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
Among the people who have borne the title of Count of Poitiers (, ; or ''Poitou'', in what is now France but in the Middle Ages became part of Aquitaine) are:
*Bodilon
*Saint Warinus, Warinus (638–677), son of Bodilon
*Hatton (735-778)
Car ...
and
Montpensier. His brothers were King
Charles V of France
Charles V (21 January 1338 – 16 September 1380), called the Wise (; ), was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380. His reign marked an early high point for France during the Hundred Years' War as his armies recovered much of the terri ...
, Duke
Louis I of Anjou and Duke
Philip the Bold
Philip II the Bold (; ; 17 January 1342 – 27 April 1404) was Duke of Burgundy and ''jure uxoris'' Count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy. He was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxembourg.
Philip was th ...
of Burgundy. He was Regent of France from 1380 to 1388 during the minority of his nephew
Charles VI.
John is primarily remembered as a collector of the important
illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...
s and other works of art commissioned by him, such as the . His personal
motto
A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...
was ''Le temps venra'' ("the time will come").
Biography
John was born at the castle of
Vincennes
Vincennes (; ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Vincennes is famous for its castle: the Château de Vincennes. It is next to but does not include the ...
on 30 November 1340, the third son of King
John II of France
John II (; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed between a thir ...
and
Bonne of Luxembourg. In 1356, he was made Count of
Poitou
Poitou ( , , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe.
Geography
The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical ...
by his father, and in 1358 he was named king's lieutenant of
Auvergne,
Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately .
History
...
,
Périgord
Périgord ( , ; ; or ) is a natural region and former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne department, now forming the northern part of the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is divided into f ...
, 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, his father 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
The Bourbonnais (; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Borbonés'') was a Provinces of France, historic province in the centre of France that corresponds to the modern ''département in France, département'' of Allier, along with part of the ''dépar ...
,
Forez
Forez (; ) is a Provinces of France, former province of France, corresponding approximately to the central part of the modern Loire (department), Loire ''département in France, département'' and a part of the Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dôme ''dépa ...
,
Sologne
Sologne (; ) is a natural region in Centre-Val de Loire, France, extending over portions of the departements of Loiret, Loir-et-Cher and Cher. Its area is about . To its north is the river Loire, to its south the river Cher, while the district ...
,
Touraine
Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vien ...
,
Anjou,
Maine
Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
, and
Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
.
Service as regent
Upon the death of his older brother Charles V in 1380, the latter's son and heir,
Charles VI was a minor, so John and his brothers, along with the king's maternal uncle the
Duke of Bourbon
Duke of Bourbon () is a title in the peerage of France. It was created in the first half of the 14th century for the eldest son of Robert of France, Count of Clermont, and Beatrice of Burgundy, heiress of the lordship of Bourbon. In 1416, wi ...
acted as regents. He was also appointed
Lieutenant General in Languedoc in November of the same year, where he was forced to deal with the
Harelle, a peasants' revolt spurred by heavy taxation in support of the war effort against the English. Following the death of Louis of Anjou in 1384, John and his brother, the Duke of Burgundy, were the dominant figures in the kingdom. The king ended the regency and took power into his own hands in 1388, giving the governance of the kingdom largely to his father's former ministers, who were political enemies of the king's powerful uncles. John was also stripped of his offices in Languedoc at that time. John and the duke bided their time, and were soon able to retake power, in 1392, when the king had his first attack of insanity, an affliction which would remain with him throughout his life.
In the 1390s, the dukes of Berry and Burgundy would jockey for royal favor against the Duke of Orléans, Charles VI's brother. In April of 1401, while the Duke of Orléans was away from court, King Charles VI's uncles made him sign the lieutenancy of Languedoc, Berry, Auvergne, and Poitou back over to Jean de Berry.
Simon of Cramaud, a canonist and prelate, served John in his efforts to find a way to end the
Great Western schism
The Western Schism, also known as the Papal Schism, the Great Occidental Schism, the Schism of 1378, or the Great Schism (), was a split within the Catholic Church lasting from 20 September 1378 to 11 November 1417, in which bishops residing ...
that was not unfavorable to French interests.
Later life
In his later years, John became a more conciliatory figure in France. After the death of Philip the Bold in 1404, he was the last surviving son of King John, and generally tried to play the role of a peacemaker between the factions of his nephews
Louis of Orléans and
John the Fearless
John I (; ; 28 May 1371 – 10 September 1419) was a scion of the French royal family who ruled the Burgundian State from 1404 until his assassination in 1419. He played a key role in French national affairs during the early 15th century, part ...
. After the murder of Orléans at the orders of the Duke of Burgundy, he generally took the Orléanist or
Armagnac
Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac (region), Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni ...
side in the civil war that erupted, but was always a moderate figure, attempting to reconcile the two sides and promote internal peace. It was largely due to John's urging that Charles VI and his sons were not present at the
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt ( ; ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected victory of the vastly outnumbered English troops agains ...
in 1415. Remembering his father's fate as a captive after the
Battle of Poitiers
The Battle of Poitiers was fought on 19September 1356 between a Kingdom of France, French army commanded by King John II of France, King JohnII and an Kingdom of England, Anglo-Gascony, Gascon force under Edward the Black Prince, Edward, the ...
fifty-nine years before, he feared the fate of France if the king and his heirs should be taken captive and he therefore successfully prevented their participation. John died on 15 June 1416 in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
a few months after the battle, which proved as disastrous as he had feared.
Family and children
John sired the following children by his first wife,
Joanna of Armagnac (1346–1387), whom he married in 1360:
*
Bonne of Berry (1367–1435), who succeeded him as Viscountess of Carlat and married first
Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy, and then
Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac.
*Charles of Berry,
Count of Montpensier
The French lordship of Montpensier (named after the village of Montpensier, département of Puy-de-Dôme), located in historical Auvergne, became a countship in the 14th century.
It changed hands from the House of Thiern, to the House of B ...
(1371–1383)
*Jeanne of Berry (1373–1375)
*Beatrice of Berry (April 1374)
*
Marie of Berry (1375–1434), who succeeded him as
Duchess of Auvergne and married first
Louis III of Châtillon, then
Philip of Artois, Count of Eu
Philip of Artois (1358 – 16 June 1397), sometimes Philip I, son of John of Artois, Count of Eu, and Isabeau of Melun, was Count of Eu from 1387 until his death, succeeding his brother Robert.
Philip was an ignoble and hotheaded soldier. ...
and finally
John I, Duke of Bourbon.
*
John de Valois, Count of Montpensier, (1375/1376–1397), first married
Catherine of France, daughter of
Charles V, King of France; and later married
Anne de Bourbon.
*Louis of Berry (1383, died young)
Illegitimate son by a Scottish woman:
*Owuoald (1370 – before 1382), born in England during John's captivity.
In 1389 he married his second wife,
Joan II, Countess of Auvergne (c.1378-1424).
Art patron

John of Berry was also a notable patron who commissioned works such as the most famous
Book of Hours
A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...
, the
''Très Riches Heures''. "Like other works produced on the duke’s auspices, this model of elegance reflected many of the artistic tendencies of the time in its fusion of Flemish realism, of the refined Parisian style, and of Italian panel-painting techniques." Admiring the artistic productions of
Jean Pucelle, John employed several well-known artists such as the
Limbourg Brothers,
Jacquemart de Hesdin, the
Master of the Brussels Initials, and
André Beauneveu. His curiosity to illumination and patronage led to much success on preserving and absorbing talented miniaturist painters. His spending on his art collection severely taxed his estates, and he was deeply in debt when he died in 1416 at Paris.
Works created for him include the manuscripts known as the ''Très Riches Heures'', the ''
Belles Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry'' and (parts of) the ''
Turin-Milan Hours''. Goldsmith's work includes the
Holy Thorn Reliquary and
Royal Gold Cup, both in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
.
The web site of the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
says of him: After the death of John's maternal grandfather,
John the Blind, during the
Battle of Crecy (1346), the famed court composer and poet
Guillaume de Machaut
Guillaume de Machaut (, ; also Machau and Machault; – April 1377) was a French composer and poet who was the central figure of the style in late medieval music. His dominance of the genre is such that modern musicologists use his death to ...
entered into the service of John of Berry.
Ancestors
Footnotes
Sources
*
*
*
External links
*Stein, Wendy A
"Patronage of Jean de Berry (1340–1416)" In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
, 2000–. (May 2009)
*
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{{Authority control
1340 births
1416 deaths
14th-century regents
People from Vincennes
Military governors of Paris
Dukes of Berry
Dukes of Auvergne
Dukes of Montpensier
Counts of Angoulême
House of Valois-Burgundy
French art collectors
Jure uxoris counts
14th-century peers of France
15th-century peers of France
Sons of kings