State Funeral of supporters of Charles II of Navarre
10 January 1358 saw a State Funeral for supporters of Charles II of Navarre. They had been executed in 1356 and their bodies left dangling in chains at the high point of Bichorel which overlooked Rouen. This was amid chaotic politic scenes, with France in turmoil, England in the ascendancy in the war, and Charles II of Navarre with a foot in either camp. He utilised the recovery of his adherents bodies for a politically charged state funeral in 1358.
Unrest in France
France was in a state of Civil Unrest in the mid 1350s. Different nobles had sought to assert influence, gain control, or re-establish some semblance of normality at the heart of Government. It led to rumours of plots, rebellions, and conspiracies.
Navarrese plot against King John II of France
In the spring of 1356, the French King received information about one such plot. Whether the plot had been planned or not seems unclear, but the King was informed that Charles II of Navarre intended to kidnap him at a baptism taking place in Beaupre and murder him. The King acted quickly and decisively. He gathered a group of men-at-arms and sent to Paris for a further 500. He then set out for Rouen, where the Dauphin was holding a Council at which many of the accused were in attendance.
Charles II of Navarre seized
The King stormed into a meal being held for a group of the leading nobles and officials at the Dauphin’s council. Charles II of Navarre was grabbed by the King himself and told, at knifepoint, that he deserved to die. The kings entourage quickly took other men into captivity, though some were able to flee the scene.
1356: Execution of ringleaders of the Navarrese Plot
4 of the men who were taken captive were then identified as the ringleaders of the conspiracy. The City of Rouen was cleared of bystanders, then the men taken by cart to a central square. The king then employed an amateur executioner to behead the Count of Harcourt, Guilliame de Mainemares and the lord Graville and a squire, Colin Doublet. Their heads were placed on lances and bodies dangled from chains at the high point of Bichorel which overlooked Rouen.
Charles II of Navarre demands compensation
This infuriated Charles II of Navarre, who had only been spared execution due to his rank. In 1357 he made demands for compensation, restoration of lands and castles and for free pardons to be given to his men. The Council meeting in which he made these demands was interrupted by the leaders of the Third Estate and a large, angry, mob. The mob were opposed to Charles II of Navarre. Terrified, the council members voted against Charles’ demands.
Political and Diplomatic Complications
At the same time as these demands were being met, France and England were discussing the ransom for John II who had been captured at the Battle of Poitiers. This complicated matters. Navarre was an English ally, but only for as long as King John remained in captivity. France was therefore unsure of how England would respond to Charles’ fury. The uncertainty allowed Charles to take advantage. He travelled to Normandy in November 1357 and called upon his retainers to take up arms. At the same time, the Dauphin raised an army to be centred around Paris, with the array set for 14th January, the date upon which the Three Estates were due to reconvene.
Recovery of Navarrese bodies and State Funeral
The raising of an army by the Dauphin was seen as a provocative move. Charles II of Navarre chose to respond using symbolism. He marched to Rouen. Once there, his men took down the bodies of the four executed men from the heights at Bichorel. The four men were then given a full state, ceremonial, funeral at Rouen Cathedral. Crowds filed past the bodies as they lay in state. Their remains were surrounded by a hundred candles. The ceremony was as grand as that of a king.
Charles followed up the funeral with a public eulogy in which he declared the men martyrs. Charles II of Navarre and the Dauphin’s actions were effectively declarations of war upon each other.
Featured Image of Charles the Bad
John the Good ordering the arrest of Charles the Bad, from the Chroniques of Jean Froissart. Public Domain, via Wikimedia.
