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Home / People / John II of France

Historical person

John II of France

1319–1364

John II of France, known as John the Good, ruled from 1350 to 1364 during the Hundred Years’ War. His capture by the English at Poitiers in 1356 caused a major crisis for the French monarchy and kingdom.

In Maurice Druon’s The King without a Kingdom, Cardinal Hélie de Talleyrand-Périgord recounts the reign of John II, whose hostility towards Charles of Navarre and dependence on a narrow circle of favourites deepen France's political divisions. In David Gilman’s Defiant Unto Death, he has become a knight and war leader in northern France, but his position makes his family, land and reputation targets for enemies who understand that war is fought through treachery as well as open combat. Other novels featuring John II of France include David Gilman’s Gate of the Dead, David Gilman’s Viper’s Blood, David Gilman’s Scourge of Wolves, David Gilman’s Cross of Fire, and David Gilman’s Shadow of the Hawk.

Historical context

Historical periods linked to John II of France

Battle of Poitiers (1356) 1356 CE Hundred Years’ War 1337–1453 CE

Series

Series featuring John II of France (5 series)

Master of War in Order

by David Gilman 9 books 4.6

The Master of War series follows Thomas Blackstone, an English archer and later knight, through the Hundred Years’ War. Beginning with the Crécy campaign in 1346, the sequence expands across France, Aquitaine, Brittany, Castile and northern Italy, using Blackstone’s career to show how medieval war was fought through…

All books in this series

Sir John Hawkwood in Order

by Griff Hosker 7 books 4.5

Sir John Hawkwood follows the rise of an English soldier from the Hundred Years’ War into the world of mercenary companies in Italy. Beginning around Crécy and the Black Prince’s campaigns, the series moves toward the White Company and the condottieri, where professional soldiers sell skill, discipline and…

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Arrows of Albion in Order

by Jonathan Lunn 8 books 4.3

Arrows of Albion follows Martin Kemp, an English archer and sometime mercenary, through the campaigns and border wars of the mid-fourteenth century. Beginning with Edward III’s invasion of France and the Battle of Crécy, the series moves through the siege of Calais, warfare in Brittany and Scotland, Gascon…

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The Grail Quest in Order

by Bernard Cornwell 4 books 4.3

The Grail Quest follows Thomas of Hookton, an English archer whose search for the truth about his family becomes entangled with the opening decades of the Hundred Years’ War. The novels move through the capture of La Roche-Derrien, the assault on Caen, the Battle of Crécy, Neville’s Cross,…

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The Accursed Kings in Order

by Maurice Druon 7 books 4.2

The Accursed Kings follows the French and English monarchies from the final year of Philip IV's reign in 1314 to the capture of John II at Poitiers and the political crisis of the late 1350s. Across seven novels, the direct Capetian line fails, the Valois dynasty takes the…

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