Catherine of France (1428 – 13 July 1446) was a French princess and a countess of Charolais, the first wife of

Charles the Bold Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, ...

, dying before he came to be Duke of Burgundy, when she was his wife he was Count of Charolais. Betrothed to Charles, Count of Charolais per the terms of the Treaty of Arras, she was married in 1440, when she was 12 and her husband 7. She fell ill and died in 1446.

Life

Born in 1428, Catherine was fourth child and second daughter of

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), 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 ...

and

Marie of Anjou Marie of Anjou (14 October 1404 – 29 November 1463) was Queen of France as the spouse of King Charles VII from 1422 to 1461. She served as regent and presided over the council of state several times during the absence of the king. Life Marie ...

. She was betrothed to Charles, Count of Charolais, the Burgundian heir, in accordance with the Treaty of Arras between France and Burgundy from 1435. In 1438, Charles visited the French court with an embassy and formally proposed to Catherine. On 11 June 1439, the couple was officially betrothed at St. Omer, and on May 19, 1440, the wedding was conducted at Blois. Reportedly, Catherine and Charles had a friendly relationship, but due to her youth, Catherine did not live with Charles but was handed over to the care of her spouse's mother

Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy Isabella of Portugal (; 21 February 1397 – 17 December 1471) was Duchess of Burgundy from 1430 to 1467 as the third wife of Duke Philip the Good. Their son was Charles the Bold, the last Valois Duke of Burgundy. Born a Portuguese ''inf ...

, with whom she apparently got along very well, being treated like a substitute daughter. Catherine was described as intelligent, kind and charming and was well liked in Burgundy, but the frequent traveling she was expected to do in parallel to adjusting to the formal court etiquette, which was required at the Burgundian court, described as one of the most elaborate in Europe and constantly moving about between the cities of the Low Countries in a cold climate, was reportedly exhausting for Catherine's delicate health. She fell ill with violent coughing in 1446 and died with what was likely

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. She and Charles had no children.

References

Sources

* * 1428 births 1446 deaths People from the Burgundian State French princesses House of Valois 15th-century French nobility 15th-century French women People of Byzantine descent Daughters of kings {{France-noble-stub