Jean II the Good

(1319-1364)

(Jean II le Bon)

   king of France

   Born at the château of Gue de Maulney, near Le Mans, Jean II the Good, who was king of France from 1350 to 1364, was the son of philippe vi of Valois and Jeanne of Burgundy. In 1332, Jean married Bonne de Luxembourg, and later (1350), Jeanne de Boulogne. As monarch, he debased the currency to deal with court and government expenses, and, in 1353, married his daughter to charles II the bad, king of Navarre. Charles then assassinated Charles of spain, a councilor to Jean ii, and his arrest brought about a war with Navarre (1356). Meanwhile, hostilities with England recurred in Guyenne and Languedoc; the son of King Edward III, Edward the Prince of Wales, defeated and captured Jean at Poitier (1356). Jean's son, the dauphin and future charles v, served as regent during his father's captivity and suppressed the jacquerie and the uprising of étienne marcel. The dauphin also agreed to sign the Peace of Brétigny and to pay the ransom of 3 million gold crowns required to free the king. Jean ii, having learned that his son, Louis d'Anjou, one of the hostages held by the English, had escaped, remained faithful to his word and returned to London, where he died. Jean ii, during his reign, created the Knights' order of the star and divided his domains among his sons, giving Anjou to Louis; Berry, Auvergne, and Poitou to Jean; and Burgundy to philippe II the BOLD.