Philip VI of France
Encyclopedia
Philip VI known as the Fortunate (French: le Fortuné) and of Valois, was the King of France from 1328 to his death. He was also Count of Anjou, Maine, and Valois from 1325 to 1328. A member of the Capetian dynasty
, he was the son of Charles of Valois
(who was the brother of King Charles IV's
father Philip IV
) and the first King of France from the House of Valois.
In 1328, Philip's first cousin, King Charles IV
, died without an agnatic male descendant; however, at the time of his death his wife was pregnant. Philip was one of the two chief claimants to the throne along with the demands of Dowager Queen Isabella
of England, the late King Charles' sister, who claimed the French throne for her young son King Edward III of England
. Philip rose to the regency with support of the French magnates, following the pattern set up by Philip V's succession over his niece Joan II of Navarre
, and Charles IV's succession over all his nieces, including daughters of Philip V. A century later this pattern became the Salic law
, which forbade females and those descended in the female line from succeeding to the throne. After Charles' queen, Jeanne d'Évreux
, gave birth to a girl, Philip was crowned as King on 29 May 1328 at the Cathedral in Reims.
Philip VI was neither the heir nor a descendant of Joan I of Navarre
, whose inheritance (the kingdom of Navarre
, as well as the counties of Champagne
, Troyes
, Meaux
and Brie
) had been in personal union with the crown of France almost 50 years and had long been administered by the same royal machinery (established by Philip IV
, the father of French bureaucracy), which administrative resource was inherited by Philip VI. These counties were closely entrenched in the economic and administrative entity of the Royal Domain of France
, being located adjacent to Île-de-France
. Philip, however, was not entitled to that inheritance; the rightful heiress was Louis X
's surviving daughter, the future Joan II of Navarre
, the heir general of Joan I of Navarre. Philip ceded Navarre to Joan II, but regarding the counties in Champagne, they struck a deal: Joan II received vast lands in Normandy
(adjacent to her husband's fief in Évreux) in compensation, and Philip got to keep Champagne as part of the Royal Domain.
at the Battle of Cassel (August 1328), where Philip's forces reseated Louis I of Flanders
, who had been unseated by a popular revolution. The able Joan gave the first of many demonstrations of her competence as regent in his absence.
Philip initially enjoyed relatively amicable relations with Edward III, and they planned a crusade together in 1332, which was never executed. However, the status of the Duchy of Aquitaine remained a sore point, and tension increased. Philip provided refuge for David II of Scotland
in 1334 and declared himself champion of his interests, which enraged Edward. By 1336, they were enemies, although not yet openly at war.
Philip successfully prevented an arrangement between the papacy in Avignon
and Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV
although, in July 1337, Louis concluded an alliance with Edward III.
The final breach with England came when Edward offered refuge to Robert III of Artois
, formerly one of Philip's trusted advisers. However, after he committed forgery to try to obtain an inheritance, he barely escaped France with his life, and was hounded by Philip throughout Europe. Edward made him Earl of Richmond
and honoured him; in retaliation, Philip declared on 24 May 1337 that Edward had forfeited Aquitaine for rebellion and disobedience. Thus began the Hundred Years' War
.
At sea, French privateers raided and burned towns and shipping all along the southern and southeastern coasts of England. The English made some retaliatory raids, including the burning of a fleet in the harbour of Boulogne-sur-Mer
, but the French largely had the upper hand. With his sea power established, Philip gave orders in 1339
to prepare an invasion of England, and began assembling a fleet off the Zeeland
coast at Sluys. However, in June 1340, in the bitterly-fought Battle of Sluys
("l'Ecluse"), the English attacked the port and captured or destroyed the ships there, ending the threat of an invasion.
On land, Edward III largely concentrated upon Flanders
and the Low Countries
, where he had gained allies by diplomacy and bribery. A raid in 1339 (the first chevauchée
) into Picardy
ended ignominiously when Philip wisely refused to give battle. Edward's slender finances would not permit him to play a waiting game, and he was forced to withdraw into Flanders and return to England to raise more money. In July 1340, Edward returned and besieged Tournai
; again, Philip brought up a relieving army which harassed the besiegers but did not offer open battle, and Edward was again forced to return home, fleeing the Low Countries secretly to escape his creditors.
So far, the war had gone quite well for Philip and the French. While often stereotyped as chivalry-besotten blockheads, Philip and his men had in fact carried out a successful Fabian strategy
against the debt-plagued Edward, and resisted the chivalric blandishments of single combat or a combat of two hundred knights that he offered. In 1341, the War of the Breton Succession allowed the English to place permanent garrisons in Brittany
. However, Philip was still in a commanding position: during Papally-arbitrated negotiations in 1343, he refused Edward's offer to end the war in exchange for the Duchy of Aquitaine in full sovereignty.
The next attack came in 1345, when the Earl of Derby
overran the Agenais
(lost twenty years before in the War of Saint-Sardos
) and took Angoulême
, while the forces in Brittany under Sir Thomas Dagworth
also made gains. The French responded in the spring of 1346 with a massive counter-attack against Aquitaine, where an army under John, Duke of Normandy
, besieged Derby at Aiguillon. On the advice of Godfrey Harcourt (like Robert III of Artois, a banished French nobleman), Edward sailed for Normandy instead of Aquitaine. As Harcourt predicted, the Normans were ill-prepared for war, and many of the fighting men were at Aiguillon. Edward sacked and burned the country as he went, taking Caen
and advancing as far as Poissy
before retreating before the army Philip hastily assembled at Paris. Slipping across the Somme
, Edward drew up to give battle at Crécy.
Close behind him, Philip had planned to halt for the night and reconnoitre the English position before giving battle the next day. However, his troops were disorderly and not to be handled: the roads were jammed by the rear of the army coming up, and by the local peasantry furiously calling for vengeance on the English. Finding them hopeless to control, he ordered a general attack as evening fell. Thus began the Battle of Crécy
; and when it was done, the French army had been well-nigh annihilated, and Philip barely escaped capture. Fortune had turned against the French.
The English seized and held the advantage. Normandy called off the siege of Aiguillon and retreated northward, while Sir Thomas Dagworth captured Charles of Blois in Brittany. The English army pulled back from Crécy to besiege Calais
; the town held out stubbornly, but the English were determined, and easily supplied across the English Channel
. Philip led out a relieving army in July 1347, but unlike the siege of Tournai, it was now Edward who had the upper hand. With the plunder of his Norman expedition and the reforms of his tax system he had executed, he could hold to his siege lines and await an attack Philip dare not deliver. It was Philip who marched away in August and the city capitulated shortly thereafter.
, which in the next few years killed one-third of the population, including Queen Joan. The resulting labour shortage caused inflation to soar, and the king attempted to fix prices, further de-stabilising the country. His second marriage to his son's betrothed Blanche of Navarre alienated his son and many nobles from the king.
His last major achievement was the purchase of the Dauphiné
and the territory of Montpellier
in the Languedoc
, in 1349. At his death in 1350, France was still very much a divided country filled with social unrest.
, daughter of Robert II, Duke of Burgundy
, and of Agnes of France
, the youngest daughter of Louis IX
. In an ironic twist to his "male" ascendancy to the throne, the intelligent, strong-willed Joan, an able regent of France during the King's long military campaigns, was said to be the brains behind the throne and the real ruler of France.
Their children were:
After Joan died in 1348, Philip married Blanche of Navarre, daughter of Joan II
and Philip III of Navarre
, on 11 January 1350. They had one daughter: Joan, who was intended to marry John I of Aragon
, but who died during the journey.
Philip VI died at Nogent-le-Roi
, Eure-et-Loir on 22 August 1350 and is interred with his second wife, Blanche of Navarre in Saint Denis Basilica
. He was succeeded by his first son by Joan of Burgundy, who became John II
.
Capetian dynasty
The Capetian dynasty , also known as the House of France, is the largest and oldest European royal house, consisting of the descendants of King Hugh Capet of France in the male line. Hugh Capet himself was a cognatic descendant of the Carolingians and the Merovingians, earlier rulers of France...
, he was the son of Charles of Valois
Charles of Valois
Charles of Valois was the fourth son of Philip III of France and Isabella of Aragon. His mother was a daughter of James I of Aragon and Yolande of Hungary. He was a member of the House of Capet and founded the House of Valois...
(who was the brother of King Charles IV's
Charles IV of France
Charles IV, known as the Fair , was the King of France and of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1322 to his death: he was the last French king of the senior Capetian lineage....
father Philip IV
Philip IV of France
Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
) and the first King of France from the House of Valois.
Ascension to the throne
Philip's father, the younger brother of King Philip IV of France, had striven throughout his life to gain a throne for himself, but was never successful. He died in 1325, leaving his eldest son Philip as heir to the counties of Anjou, Maine, and Valois.In 1328, Philip's first cousin, King Charles IV
Charles IV of France
Charles IV, known as the Fair , was the King of France and of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1322 to his death: he was the last French king of the senior Capetian lineage....
, died without an agnatic male descendant; however, at the time of his death his wife was pregnant. Philip was one of the two chief claimants to the throne along with the demands of Dowager Queen Isabella
Isabella of France
Isabella of France , sometimes described as the She-wolf of France, was Queen consort of England as the wife of Edward II of England. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre...
of England, the late King Charles' sister, who claimed the French throne for her young son King Edward III of England
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
. Philip rose to the regency with support of the French magnates, following the pattern set up by Philip V's succession over his niece Joan II of Navarre
Joan II of Navarre
Joan II was Queen of Navarre from 1328 until her death. She was the only daughter of Margaret of Burgundy, first wife of King Louis X of France...
, and Charles IV's succession over all his nieces, including daughters of Philip V. A century later this pattern became the Salic law
Salic law
Salic law was a body of traditional law codified for governing the Salian Franks in the early Middle Ages during the reign of King Clovis I in the 6th century...
, which forbade females and those descended in the female line from succeeding to the throne. After Charles' queen, Jeanne d'Évreux
Jeanne d'Evreux
Jeanne d'Évreux was the third wife of King Charles IV of France, daughter of his uncle Louis d'Évreux and Margaret of Artois. She bore no male heir, thus "causing" the end of the direct line of the Capetian dynasty. Because she was his first cousin, the couple required papal permission to marry...
, gave birth to a girl, Philip was crowned as King on 29 May 1328 at the Cathedral in Reims.
Philip VI was neither the heir nor a descendant of Joan I of Navarre
Joan I of Navarre
Joan I , the daughter of king Henry I of Navarre and Blanche of Artois, reigned as queen regnant of Navarre and also served as queen consort of France.-Life:...
, whose inheritance (the kingdom of Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
, as well as the counties of Champagne
Champagne (province)
The Champagne wine region is a historic province within the Champagne administrative province in the northeast of France. The area is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name...
, Troyes
Troyes
Troyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
, Meaux
Meaux
Meaux is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located east-northeast from the center of Paris. Meaux is a sub-prefecture of the department and the seat of an arondissement...
and Brie
Brie
Brie is a historic region of France most famous for its dairy products, especially Brie cheese. It was once divided into two sections ruled by different feudal lords: the western Brie française, corresponding roughly to the modern department of Seine-et-Marne in the Île-de-France region; the...
) had been in personal union with the crown of France almost 50 years and had long been administered by the same royal machinery (established by Philip IV
Philip IV of France
Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
, the father of French bureaucracy), which administrative resource was inherited by Philip VI. These counties were closely entrenched in the economic and administrative entity of the Royal Domain of France
Crown lands of France
The crown lands, crown estate, royal domain or domaine royal of France refers to the lands, fiefs and rights directly possessed by the kings of France...
, being located adjacent to Île-de-France
Île-de-France (province)
The province of Île-de-France or Isle de France is an historical province of France, and the one at the centre of power during most of French history...
. Philip, however, was not entitled to that inheritance; the rightful heiress was Louis X
Louis X of France
Louis X of France, , called the Quarreler, the Headstrong, or the Stubborn was the King of Navarre from 1305 and King of France from 1314 until his death...
's surviving daughter, the future Joan II of Navarre
Joan II of Navarre
Joan II was Queen of Navarre from 1328 until her death. She was the only daughter of Margaret of Burgundy, first wife of King Louis X of France...
, the heir general of Joan I of Navarre. Philip ceded Navarre to Joan II, but regarding the counties in Champagne, they struck a deal: Joan II received vast lands in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
(adjacent to her husband's fief in Évreux) in compensation, and Philip got to keep Champagne as part of the Royal Domain.
Reign
Philip's reign was punctuated with crises. It began with military success in FlandersFlanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
at the Battle of Cassel (August 1328), where Philip's forces reseated Louis I of Flanders
Louis I of Flanders
Louis I was Count of Flanders, Nevers and Rethel.-History:He was the son of Louis I, Count of Nevers, and Joan, Countess of Rethel, and grandson of Robert III of Flanders. He succeeded his father as count of Nevers and his grandfather as count of Flanders in 1322...
, who had been unseated by a popular revolution. The able Joan gave the first of many demonstrations of her competence as regent in his absence.
Philip initially enjoyed relatively amicable relations with Edward III, and they planned a crusade together in 1332, which was never executed. However, the status of the Duchy of Aquitaine remained a sore point, and tension increased. Philip provided refuge for David II of Scotland
David II of Scotland
David II was King of Scots from 7 June 1329 until his death.-Early life:...
in 1334 and declared himself champion of his interests, which enraged Edward. By 1336, they were enemies, although not yet openly at war.
Philip successfully prevented an arrangement between the papacy in Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
and Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV
Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Louis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....
although, in July 1337, Louis concluded an alliance with Edward III.
The final breach with England came when Edward offered refuge to Robert III of Artois
Robert III of Artois
Robert III of Artois was the son of Philip of Artois and Blanche of Brittany.In 1318 he married Joan of Valois , daughter of Charles of Valois, and had issue:* Louis...
, formerly one of Philip's trusted advisers. However, after he committed forgery to try to obtain an inheritance, he barely escaped France with his life, and was hounded by Philip throughout Europe. Edward made him Earl of Richmond
Earl of Richmond
The now-extinct title of Earl of Richmond was created many times in the Peerage of England. The earldom of Richmond was held by various Bretons, Normans, the royal families of Plantagenet, Capet, Savoy, Tudor and Stuart.-History:...
and honoured him; in retaliation, Philip declared on 24 May 1337 that Edward had forfeited Aquitaine for rebellion and disobedience. Thus began the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
.
Hundred Years' War
Philip entered the Hundred Years' War in a position of comparative strength. France was richer and more populous than England, and was then in the height of her medieval glory. The opening stages of the war, accordingly, were largely successful for the French.At sea, French privateers raided and burned towns and shipping all along the southern and southeastern coasts of England. The English made some retaliatory raids, including the burning of a fleet in the harbour of Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
, but the French largely had the upper hand. With his sea power established, Philip gave orders in 1339
Ordinance of Normandy
The Ordinance of Normandy is the name given to a paper authored by Philip VI of France on 23 March 1338. It called for a second Norman conquest of England, with an invading army led by the Duke of Normandy, and England was to be divided between the Duke of Normandy and his nobles as a fief for the...
to prepare an invasion of England, and began assembling a fleet off the Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
coast at Sluys. However, in June 1340, in the bitterly-fought Battle of Sluys
Battle of Sluys
The decisive naval Battle of Sluys , also called Battle of l'Ecluse was fought on 24 June 1340 as one of the opening conflicts of the Hundred Years' War...
("l'Ecluse"), the English attacked the port and captured or destroyed the ships there, ending the threat of an invasion.
On land, Edward III largely concentrated upon Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
and the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, where he had gained allies by diplomacy and bribery. A raid in 1339 (the first chevauchée
Chevauchée
A chevauchée was a raiding method of medieval warfare for weakening the enemy, focusing mainly on wreaking havoc, burning and pillaging enemy territory, in order to reduce the productivity of a region; as opposed to siege warfare or wars of conquest...
) into Picardy
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
ended ignominiously when Philip wisely refused to give battle. Edward's slender finances would not permit him to play a waiting game, and he was forced to withdraw into Flanders and return to England to raise more money. In July 1340, Edward returned and besieged Tournai
Siege of Tournai (1340)
During the Hundred Years' War, after the naval battle at Sluys on 20 June 1340, in which Edward III of England dealt the French a heavy blow, he went on to besiege Tournai. This city in Flanders was loyal to Philip VI of France....
; again, Philip brought up a relieving army which harassed the besiegers but did not offer open battle, and Edward was again forced to return home, fleeing the Low Countries secretly to escape his creditors.
So far, the war had gone quite well for Philip and the French. While often stereotyped as chivalry-besotten blockheads, Philip and his men had in fact carried out a successful Fabian strategy
Fabian strategy
The Fabian strategy is a military strategy where pitched battles and frontal assaults are avoided in favor of wearing down an opponent through a war of attrition and indirection. While avoiding decisive battles, the side employing this strategy harasses its enemy through skirmishes to cause...
against the debt-plagued Edward, and resisted the chivalric blandishments of single combat or a combat of two hundred knights that he offered. In 1341, the War of the Breton Succession allowed the English to place permanent garrisons in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
. However, Philip was still in a commanding position: during Papally-arbitrated negotiations in 1343, he refused Edward's offer to end the war in exchange for the Duchy of Aquitaine in full sovereignty.
The next attack came in 1345, when the Earl of Derby
Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster
Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, 4th Earl of Leicester and Lancaster, KG , also Earl of Derby, was a member of the English nobility in the 14th century, and a prominent English diplomat, politician, and soldier...
overran the Agenais
Agenais
Agenais, or Agenois, was a province of France located in southwest France south of Périgord.In ancient Gaul the region was the country of the Nitiobroges with Aginnum for their capital, which in the fourth century was the Civitas Agennensium, which was a part of Aquitania Secunda and which formed...
(lost twenty years before in the War of Saint-Sardos
War of Saint-Sardos
The War of Saint-Sardos was a short war fought between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France in 1324. The war was a clear defeat for the English, and led indirectly to the overthrowing of Edward II of England...
) and took Angoulême
Angoulême
-Main sights:In place of its ancient fortifications, Angoulême is encircled by boulevards above the old city walls, known as the Remparts, from which fine views may be obtained in all directions. Within the town the streets are often narrow. Apart from the cathedral and the hôtel de ville, the...
, while the forces in Brittany under Sir Thomas Dagworth
Thomas Dagworth
Sir Thomas Dagworth was an English knight and soldier, who led English armies in Brittany during the Hundred Years' War....
also made gains. The French responded in the spring of 1346 with a massive counter-attack against Aquitaine, where an army under John, Duke of Normandy
John II of France
John II , called John the Good , 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,...
, besieged Derby at Aiguillon. On the advice of Godfrey Harcourt (like Robert III of Artois, a banished French nobleman), Edward sailed for Normandy instead of Aquitaine. As Harcourt predicted, the Normans were ill-prepared for war, and many of the fighting men were at Aiguillon. Edward sacked and burned the country as he went, taking Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
and advancing as far as Poissy
Poissy
Poissy is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the center.In 1561 it was the site of a fruitless Catholic-Huguenot conference, the Colloquy at Poissy...
before retreating before the army Philip hastily assembled at Paris. Slipping across the Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
, Edward drew up to give battle at Crécy.
Close behind him, Philip had planned to halt for the night and reconnoitre the English position before giving battle the next day. However, his troops were disorderly and not to be handled: the roads were jammed by the rear of the army coming up, and by the local peasantry furiously calling for vengeance on the English. Finding them hopeless to control, he ordered a general attack as evening fell. Thus began the Battle of Crécy
Battle of Crécy
The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France, and was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War...
; and when it was done, the French army had been well-nigh annihilated, and Philip barely escaped capture. Fortune had turned against the French.
The English seized and held the advantage. Normandy called off the siege of Aiguillon and retreated northward, while Sir Thomas Dagworth captured Charles of Blois in Brittany. The English army pulled back from Crécy to besiege Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
; the town held out stubbornly, but the English were determined, and easily supplied across the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. Philip led out a relieving army in July 1347, but unlike the siege of Tournai, it was now Edward who had the upper hand. With the plunder of his Norman expedition and the reforms of his tax system he had executed, he could hold to his siege lines and await an attack Philip dare not deliver. It was Philip who marched away in August and the city capitulated shortly thereafter.
Final years
After the defeat at Crécy and loss of Calais, the Estates refused to raise money for Philip, halting his plans to counter-attack by invading England. In 1348, a new woe struck France: the Black DeathBlack Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
, which in the next few years killed one-third of the population, including Queen Joan. The resulting labour shortage caused inflation to soar, and the king attempted to fix prices, further de-stabilising the country. His second marriage to his son's betrothed Blanche of Navarre alienated his son and many nobles from the king.
His last major achievement was the purchase of the Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
and the territory of Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
in the Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
, in 1349. At his death in 1350, France was still very much a divided country filled with social unrest.
Marriages and Children
In July, 1313, Philip married Joan the LameJoan the Lame
Joan of Burgundy , also known as Joan the Lame , was Queen consort of France as the first wife of Philip VI...
, daughter of Robert II, Duke of Burgundy
Robert II, Duke of Burgundy
Robert II of Burgundy was duke of Burgundy between 1271 and 1306, inheriting the title from his brother Eudes of Burgundy, who had no male heirs. Robert was the third son of duke Hugh IV and Yolande of Dreux...
, and of Agnes of France
Agnes of France, Duchess of Burgundy
Agnes of France , Daughter of France by birth, was the youngest daughter of Louis IX of France and Margaret of Provence. She served as regent of Burgundy during the minority of her son.- Family :...
, the youngest daughter of Louis IX
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
. In an ironic twist to his "male" ascendancy to the throne, the intelligent, strong-willed Joan, an able regent of France during the King's long military campaigns, was said to be the brains behind the throne and the real ruler of France.
Their children were:
- John IIJohn II of FranceJohn II , called John the Good , 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,...
(26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364) - Marie (1326–1333), who married John of Brabant, the son and heir of John III, Duke of BrabantJohn III, Duke of BrabantJan III van Brabant , also called John III, the Triumphant , was Duke of Brabant, Lothier, and Limburg...
, but died shortly afterwards. - Louis (17 January 1328 – 17 January 1328)
- Louis (8 June 1330 – 23 June 1330)
- John (1333–1333)
- Philip of ValoisPhilip of Valois, Duke of OrléansPhilip of Valois , Duke of Orléans, of Touraine and Count of Valois, the fifth son of Philip VI of France of Valois, King of France, and Joan the Lame....
(1336–1375), Duke of Orléans - Joan (1337–1337)
After Joan died in 1348, Philip married Blanche of Navarre, daughter of Joan II
Joan II of Navarre
Joan II was Queen of Navarre from 1328 until her death. She was the only daughter of Margaret of Burgundy, first wife of King Louis X of France...
and Philip III of Navarre
Philip III of Navarre
Philip III , called the Noble or the Wise, Count of Évreux and King of Navarre , was the second son of Louis of Évreux and Margaret of Artois and therefore a grandson of King Philip III of France...
, on 11 January 1350. They had one daughter: Joan, who was intended to marry John I of Aragon
John I of Aragon
John I , called by posterity the Hunter or the Lover of Elegance , but the Abandoned in his lifetime, was the King of...
, but who died during the journey.
Philip VI died at Nogent-le-Roi
Nogent-le-Roi
Nogent-le-Roi is a commune in the department of Eure-et-Loir in the Centre region in northern France.It is located some 20 kilometres north of Chartres and a shorter distance to the southeast of Dreux.-Population:-Royal deaths:...
, Eure-et-Loir on 22 August 1350 and is interred with his second wife, Blanche of Navarre in Saint Denis Basilica
Saint Denis Basilica
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Denis is a large medieval abbey church in the commune of Saint-Denis, now a northern suburb of Paris. The abbey church was created a cathedral in 1966 and is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Denis, Pascal Michel Ghislain Delannoy...
. He was succeeded by his first son by Joan of Burgundy, who became John II
John II of France
John II , called John the Good , 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,...
.
Ancestry
Sources
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