Charles D' Orléans

Charles d’Orléans (1394–1465) was a French prince whose life was shaped by war and long years away from home. He was captured at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 and remained a prisoner in England for about twenty-five years, returning to France in 1440. He wrote in both French and English, and his poems belong to the courtly lyric tradition of the late Middle Ages, with its formal patterns and attention to love, absence, and the passing seasons. After his return, he gathered writers and musicians at his court in Blois, a setting that helped sustain the literary culture to which his own work belonged.

D’Orléans’s poems often turn personal separation into light, carefully shaped reflection. A speaker may wait, remember, or address Love itself; elsewhere, seasonal change offers a fresh image for renewal. His writing is notable for its musicality, its compact forms, and a wit that can soften the ache of longing without erasing it. Among the best-known pieces are “Le temps a laissé son manteau” and “Je meurs de soif auprès de la fontaine”; his English poems also offer a glimpse of his years across the Channel. His work is an inviting point of entry into medieval lyric poetry, and you can explore these poems and other titles by Charles d’Orléans in the app.