JOHN II OF FRANCE
Jean the Good. It was not uncommon for wealthy nobles who were about to be defeated on the field of battle to offer bribes to the opposition soldiers to take them to their lines or headquarters. However, the leaders of the Army wanted to have charge of the important prisoners and the terms of their potential ransom. In this case the English knights started fighting amongst themselves as to who would take and ransom the French King, when two high ranking English nobles who had been dispatched by the Prince of Wales to look for the French King. They ordered the knights to desist their internal fighting, and the French King was delivered to the Prince of Wales.
John II, called John the Good (French: Jean le Bon), was King of France from 1350 until his death. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed nearly half of its population; popular revolts known as Jacqueries; free companies (Grandes Compagnies) of routiers who plundered the country; and English aggression that resulted in catastrophic military losses, including the Battle of Poitiers of 1356, in which John was captured.
