Research Notes:

The Brevis Chronicon of Saint-Denis records the birth "in Quadragesima" in 1270 of "Carolus filius Philippi regis de prima uxore". The Gesta Philippi Tertia Francorum Regis of Guillaume de Nangis records that "Philippus rex Franciæ" claimed "regnum Aragoniæ" for "filio suo Karolo" in 1284. He was appointed anti-king of Aragon and Valencia Feb/Mar 1284 by Pope Martin IV, crowned 11 Jun 1284 at Castillo de Lers, Catalonia, and attempted to conquer the kingdom from Pedro III but made peace in Jun 1295.

Comte de Valois et d'Alençon 1285. Comte de Chartres, du Perche 1290. His father-in-law ceded him the counties of Anjou and Maine 18 Aug 1290, in return for his renouncing his right to the kingdoms of Aragon and Valencia, the king of Sicily hoping thereby to obtain the release of his three sons still held hostage by Alfonso III King of Aragon. He fought against the English in Guyenne in 1295, and against Guy Count of Flanders whom he captured in 1299. The Chronicle of Guillaume de Nangis records that "Karolus comes Valesii" captured "Guido comes Flandrensium...cum duobus filiis Roberto et Guillermo" in 1299. Pope Boniface VIII appointed him captain-general of the Romagna and the march of Ancona at Agnani 3 Sep 1301. Allied with Charles II King of Sicily, he campaigned in Sicily to expel Federigo de Aragón in 1302. Titular Emperor of Constantinople 1301, by right of his second wife, he obtained Venice's support for an invasion of Byzantium in 1306 and was joined by the Catalan company in 1308 when he landed in western Greece, but by 1310 his threat evaporated for lack of active support.

The Obituaire de Notre-Dame de Paris records the death "XVII Kal Jan 1325" of "Carolus comes Valesii". A Fragmentum historicum from the Codex Pater records the death 16 Dec 1325 of "dominus Karolus comes Valesii pater regis Philippi de Valesio". The Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbrook records the death of “Karolus de Valesio patruus regis Francie Karoli” after conspiring against the French king, stating that he was not “hanged or beheaded out of respect for this royal blood” (“propter reverenciam sanguinis regalis non fuit suspensus nec decapitatus”) but “was placed naked in cold water” (“sine femoralibus nudo marmori aquis frigidis resperso insedit”) and died from the effects of the cold. ¹

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BIOGRAPHY ²

Charles III... count of Valois from 1285 and of Anjou and Maine from 1290. He was son of a king, brother of a king, uncle of three kings, and a father of a king. Though he himself never gained a crown, he sought at various times those of Aragon, France, Constantinople, and the Holy Roman Empire.

In 1285 Charles received the Valois countship from his father, Philip III of France, and in 1290 the countships of Anjou and Maine by his marriage to Margaret, daughter of Charles II of Naples; to these were added in 1291 and 1293 the countships of Alençon and Chartres, granted by his brother, Philip IV, in compensation for their father’s failure to win the crown of Aragon for Charles by a so-called crusade in 1285.

In 1301 Charles, regarding Italy as a stepping-stone toward his eastern ambitions, readily accepted Pope Boniface VIII’s invitation to aid the papal cause. After subduing Florence for the pope, Charles led an unsuccessful military campaign into Sicily before he was recalled by his brother, Philip IV, to France. In 1308 he vainly sought the title of Holy Roman emperor to ensure additional French control over Italy and the papal possessions.

As chief councillor during the reign of his nephew Louis X, Charles brought about the fall of the famous financial adviser Enguerrand de Marigny. After Louis’s death in June 1316, Charles desired the throne, but he gave way to another nephew, Philip V, who died in 1322. Charles had considerable influence with his nephew Charles IV, the new king, and was sent by him on a successful campaign into Guyenne in 1324. He had previously commanded French armies in Guyenne in 1295 and led them in Flanders in 1297, 1299, 1300, 1303, and 1314. His son, Philip VI (king from 1328 to 1350), was the first of the Valois line.