Charles II of Navarre

Charles II ruled Navarre from 1349 to 1387 and pursued claims to the French throne. Known as Charles the Bad, he repeatedly shifted alliances during the Hundred Years’ War.

Philip VI of France: King of France from 1328 to 1350 and founder of the Valois dynasty. Charles’s maternal grandfather, whose French succession Charles later challenged.
Kingdom of Navarre: A medieval kingdom centered in the western Pyrenees, ruled by dynasties linked to both Iberian and French politics. It was Charles’s hereditary kingdom and the base of his power.
Treaty of Mantes: A 1354 agreement between Charles of Navarre and John II of France that granted Charles lands and political concessions. It shows how Charles converted his dynastic challenge into negotiated territorial gains.
Évreux: A city in Normandy and the center of a county held by the House of Évreux-Navarre. The county was a principal part of Charles’s power in France before royal forces took it.
Joan II of Navarre: Queen of Navarre from 1328 to 1349 and daughter of Louis X of France. Charles’s mother inherited Navarre and transmitted his dynastic claim to the French crown.
Louis X of France: King of France from 1314 to 1316 and father of Joan II of Navarre. Through his mother, Charles descended from Louis X and asserted a claim to the French crown.
Battle of Cocherel: A 1364 battle in Normandy in which French royal forces defeated Navarrese troops. The defeat weakened Charles’s attempt to preserve his position in northern France.
Normandy: A region in northern France that was a major theater of conflict during the Hundred Years’ War. Charles’s Norman holdings made him a powerful and persistent rival of the French crown.
Charles V of France: King of France from 1364 to 1380 who strengthened royal authority during the Hundred Years’ War. His conflict with Charles of Navarre shaped French politics and led to the loss of Norman lands.
Capetian dynasty: The French royal dynasty founded by Hugh Capet in 987 and succeeded by branches including the Valois. Charles’s claim rested on descent from the Capetian kings of France.

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