Late Middle Ages · Europe · Politics

1407

Louis of Orleans Assassinated in Paris

November 23, 1407

The king's brother was dragged from his horse on the Rue Vieille du Temple and hacked apart by masked men hired by John the Fearless of Burgundy. The murder cracked France into Armagnac and Burgundian factions, paralyzing the kingdom just as Henry V of England began eyeing the Channel. John the Fearless defended the killing as tyrannicide before the university, establishing a precedent for murder dressed in philosophy.