Radegonde of Valois

Radegonde of Valois (born in Chinon in August 1428 and died in Tours on March 19, 1445), was a French princess, eldest daughter of King Charles VII of France and Marie of Anjou . She was betrothed to Sigismund, Archduke of Austria.

Radegonde of Valois
BornAugust 1428
Chinon
Died19 March 1445
Tours
Burial
Saint-Gatien cathedral of Tours
HouseValois
FatherCharles VII of France
MotherMarie of Anjou

She was born in the city of Chinon in August 1428, as evidenced by an act of the Queen's Treasurer General dated August 29 of this year, referring to the "gesine recently made in the city of Chinon, Madame Arragonde of France"[1]

The young princess, the eldest daughter of the king, was baptized in honour of Saint Radegund, to whom her father devoted a particular cult. According to Christian de Mérindol, this choice was explained by reasons both political, historical and religious, in this particular context of reconquest of the kingdom of France on the English:

"The name of Radegonde had several meanings: symbol of the city of Poitiers, seat of the second Parliament, so place of resistance in Paris, in the hands of the English and Burgundians, symbol of legitimacy, because the saint was the wife of Clotaire, the son of Clovis, finally a saint who could only attract the graces of heaven, so necessary to the young king. "[2]

She is the only princess of royal blood to have borne this name within the Capetian lineage.[3]

On April 22, 1430, her father promised her in marriage to Sigismund, born in 1427, son of the Archduke Frederick of Austria, Count of Tyrol.

Radegonde with her betrothed Sigismund, Archduke of Austria and his successive wives Eleanor of Scotland and Catherine, Archduchess of Austria.

She became ill in Tours in 1445, perhaps suffering from pleurisy contracted after returning on foot from a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Notre-Dame de l'Epine.[4]

She died on March 19, at the age of 16 years.[5]

She is buried in the Saint-Gatien cathedral of Tours.[6]

Her fiancé, Sigismund of Austria, married in 1449 Eleanor of Scotland, daughter of King James I of Scotland and Joan Beaufort.

References
  1. du Fresne de Beaucourt, Gaston (1882). Histoire de Charles VII. Vol. II : Le roi de Bourges, 1422-1435 (in French). Paris: Librairie de la Société bibliographique. p. 187.
  2. Christian de Mérindol, « Le culte de sainte Radegonde et la monarchie française à la fin du Moyen Âge », dans Les Religieuses dans le cloître et dans le monde, des origines à nos jours, Actes du deuxième colloque international du C.E.R.C.O.R., Poitiers, 29 septembre-2 octobre 1988, Saint-Étienne, Publications de l'Université de Saint-Étienne, 1994, p. 792.
  3. Robert Favreau, « Le culte de sainte Radegonde à Poitiers au Moyen Âge », dans Les religieuses dans le cloître et dans le monde des origines à nos jours: Actes du deuxième colloque international du C.E.R.C.O.R., Poitiers, 29 septembre-2 octobre 1988, Saint-Étienne, Publications de l'Université de Saint-Étienne, 1994, p. 107.
  4. P.L Carrez, Étude sur le château de Sarry, ancienne campagne des évêques de Châlons-sur-Marne, imp. Martin Frères, Châlons, 1899.
  5. du Fresne de Beaucourt, Gaston (1888). Histoire de Charles VII. Vol. IV : L'expansion de la royauté, 1444-1449 (in French). Paris: Librairie de la Société bibliographique. p. 94 and note 4..
  6. du Fresne de Beaucourt, Gaston (1888). Histoire de Charles VII. Vol. IV : L'expansion de la royauté, 1444-1449 (in French). Paris: Librairie de la Société bibliographique. p. 94 and note 4..
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