The Glass King | 5. The Enemy of My Enemy

Summary

Podcast Summary: This Is History: A Dynasty to Die For

Episode 5: The Glass King – The Enemy of My Enemy

Host: Danièle Cybulskie (Sony Music Entertainment)
Release Date: August 26, 2025

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Overview

In this gripping fifth episode, Danièle Cybulskie delves into the chaotic aftermath of King Charles VI’s madness, focusing on the fierce power struggles and unlikely alliances that bring France to the brink of collapse. The episode centers on Queen Isabeau of Bavaria’s desperate maneuvering—her alliance with John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, against her old adversary Bernard of Armagnac, and the cataclysmic consequences that ensue. Through vivid storytelling, Cybulskie lays bare the ambition, bloodshed, and betrayals that not only fracture the royal family but also jeopardize France’s very existence amidst the backdrop of the Hundred Years’ War.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Queen Isabeau’s Captivity and Desperation

• [02:04] The episode opens with Queen Isabeau in prayer, held captive at Tours, grieving her LOST children and husband, Charles VI, who is lost to madness.
  • She fears for her two youngest children held in Paris by Bernard, Count of Armagnac.
  • Isabeau’s internal conflict: “She prays that she has done the right thing. Because to save her kingdom, the Queen has made a deal with the devil.”
• Isabeau is dramatically freed by men led by John the Fearless—her erstwhile enemy—forming an “unholy alliance” that will have seismic consequences.

2. Factional Strife: Burgundy vs. Armagnac

• [05:09] The death of Dauphin Jean destabilizes the power balance; his younger brother, Charles, becomes the new Dauphin, under Isabeau’s influence but with a deep dislike of John the Fearless.
• Armagnac’s Machiavellian tactics:
  • Bernard poisons King Charles’s mind with tales of Isabeau’s supposed immorality, leading to her house arrest and humiliation.
  • Bernard becomes de facto ruler in Paris, ruling with brutality, purging opponents, and bleeding the city’s resources (“Bernard wraps his tentacles firmly around the King and the Dauphin and heads back to Paris… he drains the treasury, orders more taxes and robs Notre Dame to stay afloat.” [07:31])
• John the Fearless leverages Isabeau’s imprisonment as political propaganda; neither side can overcome the other, leaving France vulnerable to English advances.

3. Isabeau’s Calculated Gamble & The Burgundian Takeover

• [10:22] Realizing there’s no hope with the Armagnacs, Isabeau invites John the Fearless to rescue her, forming a new political faction:
  • She sets up her own court, grants tax reliefs, and briefly becomes “a solid bet” in the chaos of French politics.
  • “But when you make a deal with the devil, there’s always a price to pay… The dude never kept a promise in his life.” – [Danièle Cybulskie, 11:26]
• [11:45] On January 10, 1418, Isabeau hands over royal power to John the Fearless, cementing his dominance.

4. The Fall of Bernard of Armagnac & The Paris Massacre

• [15:35] The Burgundians infiltrate Paris, unleashing mob violence; Bernard hides in a stonecutter’s workshop but is discovered and executed savagely by Parisians.
  • “Count Bernard of Armagnac is dragged into a city square and brutally beaten to death by the men and women he'd so gleefully denigrated and exploited. In a savage act of petty revenge, the Parisians carved the outline of the Count's beloved sash into his dead flesh.” ([16:44])
  • His body is left to rot, a symbol of public vengeance.
• The violence escalates: “Juvenel estimates the number of murdered citizens at somewhere between 1600 and 2000. The sheer scale of violence stuns Europe.” ([17:15])
• Dauphin Charles, now aligned against Paris and John the Fearless, is traumatized by the violence and his own forced escape from Paris at night.

5. The Final Betrayal: The Assassination at Montereau

• [23:12] John the Fearless seeks peace with Dauphin Charles at Montereau, on a bridge between two rivers—a place symbolic, yet deadly.
• The tension-laden meeting culminates in betrayal:
  • “John kneels before the Dauphin… looking into Charles’ eyes, starts to relax; maybe things will be okay after all.” ([24:39])
  • The signal is given; John is attacked with axes: “John reflexively lifts his arm to block the blow, but the blade slices through the muscle and bone of his wrist as the axe slashes down and buries itself in his jaw.”
  • He's finished off in a brutal display.
  • “The 16-year-old heir to the kingdom of France watches his enemy die without a shred of pity.” ([26:19])

6. Aftermath: France Splintered, English Threat Looms

• The killing of John the Fearless doesn’t resolve the civil war—instead, Philip the Good becomes the new Duke of Burgundy, and the Dauphin’s own reputation is stained as an oath-breaking murderer.
• Isabeau is left isolated between her bloodthirsty son and a resurgent England.
• “The new Duke of Burgundy is even farther removed from the line of succession than his dad was… The only viable male heir is Dauphin Charles of Ponthieu, a backstabbing criminal…” ([28:32])
• Isabeau seeks to buy time and consider her next desperate move—hinted to involve her daughter Catherine and further desperate alliances.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Isabeau’s resolve:
  • “France has been her home and her responsibility since she was 15 years old, and Isabeau will not see it destroyed.” – [Danièle Cybulskie, 02:40]
• On the fragility of alliances:
  • “When you make a deal with the devil, there’s always a price to pay. And there was a very good reason Isabeau had never trusted John the Fearless. The dude never kept a promise in his life.” – [11:26]
• On Bernard’s fall:
  • “Maybe he should have paid [the stonemason] more.” (as Bernard is handed over to the mob) – [15:51]
• On the Paris Massacre:
  • “Of those killed, the majority were thrown into the fields where they could be eaten by dogs and birds.” – [17:10]
• On the fatal meeting at Montereau:
  • “The oaths they’d all sworn to keep the meeting peaceful are cold comfort in the locked box of the bridge.” – [24:15]
  • “John kneels before the Dauphin, who raises him up and graciously thanks him for coming. Looking into Charles’ eyes, John starts to relax. Maybe things will be okay after all…” – [24:39]
  • “John is stabbed again and again. And in a dark echo of the long ago assassination of Louis of Orleans, John the Fearless is disemboweled just to make extra sure he’s dead.” – [26:00]
• On the Dauphin’s nature:
  • “Trusting him with the kingdom would be ludicrous.” – [28:47]
• Host’s reflection on Isabeau’s impossible choices:
  • “It’s the Kobayashi Maru of the Middle Ages. A true no-win scenario. And Isabeau is going to have to think fast.” – [30:43]

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:04] – Vivid opening scene with Queen Isabeau in captivity and her decision to reach out to John the Fearless.
• [06:15] – The politics of Dauphin succession, Armagnac schemes, and Isabeau’s arrest.
• [10:22] – Isabeau’s outreach to John the Fearless and formation of a new court.
• [15:35] – Parisian mob violence and the fall of Bernard of Armagnac.
• [17:15] – The Paris Massacre and its impact on France’s civil war.
• [23:12] – Scene setting for the deadly peace meeting at Montereau.
• [24:39–26:30] – Betrayal and murder of John the Fearless.
• [28:32–31:00] – The splintering of France; Isabeau stuck between factions and the looming English threat.

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Final Thoughts and Set-Up for Next Episode

Danièle Cybulskie concludes by reflecting on Isabeau's limited options and the “no-win scenario” she faces. Isabeau must maneuver between a bloodthirsty son, a hostile new Duke of Burgundy, and the ever-present English invaders—setting up the dramatic stakes for the season finale.

Listener Challenge:
“If you had your back up against the wall like Isabeau, would you have made that deal with the devil?” ([31:00])

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Summary

This episode masterfully recounts a period when France tottered on the precipice of ruin. Through betrayal, civil violence, and desperate deals, Cybulskie paints a vivid picture of ambition and the “terrifying fragility of power,” making this episode both an engrossing history lesson and a poignant meditation on the tragedies of dynastic conflict.

Transcript

[Danielle Sibelski]

Hi everyone. I hope you're feeling pious this episode. We're about to join Queen Isabel at a very famous Benedictine abbey. And while we're there, feel free to send a couple of prayers my way because I'm about to do my first live Ask Me anything for this Is History this coming Thursday, August 28th at 6pm UK time or 1pm Eastern. If you haven't got your questions in yet, you can drop me a note if you're a royal favorite on Patreon. If you're it's the place where you get to chat with me and the team and get very special perks in addition to getting every single this Is History episode early and ad free. To sign up, visit patreon.com thisishistory and now the Queen awaits.

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A shaft of morning sunlight falls from the stained glass window of the chapel, illuminating the bowed head of the Queen of France. The 47 year old Isabeau of Bavaria kneels on a velvet cushion on the cold stone floor, the ivory beads of her rosary clicking as they move through her fingers. Near the door, a handful of guards shuffle and yawn as they wait for the Queen to finish her prayers. For seven months she's been their prisoner in the castle at Tours, a long way to the west. Of all the action in Paris, it's been a boring assignment. All Isabeau does is pace and write letters. They're not quite sure why she decided she had to go to mass at Marmoutier Abbey across the river this morning, but they're grateful for the change in scenery. She prays for each one of the seven children she's lost. She prays for her five living children, especially her two youngest, 16 year old Catherine, the last daughter in her care, and the 14 year old Dauphin Charles, both held in Paris by the despised Bernard, Count of Armagnac. A whimper of grief escapes her as she prays for her husband, King Charles, so lost to her, so lost to himself. Things could have been so different if God had only spared Charles his terrible illness. Because even now, the English King Henry V is swiftly moving across the north, eroding Charles kingdom day by day while she suffers in captivity. Libera nosa malo is a bold praise. Deliver us from evil. France has been her home and her responsibility since she was 15 years old, and Isabel will not see it destroyed. As she kneels in the cool, perfumed air of the church, she prays that she has done the right thing. Because to save her kingdom, the Queen has made a deal with the devil. The door to the church slams open, rattling on its hinges. Startled, the Queen's guards reach for their weapons. But they're quickly surrounded by more than a dozen armed men, swords drawn, chainmail gleaming. Isabeau calmly crosses herself and rises. All serenity is gone from her face, replaced by the cold fire of vengeance. At the Queen's nod, the intruders quickly overpower her shocked jailers, slamming them to the floor. Isabeau sweeps by them and out the door without a backward glance. In the blinding light of the churchyard, she sees the silhouette of a man, hand outstretched to help her mount a waiting horse. It's a familiar figure, one that has haunted her nightmares and her waking reality for nearly 15 years. Chin High, teeth clenched, Queen Isabel of Bavaria reaches out and takes the hand of her savior, John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy. It's the beginning of an unholy alliance that will push France to its breaking point, splintering the royal family beyond repair. I'm Danielle Sibelski and from Sony Music Entertainment. This Is History presents the glass King Episode 5 the Enemy of My Enemy in our last episode, there's a moment in the spring of 1417 when it looks like John the Fearless is going to be numero uno once again. He's rankled the support of the young Dauphin Jean of Turenne, and he fully intends to ride the new heir's coattails right to the top of the heap, displacing his hated foe, Bernard of Armagnac. But when the Dauphin Jean dies, the Duke of Burgundy's hopes die with him. Because the new heir to the throne, Charles of Ponthieu, is a protege of John the fearless, longest and most stubborn rival, the Queen. When the news reaches Isabeau at Vincennes, it's a bittersweet moment. As a mother, Dauphin Jean's death hits her hard. But as a queen, she knows his little brother is the best chance for peace ever. Since the kingdom's terrible loss at Agincourt, the new Dauphin Charles has been raised by his mother in Paris and has seen its factional politics firsthand. Like pretty much anyone who's ever met him, Dauphin Charles has already developed an intense dislike toward John the Fearless. But he's not yet wholly under the spectacle of the Armagnacs either. Isamo knows this is her moment to shape her 14 year old son into the peacemaker the kingdom needs. Unfortunately, Isabeau is not the only one who realizes it's now or never. Back in Paris, Bernard, Count of Armagnac, can't believe his luck. With the wind temporarily out of John the Fearless sails, the Count sees an opportunity that is just too tempting to resist. Bernard tells King Charles it's time to take a road trip to see the Queen, and the affable King agrees. Along the way, the Count plies Charles with poisoned tales of his wife's debauched living, winding up the defenseless king with each step. When Isabeau opens the gates of Vincennes to King Charles, the she's blasted with vitriol. Shocked and humiliated, she stands there while her husband rants and raves about her degeneracy and sinfulness in front of her children and her household. With a smirk, Bernard of Armagnac places her under house arrest. Isabel is ripped From Catherine, the 15 year old daughter who's been her constant companion, and shipped off to imprisonment at Tours. Bernard wraps his tentacles firmly around the King and the Dauphin and heads back to Paris. He has his men sew up the head of Isabeau's household in a sack and drown him in the Seine, just for good measure. Although he's mostly disappointed he didn't think of it first. John the Fearless uses the imprisonment of the Queen as an opportunity to spout propaganda to anyone who will listen about how terrible Bernard of Armagnac is. The Duke resorts to his dog eared playbook. Once again, the kingdom is being run badly and no one should have to pay taxes to those crooks who are in power. I'm the one who can fix it all donations gladly accepted. As always, it works. With a combination of carrots and the sticks of his old friends, the exiled butchers of Paris, John turns the counties north of the Seine, Burgundy, but Try as he might, John the Fearless can't seem to pierce Paris. If John the Fearless is a hungry, hungry hippo, always snapping for treasures and beating a quick retreat, Bernard of Armagnac is more like a boa constrictor. He squeezes the citizens of Paris, choking the city with the help of his domineering thugs. He presses for oaths of loyalty and expels hundreds of those he deems not loyal enough. He drains the treasury, orders more taxes and robs Notre Dame to stay afloat. The only thing stopping the Count from robbing more churches is the King in a rare but all too fleeting resurgence of his old self. So instead, Bernard loots the Queen's palace at Merlin, not bothering to apologize when he finds out she's not even close to being as decadent as he told Charles she was, the Count's influence on the King is overwhelming. He even dresses Charles in his white Armagnac sash. Paris begins to suffocate under Armagnac rule. To make matters worse, the standoff between the towering egos of Burgundy and Armagnac has left the coastal Duchy of Normandy wide open. A re energized Henry V returns to France in August and begins picking up towns as easily as shells left on the beach. Locked up in Tours, with reports of unchecked English conquest flooding in, Queen Isabeau is getting increasingly desperate. But her options are seriously limited. All of France is lined up behind either one faction or or the other. And given that it's Bernard who's locked her up, it's pretty obvious the Queen can't trust the Armagnacs. So with no other choice, Isabeau writes the Dear John letter to end all Dear John letters, she invites the Duke of Burgundy to come and rescue her. Much as the Royal council has been pushed around by Burgundians and Armnacs over the course of the civil war. In the event of his absences, King Charles had always left the balance of power in the hands of the Queen, and it's long past time she wielded it in her own right. From the moment she rides away from the church with her unlikely ally, the Queen begins to set up a court in her own name, atroit southwest of Paris. She makes proclamations and grants appointments. And in the chaos that is French politics, Isabeau seems like a solid bet. Behind her is the power of the crown and the might of Burgundy. And if that isn't enough to convince the people to follow her, Isabeau gives the entire kingdom a tax break. Long live the Queen. But when you Make a deal with the devil. There's always a price to pay. And there was a very good reason. Isabeau had never trusted John the Fearless. The dude never kept a promise in his life. For John, it's not enough to rule Burgundy, or half a kingdom, or even a whole kingdom in cooperation with someone else. As long as there are still marbles on the table, John is going to grab for them. No one knows what pressure the Duke of Burgundy brings to bear on the Queen. Some historians flatly say Isabeau is just greedy and John simply buys her off. But it's clear that a man who has no compunctions about killing the King's own brother is a dangerous man to mess with. Whatever it is that John promises or threatens her with. On January 10, 1418, just weeks after the two join forces, Isabeau hands the power of the royal government to John the Fearless. Finally, finally, John has as much power as his father, Philip the Bold, ever had. But he knows he won't be able to keep it so long as Bernard of Armagnac still has the King and the Dauphin in his power. It's time to cut off the head of the snake.

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[Danielle Sibelski]

Motes of dust swirl in the light that filters through the cracks in the floorboards. Above, in the semi darkness, a man crouches. He's listening to the creak of the floor as men stomp around. Tools and heavy lumps of stone are tossed aside as angry Parisians search the workshop above him. He knows it's him they're looking for. The man has traded his white sash for white stone dust coating the mason's clothing he wears as a disguise. It's not foolproof by any means, but it's the best he's been able to do on short notice. The fugitive is the once mighty Bernard, Count of Armagnac, and he's at the mercy of the stonemason he's paid to hide him. Last night, Burgundians had snuck into Paris and whipped the citizens into a frenzy. Bernard had heard their shouting and rushed to hide. He knows that others of his faction have not been so lucky. So far, the talk upstairs has just been of imprisonment. If they find him, he hopes they'll be that merciful. He wouldn't be in their place. A table scrapes across the floor, a latch rattles, and the trapdoor above him opens. Bernard blinks up through the dust at the angry faces of the Parisians he'd ruled over just yesterday. Hands roughly haul him up and out of his hiding place. As they shove him out the door, the Count makes eye contact with the stonemason, who shrugs. Maybe he should have paid him more. It's the morning of May 29, 1418. The Count of Armagnac is unceremoniously brought to the Grand Chatelet, a fortress across the river from the Sainte Chapelle, where he's tossed in a cell with several other of his cronies to await justice. Not every Armagnac is accounted for. Some of them escaped out the back of the Bastille with the Dauphin. Good riddance to bad rubbish. But Paris doesn't rest for long. On June 12, a rumor spreads that the Armnacs have regrouped and are preparing to attack the city en masse. Sick of the treatment they'd received at the hands of Count Bernard and fearful of yet another round of oppression, the city ignites like never before. The Parisians run riot, breaking into the prison where they stashed the Armagnacs and carrying them out into the street to be slaughtered. Caught up in the ruthless bloodletting is anyone who is in the way, including ordinary prisoners and innocent Parisians. Count Bernard of Armagnac is dragged into a city square and brutally beaten to death by the men and women he'd so gleefully denigrated and exploited. In a savage act of petty revenge, the Parisians carved the outline of the Count's beloved sash into his dead flesh. The Monk of St. Denis reports that Bernard is left naked for three days, exposed to the insults and jeers of everyone who passed by. In the coming days, his corpse will join the hundreds of others that are hauled out of the city and tossed onto garbage heaps. According to the chronicler Jean Juvenel des Ursins, of those killed, the majority were thrown into the fields where they could be eaten by dogs and birds. While France's civil war has already been unbelievably bloody, the sheer scale of violence stuns Europe. Juvenel estimates the number of murdered citizens at somewhere between 1600 and and 2000. Surely this'd mean an end to the violence and the civil war itself, after all. Isabel and John the Fearless now have an open road to Paris. King Charles and Princess Catherine welcomed them there in July with open arms. But a happy, complete family reunion is not in the cards. Because ever since he'd been taken from his mother at Vincennes in 1417, the Dauphin Charles has been under the influence of the Count of Armagnac, and the Count's white sash has been permanently imprinted on his heart. The Dauphin is outraged by the shocking murder of his compatriots and by the sheer embarrassment of having to be carried half naked out of his own capital city in the middle of the night by one of his captains. Not the kind of story a teenaged prince wants to go viral. From this moment on, the Dauphin has a mortal hatred for the city of Paris and for John the Fearless. It's a hatred he plans to make good on in due time. For now, both factions need to stop and consolidate their power before they make their next move. The counties south of the Seine swear their loyalty to the Dauphin. Those to the northeast declare for Burgundy. And in the northwest, the towns are becoming more firmly under English control by the day. By the summer of 1419, the English have complete command of Normandy and a few assorted territories across the north. It's situation critical for the French, the Burgundians and the Austrians. Armagnacs need to bury the hatchet before there's no France left to fight over. If King Charles suddenly regained his mental health, the kingdom could finally unite and actually have a shot at giving the English the boot. But Charles has been long absent by this time. Even in moments of lucidity, the King is barely a shadow of the Prince Charming he'd once been. Though she is still working tirelessly for peace. The Queen has been shoved to the side by John the fearless and the 16 year old Dauphin is now calling himself Regent of France, undercutting Isabeau's authority any way he can. Much as John the Fearless wants to rule unchallenged, he can't. As long as that pipsqueak of a Dauphin is still running around with that royal blood in his veins. For his part, Bidofin knows that as long as John the Fearless is still breathing, there's still a chance he'll shake hands with Henry and steal his kingdom out from under him. For both men, the question is, how can you make peace with a person who'd gut you with a smile on his face? With Henry V's power growing stronger every day, the French are out of time. A meeting is set in a relatively neutral location. Montreux, Feuillen, southeast of Paris. The Dauphin and the Duke of Burgundy promise to meet in peace, but one of them will leave in pieces.

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Free delivery. It's on prime. The fortress at Montereau sits on the point of a peninsula connected by bridges across the Seine and the Yon as a meeting place for peace talks between the Armagnacs and the Burgundians. What could be better than the place where two rivers become one? More importantly, an exposed bridge is the perfect place for two completely untrustworthy individuals to have a little tete a tete. As John the Fearless approaches from the south side of the Seine with his small entourage, he sees the enclosure the Dauphin has constructed on the bridge out of long habit. The Duke's eyes scan the riverbank in front of him and the ramparts of the fortress. Behind him are snipers. He may be called John the Fearless, but he hasn't lived this long. Wrong by taking chances. Stepping out onto the bridge, the Duke is hyper aware of every sound. His footsteps, his breathing, his heartbeat. Technically, he should have nothing to fear from his sovereign prince. But then again, he did assassinate the kid's uncle. And maybe he did start the uprising that got the kid's Mentor. Count Bernard Killed Slow. The gate creaks loudly as John and his men enter the wooden enclosure. The hairs on the back of John's neck rise as he hears it shut behind him. Across the small space, the Dauphin Charles sits all smiles. Around him is his small entourage. John tries to scan the men discreetly, but everyone's swords are sheathed. The oaths they'd all sworn to keep the meeting peaceful are cold comfort in the locked box of the bridge. Ignoring the bad feeling in his gut, John kneels before the Dolphin, who raises him up and graciously thanks him for coming. Looking into Charles eyes, John starts to relax. Maybe things will be okay after all. The Dauphin flicks his eyes towards someone behind John, and as the Duke turns, he sees one of the Prince's men suddenly raise an axe. John reflexively lifts his arm to block the blow, but the blade slices through the muscle and bone of his wrist as the axe slashes down and buries itself in his jaw. A second blow of the axe and the Duke falls to the the floor. One of John's men turns and vomits as the Dolphin's guards unsheathe their swords and open the barrier. On their side of the bridge, soldiers pour in. The Burgundians turn to flee, only to be shot by the crossbows of the Dauphin's men concealed in the shadows at the foot of the fortress. Terrified one Burgundian, a lord named John the New Neufchatel, manages to vault over the barrier, diving headfirst into the water below. Weighed down by his formal clothes, with crossbow bolts whizzing by his head, Neufchatel begins to swim desperately for the safety of the south shore. On the planks of the bridge, the Duke moans in agony. The Dauphin's men quickly dispatch the few remaining Burgundians. They toss their corpses into the river and bind the hands of those who choose to surrender. Then they turn towards John the Fearless. The Duke is stabbed again and again. And in a dark echo of the long ago assassination of Louis of Orleans, John the Fearless is disemboweled just to make extra sure he's dead. The 16 year old heir to the kingdom of France watches his enemy die without a shred of pity. He even allows his men to strip the rings from the Duke's still warm fingers. Neufchatel sends messengers to ride hell for leather to the royal court in Troyes to report what's just happened. Learning that her youngest son is a cold blooded murderer is a bitter pill to swallow for his mother, the Queen but in a lifetime of tragedy, it's just one more sting that slips in and out of the consciousness of King Charles. Although turning his nemesis into a human pincushion may have made the teenage Dauphin feel better, he hadn't quite thought through the consequences. For one thing, eliminating one Duke of Burgundy only makes room for another. In John the Fearless place rises a new duke, a man called Philip the Good. And when you're an oath breaking murderer up against a guy called Philip the Good, well, you're going to look extra not good. For another thing, if you're trying to convince a kingdom that you'd be great at the top job, it's best not to show yourself to be violently two. Faced with John the Fearless being butchered by none other than the Dauphin, Queen Isabeau finds herself between a rock and a hard place. The new Duke of Burgundy is even farther removed from the line of succession than his dad was, even though he is married to the King's daughter, Princess Michel. The King's nephew, Charles of Orleans, is a closer relation, but he's been rotting in an English prison since since he was captured at Agincourt, so he can't rule either. That means the only viable male heir is the dauphin, Charles of Ponthieu, a backstabbing criminal who seems committed to exacerbating the never ending civil war. Isabeau can't help but be aware that this is just the sort of crisis that could allow the English king to sweep the kingdom of France right off the board. Her only option is to stall for time. So Isabel writes another letter, this time to Henry V, asking for time to sort the situation out. Henry graciously agrees. Then she writes to Philip the Good. With the King madly scribbling his doodles next door, Philip and Isabeau sit down together and lay their cards on the table. The kingdom is broke. And worse, it's broken. There are not enough men to fight the English, and even if there were, there is not enough money to pay them. The bloodthirsty Dauphin is making up new lies every day about his culpability in the murder of John the Fearless, and everyone knows it. He's also refused any efforts his mother has made to come to a place compromise. Trusting him with the kingdom would be ludicrous. After weeks spent discussing every possibility, Isabel is forced to make a decision for the greater good. No matter how devastating it may feel. She calls for her daughter, Catherine. It's time to make another deal with the devil. But that's next time on our final episode of this is History presents the Glass King, another dynasty, another queen left to clean up after a bunch of stubborn princes. It's the Kobayashi Maru of the Middle Ages. A true no win scenario. And Isabeau is going to have to think fast. So my question for the royal favorites this week is would you trust John the Fearless? If you had your back up against the wall like Isabel, would you have made that deal with Devil? As always, look out for producer Al's question on Patreon. That's patreon.com thisishistory and remember to get your questions in from my first ask me anything. 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