harolais from John, count of Armagnac. On the
death of Charles V. in 1380 Philip and his brothers, the dukes of Anjou and
Berry, had possessed themselves of the regency, and it was he who led
Charles VI. against the rebellious Flemings, over whom the young king
gained the victory of Roosebeke in 1382. Momentarily deprived of power
during the period of the "Marmousets'" government, he devoted himself to
the administration of his own dominions, establishing in 1386 an
audit-office (_chambre des comptes_) at Dijon and another at Lille. In 1396
he refused to take part personally in the expedition against the Turks
which ended in the disaster of Nicopolis, and would only send his son John,
then count of Nevers. In 1392 the king's madness caused Philip's recall to
power along with the other princes of the blood, and from this time dates
that hostility between the party of Burgundy and the party of Orleans which
was to become so intense when in May 1404 Duke Philip had been succeeded by
his son, John the Fearless.

In 1407 the latter caused the assassination of his political rival, Louis
of Orleans, the king's brother. Forced to quit Paris for a time, he soon
returned, supported in particular by the gild of the butchers and by the
university. The monk Jean Petit pronounced an apology for the murder
(1408).

The victory of Hasbain which John achieved on the 23rd of September 1408
over the Liegeois, who had attacked his brother-in-law, John of Bavaria,
bishop of Liege, still further strengthened his power and reputation, and
during the following years the struggle between the Burgundians and the
partisans of the duke of Orleans--or Armagnacs, as they were called--went
on with varying results. In 1413 a reaction took place in Paris; John the
Fearless was once more expelled from the capital, and only returned there
in 1418, thanks to the treason of Perrinet Leclerc, who yielded up the town
to him. In 1419, just when he was thinking of making advances towards the
party of the dauphin (Charles VII.), he was assassinated by members of that
party, during an interview between himself and the dauphin at the bridge of
Montereau.

This event inclined the new duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, towards an
alliance with England. In 1420 he signed the treaty of Troyes, which
recognized Henry V. as the legitimate successor of Charles VI.; in 1423 he
gave his sister Anne in marriage to John, duke of Bedford; and during the
following years the