John II the Good of France de Valois 1 2
- Born: 16 Apr 1319, Le Mans, France
- Marriage (1): Bonne of Luxemburg on 28 Jul 1332
- Marriage (2): Jeanne of Boulogne on 19 Feb 1350
- Died: 8 Apr 1364, London, England aged 44
- Buried: Saint Denis Basilica, near Paris, France
Another name for John was Jean le Bon.
General Notes:
King of France from 1350 to 1364. Captured by the English at the Battle of Poitiers on Sept. 19, 1356, he was forced to sign the disastrous treaties of 1360 during the first phase of the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) between France and England.
After becoming king on Aug. 22, 1350, John continued a truce with the English until later that year, when he had an English hostage, Raoul de Brienne, comte d'Eu, former constable of France, executed. By March 1351 King Edward III of England realized the impossibility of remaining at peace; but John committed the first act of hostility by attacking and recapturing Saint-Jean-d'Angély in western France that September 7. John signed a new truce with England on Sept. 12, 1351, but broke it by supporting the partisans of Charles of Blois (a pretender to Brittany, then held prisoner by Edward) in August 1352; the peace, however, was extended until September 23.
John's other bitter enemy was Charles II the Bad, king of Navarre, to whom John gave his daughter Joan as an offer of alliance; the enmity still remained strong, however, because John never paid a dowry or recognized a rent of 15,000 livres due to Charles. John further irritated Charles by giving the new constable of France, Charles de La Cerda, lands that were claimed by Charles of Navarre. In revenge, the latter had the new constable assassinated; but in spite of John's rage, the two kings made a superficial peace in February 1354. Charles desired an alliance with Edward, which so frightened John that he made another peace with Charles on Sept. 10, 1355. On April 16, 1356, at Rouen, John took his revenge on Charles by having him imprisoned.
Meanwhile Edward, displeased by the 1355 alliance between John and Charles, invaded France later that year but then returned to England before any confrontations. At the same time, Edward's son Edward, prince of Wales (later called the Black Prince), attacked southern France. Unable to halt the English invasions because he lacked funds, John gathered the States General to seek money and to impose an unpopular salt tax. John first went to defend Paris and Chartres. He and the Prince of Wales finally met near Poitiers in September 1356. The French army was decimated, and John was taken prisoner, leaving the French people grief-stricken and confused.
John was taken to London in April 1357, where he was lodged in the Savoy palace; there he concluded treaties (January 1358 and March 1359) so harsh that they were repudiated in France. Finally the treaties of Brétigny and of Calais (May and October 1360) fixed John's ransom at 3,000,000 gold écus and surrendered most of southwestern France to Edward. On Oct. 9, 1360, John was released to raise a ransom that France could not afford to pay, and hostages were accepted in his place. When one of the hostages (John's own son) escaped, John, feeling dishonoured, returned to England on his own volition as a prisoner.
Noted events in his life were:
• Acceded: King of France, 1350.
John married Bonne of Luxemburg, daughter of John the Blind of Luxemburg and Elizabeth of Bohemia, on 28 Jul 1332. (Bonne of Luxemburg was born on 20 May 1315 and died on 11 Sep 1349.) The cause of her death was Black Death.
Marriage Notes:
Bonne was married to the future John II of France on July 28, 1332. She was 17 years old, and the future king was 13.
Their children were:
Charles V le Sage (January 21, 1338 - September 16, 1380);
Philippe II (January 17, 1342 - April 27, 1404);
Jeanne (June 24, 1343 - November 3, 1373);
Louis (July 23, 1339 - September 20, 1389);
Isabelle (October 1, 1348 - September 11, 1372);
Jean de Berry (November 30, 1340 - June 15, 1416);
Marie (September 12, 1344 - October, 1404);
Agnès (1345 - 1349);
Marguerite (1347 - 1352).
John next married Jeanne of Boulogne, daughter of Robert d' Auvergne and Unknown, on 19 Feb 1350. (Jeanne of Boulogne was born on 8 May 1326, died on 29 Sep 1360 in Chateau d'Argilly and was buried in St. Denis, Ile de France, France.)
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