Langlois, Charles-Victor. Saint Louis, Philippe le Bel, les derniers Capetiens directs: 1226–1328.
Paris: Hachette, 1901.
CHARLES V THE WISE
(1338–1380). The third French king of the Valois line, Charles V was born on January
21, 1338, the oldest son of John II and Bonne de Luxembourg. He was the first heir of a
French king to be styled dauphin of Viennois. Charles owes much of his reputation to
Christine de Pizan, who depicted him as a prudent and skillful ruler despite chronic poor
health. His reign as king (1364–80) was a time of success for France, in contrast to those
of his predecessor and successor, but some recent scholars have questioned how much of
the success can be attributed to his abilities.
Charles had an eventful political career before becoming king. In 1355, he was
implicated in conspiracies against his father fomented by Charles the Bad, king of
Navarre. In 1356, after the defeat and capture of John II at Poitiers, Charles was left to
face attacks on the government from partisans of Charles the Bad, genuine political
reformers, and ambitious men who hoped to oust unpopular royal financial officers and
take their place. Nonnobles were increasingly hostile to nobles, while much of the
nobility of northern and western France had been hostile to the Valois monarchy for
years.
As royal lieutenant and later regent in the name of his captive father, Charles had to
deal with a serious crisis in the years 1356–58. Riot and rebellion in Paris, independent
military action by the forces of Charles the Bad, and the savage uprising against nobles
known as the Jacquerie all contributed to this crisis, as did a seriously unstable currency
and the ravages of unemployed companies of soldiers (routiers). Throughout the period,
the Estates General convened repeatedly, but the militance of the urban representatives
soon alienated the nobles, who slowly gravitated into the royalist camp.
After Charles regained Paris in 1358, the royal government began to recover its
authority and institute reforms. A new English invasion in 1359–60 failed to capture any
major towns, and the Treaty of Brétigny in 1360 secured John II’s release. To pay his
ransom, stabilize the currency, and deal with the brigandage of routiers, the crown was
able to establish substantial regular taxes in 1360 and 1363, and these financed the troops
that won a major victory over the Navarrese at Cocherel on May 6, 1364. Charles V, who
had just succeeded his father as king, inherited a favorable situation and a reform-minded
royal council led by Guillaume de Melun, archbishop of Sens. Charles continued to
cultivate the newly royalist nobility of the north and west, who began to provide the bulk
of his military leaders. His brother Louis I of Anjou became royal lieutenant in
Languedoc, providing energetic leadership there for most of the reign.
As king, Charles profited from two important international developments, both of
them in 1369. His brother Philip the Bold married the heiress of Flanders and Artois, thus
denying these strategic lands to a potential English suitor. In Spain, Bertrand du Guesclin,
the victor of Cocherel, helped establish a pro-French candidate on the throne of Castile,
giving Charles an ally with an important fleet. At home, Charles lured into the French
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