Charles VII

Timeline

1. 1451–1453Bordeaux · FranceIn 1451 Charles VII ordered Jean de Dunois to lead an army south, successively capturing the cities of Guyenne. In July 1453 French artillery routed the English at the Battle of Castillon, and the Earl of Talbot was killed. That October Bordeaux changed hands again, the Hundred Years' War effectively ended, and England's continental possessions in France were reduced to Calais alone.
2. 1454–1457Tours · FranceAfter the war Charles VII implemented standing armies (compagnies d'ordonnance) and modernized the artillery, integrating scattered mercenaries into a more solid royal military system. At the same time he carried out judicial and fiscal reforms, curbing the autonomy of local nobles and strengthening centralization. The heir Louis (the future Louis XI) fled to the Burgundian court, and father–son relations remained tense.
3. 1458–1460Mehun-sur-Yèvre · FranceIn his later years Charles VII's health steadily declined, apparently suffering from canker of the mouth; according to tradition he refused food near death for fear of poisoning. The political rift between the heir Louis and his father deepened; Charles VII died in July 1461, and Louis immediately returned from the Burgundian court to succeed him as Louis XI.