Charles VI’s Écu: Coin of a Kingdom on the Brink
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작성자 Shayne Rinehart 댓글 0건 조회 4회 작성일 25-11-07 11:13본문
As the 14th century gave way to the 15th
France struggled through the turmoil of the Hundred Years’ War and internal political chaos,
one coin stood as a quiet witness to the nation’s suffering and resilience—the écu of Charles VI.
Charles VI, infamously dubbed "Charles the Mad"
inherited the throne as a child and ruled during one of the most turbulent periods in French history.
His reign was marked by bouts of severe mental illness that left the kingdom vulnerable to factional struggles between the Burgundians and the Armagnacs.
Amid relentless internal conflict and relentless English offensives,
authorities kept turning out the écu,
a coin that had been in use since the reign of Louis IX.
The écu of Charles VI was struck in fine silver and bore the image of the king standing beneath a canopy, holding a scepter and the fleur de lys,
symbols of divine right and royal authority.
Flanked by the Latin phrase "Carolus Dei gratia Francorum rex," the reverse bore a fleur-de-lys-decorated cross, spreading outward like divine light.
This imagery was carefully crafted, refined, and intended to convey order and permanence despite the kingdom’s unraveling.
As the war dragged on, the value of the écu fluctuated,
rising prices, deliberate alloying of the metal, and territorial losses to England forced minters to cut the silver purity.
The portrait of Charles VI persisted, a steadfast symbol in a landscape of betrayal and fractured oaths.
Craftsmen, laborers, アンティークコイン and warriors all bore these pieces in their pockets and purses,
each piece bearing the silent legacy of a monarch’s collapse and a people’s perseverance.
At the moment of Charles VI’s death in 1422, France was no longer a unified realm.
Through the Treaty of Troyes, France’s throne was legally transferred from Charles VI’s son to the English monarch Henry V.
Even while English forces held the title of French king, the écu remained in daily use.
the king’s face, though no longer ruling, remained deeply familiar to the populace.
Today, surviving examples of the écu of Charles VI are rare and prized by collectors.
Yet their true significance lies beyond coinage—they are relics of a society clinging to ritual and image amid collapse.
This is not a tale of victory, but of quiet endurance.
the quiet dignity of a people who kept using the currency of their king, even when he could no longer rule them
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