122 CHARLES XIV. OF SWEDEN 



CHARLES OF AUSTRIA 



inauguration of a statue to Charles XII. on the 

 150th anniversary of his death, was translated by 

 Apgeorge, 1879 ; and see the Lives by Nisbet Bain 

 ( 'Heroes ' series, 1896) and Oscar Browning ( 1899). 



Charles XIV., king of Sweden and Norway 

 (.1818^4), originally JEAN BAPTISTE JULES BER- 

 NADOTTE, was born at Pau, in the south of France, 

 January 26, 1764, and was the son of a lawyer. 

 He entered the French army in 1780 as a common 

 soldier ; became an ardent partisan of the Revolu- 

 tion, and fought his way up to the command of a 

 division in 1794, and a marshal's baton in 1804. 

 He distinguished himself greatly in the German 

 campaigns in 1796, and the year after under the 

 eye of his great chief himself in Italy. In 1799 

 he was minister of war, and for his conduct at 

 Austerlitz was named in 1805 Prince of Ponte- 

 corvo. In the campaigns of 1806 he commanded 

 the first army corps. After Jena he pursued the 

 Prussians to Halle, cut off the reserve under the 

 Prince of Wiirtemberg, next pursued the redoubt- 

 able Bliicher to Liibeck, and compelled him to 

 surrender (November 7). He received the com- 

 mand of the French troops in North Germany and 

 Denmark, and led the Saxon troops at Wagram 

 in the war against Austria. But he had never 

 been liked or trusted by Napoleon, whose jealousy 

 and dislike now became so apparent that Berna- 

 dotte left the army in disgust, and returned to 

 Paris. He was afterwards sent by the minis- 

 terial council to oppose the British, who had 

 landed at Walcheren, but meantime the breach 

 between the emperor and him grew wider. In 

 1810 he was elected crown prince and heir to the 

 throne of Sweden. Almost the only condition 

 imposed on him was that of joining the Protestant 

 Church. He changed his name to Charles John ; 

 and the health of the Swedish king, Charles XIII., 

 failing in the following year, the reins of govern- 

 ment came almost entirely into his hands. He 

 refused to comply with the demands of Napoleon, 

 which were opposed to the interests of Sweden, 

 particularly as to trade with Britain, and was soon 

 involved in war with him. He took part in the 

 great and final struggle of the allies with Napoleon 

 at Leipzig, but showed much reluctance to join 

 in the invasion of France, and was tardy in his 

 progress southward. There seems good reason to 

 believe that the French throne was within his own 

 ambition, and that his disinclination to act against 

 his native country was due as much to policy as 

 to patriotism. He became king of Sweden on the 

 death of Charles XIII. in 1818, and won for him- 

 self the character of a wise and good king. Edu- 

 cation, agriculture, manufactures, commerce, and 

 great public works, as well as the military strength 

 of the kingdom, were promoted by his care. He 

 died March 8, 1844, and was succeeded by his son 

 Oscar. See French Life by Schefer ( 1899 ). 



Charles d'Orle'ans, son of Louis d'Orleans, a 

 duke who was murdered by the Burgundians, and 

 of Valentina of Milan, was born in May 1391. He 

 was the grandson of Charles V. of France, and the 

 father of Louis XII. He was taken prisoner at 

 Agincourt, and kept in captivity in England from 

 1415 to 1440, when he was ransomed. He wrote a 

 number of lyrics while in prison and after his return 

 to France. At Blois, where he held his court, he 

 gathered together the chief French writers of his 

 time, and took part with them in poetical tourna- 

 ments, in one of which Francois Villon competed 

 successfully. He died in 1465. He has been termed 

 the father of French lyric poetry, but he has no 

 claim to the title. His light and graceful lyrics are 

 the last flowering of the courtly poetry of the middle 

 ages; they show no trace of the modern spirit 

 which appears so strongly in the works of his con- 



temporary Villon (q.v.). His favourite themes are 

 love and the spring-time ; his favourite form is the 

 rondel, with two rhymes, of which he is considered 

 the chief master, as Villon is of the ballade, ani 

 Voiture of the rondeau. An edition of his works 

 (ed. J. M. Guichard) appeared in 1842, and another 

 (ed. Hericault) in 1874. 



Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy ( 1467- 

 77), son of Philip the Good of Burgundy and of 

 Isabella of Portugal, was born at Dijon on 10th 

 November 1433, and bore, during his father's life, 

 the title of Count of Charolais. From his youth 

 he was a declared enemy of Louis XI. of France, 

 the nominal feudal superior of Burgundy, and he 

 early formed an alliance with the Duke of Brit- 

 tany and some of the great nobles of France 

 for the maintenance of feudal rights against the 

 crown. Their united forces ravaged Picardy and 

 Isle-de-France, threatened Paris, defeated the king 

 at Montlhery, and extorted from him favourable 

 terms. In 1467 Charles succeeded his father as 

 Duke of Burgundy. Richer and more powerful 

 than any prince of his time, he conceived the 

 design of restoring the old kingdom of Burgundy, 

 and for this purpose of conquering Lorraine, Pro- 

 vence, Dauphme, and Switzerland. Whilst he was 

 making preparations for war, Louis invited him to 

 a conference, and while his rival hesitated, by his 

 agents stirred up the citizens of Liege to revolt. 

 Charles next consented to the conference, arid the 

 news coming of what had taken place at Liege, 

 he seized the king, and had not he been withheld 

 by his councillor Comines, would have put him to 

 death. He compelled Louis, however, to accom- 

 pany him to Liege, and sanction by his presence 

 the cruelties which he inflicted on the citizens. 

 War raged between them afterwards with little 

 intermission till 1475. In September of that year 

 Charles turned anew to his favourite scheme of 

 conquest, and soon made himself master of Lor- 

 raine. Next year he invaded Switzerland, stormed 

 Granson, and hanged and drowned the garrison ; 

 but was soon after terribly defeated by the Swiss 

 near that place, and lost his baggage and much 

 treasure. Three months later he appeared again 

 in Switzerland with a new army, and laid siege 

 to Morat, where he sustained another and more 

 terrible defeat (June 22, 1476). The news that 

 the young Duke Rene of Lorraine was attempting 

 to recover his territories roused him from despair. 

 He laid siege to Nancy ; but his army was small, 

 and his Italian mercenaries went over to the enemy. 

 Charles fought in vain with all his wonted reckless- 

 ness and courage, and perished in the battle, Janu- 

 ary 5, 1477. His daughter and heiress, Mary, 

 married the Emperor Maximilian I. Charles's 

 great size and strength, his immense ambition, and 

 reckless audacity, combined to make him the most 

 striking figure of his time. With his life ended 

 the long successful resistance of the great French 

 vassals to the central power of the monarchy. See 

 Comines, Memoires ; De Barante's Histoire des Dues 

 de Bourgogne ; and special books by Kirk ( 3 vols. 

 Lond. 1863) and Hoch (Basel, 1876). 



Charles Edward. See STEWART. 



Charles (KARL LUDWIG JOHANN), Archduke 

 of Austria and Duke of Teschen, third son of the 

 Emperor Leopold II., was born at Florence, 5th 

 September 1771. Already, spite of his youth, a 

 distinguished soldier, he was intrusted in 1796 

 with the chief command of the Austrian army on 

 the Rhine. He fought with great success against 

 Moreau at Rastadt, defeated Jourdan in several 

 battles, drove the French over the Rhine, and con- 

 cluded his victories by taking Kehl in the winter. 

 In 1799 he was agcin at the head of the army 

 on the Rhine, was several times victorious over 



