CHARTER, ALAIN. - Canon of Notre-Dame from 1420; loyal subject and secretary to the Dauphin and later King Charles VII; lived during a truly difficult period for his homeland (c. 1385–1430).
He wrote extensively, in Latin and French: *La belle dame sans merci*, a poem in octosyllabic verse, earned him the reputation of a refined erotic and chivalric poet; but as an eloquent political writer and fervent patriot, he distinguished himself above all with the *Quadrilogue invictif* (1422), which enjoyed wide circulation and well-deserved success. Shortly before his death, he had the fortune of greeting JEANNE D’ARC as the inspirer of the future recovery (*Lettre sur Jeanne d’Arc adressée à l’empereur Sisinondo*, 1420).
Bibl.: A. DUCHESNE, *Les œuvres de maistre A. C.*, Paris 1617. Cf. A. THOMAS, *A. C. chanoine de Paris*, in *Romania*, 33 (1904), pp. 387–402. P. CHAMPION, *Histoire poétique du XVe siècle*, I, Paris 1923, pp. 1–165. Further bibliographical references on A. C. may be found in the edition of the *Quadrilogue invictif* edited by E. DROZ, Paris 1923.