Charles V of France

Charles V, called the Wise, was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380. His reign marked an early high point for France during the Hundred Years' War, as his armies recovered much of the territory the English had held and reversed the military losses of his predecessors. He became regent of France when his father John II was captured by the English at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356, and to pay for the kingdom's defense he raised taxes, facing hostility from the nobility led by Charles the Bad of Navarre, opposition from the bourgeoisie through the Estates-General led by Etienne Marcel, and a peasant revolt known as the Jacquerie. He overcame all of these rebellions, but to free his father he had to conclude the Treaty of Bretigny in 1360, abandoning large portions of southwestern France to Edward III of England and agreeing to pay a huge ransom.