John II of France - Prisoner of The English

Prisoner of The English

As a prisoner of the English, John was granted royal privileges, permitting him to travel about and to enjoy a regal lifestyle. At a time when law and order was breaking down in France and the government was having a hard time raising money for the defence of the realm, his account books during his captivity show that he was purchasing horses, pets, and clothes while maintaining an astrologer and a court band.

The Treaty of Brétigny (1360) set his ransom at 3 million crowns. Leaving his son Louis of Anjou in English-held Calais as a replacement hostage, John was allowed to return to France to raise the funds.

But all did not go according to plan. In July 1363, King John was informed that Louis had escaped. Troubled by the dishonour of this, and the arrears in his ransom, John did something that shocked and dismayed his people: he announced that he would voluntarily return to captivity in England. His council tried to dissuade him, but he persisted, citing reasons of "good faith and honour." He sailed for England that winter and left the impoverished citizens of France again without a king.

John was greeted in London 1364 with parades and feasts. A few months after his arrival, however, he fell ill with an unknown malady. He died at the Savoy in April 1364. His body was returned to France, where he was interred in the royal chambers at Saint Denis Basilica.