Editing John II of France (section)

===Accession and rise of the English and the royalty===
Upon his accession as Duke of Normandy in 1332, John had to deal with the reality that most of the Norman nobility was already allied with the English. Effectively, [[Normandy]] depended economically more on maritime trade across the [[English Channel]] than on river trade on the [[Seine]]. Although the duchy had not been in [[Angevin Empire|Angevin]] possession for [[Treaty of Le Goulet|150 years]], many landowners had holdings across the Channel. Consequently, to line up behind one or other sovereign risked confiscation. Therefore, Norman members of the nobility were governed as interdependent clans, which allowed them to obtain and maintain charters guaranteeing the duchy a measure of autonomy. It was split into two key camps, the counts of [[Tancarville]] and the [[Lords and Counts of Harcourt|counts of Harcourt]], which had been in conflict for generations.<ref>Autrand, Françoise, ''Charles V'', Fayard, Paris, 1994, 153.</ref>

[[File:Jean II denier d Or aux fleurs de lys 1351.jpg|thumb|A ''denier d'or aux fleurs de lys'' from John's reign (1351)]]

Tension arose again in 1341. King Philip, worried about the richest area of the kingdom breaking into bloodshed, ordered the [[bailiff]]s 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 [[Duchy of Brabant|Brabant]]. Three of his companions were decapitated in [[Paris]] on 3 April 1344.<ref>Favier, Jean, ''La Guerre de Cent Ans'', Fayard, Paris, 1980, p. 140</ref>