Expo / Charles VII, the itineraries of a nomadic sovereign

Unlike his predecessors (John II, Charles V and Charles VI) who, from 1350 onwards, mainly resided in Paris and the Île-de-France, Charles VII was unquestionably a nomadic sovereign. He roamed between Touraine and Berry. While he was heir to the throne, Charles was disinherited by the 1420 Treaty of Troyes which promised the crown to the future Henry VI of England. It was in this context of a rekindling of the Franco-English conflict that Charles VII began a century of French kings along the Loire. Comparing his ways to the model of his grandfather Charles V, some consider that Charles VII’s stays in his residences “on the River Loire” reflected a failure to fulfil his duties as sovereign.