 Isabeau was dismissed by historians as a wanton , weak and indecisive leader . Modern historians now see her as taking an unusually active leadership role for a queen of her period , forced to take responsibility as a direct result of Charles ' illness . Her critics accepted skewed interpretations of her role in the negotiations with England , resulting in the Treaty of Troyes , and in the rumors of her marital infidelity with Orléans . Gibbons writes that a queen 's duty was to secure the succession to the crown and look after her husband ; historians described Isabeau as having failed in both respects , and she came to be seen as one of the great villains of history . Gibbons goes on to say that even her physical appearance is uncertain ; depictions of her vary depending on whether she was to be portrayed as good or evil . 
