to depose the regent, Anne de Beaujeu. Mostly by a mixture of diplomacy and shows of force, Anne succeeded in breaking the revolt without a major battle. On 2 November 1485, the Peace of Bourges suspended the hostilities.

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Wikipedia