Jean was the illegitimate son of
Louis I, Duke of Orléans – son of King
Charles V of France – and his mistress
Mariette d'Enghien. In 1407, Jean's father, Louis I, Duke of Orléans was assassinated. Eight years later, his half-brother,
Charles, Duke of Orléans was captured at the
Battle of Agincourt. He remained a prisoner of the English for twenty-five years. This left Jean the only adult male to represent the house of Orléans. He was Knight of the
Order of the Porcupine. Jean took part in the civil war in France during the reign of
Charles VI on the side of the
Armagnacs, and was captured by the
Burgundians in 1418. Released in 1420, he entered the service of the
Dauphin Charles, fighting in the
Hundred Years' War against English forces. In 1427, Jean, along with
Arthur of Richemont and Etienne of Vignolles, forced the
Earl of Warwick to raise his
siege of Montargis. He was wounded, the next year, at the
battle of Rouvray. Jean led the French defenses at the
siege of Orléans, and together with
Joan of Arc relieved the siege. He joined her on the campaigns of 1429 and remained active after her death. Jean attended Charles VII's coronation in July 1429 and in 1436 aided in the recapture of
Paris. In 1439 he was made
Count of Dunois. He was prominent in the conquest of
Guienne and
Normandy in the final years of the
Hundred Years War. Jean participated in the
Praguerie revolt against Charles VII and was a leader of the
League of the Public Weal against King
Louis XI in 1465, but each time he regained favor at court. He is a significant character in George Bernard Shaw's play
Saint Joan. ==Marriages and progeny==