John, the eldest son of Philip, succeeded to the throne ; but an act of injustice towards the Constable Raoul, whom he ordered to be beheaded without any form of trial, ren dered him soon very unpopular. Of this, and of other cir cumstances, Edward III. took advantage ; for Charles, King of Navarre, setting up a claim to the throne of France, Edward resolved to support him. In this emergency, John convoked the states-general in 1355, who agreed to a levy of 30,000 lancers, besides 100,000 other troops, and to a subsidy to support them. At this assembly, a decree was passed, that no proposition should be admitted without the unanimous consent of the three branches or their deputies. Thus, the third estate, which hitherto had been too much and too often the slaves of the nobility or clergy, obtained their due share of authority. In 1355, Edward invaded France again, and sent into Guienne the Prince of Wales, who had gained so much fame at the battle of Cressy. On the 19th of September in the following year, this prince was again successful, at the battle of Poictiers, in which the French were completely defeated, and their king taken prisoner. John was treated with great attention and gene rosity by his captor, who, having concluded a truce for two years, brought him over to England. In consequence of the captivity of their monarch, the people of France were plunged into the greatest disorder and confusion. The Dauphin, indeed, assumed the management of affairs, but his authority and influence were not sufficient to restore tranquillity ; and, as he was totally destitute of supplies, he found himself under the necessity of convoking the national assembly ; but that body, instead of supporting his admi nistration, seized the opportunity to demand limitations of the regal power. Paris itself was entirely under the do minion of the provost of the merchants : the dauphin was detained in a kind of captivity. In the midst of these dis orders, the King of Navarre, who had been thrown into prison by John in the year 1355, contrived to escape, and put himself at the head of the malcontents ; but his conduct was so atrocious, that even those who had previously fa voured his claims, now forsook him, and resolved to strengthen the power of the dauphin. For this purpose they rallied round him, and the provost of the merchants having been slain in an attempt to deliver Paris up to the King of Navarre, that capital returned to its allegiance, and France began again to assume the form, and enjoy the ad vantages of a regular government. During these disturb ances, Edward was restrained by his truce from taking ad vantage of them ; but no sooner was it expired, A. D. 1359, than he invaded France with the whole military force of England. In 1360, he concluded an advantageous treaty of peace with his prisoner King John, who thus obtained his liberty. On his return to France, however, finding that his nobility were by no means disposed to allow him to fulfil his engagements, he voluntarily came back to England, where he died at his lodgings in the Savoy, 1364.
John was succeeded by his son Charles V. surnamed the Wise, an epithet which he weH deserved, by the prudence and policy of his conduct his first care was to repair the losses which his kingdom had sustained from the errors of his predecessors : and having been made too sensible that the recent calamities of France had, in a great measure, sprung from the captivity and absence of the monarch, he formed a resolution never to appear personally at the head of his armies. Charles was resolved to render France, if possible, a match for England ; hut, in order to do this, it was necessary not only to restore tranquillity, and to intro duce order and economy into all arrangements, but also to bring under subjection, or weaken, tne King of Navarre, who, from the vicinity of his dominions, had it in his power always to prove a restless and formidable oppo nent. Against him, therefore, he first turned his arms ; and he soon, principally by the valour of Bertrand de Gues celin, one of the most accomplished captains of the age, obliged him to sue for peace, A. D. 1365. He next settled the affairs of Bretagne. Thus having succeeded in these enterprizcs, he turned his attention to the immense num ber of military adventurers, who, having followed Edward into France, had, under the name of Companies, become a terror to the peaceable inhabitants : these Charles soon found were too numerous and formidable to be reduced by force ; he therefore had recourse to policy. Alphonso XI.
King of Castile, was succeeded by his brother Peter I. sur named the Cruel : against him, Henry, Count of Trasta mara, took up arms ; but being obliged to flee into France, he obtained permission from Charles to enlist the compa nies in his service. They readily embarked in an enter prise which promised them employment and booty ; and thus Charles freed his kingdom of these adventurers. As soon as Charles was satisfied of the internal peace of France, he directed his thoughts to the reformation of the coin : he likewise lessened the taxes, encouraged agriculture and commerce, and embellished his capital. In the midst of peace, however, he was still preparing for war, and anxious to wipe off the disgrace which the successes of England had inflicted on the arms of France. An opportunity soon presented itself : the inhabitants of Guienne, oppressed by the taxes of the Prince of Wales, to whom that province had been given by his father, laid their complaints before the King of France. The Prince of Wales was cited to appear to answer these complaints : he answered that he would certainly come to Paris, but it should be at the head of 60,000 troops: but he was no longer that Black Prince, who performed even more than he threatened ; he was worn out both in body and mind by sickness. In 1369, war was declared. The French were successful. Charles, re lying on his superiority, pronounced a sentence of condem nation against the Prince of Wales fur his contumacy in not appearing when cited ; declared him and his father rebels ; and confiscated all their territory in France. In a few years, the English were stript of all their ancient possessions in that kingdom, except Bourdeaux and Bayonne, and of all their conquests except Calais. Charles died in 1380, after a reign of great glory and benefit to his subjects. With respect to his domestic life, there are some curious parti culars recorded : he at six o'clock ; and having performed his private aLvotions, as well as attended mass, he gave audience to all who presented themselves, rich and poor, receiving their petitions, and reading them himself : at 10 o'clock he dined, spending but a very short time at table, and eating only of one sort of dish : he always diluted his wine with a considerable portion of water. During (lin net., he was instructed by the discourse of some wise and virtuous man. After dinner, he gave audience to the fo reign ambassadors ; he next admitted his ministers, and learned from them the state of the kingdom. At one o'clock, he retired into his chamber and reposed himself: an hour afterwards, his chamberlains entered, and enter tained him with light conversation ; at three he attended vespers, and afterwards walked in his garden. On his re turn, the queen brought in his children, whom he interro gated respecting their progress in education. In winter, instead of walking, he employed himself in reading the Ho ly Scriptures. He took little supper, and went to bed early. Though lie spent his time at home in this plain and simple manner, he always appeared abroad with a considerable de gree of dignity and splendour : before his subjects he was always a king. His dress was magnificent ; his gens-d'ar mes preceded him ; his squires carried his ermine mantle, his sword, and his regal hat ; he walked always by himself, his brothers and the princes of the blood following him at some distance. He seems to have been fond of literature, and no present was more acceptable to him than books. King John had left only 20 volumes in the royal library ; he increased them to 900. In the year 1370, Charles, in order to rouse his subjects to feats of arms, forbade all games of hazard, and substituted in their place exercises with the common and cross-bow. By another ordinance in the following year, he granted letters of nobility to all the citizens of Paris. This privilege they enjoyed till 1577, when it was restricted to the provost of the merchants, and a few others. It was entirely suppressed in 1667, and re established in 1707 ; and again suppressed in 1715.