Jean II le Bon de Valois, roi de France

Jean II de France

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_II_de_France

Jean II de France, dit Jean le Bon, (né le 26 avril 1319 au château du Gué de Maulny du Mans - mort à Londres le 8 avril 1364), fils du roi Philippe VI et de son épouse Jeanne de Bourgogne, fut roi de France de 1350 à 1364, second souverain issu de la maison capétienne de Valois. Il est sa cré roi de France le 26 septembre 1350.

On 28 July 1332, at the age of 13, John was married to Bonne of Bohemia (d. 1349), daughter of John I (the Blind) of Bohemia. Their children were:

1) Charles V (21 January 1338–16 September 1380)

2) Louis I, Duke of Anjou (23 July 1339–20 September 1384)

3) John, Duke of Berry (30 November 1340–15 June 1416)

4) Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (17 January 1342–27 April 1404)

5) Joan (24 June 1343–3 November 1373), married Charles II (the Bad) of Navarre

6) Marie (12 September 1344–October 1404), married Robert I, Duke of Bar

7) Agnes (1345–1349)

8) Margaret (1347–1352)

9) Isabelle of Valois (1 October 1348–11 September 1372), married Gian Galeazzo I, Duke of Milan

On 19 February 1350, at Nanterre, he married Joanna I of Auvergne (d. 1361), Countess of Auvergne and Boulogne. She was the widow of Philip of Burgundy, the deceased heir of that duchy, and mother of the young Philip I, Duke of Burgundy (1344–61) who became John's stepson and ward. John and Joanna had two daughters, both of whom died young:

1) Blanche (b. 1350)

2) Catherine (b. 1352)

He was succeeded by his son, Charles V.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_II_of_France

John II (16 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: Jean le Bon), was the King of France from 1350 until his death. He was the second sovereign of the House of Valois and is perhaps best remembered as the king who was vanquished at the Battle of Poitiers and taken as a captive to England.

The son of Philippe VI and Jeanne of Burgundy, John became the Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, and Duke of Normandy in 1332. He was created Count of Poitiers in 1344, Duke of Aquitaine in 1345, and Duke of Burgundy (as John I) from 1361 to 1363. By his marriage to Joanna I, Countess of Auvergne and Boulogne, he became jure uxoris Count of Auvergne and Boulogne from 1349 to 1360.

John succeeded his father in 1350 and was crowned at Notre-Dame de Reims. As king, John surrounded himself with poor administrators, preferring to enjoy the good life his wealth as king brought. Later in his reign, he took over more of the administration himself.

John was nine years old when his father had himself crowned as Philip VI of France. His ascent to the throne was unexpected, and because all female descendants of his uncle Philip the Fair were passed over, it was also disputed. The new king had to consolidate his power in order to protect his throne from rival claimants. Philip therefore decided to marry off his son John—then thirteen years old—quickly to form a strong matrimonial alliance, at the same time conferring upon him the title of Duke of Normandy.

Thought was initially given to a marriage with Eleanor, sister of the King of England, but instead Philip invited John of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia, to Fontainebleau. Bohemia had aspirations towards 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 (16 years), and the dowry was fixed at 120,000 florins.

John came of age on 26 April 1332, and received overlordship of 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. Duke John of Normandy was solemnly granted the arms of a knight in front of a prestigious assistance bringing together the kings of Luxembourg and Navarre, and the dukes of Burgundy, Lorraine and the Brabant.

In 1332, John became Duke of Normandy in prerogative, and had to deal with the reality that most of the Norman nobility was already allied with the English camp. Effectively, Normandy depended economically more on maritime trade across the English Channel than it did by river trade on the Seine. The duchy had not been English for 150 years but many landowners had possessions across the Channel. Consequently, to line up behind one or other sovereign risked confiscation. Therefore the Norman nobility were governed as interdependent clans which allowed them to obtain and maintain charters guaranteeing the duchy a deal of autonomy. It was split into two key camps, the counts of Tancarville and the counts of Harcourt – which had been at conflict for generations[1].

Tension arose again in 1341. The king, worried about the richest area of the kingdom breaking into bloodshed, ordered the baillifs 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 the Brabant. Three of his companions were decapitated in Paris on 3 April 1344[2].

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 Crécy and the rendering of Calais further damaged royal prestige. Defections by the nobility increased - particularly in the north and west whose land fell within the broad economic influence of England. Consequently the French king 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 which represented the key clan 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 the Melun-Tancarville party remained loyal to John the Good, while Godefroy de Harcourt continued to act as defender for Norman freedoms and thus of the reforming party[3].

In 1354, John's son-in-law and cousin, Charles II of Navarre, who, in addition to his small Pyrenean kingdom, also held extensive lands in Normandy, was implicated in the assassination of the Constable of France, Charles de la Cerda. Nevertheless, in order to have a strategic ally against the English in Gascony, on 22 February 1354, John signed the Treaty of Mantes with Charles. The peace did not last between the two and Charles eventually struck up an alliance with Henry of Grosmont, the first Duke of Lancaster. The next year (1355), John signed the Treaty of Valognes with Charles, but this second peace lasted hardly longer than the first. In 1355, the Hundred Years' War flared up again.

In July of 1356, The Black Prince, son of Edward III of England, took a small army on a chevauchée through France. John pursued him with an army of his own. In September, a few miles southeast of Poitiers, the two forces met.

John was confident of victory—his army was probably twice the size of his opponent's—but he did not immediately attack. While he waited, the papal legate went back and forth, trying to negotiate a truce between the leaders. There is some debate over whether or not the Prince wanted to fight at all. He offered his wagon train, which was heavily loaded with loot. He also promised not to fight against France for seven years. Some sources claim that he even offered to return Calais to the French crown. John countered by demanding that one hundred of the Prince's best knights surrender themselves to him as hostages... And he also demanded as a hostage the Prince himself.

No agreement could be reached. Negotiations broke down, and both sides prepared for combat.

On the day of the Battle of Poitiers, John and nineteen other knights from his personal guard dressed identically. This was done to confuse the enemy, who would do everything possible to capture the sovereign on the field. In spite of this precaution John was captured. Though he fought with valor, wielding a large battle-ax, his helmet was knocked off. Surrounded, he fought on until Denis de Morbecque, a French exile who fought for England, approached him.

"Sire," Morbecque said. "I am a knight of Artois. Yield yourself to me and I will lead you to the Prince of Wales."

King John surrendered by handing him his glove.

That night King John dined in the red silk tent of his enemy. The Black Prince attended to him personally. He was then taken to Bordeaux, and from there to England. Although Poitiers is centrally located, it is not known that anyone—noble or peasant—attempted to rescue their king.

While negotiating a peace accord, he was at first held in the Savoy Palace, then at a variety of locations, including Windsor, Hertford, Somerton Castle in Lincolnshire, Berkhamsted Castle in Hertfordshire and briefly at King John's Lodge, formerly known as Shortridges, in East Sussex. A local tradition in St Albans is that he was held in a house in that town, at the site of the 15th-century Fleur de Lys inn, before he was moved to Hertford. There is a sign on the inn to that effect, but apparently no evidence to confirm the tradition [1]. Eventually, John was taken to the Tower of London.

As a prisoner of the English, John was granted royal privileges, permitting him to travel about and to enjoy a regal lifestyle. At a time when law and order was breaking down in France and the government was having a hard time raising money for the defense of the realm, his account books during his captivity show that he was purchasing horses, pets, and clothes while maintaining an astrologer and a court band.[citation needed]

The Treaty of Brétigny (1360) set his ransom at 3,000,000 crowns. Leaving his son Louis of Anjou in English-held Calais as a replacement hostage, John was allowed to return to France to raise the funds.

But all did not go according to plan. In July of 1363, King John was informed that Louis had escaped. Troubled by the dishonor of this, and the arrears in his ransom, John did something that shocked and dismayed his people: he announced that he would voluntarily return to captivity in England. His council tried to dissuade him, but he persisted, citing reasons of "good faith and honor." He sailed for England that winter and left the impoverished citizens of France again without a king.

John was greeted in London 1364 with parades and feasts. A few months after his arrival, however, he fell ill with an "unknown malady." He died at the Savoy in April 1364.

Why did John return to captivity? Even at that time, when chivalry was perhaps at its height, his reasoning seemed incredible. Critics alleged that he returned to London for "causa joci" (reasons of pleasure). Historians have speculated that perhaps he simply couldn't face the difficulties of kingship in France. Perhaps he believed that he would be a stronger advocate for his kingdom if he were closer to King Edward. Perhaps he may have realized that he did not have long to live, and so returned to England to spare France from paying the remainder of his ransom. The true reason for John's return to England remains murky.

His body was returned to France, where he was interred in the royal chambers at Saint Denis Basilica.

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John II (16 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: Jean le Bon), was the King of France from 1350 until his death. He was the second sovereign of the House of Valois and is perhaps best remembered as the king who was vanquished at the Battle of Poitiers and taken as a captive to England.

The son of Philippe VI and Jeanne of Burgundy, John became the Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, and Duke of Normandy in 1332. He was created Count of Poitiers in 1344, Duke of Aquitaine in 1345, and Duke of Burgundy (as John I) from 1361 to 1363. By his marriage to Joanna I, Countess of Auvergne and Boulogne, he became jure uxoris Count of Auvergne and Boulogne from 1349 to 1360.

John succeeded his father in 1350 and was crowned at Notre-Dame de Reims. As king, John surrounded himself with poor administrators, preferring to enjoy the good life his wealth as king brought. Later in his reign, he took over more of the administration himself.

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BIOGRAPHY: b. April 16, 1319, near Le Mans, Fr.

d. April 8, 1364, London

byname JOHN THE GOOD, French JEAN LE BON 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.
Copyright © 1994-2001 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc

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Jean II de France, dit Jean le Bon[1], (né le 26 avril 1319 au château du Gué de Maulny du Mans - mort à Londres le 8 avril 1364), fils du roi Philippe VI et de son épouse Jeanne de Bourgogne, fut roi de France de 1350 à 1364, second souverain issu de la maison capétienne de Valois.

Il est sa­cré roi de France le 26 septembre 1350.

Le règne de Jean II le Bon est marqué par la défiance du pays envers les Valois choisis à la mort de Charles IV pour éviter qu'Édouard III, le plus proche descendant de Philippe le Bel ne prenne possession du trône de France. La nouvelle dynastie, confrontée à la crise de la féodalité, aux cinglantes défaites du début de la guerre de Cent Ans et à la grande peste, perd rapidement beaucoup de crédit; d'autant plus que, dans l'incapacité de faire rentrer les impôts, elle recourt à des mutations monétaires pour renflouer le trésor. Ces manipulations entraînent des dévaluations extrêmement impopulaires. Jean II le Bon, confronté aux intrigues de Charles le Mauvais, roi de Navarre et prétendant le plus direct à la couronne, gouverne dans le secret entouré d'hommes de confiance. Profitant de tous ces troubles et sûrs de la supériorité tactique conférée par l'arc long, les Anglais, menés par Édouard III et son fils le Prince noir, relancent la guerre en 1355.

Le 19 septembre 1356, Jean le Bon est battu et fait prisonnier à la bataille de Poitiers, malgré la restructuration de l'armée qu'il a menée. Le pays sombre alors dans le chaos. Les états généraux menés par Étienne Marcel et Robert Le Coq prennent le pouvoir à Paris et tentent d'installer Charles de Navarre à la tête d'une monarchie contrôlée. En 1358, les campagnes se soulèvent et s'allient avec Étienne Marcel, mais le dauphin, le futur Charles V, se fait nommer régent et retourne la situation. Jean le Bon peut regagner la France en 1360, après la signature du traité de Brétigny qui lui rend la liberté, mais cède un tiers du pays à Édouard III.

Son retour est difficile. Il faut payer son énorme rançon et les finances du royaume de France sont au plus bas. Il stabilise la monnaie grâce à la création du franc, mais les Grandes Compagnies pillent les campagnes et bloquent le commerce. Il tente de mettre fin à leurs agissements mais l'armée royale est vaincue à Brignais. Il tente ensuite d'en débarrasser le pays en les menant en croisade contre les Turcs avec l'argent du Pape. Il essuie un nouvel échec, Innocent VI mourant 15 jours avant son arrivée en Avignon et étant remplacé par le peu dispendieux Urbain V.

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Jean II de France. Une page de Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_II_de_France

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John II (16 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: Jean le Bon), was the King of France from 1350 until his death. He was the second sovereign of the House of Valois and is perhaps best remembered as the king who was vanquished at the Battle of Poitiers and taken as a captive to England.

The son of Philip VI and Joan the Lame, John became the Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, and Duke of Normandy in 1332. He was created Count of Poitiers in 1344, Duke of Aquitaine in 1345, and Duke of Burgundy (as John I) from 1361 to 1363. By his marriage to Joanna I, Countess of Auvergne and Boulogne, he became jure uxoris Count of Auvergne and Boulogne from 1350 to 1360.

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John II (Le Mans 16 April 1319 – London 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: Jean le Bon), was a Valois monarch who ruled as King of France from 1350 until his death. When John II came to power, France was facing several disasters: the Black Death plagued the kingdom, which lost nearly half of its population, Free companies of routiers plundered the country and the English won several major victories, including that of Poitiers (1356) where John was captured. While prisoner in London, John's son Charles became regent and faced several rebellions, which he overcame. To liberate his father, Charles concluded the Treaty of Brétigny (1360), which saw France lose many territories and pay an enormous ransom. In exchange of hostages, including his son Louis, John was released from captivity to raise fund for his ransom. Upon his return in France, he created the franc to stabilize 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 and was replaced by his son Charles V. John was nine years old when his father had himself crowned as Philip VI of France. His ascent to the throne was unexpected, and because all female descendants of his uncle Philip the Fair were passed over, it was also disputed. The new king had to consolidate his power in order to protect his throne from rival claimants. Philip therefore decided to marry off his son John—then thirteen years old—quickly to form a strong matrimonial alliance, at the same time conferring upon him the title of Duke of Normandy. Thought was initially given to a marriage with Eleanor, sister of the King of England, but instead Philip invited John of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia, to Fontainebleau. Bohemia had aspirations towards 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 (16 years), and the dowry was fixed at 120,000 florins. Marriage with Bonne of Bohemia: John came of age on 26 April 1332, and received overlordship of 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. Duke John of Normandy was solemnly granted the arms of a knight in front of a prestigious assistance bringing together the kings of Luxembourg and Navarre, and the dukes of Burgundy, Lorraine and the Brabant. Duke of Normandy: In 1332, John became Duke of Normandy in prerogative, and had to deal with the reality that most of the Norman nobility was already allied with the English camp. Effectively, Normandy depended economically more on maritime trade across the English Channel than it did by river trade on the Seine. The Duchy had not been English for 150 years but many landowners had possessions across the Channel. Consequently, to line up behind one or other sovereign risked confiscation. Therefore the Norman nobility were governed as interdependent clans which allowed them to obtain and maintain charters guaranteeing the duchy a deal 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 the Brabant. Three of his companions were decapitated in Paris on 3 April 1344. 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 Crécy and the rendering of Calais further damaged royal prestige. Defections by the nobility increased—particularly in the north and west whose land fell within the broad economic influence of England. Consequently King Philip 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 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. Treaty of Mantes and Battle of Poitiers: In 1354, John's son-in-law and cousin, Charles II of Navarre, who, in addition to his small Pyrenean kingdom, also held extensive lands in Normandy, was implicated in the assassination of the Constable of France, Charles de la Cerda. Nevertheless, to have a strategic ally against the English in Gascony, John signed the Treaty of Mantes with Charles on 22 February 1354. The peace did not last between the two and Charles eventually struck up an alliance with Henry of Grosmont, the first Duke of Lancaster. The next year (1355), John signed the Treaty of Valognes with Charles, but this second peace lasted hardly longer than the first. In 1355, the Hundred Years' War flared up again. In July 1356, the Black Prince, son of Edward III of England, took an army on a great chevauchée through France. John pursued him with an army of his own. In September a few miles southeast of Poitiers, the two forces met. John was confident of victory—his army was probably twice the size of his opponent's—but he did not immediately attack. While he waited, the papal legate went back and forth, trying to negotiate a truce between the leaders. There is some debate over whether the Prince wanted to fight at all. He offered his wagon train, which was heavily loaded with loot. He also promised not to fight against France for seven years. Some sources claim that he even offered to return Calais to the French crown. John countered by demanding that 100 of the Prince's best knights surrender themselves to him as hostages, along with the Prince himself. No agreement could be reached. Negotiations broke down, and both sides prepared for combat. On the day of the Battle of Poitiers, John and 19 knights from his personal guard dressed identically. This was done to confuse the enemy, who would do everything possible to capture the sovereign on the field. In spite of this precaution John was captured. Though he fought with valor, wielding a large battle-axe, his helmet was knocked off. Surrounded, he fought on until Denis de Morbecque, a French exile who fought for England, approached him. "Sire," Morbecque said. "I am a knight of Artois. Yield yourself to me and I will lead you to the Prince of Wales." King John surrendered by handing him his glove. That night King John dined in the red silk tent of his enemy. The Black Prince attended to him personally. He was then taken to Bordeaux, and from there to England. Although Poitiers is centrally located, it is not known that anyone—noble or peasant—attempted to rescue their king. While negotiating a peace accord, he was at first held in the Savoy Palace, then at a variety of locations, including Windsor, Hertford, Somerton Castle in Lincolnshire, Berkhamsted Castle in Hertfordshire and briefly at King John's Lodge, formerly known as Shortridges, in East Sussex. A local tradition in St Albans is that he was held in a house in that town, at the site of the 15th-century Fleur de Lys inn, before he was moved to Hertford. There is a sign on the inn to that effect, but apparently no evidence to confirm the tradition.[4] Eventually, John was taken to the Tower of London. Prisoner of the English: As a prisoner of the English, John was granted royal privileges, permitting him to travel about and to enjoy a regal lifestyle. At a time when law and order was breaking down in France and the government was having a hard time raising money for the defence of the realm, his account books during his captivity show that he was purchasing horses, pets, and clothes while maintaining an astrologer and a court band. The Treaty of Brétigny (1360) set his ransom at 3 million crowns. Leaving his son Louis of Anjou in English-held Calais as a replacement hostage, John was allowed to return to France to raise the funds. But all did not go according to plan. In July 1363, King John was informed that Louis had escaped. Troubled by the dishonour of this, and the arrears in his ransom, John did something that shocked and dismayed his people: he announced that he would voluntarily return to captivity in England. His council tried to dissuade him, but he persisted, citing reasons of "good faith and honour." He sailed for England that winter and left the impoverished citizens of France again without a king. John was greeted in London 1364 with parades and feasts. A few months after his arrival, however, he fell ill with an unknown malady. He died at the Savoy in April 1364. His body was returned to France, where he was interred in the royal chambers at Saint Denis Basilica. Personality: John suffered from fragile health. He engaged little in physical activity, practised jousting rarely, and only occasionally hunted. Contemporaries report that he was quick to get angry and resort to violence, leading to frequent political and diplomatic confrontations. He enjoyed literature, and was patron to painters and musicians. The image of a "warrior king" probably emerged from the courage in battle he showed at Poitiers, and the creation of the Order of the Star. This was guided by political need as John was determined to prove the legitimacy of his crown–particularly as his reign, like that of his father, was marked by continuing disputes over the Valois claim from both Charles II of Navarre and Edward III of England. From a young age, John was called to resist the de-centralising forces which impacted upon the cities and the nobility; each attracted either by English economic influence or the reforming party. He grew up amongst intrigue and treason, and in consequence he governed in secrecy only with a close circle of trusted advisers. He took as wife Bonne of Bohemia, and fathered 10 children, in eleven years. Due to his close relationship with Charles de la Cerda, rumors were spread by Charles II of Navarre of a romantic attachment between the two. La Cerda was given various honours and appointed to the high position of connetable when John became king; he accompanied the king on all his official journeys to the provinces. La Cerda's rise at court excited the jealousy of the French barons, several of whom stabbed him to death in 1354. As such, La Cerda's fate paralleled that of Edward II of England's Piers Gaveston in England, and John II of Castile's Alvaro de Luna in Spain; the position of a royal favourite was a dangerous one. John's grief on La Cerda's death was overt and public. Ancestry:

Family and children: On 28 July 1332, at the age of 13, John was married to Bonne of Bohemia (d. 1349), daughter of John I (the Blind) of Bohemia. Their children were:

1.Charles V (21 January 1338 – 16 September 1380)

2.Louis I, Duke of Anjou (23 July 1339 – 20 September 1384)

3.John, Duke of Berry (30 November 1340 – 15 June 1416)

4.Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (17 January 1342–27 April 1404)

5.Joan (24 June 1343 – 3 November 1373), married Charles II (the Bad) of Navarre

6.Marie (12 September 1344 – October 1404), married Robert I, Duke of Bar

7.Agnes (9 December 1345 – April 1350)

8.Margaret (20 September 1347 – 25 April 1352)

9.Isabelle of Valois (1 October 1348 – 11 September 1372), married Gian Galeazzo I, Duke of Milan  On 19 February 1350, at Nanterre, he married Joanna I of Auvergne (d. 1361), Countess of Auvergne and Boulogne. She was the widow of Philip of Burgundy, the deceased heir of that duchy, and mother of the young Philip I, Duke of Burgundy (1344–61) who became John's stepson and ward. John and Joanna had three children, all of whom died young:

1.Blanche (b. November 1350)

2.Catherine (b. early 1352)

3.a son (b. early 1353)  He was succeeded by his son, Charles.