Editing Charles VI of France (section)

===Mental illness===
[[File:Charles VI double d'or La Rochelle 1420.jpg|thumb|A coin of Charles VI, a "double d'or", minted in [[La Rochelle]] in 1420]]
Charles VI's early successes with the Marmousets as his counselors quickly dissipated as a result of the bouts of [[psychosis]] he experienced from his mid-twenties. Mental illness may have been passed on for several generations through his mother, Joanna of Bourbon with familial schizophrenia syndrome.{{sfn|Earenfight|2013|p=196}}  Some mental illnesses Charles VI of France might have suffered from are familial schizophrenia syndrome, typhus, bipolar disorder, and arsenic poisoning, though arsenic poisoning has symptoms more physical than psychological. Typhus could explain his skin plaque or rashes along with his fits of delirium.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ashrafian |first=Hutan |date=2016-12-23 |title=Charles VI of France and Henry VI of England: Familial Sarcoidosis in the Hundred Years' War |url=https://www.mattioli1885journals.com/index.php/sarcoidosis/article/view/4276/3870 |journal=Sarcoidosis, Vasculitis and Diffuse Lung Diseases |language=en |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=416–417 |issn=2532-179X}}</ref> Although still called by his subjects ''Charles the Beloved'', he became known also as ''Charles the Mad''.

Charles's first known episode occurred in 1392 when his friend and advisor, [[Olivier de Clisson]], was the victim of an attempted murder. Although Clisson survived, the king was determined to punish the would-be assassin, [[Pierre de Craon]], who had taken refuge in [[Duchy of Brittany|Brittany]]. [[John V, Duke of Brittany]], was unwilling to hand him over, so Charles prepared a military expedition.

Contemporaries reported that Charles appeared to be in a "fever" to begin the campaign and was disconnected in his speech. He set off with an army on 1 July 1392. The progress of the army was slow, driving Charles into a frenzy of impatience. As the king and his escort were traveling through the forest near [[Le Mans]] on a hot August morning, a barefoot [[leper]] dressed in rags rushed up to the king's horse and grabbed his [[bridle]]. "Ride no further, noble King!" he yelled: "Turn back! You are betrayed!" The king's escorts beat the man back but did not arrest him, and he followed the procession for half an hour, repeating his cries.<ref>W. H. Jervis, ''A History of France: from the Earliest Times to the Fall of the Second Empire in 1870'', (London: John Murray, 1884), 228, §5; Jean Juvenal des Ursins, ''Histoire de Charles VI, Roy de France'', (Paris: A. Desrez, 1841), 377; Michaud, J. F and L. G., ''Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne'', 85 vols., (Paris: L. G. Michaud, 1813), 8:114 sub Charles VI.</ref>

After the company emerged from the forest at noon, a page who was drowsy from the sun dropped the king's [[lance]], which clanged loudly against a steel helmet carried by another page. Charles shuddered, drew his sword and yelled, "Forward against the traitors! They wish to deliver me to the enemy!" The king then drew his sword, spurred his mount, and attacked his own knights before one of his [[Chamberlain (office)|chamberlains]] and a group of soldiers were able to grab him from his mount and lay him on the ground. He lay still and did not react, but then fell into a coma; as a temporary measure, he was taken to the castle of [[Creil]],{{sfn|Adams|2014|p=36}} where it was hoped that good air and pleasant surroundings might bring him to his senses. The king had killed a knight known as "the Bastard of Polignac" and several other men during the attack.{{sfn|Denieul-Cormier|1980|p=195}}

Periods of mental illness continued throughout Charles's life. During one episode in 1393, he could not remember his name and did not know he was king. When his wife came to visit, he asked his servants who she was and ordered them to help her so he would be left alone.<ref>R. C. Famiglietti, ''Royal Intrigue: Crisis at the Court of Charles VI, 1392–1420'', New York, 1986, p. 4, citing the chronicle of the [[Michel Pintoin|Religieux de Saint-Denis]], ed. Bellaguet, II, pp. 86–88.</ref> During another episode in 1395–96, the king claimed he was [[Saint George]] and that his [[coat of arms]] was a lion with a sword thrust through it.<ref>R. C. Famiglietti, ''Royal Intrigue: Crisis at the Court of Charles VI, 1392–1420'', New York, 1986, p. 5, citing the chronicle of the Religieux de Saint-Denis, ed. Bellaguet, II, pp. 404–05.</ref> At this time, he recognized all the officers of his household, but did not know his wife nor his children. At times, the king ran wildly through the corridors of the Hôtel Saint-Pol, and to keep him inside, the entrances were walled up. In 1405, he refused to bathe or change his clothes for five months.<ref>R. C. Famiglietti, ''Royal Intrigue: Crisis at the Court of Charles VI, 1392–1420'', New York, 1986, p. 6, citing the chronicle of the Religieux de Saint-Denis, ed. Bellaguet, III, p. 348</ref>

Charles's later psychotic episodes were not described in detail, perhaps because of the similarity of his behavior and delusions. [[Pope Pius II]], who was born during the reign of Charles VI, wrote in his ''Commentaries'' that there were times when Charles thought that he was made of glass, and thus tried to protect himself in various ways so that he would not break. He reportedly had iron rods sewn into his clothes so that he would not shatter if he came into contact with another person.<ref>Enea Silvio Piccolomini (Papa Pio II), ''I Commentarii'', ed. L. Totaro, Milano, 1984, I, p. 1056.</ref> This condition has come to be known as [[glass delusion]].

Charles's secretary, [[Pierre Salmon]], spent much time in discussions with the king while he was intermittently psychotic. In an effort to find a cure for his illness, stabilize the turbulent political situation and secure his own future, Salmon supervised the production of two distinct versions of the beautifully illuminated guidebooks to good kingship known as his ''Dialogues''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Dialogues_de_Pierre_Salmon|title=Pierre Salmon's Dialogues – Wikicommons}}</ref>