John II of France - Duke of Normandy

Duke of Normandy

In 1332, John became Duke of Normandy in prerogative, and had to deal with the reality that most of the Norman nobility was already allied with the English camp. Effectively, Normandy depended economically more on maritime trade across the English Channel than it did by river trade on the Seine. The Duchy had not been English for 150 years but many landowners had possessions across the Channel. Consequently, to line up behind one or other sovereign risked confiscation. Therefore the Norman nobility were governed as interdependent clans which allowed them to obtain and maintain charters guaranteeing the duchy a deal of autonomy. It was split into two key camps, the counts of Tancarville and the counts of Harcourt—which had been in conflict for generations.

Tension arose again in 1341. King Philip, worried about the richest area of the kingdom breaking into bloodshed, ordered the bailiffs 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 the Brabant. Three of his companions were decapitated in Paris on 3 April 1344.

By 1345 increasing numbers of Norman rebels had begun to pay homage to Edward III, constituting a major threat to the legitimacy of the Valois kings. The defeat at Crécy and the rendering of Calais further damaged royal prestige. Defections by the nobility increased—particularly in the north and west whose land fell within the broad economic influence of England. Consequently King Philip decided to seek a truce. Duke John met Geoffroy d' Harcourt, to whom the king agreed to return all confiscated goods; even appointing him sovereign captain in Normandy. John then approached the Tancarville family, whose loyalty could ultimately ensure his authority in Normandy. The marriage of John, Viscount of Melun to Jeanne, the only heiress of the county of Tancarville ensured the Melun-Tancarville party remained loyal to John, while Geoffroy d' Harcourt continued to act as defender for Norman freedoms and thus of the reforming party.