harles V (1337-80), surnamed the Wise, King of France, son of John the Good. Succeeding his father in 1364, he cleared the country of numerous bands of mercenaries by dispatching them under Du Guesclin against the English in Spain, employed the same able captain in the successful expulsion of the English from France, except at Calais, Bordeaux, Bayonne, and Cherbourg, and effectually curbed the power of the feudal nobility. Besides this, he established the administration of justice, and laid the foundations of the National Library by collecting mss. in the Louvre. See Benoist’s La Politique du Roi Charles V (1886). [World Wide Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1935]

Charles V (of France), called The Wise (1337-80), king of France (1364-80), born in Vincennes. He was the son of King John II. When John was captured in September 1356 by the English at Poitiers during the Hundred Years' War, Charles assumed the regency. The most significant events of his regency were the Jacquerie (a peasant revolt) and the insurrection of Paris under Étienne Marcel. Upon the death of his father, Charles ascended the throne. War with the English continued for a number of years, but with results highly favorable to Charles, who stripped them of most of their conquests in France and strengthened the power of the monarchy. A generous patron of literature and the arts, Charles founded (1367) the first royal library in France. During his reign the Bastille was added to the fortifications of Paris. He was succeeded by his son, Charles VI. [Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia]

Back