Charles IV (Clermont 18/19 June 1294 – Vincennes 1 February 1328), called the Fair (le Bel) in France and the Bald (el Calvo) in Navarre, was the last direct Capetian King of France and King of Navarre (as Charles I) from 1322 to his death. Charles was the third son of Philip IV; like his father, he was known as "the fair" or "the handsome".
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| Charles IV and Isabella |
Beginning in 1323 Charles was confronted with a peasant revolt in Flanders, and in 1324 he made an unsuccessful bid for the elective German monarchy. As duke of Guyenne, Edward II of England was a vassal of Charles, but he was reluctant to pay homage to another king. In retaliation, Charles conquered the Duchy of Guyenne in a conflict known as the War of Saint-Sardos (1324). In a peace agreement, Edward II accepted to swear allegiance to Charles and to pay a fine. In exchange, Guyenne was returned to Edward but with a much-reduced territory. Above: Charles IV and Isabella of France, Queen of England. Miniature from the Chronicles of St. Denis or Grandes Chroniques de France , copy copied for Charles V and part of the library of the Duke of Berry.
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| Charles IV |
The crusades remained a popular cause in France during Charles' reign.
His father, Philip IV, had committed France to a fresh crusade and his brother, Philip V, had brought plans for a fresh invasion close to execution in 1320.
Their plans were cancelled, however, leading to the informal and chaotic Shepherds' Crusade.
Charles entrusted Charles of Valois to negotiate with Pope John XXII over a fresh crusade. Charles, a keen crusader who took the cross in 1323, had a history of diplomatic intrigue in the Levant – he had attempted to become the Byzantine emperor earlier in his career. The negotiations floundered, however, over the Pope's concerns whether Charles IV would actually use any monies raised for a crusade for actual crusading, or whether they would be frittered away on the more general activities of the French crown. Charles of Valois's negotiations were also overtaken by the conflict with England over Gascony.
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| Charles IV |
After the death of Charles of Valois, Charles became increasingly interested in a French intervention in Byzantium, taking the cross in 1326. Andronicus II responded by sending an envoy to Paris in 1327, proposing peace and discussions on ecclesiastical union.
A French envoy sent in return with Pope John's blessing later in the year, however, found Byzantium beset with civil war, and negotiations floundered.
The death of Charles the next year prevented any French intervention in Byzantium. Charles IV died in 1328 at the Château de Vincennes, Val-de-Marne, and is interred with his third wife, Jeanne d'Évreux, in Saint Denis Basilica, with his heart buried at the now-demolished church of the Couvent des Jacobins in Paris. Like his brothers before him, Charles died without a surviving male heir, thus ending the direct line of the Capetian dynasty. Twelve years earlier, a rule against succession by females, arguably derived from the Salic Law, had been recognised – with some dissent – as controlling succession to the French throne.
The application of this rule barred Charles's one-year-old daughter Mary, by Jeanne d'Évreux, from succeeding as the monarch, but Jeanne was also pregnant at the time of Charles' death. Since she might have given birth to a son, a regency was set up under the heir presumptive Philip of Valois, son of Charles of Valois and a member of the House of Valois, the next most senior branch of the Capetian dynasty.
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| Blanche of Valois |
After two months, Jeanne gave birth to another daughter, Blanche, and thus Philip became king and in May was consecrated and crowned Philip VI. Edward III of England argued, however, that although the Salic law should forbid inheritance by a woman, it did not forbid inheritance through a female line – under this argument, Edward should have inherited the throne, forming the basis of his claim during the ensuing Hundred Years War (1337–1453).
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