CHARLES VII

born Aug. 6, 1697 died Jan. 20, 1745, Munich also called Charles Albert, German Karl Albrecht elector of Bavaria (172645), who was elected Holy Roman emperor (174245) in opposition to the Habsburg Maria Theresa's husband, Francis, grand duke of Tuscany. Succeeding to the Bavarian throne in 1726, Charles Albert renounced any claims to the Austrian succession when he recognized the emperor Charles VI's Pragmatic Sanction that established the Emperor's daughter Maria Theresa as heiress of the Habsburg dominions. Charles Albert, however, maintained mental reservations since his wife was the daughter of the emperor Joseph I, and the Bavarian Wittelsbach claim to the throne was a legitimate one. On the death of Charles VI in 1740, Charles Albert immediately joined the alliance against Maria Theresa and, with the aid of Prussia and France, was crowned as Emperor Charles VII in February 1742. But even while he was being crowned, Bavaria was overrun by Austrian troops. A mere puppet in the hands of the anti-Austrian coalition, he was restored by Prussia and France to his Bavarian lands in 1744 but died only three months later. born Feb. 22, 1403, Paris died July 22, 1461, Mehun-sur-Yvre, Fr. byname Charles The Well-served, or The Victorious, French Charles Le Bien-servi, or Le Victorieux king of France from 1422 to 1461, who succeededpartly with the aid of Joan of Arcin driving the English from French soil and in solidifying the administration of the monarchy. Before ascending the throne he was known as the Dauphin and was regent for his father, Charles VI, from 1418. Additional reading The standard biographies of Charles VII are Vallet de Viriville, Histoire de Charles VII, roi de France, et de son poque: 14031461, 3 vol. (186265); and Gaston du Fresne de Beaucourt, Histoire de Charles VII, 6 vol. (188191); though old, these works have not been superseded. Chronicles of Charles's own time may also be consulted: Jean Chartier, Chronique de Charles VII, roi de France, new ed. by Vallet de Viriville, 3 vol. (1858); Thomas Basin, Histoire de Charles VII, ed. by Charles Samaran, 2 vol. (193344).