The Tour Jean-sans-Peur or Tour de Jean sans Peur (French pronunciation: [tuʁ də ʒɑ̃ sɑ̃ pœʁ], Tower of John the Fearless), located in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, is the last vestige of the Hôtel de Bourgogne ([otɛl də buʁɡɔɲ]), the residence first of the Counts of Artois and then the Dukes of Burgundy. The tower contained bed chambers and the grand stairway of the original residence, which stood next to it. It was completed between 1409–1411 by Jean sans Peur. The original hôtel occupied about a hectare of land, the boundaries of which are now marked by the rues Étienne Marcel, Montorgueil, Saint-Sauveur, and Saint-Denis. The tower itself is located at 20 rue Étienne Marcel, in the courtyard of an elementary school. It is one of the best surviving examples of medieval residential architecture in Paris. The tower is open to the public and presents changing expositions on life in the Middle Ages.
History
The Hôtel d'Artois The first hôtel particulier or manor, on the site was built by the Counts of Artois, whose domains included most of northern France and Flanders. In 1270, Robert II, Count of Artois, the nephew of king Louis IX, known as "Saint Louis", bought several houses and about a hectare of land in the northern part of the city, adjacent to the wall of Philippe Auguste, the first city wall of Paris, which had been built between 1190, and 1290. Part of the land was outside the wall, the other part within Paris. As the city grew, a new wall built by Charles V, completed in 1383, brought the entire property within the city limits. Little is known about this first hôtel, which was largely rebuilt by its later owners.
Residence of Dukes of Burgundy In 1369, the hôtel passed to Philip the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy, by his marriage to Marguerite, the Countess of Flanders and of Artois. The records of the concierge of the house show that between July 1371, and Easter 1375, he carried out important construction works, including the building of a tower. After Philip's death in 1404, it became the property of Jean de Bourgogne, better known as Jean sans Peur, or John the Fearless.
The construction of the tower took place during the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453), when the kings of France and England fought for supremacy in France. Paris was also a battleground of the Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War (1404–1435). Beginning in 1392, king Charles VI suffered increasingly from madness, and two branches of the royal family fought over who would rule the country: the Armagnacs, supporters of the king's brother, Louis d'Orléans, and the Burgundians, led by his cousin, the new Duke of Burgundy, Jean sans Peur. On November 23, 1407, just as it appeared that the Armagnacs had triumphed, Louis d'Orléans was murdered on the street by men in the pay of Jean sans Peur. In 1408, Jean quickly regained favor by leading a successful military campaign in Flanders, and was forgiven by the king, who made him the guardian of his heir, the dauphin, Louis, Duke of Guyenne. To celebrate his triumph and to display his wealth and power, between 1409, and 1411, Jean built a palatial new residence, attached to a tower, which contained both a grand spiral staircase which gave access to the main building, a large hall and, at the top of a separate narrow winding stairway, to private chambers. The Chronicle of Enguerrand de Monstrelet (c. 1400-1444) reported: "In this time a force of workers made for John a strong chamber of well-crafted stone, in the form of a tower, and there he slept at night. This tower had the advantage of keeping him safe.". The records of his concierge show that the additions to the hôtel, costing 10,000 livres, were made between February 1409 and May 1411, requiring the Duke to obtain several loans from wealthy Parisians. Although the base of the tower may have been built by his father, the upper part was probably built by Jean sans Peur. From 1409 to 1413, Jean sans Peur conducted his fight against the Armagnacs from his fortified residence. He had his own unofficial militia, called the Cabochiens, made up of butchers, knackers and other workers of the powerful butcher corporation Grande Boucherie Saint-Jacques. However, the opposition to his rule grew so strong that he was forced to flee Paris in 1413. He returned in triumph in 1418, but in 1419, he was murdered by his opponents on the bridge of Montereau, under the eyes of the new Dauphin, the future Charles VII.
The residence was inherited by his son, Philip the Good, but the new Duke spent very little time there, dividing his time between his palaces in Dijon, Brussels, Lille, and other cities in his duchy. During his reign, Burgundy reached to the height of its glory; he greatly expanded its territory, conquering most of the Netherlands and buying the Duchy of Luxemburg. During one campaign, his soldiers captured Joan of Arc, and handed her over to the English, who were his allies at the time. He was a famous patron of the arts, commissioning works from Jan van Eyck and other Flemish masters, and he spent a large portion of the Duchy's income on gold cloth, silk and other fabrics for his wardrobe. He only returned permanently in 1461, after an absence of twenty-six years, when king Louis XI returned to Paris. Thereafter, he entertained lavishly, holding banquets under a large tent of velours and silk erected in the garden. On these occasions, the walls of the tower were decorated from tapestries from Arras, in his province of Flanders. The old city wall of Philippe Auguste, was still in good condition and was connected to the tower by a doorway on the first floor, still visible. According to one chronicle of the time, Philippe le Bon was able to travel from the tower to the Hôtel de Soissons, near Les Halles, without setting foot on the city streets. After his death in 1467, the duchy and house became the property of his son, Charles the Bold, though the new duke never lived in the house. He chose to live in the Tour de Nesle, a fortified residence on the left bank across the Seine from the Palais de la Cité, which had been given to him by Louis XI. The new duke allied himself first with the King of France, then conspired against him. Charles the Bold was killed in battle against the army of the Duke of Lorraine and the Swiss in January 1477. He had no sons, and the title of Duke of Burgundy died with him. Louis XI took possession of the province of Burgundy, and of the Hôtel de Bourgogne.
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