French monarch John II of France, called Jean le Bon (John the Good) was BOTD in 1319. Born in Le Mans, he was the only son of Philip, Count of Valois, who became king of France in 1328. His father, anxious to form military alliances, married the 13 year-old Jean to Bonne of Bohemia in 1332, fathering 11 children in as many years. After his marriage, Jean was made the Duke of Normandy, becoming involved in a series of battles and negotiations with the English over control of the region, and forming an intimate relationship with Charles de La Cerda, a Franco-Castilian knight. After Bonne’s death from the Bubonic plague in 1549, Jean married Joan, Countess of Auvergne, becoming king and queen of France in 1550. Jean immediately made La Cerda the Comte d’Angoulême and promoted him to Constable of France, irritating Jean’s rival, Charles II of Navarre. In 1354, La Cerda was murdered by the Navarres. An enraged and grief-struck Jean stormed into a banquet in full battle dress and ordered the arrest of the Navarres, causing him to lose the support of the other Norman nobility. The following year, the English invaded France. Jean was captured during the Battle of Poitiers and sent to England, living in relative luxury under house arrest as he attempted to negotiate his release. In 1360, Jean’s eldest son Charles brokered the Treaty of Brétigny to release Jean, in exchange for Jean’s second son Louis, Duke of Anjou, who was held by the English as security for the payment of a huge ransom. Jean returned to France to raise funds for his ransom, creating the franc in an attempt to stabilise the economy. In 1363, Louis escaped custody. Concerned by the dishonour of Louis’ actions, Jean returned voluntarily to captivity in England, earning him the nickname Jean le Bon. He died in 1364, aged 44, apparently of natural causes, and was returned to France for burial.