John II (France)

Johann II, called the Good. Portrait of an unknown master around 1350, exhibited in the Louvre in Paris

John II the Good ( French Jean II le Bon ; born April 26, 1319 at Gué de Maulny Castle ( Le Mans ), † April 8, 1364 in London ) was Duke of Normandy from 1332 to 1350 and King of 1350 to 1364 France .

Life

A document from John II, September 1362. Paris, Archives nationales, K 49 C, No. 71

Johann II was the second son of Philip VI. of France and his first wife Joan of Burgundy . He came from the House of Valois and was later the second representative of his dynasty on the throne.

He entered his reign after the death of his father in 1350, who had previously repeatedly waged war with England , with less and less success . Under Johann in 1355, after the armistice had expired, the war flared up again. Edward, the Black Prince , the "Black Prince", landed in the Garonne area, devastated the Auvergne , the Limousin and Poitou , but tried the approach of the French army, after Bordeaux withdraw. At Poitiers , however, the retreat of his small army was cut off. Hardly pressed, he offered Johann a seven-year armistice in exchange for free withdrawal; Johann, however, sure of victory, turned down any amicable settlement, and so the battle of Maupertuis took place on September 19, 1356 , in which Johann lost the war and his freedom.

It was not until the Peace of Brétigny in 1360 that he released him from imprisonment after he had promised to cede several provinces in addition to 3 million pieces of gold ( Êcus , also Êcus d'or ). Since his son, the Duke of Anjou , who had been left hostage in England, fled from there before the ransom was paid, Johann returned to London in early 1364 and was taken prisoner. He was welcomed brilliantly there as a royal guest, but died on April 8 of this year. His eldest son from his first marriage was his successor as Charles V.

The Secondogeniture of the House of Valois , the House of Burgundy , donated by John in 1363 , also turned out to be the ruin of France, so that no more heir to the throne was named John after him.

He died in London on April 8, 1364 and was buried in the tomb of the French kings, the Basilica of Saint-Denis . When the royal tombs of Saint-Denis were sacked during the French Revolution , his tomb was opened and looted on October 25, 1793, and his remains were buried in a mass grave outside the church.

children

Tomb of King John II in Saint-Denis

On July 23, 1332, he married Jutta von Luxemburg , whose mother came from the Bohemian ruling house. The list of their descendants is extensive:

• Blanche (1336-1337)
• Catherine (1337-1337)
• Charles V (January 21, 1338 - September 16, 1380)
• Ludwig von Anjou (* July 23, 1339 - † September 20, 1384), founder of the younger house of Anjou
• Johann von Berry (born November 30, 1340 - † June 15, 1416)
• Philip II (January 17, 1342 - April 27, 1404), founder of the House of Burgundy
• Johanna (June 24, 1343 - November 3, 1373) ⚭ November 3, 1353 Charles II , King of Navarre
• Marie (September 12, 1344 - October 15, 1404) ⚭ October 5, 1364 Robert I , Duke of Bar ( House of Scarponnois )
• Agnes (9 December 1345 - April 1349)
• Marguerite (September 20, 1347 - April 25, 1356)
• Isabelle (October 1, 1348 - September 11, 1372) ⚭ June 1360 Gian Galeazzo Visconti , Duke of Milan

Jutta died of the plague in 1349, as did Johanna's mother Johanna.

On February 19, 1350 he married Johanna von Boulogne , who made him the father of the following children:

• Blanche (1350-1353)
• Katharina (1352-1353)
• Daughter (1353–1353)
• allegedly a son (1354-1354)

literature

• Heinz Thomas : Johann II. In: Joachim Ehlers , Heribert Müller , Bernd Schneidmüller (eds.): The French kings of the Middle Ages. From Odo to Charles VIII. 888–1498. Beck, Munich 1996, pp. 267ff., ISBN 3-406-40446-4 ; New edition Beck'sche Reihe 1723, Munich 2006, p. 241ff., ISBN 978-3-406-54739-3 .

Web links

Commons : John II (France)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

predecessor	Office	successor
Philip VI	King of France 1350–1364	Charles V
French crown domain	Duke of Normandy 1332-1350	French crown domain (from 1355: Charles V )