two parties of great feudal lords in France in the first half of the 15th century who competed in a struggle for power during the reign of the mad King Charles VI (1380–1422). The Armagnacs were allies of the house of Orléans (their real leader was Bernard VII, count of Armagnac; hence the name). The Burgundians were the dukes of Burgundy (John the Fearless; Philip III the Good) and their allies. After the murder of Duke Louis of Orléans by John the Fearless in 1407, the Burgundians took control of the government but the Armagnacs broke into Paris with armed detachments in 1413, seized power, and held it until 1419. John the Fearless tried to use the Cabochien movement in the struggle with the Armagnacs but betrayed it at a decisive moment. This bloody feudal civil strife played into the hands of the English, who resumed military activity. After the Battle of Agjncourt (1415) and the Treaty of Troyes (1420), the English concluded an alliance with the Burgundians. This enabled the Armagnacs to pose as defenders of national interests. The Treaty of Arras (1435) put an end to the struggle between the Armagnacs and the Burgundians.