is son-in-law. The promised
dowry had not been paid, and the county of Angouleme, which had formerly
belonged to Jeanne of Navarre, was now in the possession of the French
king's favourite, the constable Charles la Cerda. In January 1354 the
constable was assassinated by order of Charles, and preparations for war
were begun. The king of Navarre, who defended this deed, had, however,
many friends in France and was in communication with Edward III.; and
consequently John was forced to make a treaty at Mantes and to
compensate him for the loss of Angouleme by a large grant of lands,
chiefly in Normandy. This peace did not last long, and in 1355 John was
compelled to confirm the treaty of Mantes. Returning to Normandy,
Charles was partly responsible for some unrest in the duchy, and in
April 1356 he was treacherously seized by the French king at Rouen,
remaining in captivity until November 1357, when John, after his defeat
at Poitiers, was a prisoner in England. Charles was regarded with much
favour in France, and the states-general demanded his release, which,
however, was effected by a surprise. Owing to his popularity he was
considered by Etienne Marcel and his party as a suitable rival to the
dauphin, afterwards King Charles V., and on entering Paris he was well
received and delivered an eloquent harangue to the Parisians.
Subsequently peace was made with the dauphin, who promised to restore to
Charles his confiscated estates. This peace was not enduring, and as his
lands were not given back Charles had some ground for complaint. War
again broke out, quickly followed by a new treaty, after which the king
of Navarre took part in suppressing the peasant rising known as the
_Jacquerie_. Answering the entreaties of Marcel he returned to Paris on
June 1358, and became captain-general of the city, which was soon
besieged by the dauphin. This position, however, did not prevent him
from negotiating both with the dauphin and with the English; terms were
soon arranged with the former, and Charles, having lost much of his
popularity, left Paris just before the murder of Marcel in July 1358. He
continued his alternate policy of war and peace, meanwhile adding if
possible by his depredations to the misery of France, until the
conclusion of the treaty of Bretigny in May 1360 deprived him of the
alliance of the English, and compelled him to make peace with King John
in the following October. A new cause of trouble arose when the duchy o