John II.

John II., king of France, surnamed the Good, the son of Philip VI., was born in 1319, and succeeded his father in 1350. In 1356 he was taken prisoner by Edward the Black Prince at Poitiers and carried to England. After the treaty of Bretigny (1360) he returned home, leaving his second son, the Duke of Anjou, as hostage, till he should fulfil the terms of his ransom. But in the meantime the duke escaped back to France. John, however, chivalrously kept his word, and returned to London early in 1364; but he died on 8th April in that same year, without having regained his freedom. His eldest son, Charles V., succeeded him.