Charles of Valois became the duke of Orléans after his father’s murder in 1407. During the war against the Kingdom of England, he was captured by Sir Richard Waller and taken to England as a hostage, where he remained in captivity for the next twenty-four years.
Charles of Valois would write most of his poetry, including melancholy works which seem to be commenting on the captivity itself, such as En la forêt de longue attente. The majority of his output consists of short poems in the ballade and rondeau meters, written in the French language. A contemporary English translation of some of these poems exists; this is commonly attributed to Charles himself, though some scholars have challenged his authorship.
