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# The Orléans branch of the Valois comes to power and the salamander on its coat of arms
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/odna-vetv-dinastii-valua-eto-vetv-karla-vi-togo-samogo-cheloveka-kotoryi-koronovalsia-blagodaria-zhanne-dark/
- Published: 2017-01-16T06:35:27.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T18:54:45.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Aristocracy, Archive, Monarchies

One branch of the House of Valois is that of Charles VI, the very man who was crowned thanks to Joan of Arc. The other branch of the House of Valois is the Dukes of Orléans.

Charles d'Orléans, the great poet, returns from captivity, and is regarded with suspicion: he spent twenty-five years in England, though not of his own free will. After that the ruling branch of the House of Valois dies out with the son of Louis XI.

And then begins the triumph of the descendants of Charles d'Orléans. His son Louis XII ascends the throne, but strictly speaking this is not yet the beginning of a dynasty. Louis XII has no sons; only his daughters Claude (Clotilde) and Renée remain alive. After his death Francis I comes to the throne, a great-nephew of Duke Charles of Orléans, the son of Charles of Angoulême (himself the son of Jean of Angoulême, brother of Charles of Orléans) and Louise of Savoy. He marries Princess Claude, and with this marriage the Orléans branch of the House of Valois begins to reign.

Naturally, the motto "I burn, but am not consumed" matters a great deal to their descendants. These very words appear on the coat of arms alongside a blazing salamander. Why a salamander? Alchemy was then coming into great fashion, and the marvellous salamander, which was said to be able to extinguish fire with its coldness, suited admirably the dynastic arrangements of the junior branch of the Valois, rising to the throne in spite of everything.