The Problems of the French Kings
Unlike the unified England, France was having trouble maintaining the monarchy after the Hundred Years' War. This was largely due to the multitude of aristocratic factions that put themselves and their financial problems before France. While the English Parliament was beginning to become unified and was becoming a large part of the government, the French parliament, or Estates-General, was made up of many groups and didn't preside over all of France, just the North.
The Estates-General housed the groups of clergy, nobility, and the Third Estate. While this group of people were able to govern N. France they didn't preside over the South. There were many different parliament type institutions and mini governments that reigned over multiple different districts and regions in the South.
The Estates-General, however, came to play an important role in the life of the peasants during the Hundred Years' War, as it was the means by which the people were able to combat the high taxes funding the war that Philip VI (1328-1350) had instituted. Two of those taxes the gabelle and the taille were nuisances to the peasantry as they were constantly looming over the populace and were especially helpful in paying for the return of the French King John II.
The French Estates-General was not an important factor in the government and it didn't seem to matter until one local man in the Third Estate, Étienne Marcel, proposed to the dauphin, at that time King John's son Charles, that the new tax laws would be accepted as long as the Estates-General would become a major player in the government and that all new tax laws were first approved by the group (Spielvogel). Marcel did so in 1357 and by 1358 the Charles, now King Charles V (1364-1380), had stopped the proposal altogether and the small chance the Estates-General had at obtaining a role in the government like that of the English Parliament was gone. Charles continued to rule during the war and was overall very successful militarily, but this proved futile because in 1380 when Charles died the French monarchy again fell into turmoil.
The groups of aristocratic factions that had made a previous appearance once again came onto the scene this time in two specific groups, those who followed the Duke of Orleans and those who supported the Duke of Burgundy. After realizing in 1392 that their new King Charles VI (1380-1422) was crazy the two men launched a civil war to gain power in France. The war lasted until the English, taking control of the cover the civil war created, invaded France once again effectively restarting the Hundred Years' War. Once England landed on French soil in 1415 they easily made a treaty with the Duke of Burgundy and his men which created a much more menacing force for the French to face.
The Estates-General housed the groups of clergy, nobility, and the Third Estate. While this group of people were able to govern N. France they didn't preside over the South. There were many different parliament type institutions and mini governments that reigned over multiple different districts and regions in the South.
The Estates-General, however, came to play an important role in the life of the peasants during the Hundred Years' War, as it was the means by which the people were able to combat the high taxes funding the war that Philip VI (1328-1350) had instituted. Two of those taxes the gabelle and the taille were nuisances to the peasantry as they were constantly looming over the populace and were especially helpful in paying for the return of the French King John II.
The French Estates-General was not an important factor in the government and it didn't seem to matter until one local man in the Third Estate, Étienne Marcel, proposed to the dauphin, at that time King John's son Charles, that the new tax laws would be accepted as long as the Estates-General would become a major player in the government and that all new tax laws were first approved by the group (Spielvogel). Marcel did so in 1357 and by 1358 the Charles, now King Charles V (1364-1380), had stopped the proposal altogether and the small chance the Estates-General had at obtaining a role in the government like that of the English Parliament was gone. Charles continued to rule during the war and was overall very successful militarily, but this proved futile because in 1380 when Charles died the French monarchy again fell into turmoil.
The groups of aristocratic factions that had made a previous appearance once again came onto the scene this time in two specific groups, those who followed the Duke of Orleans and those who supported the Duke of Burgundy. After realizing in 1392 that their new King Charles VI (1380-1422) was crazy the two men launched a civil war to gain power in France. The war lasted until the English, taking control of the cover the civil war created, invaded France once again effectively restarting the Hundred Years' War. Once England landed on French soil in 1415 they easily made a treaty with the Duke of Burgundy and his men which created a much more menacing force for the French to face.