Yolande of Aragon. A Tribute. Part Two. Angers.
Château d'Angers. Photo: Mark Playle.
My aim was to travel in my heroine’s footsteps but alas I never did make it to Spain.
Yolande, for all her devotion to France, her adopted country, was in fact a Spanish Princess, the daughter of King John I of Aragon and Violant of the duchy of Bar.
Her father left little mark but her mother was an altogether different ball game. Violant was regent of Aragon.
Yolande watched her chair councils, negotiate with nobles, manage conflicts, navigate diverse and hostile political interests.
She gave Yolande a blueprint.
When she was nineteen Yolande married duke Louis II of Anjou. They had six children: Louis, Marie, René, Yolande, Charles and Isabelle.
Marie was engaged to Charles, Count of Ponthieu, the youngest son of mad king Charles VI and mad queen Isabeau when she was a few months old. He was about a year old.
Yolande whisked the boy from Paris and brought him up with her own children in her château, Saumur. It was never expected he would ever be the Dauphin but his three older brothers died young and left no sons.
In 1417 when her husband died, Yolande, like her mother, became regent. She was about thirty-two.
Château Angers was Yolande’s Office, her seat of operations. This is where she fought to wrench the French Crown from England and keep the Dauphin’s cause alive.
The Château of Angers, is, quite, literally, awesome. Worth a visit if only to gawp at the mighty walls, one of which is virtually on the pavement.
From the outside its hard to see how anyone lived there. The royal apartments are hidden from view.
It was from here that Yolande recruited Scottish troops to fight the English in the Battle of Baugé, which was practically on her door step.
It was a resounding victory. A small miracle.
The defeated army’s commander was none other than the Duke of Clarence, Henry V ’s brother. Baugé was the first hint that that the famous and dreaded by the French English (actually Welsh) longbow may not be invincible.
As covered in the last post, Yolande made Joan of Arc her protégée.
With her wealth and influence and Joan’s message from God these two women retrieved the throne of France.
When tragic Joan was no longer needed she was done away with.
Yolande was needed by her son in law Charles VII until the day she died. She stabilised a bankrupt France after it had defended itself from the English for one hundred and eighteen years.
It was her wisdom and her financial resources which helped turn the tide in favour of France.
The rebirth of France happened not in Paris, but in the Loire Valley. Yolande was the midwife. Without her, the French monarchy would have collapsed.
Next Time. Château Saumur, where Charles VII, the king of France grew up.
Post by Pamela Shields BA, Photography by Mark Playle.
Read more about Yolande
Out of the Shadows
A Royal Childhood
