Philip, Count of Longueville facts for kids

Philip of Navarre, Count of Longueville (1336–1363) was a younger brother of Charles II of Navarre. Charles II was a claimant to the French throne. Philip was the son of Philip III of Navarre and Joan II of Navarre. In 1353, he married Yolande of Flanders. She was the daughter of Robert of Flanders and Joan of Brittany. Yolande had been married before to Henry IV of Bar. Philip and Yolande did not have any children. However, Philip had two children, Lancelot and Robine, with his mistress Jeannette d'Aisy. Philip and his brother Charles fought against John II of France in 1353.

Murder of Charles de la Cerda

At Christmas in 1353, Philip went with his brother Charles to Paris. They wanted to start an argument. When they arrived, they exchanged insults with Charles de la Cerda, who was the Constable of France. This happened in front of the king. Philip even pulled out his dagger.

Two weeks later, Charles de la Cerda was traveling alone through Normandy. On January 7, 1354, Philip arrived at the village of l'Aigle. He was with a group of followers from Normandy and Navarre. This group included John, Count of Harcourt, the Bascon de Mareuil, and Rabigot Dury. They surrounded the inn where Charles de la Cerda was staying for the night.

Philip stormed into Charles's bedroom. He said, "Charles of Spain, I am Philip, son of a King, whom you have insulted." Charles begged for his life and promised to leave France forever. But the Bascon de Mareuil and Rabigot Dury attacked him with four other soldiers. They stabbed him to death. The murder of Charles de la Cerda caused a break in the relationship between the King of Navarre and the King of France. It also led to Charles of Navarre making an alliance with the English.

However, this alliance did not last long. By February, Philip's brother was officially reconciled with King John II. In the Treaty of Mantes, signed on February 22, Charles of Navarre gained a lot of land in Lower Normandy. He also received promises of forgiveness for himself, his brothers, and their allies for the murder of Charles de la Cerda.

Alliance with England

On April 5, 1356, King John II arrested Charles II. This happened unexpectedly at a meeting of noblemen in Rouen. This started an open war between the families of Evreux and Valois. The King of France's armies then attacked Evreux, which was Charles's main city in Normandy.

It was Philip's job to protect his imprisoned brother's interests in Normandy. After trying to talk with John II, Philip went to the Cotentin region. He set up his base at Cherbourg. He announced that he was his brother's representative in France. The local nobles were not eager to help him. They thought the Navarrese cause would fail.

Philip sent his main commanders, Martin Henriques and Pedro Remirez, back to Navarre. They were to gather troops. There, Louis, the youngest of the three brothers, was already raising money. He was also looking for allies in Spain and at Avignon. Philip knew that Navarre's resources alone were not enough to fight France. By the end of April, he sent messengers to England to ask for an alliance.

The English government was unsure at first. But by May 4, they decided to send Henry, Duke of Lancaster, to Normandy instead of Brittany. On May 28, Philip officially stopped being loyal to the King of France. He declared war on his former lord.

Henry of Lancaster arrived in Cotentin on June 1, 1356. He brought about 1,300 men. Philip added 300 of his own soldiers. They were also joined by Robert Knolles, who brought 800 men from English bases in Brittany. This small army, all on horseback, left Montebourg on June 22. They were too late to save Evreux. But they arrived in time to help the Navarrese soldiers at Pont-Audemer.

From there, they moved south. They reached Conches-en-Ouche on July 3. But they found that the French had just captured the place. They drove off a small French army outside Breteuil. Then they captured Verneuil by force. They turned west again on July 8. By July 13, the army was back at Montebourg. They had not saved Evreux. But they brought back a lot of valuable goods. This made the short campaign profitable for the soldiers. The raid also made John II focus on a pointless attack on Breteuil. He should have been focusing on threats in the south. On August 20, he paid a huge sum for the castle to surrender. He then rejoined Philip in the Cotentin.

Philip spent the rest of the year in England with his Chancellor Thomas de Ladit. They worked out the terms of his alliance with Edward III. Philip showed loyalty to Edward III as King of France and Duke of Normandy. He promised to serve Edward against anyone except his own brothers. The official agreement was made at the king's hunting lodge at Clarendon in Wiltshire. Philip was to keep everything he or his brother owned. He could also keep all his conquests up to a value of 60,000 écus. Edward was to have the lands of the Dukes of Normandy and anything else Philip might conquer. Philip also had to give up any places that were important for military or political reasons. Philip was satisfied. He left England in early December with letters naming him Edward III's representative in Normandy.

The capture of John II in the Battle of Poitiers on September 17 caused chaos in the French government. The government was now led by the Dauphin. This allowed Philip, with new soldiers from Navarre, to go on the attack. Avranches was captured in early December. By the end of 1356, Saint-Lô was the only important place in the Cotentin still held by the Dauphin.

In 1357, the English and Navarrese forces began to move from Normandy into Île de France. In January that year, Philip left the Cotentin with 700 of his own Navarrese and Norman soldiers. He also had 100 English and German soldiers led by Sir Richard Totesham. They traveled east into the Bessin region. They took over several castles east of Bayeux. Then they headed towards Paris, causing a lot of fear. They passed Chartres and came within 8 miles of Paris before returning home.

Philip returned home to find that the Duke of Lancaster had taken control of Avranches. He had put an English group of soldiers there. Philip was very angry. He went to Lancaster's camp outside Rennes to complain. Lancaster agreed to put the Navarrese soldiers back. But his commanders still controlled the area. Philip also got into another argument with the English government. The Norman nobleman Godfrey of Harcourt died in battle in November 1356. He had no children to inherit his property. Philip took control of his castle, Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte. This was one of the strongest and most valuable castles in the region. However, Edward III sent his own men to take over the castle. He said that Godfrey of Harcourt had given the castle to the English King earlier. Philip sent his Chancellor to Westminster to protest, but he was overruled.

Revolution in Paris

In September 1357, talks began in London between the English government and King John II. King John was still a prisoner. Philip had tried to convince Edward that his brother Charles should be released as part of a truce with France. But Edward avoided the topic. On November 9, 1357, Charles of Navarre escaped from his prison at Arleux. Three weeks later, he was welcomed as a hero in Paris. Paris was becoming more and more against the Dauphin's government. This sped up the talks. The kings agreed to a draft treaty. This treaty said that Philip of Navarre should get back all the lands he had in France before the war started. However, peace between France and England was not good for the King of Navarre. He needed the political instability to achieve his goals.

In December, Charles left Paris for Normandy. He wanted to build up his strength before his final conflict with the Dauphin. He returned to Paris in February 1358. There, he allied with the Provost of the Merchants, Etienne Marcel. However, by July, the Dauphin had gained the upper hand. He had the support of the French nobles. The people of Paris were also becoming more supportive of the Dauphin. This was because English and Navarrese guards were in the city.

Philip answered Charles's call for more soldiers. He gathered a large force from the garrisons in Normandy and Brittany. This army was mostly English. It also included experienced commanders like Robert Knolles and Hugh Calveley, and Philip's marshal John Fotheringhay. Before Philip could arrive, the mood in the city had completely turned against the King of Navarre. Charles had been forced to hide in Saint-Denis with his guards. On July 31, Paris rose up and ended the rule of Etienne Marcel. The Provost himself was killed by the angry crowd. Charles then decided to make a full alliance with Edward III. On August 2, Charles and Philip led their army to the north side of the city. They took over the abbey and suburb of Saint-Denis. They seemed to be preparing to attack the city. However, that same evening, the Dauphin entered Paris through the Porte Saint-Antoine. All hopes of capturing Paris were lost. The Navarrese army withdrew to Mantes.

In the spring of 1359, Philip led a mostly English army out of Mantes. They went to help the soldiers at Saint-Valéry. But the soldiers surrendered on April 21 before Philip could arrive. Instead, he led his army into western Champagne. He stayed there for six weeks, getting supplies. He avoided attacks from the Constable and Admiral of France. He returned to Normandy in early June. He had not achieved much that lasted. On August 20, 1359, Charles of Navarre made peace with the Dauphin. However, Philip chose to continue serving the King of England. Many Navarrese garrisons in Normandy also did the same.

Peace and Death

In 1360, England and France signed the Treaty of Brétigny. This ended the war for a while. Later that same year, Charles of Navarre signed a separate treaty with John II. But even though the kings were no longer at war, true peace was hard to find. Many groups of soldiers, called routiers, continued to rob and demand money. Their loyalty to the English government was not strong. However, Philip was able to keep some control over the Navarrese troops in the region. In the summer of 1363, he joined Bertrand du Guesclin in a campaign. They fought against the routier groups around Bayeux and Caen. Towards the end of this campaign, Philip caught a cold and died in August 1363.

Sources

• Sumption, Jonathan, The Hundred Years War II: Trial by Fire, University of Pennsylvania Press, October 2001, ISBN: 0-8122-1801-9

See also

In Spanish: Felipe de Navarra para niños