[MR] Wikipedia: Charles the Bad, King of Navarre

[Garth Groff via Atlantia]

Noble Friends,

It seems to have been a slow month in history. Other than a few battles 
nobody has heard of, there hasn't been much of interest on the BBC or 
Wikpedia. This might be a good time to introduce you to some very 
interesting characters from history.

Let's start with Charles II, king of Navarre (aka Charles the Bad or 
Charles the Faithless): 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_Navarre .

During the 1300s Navarre was a small kingdom in the Pyrenees (it is now 
part of Spain). Charles was rarely there. He was actually French and 
held extensive lands in Normandy and adjacent areas, and had a claim on 
the French throne though he was pretty far down the line. Since 
everybody who was anybody was related to everyone else who was a 
somebody, he also had a very good claim on the Duchy of Burgundy when it 
came up for grabs in 1361, but lost out to John II, King of France (to 
the relief of most Burgundians). Charles was married to Joan of Valois, 
making him the King's son-in-law.  All this smarted Charles something 
fierce.

Charles was a major player in the Hundred Years War, switching between 
the English and the French when he saw an advantage. He must have seen a 
lot of advantages, because he switched sides so often nobody trusted 
him, hens the by-name "Faithless".

The by-name "the Bad" came to Charles thanks to his murder of the 
Constable of France, Charles de la Cerda. The Constable held lands that 
had once belonged to Charles the Bad's mother, and felt they were his by 
right. His brother led the assassins, but Charles never denied his 
involvement.

Charles also meddled in the dynastic wars of Spain. He again played 
false to both sides in the war between Pedro I (aka Pedro the Cruel) and 
Henry of Trastamara.

One of Charles' favorite activities was poisoning people. He claimed to 
have offed over 60 victims, including a cardinal. Well, maybe. He 
certainly personally poisoned some of his own associates to keep them 
from getting too powerful. He was also implicated in a plot to poison 
Charles V, the French king. And something to speculate upon, John II was 
very ill during his last years after his return from captivity in 
England. The symptoms have been likened to arsenic poisoning. Could this 
have been the hand of Charles the Bad? Nobody knows, but it is suggestive.

Charles' death in 1387 was pathetic, but considered by many a judgement 
from Heaven. Ill and bedridden, his doctor had him wrapped like a mummy 
in linen bandages which were impregnated with brandy. He was 
accidentally set on fire by a clumsy seamstress who was finishing the 
wrapping. Charles burned to death in his own bed.

We will tackle Pedro the Cruel soon.

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, That Crazy Scot