of John’s political behavior, especially in the years following the assassination of his
nephew Louis of Orléans in 1407, show him to have been unethical, unreliable, and
selfish. Despite this evidence, contemporaries viewed him as gregarious, eloquent, and
philanthropic. He did show both consistency and determination in his ecclesiastical
policy, being the French prince most committed to ending the papal Schism.
After April 1404, as the king’s sole surviving paternal uncle, John enjoyed a
prestigious position and important role at court, serving as mediator between the
Burgundian and Armagnac parties, particularly after the murder of the duke of Orléans.
He was married twice: in 1360 to Jeanne d’Armagnac and, after her death, in 1389 to
Jeanne de Boulogne. He died in Paris on June 15, 1416, leaving no male heirs.
Richard C.Famiglietti
One of the greatest patrons in the history of art, John was an inveterate collector—of
books, dogs, castles, tapestries, jewels, and objets d’art, whether antique or
contemporary. If he overtaxed his people, as has been claimed, it was to transform his
immense wealth into works of art. Probably the best-known work commissioned by him
is the unfinished Très Riches Heures (Chantilly, Musée Condé), illuminated by the
Limbourg brothers and Jean Colombe. The famous calendar illuminations in this
manuscript picture some of the duke’s seventeen castles: Lusignan, Dourdan, Hotel de
Nesle, Clain, Étampes, Saumur, the Louvre, and Vincennes. Another favorite castle,
Mehun-sur-Yèvre, dominates the Temptation of Christ scene. Other works illuminated by
the brothers include the Très Belles Heures de Notre Dame (B.N. lat. 3093) and the
Belles Heures (New York, The Cloisters). They also contributed a miniature of the duke
setting off on a jour ney in the Petites Heures (B.N. lat. 18014) and some scenes in
grisaille for a Bible historiale (B.N. fr. 166). Another famous book of hours associated
with the duke is the Grandes Heures (B.N. lat. 919), commissioned in 1407 and
completed in 1409. Unfortunately, its original sixteen large miniatures, possibly by
Jacquemart de Hesdin, who had illuminated the Heures de Bruxelles (before 1402) for the
duke, have been lost. The list of artists contributing small miniatures reads like a who’s
who of the day, including the Boucicaut and Bedford Masters, as well as the Pseudo-
Jacquemart. Other artists in the duke’s employ were his master architect Gui de
Dammartin, André Beauneveu, and Jean de Cambrai, who sculpted the duke’s tomb.
John’s extensive library included thirty-eight chivalric romances, forty-one histories,
as well as works by Aristotle, Nicole Oresme, and Marco Polo. His secular books were
outnumbered by religious works, especially prayer books: fourteen Bibles, sixteen
psalters, eighteen breviaries, six missals, and fifteen books of hours. Of the over 300
illuminated manuscripts in the duke’s library, some one hundred are extant today. Most
of the other objects in his collections are known to us only through the extensive registers
he caused to be kept after 1401.
William W.Kibler
[See also: ARMAGNACS; BEAUNEVEU, ANDRÉ; BOOK OF HOURS;
CHARLES VI; COLOMBE, JEAN; ENAMELING; LIBRARIES; LIMBOURG
BROTHERS; MEHUN-SUR-YÈVRE; PHILIP III THE BOLD]
Guiffrey, J. Inventaires de Jean, duc de Berry (1401–1416). 2 vols. Paris, 1894–96.
Lacour, René. Le gouvernement de l’apanage de Jean, duc de Berry 1360–1416. Paris: Picard,
1934.
Lehoux, Francoise. Jean de France, duc de Berri: sa vie, son action politique. 4 vols. Paris: Picard,
1966–68.
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