Charles V le Sage and the Franc a Pied
Reading time 2 min
Reading the history of French king Charles V «Le Sage», I can’t help feeling a bit impressed. Here’s a young man that had to grow up early: First as husband to his cousin Jeanne de Bourbon; they married in 1350, both 12 years old, and were to have 11 children together, before Jeanne died at 40 in 1378. No small feat in itself! Prior to the wedding, Charles had bought the Dauphinè, a province in Southern France encompassing the départements of Isère, Hautes-Alpes, and Drôme. He bore the title of dauphin until his coronation in 1364, and the heir of the French throne would carry on to hold this title until 1830.
The Hundred Years’ War was only 1 year old when Charles was born in 1338. When his father, John II «The Good», was captured by the English at Poitiers in 1356, Charles’ responsibilities soon grew beyond the Dauphinè. At 18, with his father and brother in English imprisonment, and the enemy at the gates of Paris, the French crown relied on Charles to step up. (At this age, I was still complaining about too much homework at school.)
In order to raise the outrageous ransom of 4 million Ecu, Charles tried to convene a rather hostile States General, led by Etienne Marcel, provost of the Paris merchants. Etienne Marcel had already made his name as leader of the Paris revolution of 1355-58, a movement that had forced the government into reforms. With Charles V in a weak position, Marcel wanted to remove several of John IIs officials that he considerd to be corrupt. He also wanted to place Charles under the tutelage of the States Assembly. Marcel even went as far as to have two of Charles’ marshals assasinated in front of him, frightening the young Dauphin into believing that Marcel was the true head of government. In order to strenghten his position previous to this, Marcel had helped Charles the Bad, King of Navarre, escape from imprisonment in the castle of Arleux.
Marcel was successful in driving Charles V out of Paris in February 1358, but after this he was out of luck. With his popularity collapsing, he sought help from both the Flemish and the English; the enemy, but to no avail. He was assassinated in July 1358.
Meanwhile, our young Charles had been busy raising an army, with which he reentered Paris in August 1358. Having to fight both the King of Navarre and the English, his position was still precarious, and this is reflected in the treaties of Bretigny and Calais (1360), where he granted Endward III most of Southwestern France and 3 000 000 Ecu for John IIs ransom.
In order to pay the ransom, a new form of gold coins were introduced under Johns reign: The Franc d’Or, having as its type the king charging into battle on horseback. The name itself was applied because of its use to make the king free (franc). Apart from the gold coinage, the French coin had been suffering debasement ever since the expensive ambitions of Philip the Fair, and this had continued during the reign of John II. The silver Gros had become a billon Blanc, and a variety of new denominations and devalued old ones contributed to the downfall of the solid foundation created by Louis IX.
Charles ascended to the throne following Johns death in 1364. He proceeded to take back what had been given up during the crisis years of 1357-60, first challenging the King of Navarre over Burgundy and winning a grand victory at Cocherel, just a month into his reign. War with the English broke out again in 1369, and by 1375 Charles had had so many victories over the English, that the settlement of 1360 was practically nullified. In addition to his achievements of conquest, Charles was remembered for important cultural reform, building a great library, expanding the Louvre, and for stabilizing the economy through tax reform and monetary reform, returning to more sound gros tournois, although lighter than the one issued by St. Louis. The new Franc gold coin remained, but not with the king on horseback. The Franc struck during the reign of Charles V depicted a standing king “a Pied” (on foot.)
Charles V survived his wife Jeanne by only two years, and died in 1380, leaving the throne to his 11 year old son Charles VI, first nicknamed “le Bien-Aime” (the Beloved), but later “le Fou” (the Mad), and debasement, devaluation and inflation was soon back in style.
