Editing Charles V of France (section)

==King of France==

===Accession and first acts===
[[File:Coronation of Jeanne of Bourbon 3.jpg|thumb|left|Coronation of Charles V]]
Charles was crowned [[List of French monarchs|King of France]] in 1364 at the [[Notre-Dame de Reims|Cathedral of Reims]].<ref>Jonathan Sumption, ''The Hundred Years War: Trial by Fire'', 511.</ref> The new king was highly intelligent, but closed-mouthed and secretive, with sharp eyes, a long nose and a pale, grave manner. He suffered from [[gout]] in the right hand and an [[abscess]] in his left arm, possibly a side-effect of an attempted poisoning in 1359. Doctors were able to treat the wound but told him that if it ever dried up, he would die within 15 days. His manner may have concealed a more emotional side; his marriage to [[Joan of Bourbon]] was considered very strong, and he made no attempt to hide his grief at her funeral or those of his children, five of whom predeceased him.

His reign was dominated by the war with the English and two major problems: recovering the territories ceded at Brétigny and ridding the land of the ''Tard-Venus'' (French for "latecomers"), mercenary companies that turned to robbery and pillage after the treaty was signed. In achieving these aims, Charles turned to a minor noble from [[Brittany]] named [[Bertrand du Guesclin]]. Nicknamed "the Black Dog of [[Brocéliande]]", du Guesclin fought the English during the [[Breton War of Succession]] and was an expert in [[guerrilla warfare]]. Du Guesclin also defeated [[Charles II of Navarre]] at the [[Battle of Cocherel]] in 1364 and eliminated his threat to Paris.

In order to lure the ''Tard-Venus'' out of France, Charles first hired them for an attempted crusade into [[Hungary]], but their reputation for brigandage preceded them, and the citizens of [[Strasbourg]] refused to let them cross the [[Rhine]] on their journey. Charles next sent the mercenary companies (under the leadership of du Guesclin) to fight in a civil war in [[Crown of Castile|Castile]] between King [[Peter of Castile|Peter the Cruel]] and his illegitimate half-brother [[Henry II of Castile|Henry]]. Peter had English backing, while Henry was supported by the French.

Du Guesclin and his men were able to drive Peter out of Castile in 1365 after the capture of the fortresses of [[Magallón]] and [[Briviesca]] and the capital [[Burgos]]. The [[Edward, the Black Prince|Black Prince]], now serving as his father's viceroy in southwestern France, took up Peter's cause. At the [[Battle of Nájera]] in April 1367, the English defeated Henry's army. Du Guesclin was captured after a memorable resistance and ransomed by Charles V, who considered him invaluable. The Black Prince, affected by [[dysentery]], soon withdrew his support from Peter. The English army suffered badly during the retreat. Four English soldiers out of five died during the [[Castillan Campaign]]. In 1369, du Guesclin renewed the attack against Peter, defeating him at the decisive [[Battle of Montiel]]. Henry stabbed the captive Peter to death in du Guesclin's tent, thereby gaining the throne of Castile. Bertrand was made Duke of Molina, and the Franco-Castillan alliance was sealed. Charles V could now resume the war against England under favorable conditions.

===War resumes===
[[File:Ofensivas Tovar-Vienne contra Inglaterra 01.jpg|thumb|Franco-Castillian raids on England]]
After the Castillan campaign, the Black Prince was invalid and heavily in debt. His rule in [[Gascony]] became increasingly autocratic. Nobles from Gascony petitioned Charles for aid, and when the Black Prince refused to answer a summons to Paris to answer the charges, Charles judged him disloyal and declared war in May 1369.

Instead of seeking a major battle, as his predecessors had done, Charles chose a [[Attrition warfare|strategy of attrition]], spreading the fighting at every point possible. The French and Castillan navies [[Battle of La Rochelle|destroyed an English fleet]] at [[La Rochelle]] in 1372. Then, du Guesclin launched destructive raids against the coasts of England, naval reprisals to the English ''[[chevauchée]]s.'' Bertrand du Guesclin, appointed [[Constable of France]] in 1370, beat back a major English offensive in northern France with an unnerving combination of [[Raid (military)|raid]]s, [[siege]]s, and [[pitched battle]]s. He notably crushed [[Robert Knolles]] at the [[Battle of Pontvallain]].

Most of the major English leaders were killed in a few months and the Black Prince fled to England, where he died in 1376. By 1375, Charles recovered much of the English territories in France except [[Calais]] and [[Gascony]], effectively nullifying the [[Treaty of Brétigny]].

===Papal schism===
{{Main|Papal Schism of 1378}}
In 1376, [[Pope Gregory XI]], fearing a loss of the [[Papal States]], decided to move his court back to [[Rome]] after nearly 70 years in [[Avignon Papacy|Avignon]]. Charles, hoping to maintain French influence over the [[papacy]], tried to persuade Pope Gregory to remain in France, arguing that "Rome is wherever the Pope happens to be." Gregory refused.

The Pope died in March 1378. When cardinals gathered to elect a successor, a Roman mob, concerned that the predominantly French [[College of Cardinals]] would elect a French pope who would bring the papacy back to Avignon, surrounded the [[Vatican City|Vatican]] and demanded the election of a Roman. On 9 April, the cardinals elected Bartolomeo Prigamo, [[Archbishop of Bari]], and a commoner by birth, as [[Pope Urban VI]]. The new pope quickly alienated his cardinals by criticising their vices, limiting the areas where they could receive income and even rising to strike one cardinal before a second restrained him. The French cardinals left Rome that summer and declared Urban's election invalid because of mob intimidation (a reason that had not been cited at the time of the election) and elected Cardinal Robert of Geneva as [[Antipope Clement VII|Pope Clement VII]] that September.

The French cardinals quickly moved to get Charles' support. The theology faculty of the [[University of Paris]] advised Charles not to make a hasty decision, but he recognised Clement as Pope in November and forbade any obedience to Urban. Charles' support allowed Clement to survive as pope and led to the [[Papal Schism of 1378|Papal Schism]], which would divide [[Europe]] for nearly 40 years.

===Death===
Charles' last years were spent in the consolidation of [[Normandy]] (and the neutralisation of Charles of Navarre). Peace negotiations with the English continued unsuccessfully. The taxes he had levied to support his wars against the English caused deep disaffection among the working classes.

The abscess on the King's left arm dried up in early September 1380 and Charles prepared to die. On his deathbed, perhaps fearful for his soul, Charles announced the abolition of the [[hearth tax]], the foundation of the government's finances. The ordinance would have been impossible to carry out, but its terms were known, and the government's refusal to reduce any of the other taxes on the people sparked the [[Maillotin]] revolt in 1381.

The King died on 16 September 1380 and was succeeded by his 11-year-old son, [[Charles VI of France|Charles VI]]. He is buried in the [[Basilica of St Denis]], about five miles north of Paris.