Jacques Coeur

Jacques Coeur (1395-1456) was the treasurer of Charles VII, and was known as the richest man in the realm. His wealth allowed him to earn favor with high nobility, and especially with the House of Anjou. Coeur reorganized the royal finances, established a gold standard and stabilized the French currency. He had hundreds of factories in his employ, and owned houses of business in all the chief cities of France. He had many lavish homes, the most famous being in the city of Bourges. His most significant accomplishment was providing the financial basis that allowed the creation of Charles VII's military reforms that took place in the 1440s. He supplied the "sinews of war" which had ousted the English from Normandy and began the recovery of Guyienne.

Coeur was ennobled in 1440. His motto was
"to a valiant heart, nothing is impossible"

Cathedral at Bourges

Shell of St. James