Philip, Count of Vertus
Philip, Count of Vertus | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 July 1396 Asnières-sur-Oise, Val d'Oise, France |
| Died | 1 September 1420 (aged 24) Beaugency, Loiret, France |
| Noble family | House of Valois-Orléans |
| Father | Louis I, Duke of Orléans |
| Mother | Valentina Visconti |
Philip of Orléans, Count of Vertus (Template:Lang-fr, 21/24 July 1396 – 1 September 1420), was the second son of Louis I, Duke of Orléans, and Valentina Visconti, and a grandson of Charles V of France. His older brother was the noted poet Charles, Duke of Orléans and his younger brother was John, Count of Angoulême.
Life
Little is known about his early years. His first important action took place on 15 April 1410, when he joined to the Armagnac party at the League of Gien. Under the terms of the Peace of Auxerre (22 August 1412), Philip was betrothed to Catherine, demoiselle de Guise, second daughter of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy; at the end, this marriage was never celebrated.
He served in the army of King Charles VI of France and accompanied him to Picardy and Artois (1414). When his brother Charles was captured at the Battle of Agincourt (25 October 1415), he took care of all the family domains and supports the Dauphin Charles (future Charles VII) in his quarrel against the English and Burgundians. In 1418 Philip was appointed Lieutenant General of the King in the army who besieged and took Parthenay in Poitou. He remained under the service of the Dauphin and his army in Poitou and Berry, in charge of the custody of the lands situated between the Seine and Loire.
Philip of Vertus suddenly died at the age of twenty-four, unmarried and without legitimate issue. His unexpected death was a terrible blow to the cause of the Dauphin, because he was his best supporter.
He left a natural son named Philip Anthony, called the Bastard of Vertus, who enters at the service of his uncle Duke Charles of Orléans since 1436, and was later governor of Blois. He also participated in the siege of Montereau occupied by the English, and was appointed governor of Coucy by King Charles VII in 1443; his death took place certainly before 18 July 1445, when the executors of his will taken actions for his possesions. He died without issue (a family "of Vertus" claimed descendance from the bastard, but there is no indication who supported this argument. Its origin remains unclear).
According to a legend, the sculptor Camille Claudel and his brother the poet Paul Claudel descended from another bastard of Philip of Vertus conceived by him in his lands of Champagne.