General Notes

John the Fearless, b. May 28, 1371, d. Sept. 10, 1419, was the oldest son of
Philip the Bold and the first cousin of King Charles VI of France. In 1396 he
was a leader of a crusade against the Turks that ended disastrously at
Nicopolis (now in Bulgaria). John succeeded his father as duke of Burgundy in
1404 and became count of Flanders on his mother's death (1405); he was thus
the leading prince of the Low Countries. He also struggled with his cousin
Louis of Orleans for control of the resources of the French Government.
Virtually excluded from power in Paris, he had Louis murdered in 1407,
provoking a disastrous civil war. After a period of dominance in France
(1408-13), he was again excluded from power until 1418.

In that year he took advantage of French defeats by the English in the Hundred
Years' War to seize Paris. The following year, however, he was assassinated
while negotiating with the dauphin (the future Charles VII)