John, Dauphin of France, Duke of Touraine

Who was John, Dauphin of France, Duke of Touraine?

John, Dauphin of France and Duke of Touraine was the fourth son and ninth child of Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria. He was born in Paris. After his three elder brothers died, he became Dauphin in 1415. In 1406 he married Jacqueline, heiress of the County of Hainaut, Holland, Zealand, and Frisia. After his marriage to Jacqueline, he was brought up at the castle of Le Quesnoy in Hainaut, at the court of his mother-in-law, Margaret of Burgundy. This arrangement was made between his father and his father-in-law to ensure his safety away from the tulmultous court in Paris, as well as to acquaint him with the lands which he would rule as husband of Jacqueline after her father's death. After the death of his elder brother Louis in December 1415, he became the next Dauphin of France.

He died on 5 April 1417 at the age of eighteen. What exactly caused his death is disputed. According to some, he died of the consequences of an abscess to the head, while other sources suggest he had been poisoned. He was buried in Compiègne's Saint-Corneille abbey. His younger brother Charles became dauphin and eventually king.