John II of France
John II, called John the Good, was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed between a third and a half of its population; popular revolts known as Jacqueries; free companies of routiers who plundered the country; and English aggression that resulted in catastrophic military losses, including the Battle of Poitiers of 1356, in which John was captured.
While John was a prisoner in London, his son Charles became regent and faced several rebellions, which he overcame. To liberate his father, he concluded the Treaty of Brétigny, by which France lost many territories and paid an enormous ransom. In an exchange of hostages, which included his son Louis I, Duke of Anjou, John was released from captivity to raise funds for his ransom. Upon his return to France, he created the franc to stabilise the currency and tried to get rid of the free companies by sending them to a crusade, but Pope Innocent VI died shortly before their meeting in Avignon. When John was informed that Louis had escaped from captivity, he voluntarily returned to England, where he died in 1364. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Charles V.
Early life
John was nine years old when his father, Philip VI, was crowned king. Philip VI's ascent to the throne was unexpected: all three sons of Philip IV had died without sons and their daughters were passed over. Also passed over was King Edward III of England, Philip IV's grandson through his daughter, Isabella. Thus, as the new king of France, John's father Philip VI had to consolidate his power in order to protect his throne from rival claimants; therefore, he decided to marry off his son John quickly at the age of thirteen to form a strong matrimonial alliance.Search for a wife and first marriage
Initially a marriage with Eleanor of Woodstock, sister of King Edward III of England, was considered, but instead Philip invited King John the Blind of Bohemia to Fontainebleau. Bohemia had aspirations to control Lombardy and needed French diplomatic support. A treaty was drawn up. The military clauses stipulated that, in the event of war, Bohemia would support the French army with four hundred infantrymen. The political clauses ensured that the Lombard crown would not be disputed if the king of Bohemia managed to obtain it. Philip selected Bonne of Bohemia as a wife for his son, as she was closer to child-bearing age, and the dowry was fixed at 120,000 florins.John reached the age of majority, 13 years and one day, on 27 April 1332, and received the Duchy of Normandy, as well as the counties of Anjou and Maine. The wedding was celebrated on 28 July at the church of Notre-Dame in Melun in the presence of six thousand guests. The festivities were prolonged by a further two months when the young groom was finally knighted at the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris. As the new duke of Normandy, John was solemnly granted the arms of a knight in front of a prestigious assembly bringing together the kings of Bohemia and Navarre, and the dukes of Burgundy, Lorraine and Brabant.
Duke of Normandy
Accession and rise of the English and the royalty
Upon his accession as Duke of Normandy in 1332, John had to deal with the reality that most of the Norman nobility was already allied with the English. Effectively, Normandy depended economically more on maritime trade across the English Channel than on river trade on the Seine. Although the duchy had not been in Angevin possession for 150 years, many landowners had holdings across the Channel. Consequently, to line up behind one or other sovereign risked confiscation. Therefore, Norman members of the nobility were governed as interdependent clans, which allowed them to obtain and maintain charters guaranteeing the duchy a measure of autonomy. It was split into two key camps, the counts of Tancarville and the counts of Harcourt, which had been in conflict for generations.Tension arose again in 1341. King Philip, worried about the richest area of the kingdom breaking into bloodshed, ordered the bailiffs of Bayeux and Cotentin to quell the dispute. Geoffroy d'Harcourt raised troops against the king, rallying a number of nobles protective of their autonomy and against royal interference. The rebels demanded that Geoffroy be made duke, thus guaranteeing the autonomy granted by the charter. Royal troops took the castle at Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte and Geoffroy was exiled to Brabant. Three of his companions were decapitated in Paris on 3 April 1344.
Meeting with the Avignon Papacy and the King of England
In 1342, John was in Avignon, then a part of the Papal States, at the coronation of Pope Clement VI, and in the latter part of 1343, he was a member of a peace parley with Edward III of England's chancery clerk. Clement VI was the fourth of seven Avignon Popes whose papacy was not contested, although the supreme pontiffs would ultimately return to Rome in 1378.Relations with Normandy and rising tensions
By 1345, increasing numbers of Norman rebels had begun to pay homage to Edward III, constituting a major threat to the legitimacy of the Valois kings. The defeat at the Battle of Crécy on 26 August 1346, and the capitulation of Calais on 3 August 1347, after an eleven-month siege, further damaged royal prestige. Defections by the nobility, whose land fell within the broad economic influence of England, particularly in the north and west, increased. Consequently, King Philip VI decided to seek a truce. Duke John met Geoffroy d'Harcourt, to whom the king agreed to return all confiscated goods, even appointing him sovereign captain in Normandy. John then approached the Tancarville family, whose loyalty could ultimately ensure his authority in Normandy. The marriage of John, Viscount of Melun, to Jeanne, the only heiress of the county of Tancarville, ensured that the Melun-Tancarville party remained loyal to John, while Geoffroy d'Harcourt continued to act as defender for Norman freedoms and thus of the reforming party.Black Death and second marriage
On 11 September 1349, John's wife, Bonne of Bohemia, died at the Maubuisson Abbey near Paris, of the Black Death, which was devastating Europe. To escape the pandemic, John, who was living in the Parisian royal residence, the Palais de la Cité, left Paris.On 9 February 1350, five months after the death of his first wife, John married Joan I, Countess of Auvergne, in the royal Château de Sainte-Gemme, at Feucherolles, near Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
The Dauphiné acquisition
In 1343, negotiations were initiated between John's father – king Philip VI, and dauphin Humbert II of Viennois, regarding the future inheritance of the Dauphiné, a vast feudal domain within the Kingdom of Burgundy, under the suzerainty of the Holy Roman Empire. Since Humbert had no heirs, it was initially agreed that his domains will pass to Johns's younger brother Philip, Duke of Orléans. Already in 1344, those provisions were changed by the new agreement, designating John as Humbert's heir in the Dauphiné.By 1349, Humbert decided to relinquish his rule over Dauphiné in favor of the House of Valois, and the final agreement was made, designating John's oldest son Charles as Humbert's successor, on the condition that Dauphiné will remain a distinctive polity, not incorporated into the French kingdom. Thus in the summer of 1349, John's oldest son became the first Valois Dauphin de Viennois. In 1350, when John ascended to the French throne, his son Charles became the heir presumptive and thus for the first time both honors were held by the same person.
King of France
Coronation
Philip VI, John's father, died on 22 August 1350, and John's coronation as John II, king of France, took place in Reims the following 26 September. Joanna, his second wife, was crowned queen of France at the same time.In November 1350, King John had Raoul II of Brienne, Count of Eu seized and summarily executed, for reasons that remain unclear, although it was rumoured that he had pledged the English the County of Guînes for his release from captivity.
Historic Military Ordinances of 1351
John inherited a French military weakened by disorganization and feudal fragmentation, and seven months after being crowned king, he issued the ordinances of 1351 which sought to address these issues. Enacted in response to military setbacks, such as the French defeat at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, these ordinances aimed to address issues of organization, discipline, and payment within the French military, and serve as proof that John as a chivalrous king had an exact grasp of the inadequacies of the feudal army.The military ordinances of 1351, issued by King John II the Good, are considered the first comprehensive military ordinances in French history due to their systematic approach to reforming the royal army during the Hundred Years' War. While earlier French monarchs, such as Philip Augustus, issued military-related decrees, none were as comprehensive or specifically focused on army-wide organization as John’s ordinances.
Some of the aims of the provisions included:
- Centralizing command: Establishing royal authority over military operations to reduce noble autonomy. The ordinances established standardized rules for the recruitment, payment, and conduct of soldiers, marking a significant shift from the decentralized and often chaotic feudal levies to a more cohesive royal army under centralized control. These regulations included provisions for fixed wages and measures to curb indiscipline among troops.
- Institution of the "Montre" : To ensure accountability and proper equipping of troops. It mandated regular inspections, known as montres, to verify the number, equipment, and readiness of soldiers. Each combatant was required to be part of a company led by a captain, who was responsible for the unit’s discipline and preparedness. Horses were marked to prevent soldiers from presenting the same mounts in multiple units to inflate numbers and claim additional pay. Wages were paid only after the montre, ensuring soldiers were properly equipped and present. This system aimed to curb fraud, reduce desertion, and ensure that only well-equipped soldiers received payment, marking a shift toward a more professional army.
- Regulating pay and service: Introducing paid contracts to ensure loyalty and standardize service terms.
- Formation of Royal Companies: To replace disorganized feudal levies with a structured royal army. The ordinance organized soldiers into companies under the command of appointed captains. These companies integrated barons, vassals, and sub-vassals, placing them under royal authority rather than feudal lords. Captains were accountable to the king’s representatives, such as the constable and marshals. This provision reduced the autonomy of feudal lords, centralizing military command under the crown. It laid the groundwork for the later compagnies d’ordonnance, a standing army formalized under Charles VII in 1445.
- Standardizing units: Organizing troops into smaller units led by appointed captains for better coordination.
- Limiting noble independence: Curtailing nobles’ ability to act independently or abandon campaigns.
- Improving logistics: Enhancing provisioning to sustain campaigns.
- Discipline and Accountability: Captains were made responsible for their units’ conduct, with strict oversight by the constable and marshals. The ordinance aimed to curb the lawlessness of troops, particularly when not engaged in active campaigns, as demobilized soldiers often turned to banditry.