alternatehistory.com

I am very interested in alternate history and ever since I joined this site I have wanted to start me own timeline. However, up until now my knowledge of history was not very specific, so I have been doing a lot of reading on history. French history is by far my favorite, and I have recently developed a big interest in the middle ages causing me to do extensive reading on the time period, centering on France and the Franks. Several people have recommended that I start a thread to plan my timeline, so here we go:

My working title is "The Great Flame of France" for reasons I will state here and others that will become evident once I start the actual timeline.
Here is my POD: In 1393, Charles VI, the mad king, is not saved from burning to death at the Bal Des Ardents http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bal_des_Ardents#The_Bal_des_Ardents and instead both he and his brother, Louis, Duke of Orleans, are killed in the blaze. Since several people died in the fire otl, and Charles himself was only saved by a woman smothering the flames on his body with her dress, I believe this is very plausible.

Now, I have had a lot of trouble finding an family tree for the greater French royal family stemming from John II but it seems that now either one of the sons of Louis I of Naples (who is dead by the POD) or John, Duke of Berry, is next in line for the throne. I am not sure of the formal legal inheritance laws, and as such whether the throne is to be inherited by the children of an older son or the next youngest brother.
My goal is to have Phillip the Bold or his son John the Fearless (Dukes of Burgundy) inherit the French throne, so basically what needs to happen next for that to occur?
My thought is that the English invade earlier than 1415 due to the instability of the death of several important nobles, and in defeat the French king (who I think would now be John, leading to his death. Once Phillip the Bold inherits the throne, it will tie several important Burgundian territories to French crown much earlier on (or in the case of Flanders, at all) to the French crown.

I have a lot of ideas for the direction of this timeline that I do not want to give away, but my main goals are:
-the absence of the Armagnac-Burgundian civil war. Pretty much goes without saying because Louis of Orleans is dead, but the civil war served to further destabilize the French monarchy, spread division among the Royal family, and turn one of the crown's greatest allies/vassals (Burgundy) into an enemy.
-A much earlier end to the 100 Years War (it won't be called that ITTL), by around 1400-1410. This will prevent a lot of the destruction and death of the later war, and restore order to the country side much earlier. Thus, France will have a much higher population entering the moden age.
-The Estates-General becoming a more powerful legislative body in France. The Burgundian Dukes were great centralizers and administrators, and used parliamentary bodies like the Estates-General throughout their growing territories.
-The Avignon Papacy surviving, which will have massive consequences on the course of religion and the Reformation (if it comes in any form).

I have a lot more ideas about this and a direction to take the timeline in, but I do not want to reveal too much of the specifics so as not to ruin it. If anyone has any book recommendations or useful internet resources, please tell me and I would be happy to look at them so I can learn more.
This idea has been bouncing around my head for a while, so I posted this to ask for help with my inheritance question along with general advice on how to write a good timeline, and to see what everyone thinks of my idea.
Ok, thanks to everyone in advance for any help you can give me,
Scipio
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