5. Charles the Bad Discovers That He’s Not as Bad as Peter the Cruel
After King John II died, his successor forced Charles the Bad to renounce most of his holdings in France. In 1378, Charles the Bad was forced to cede nearly all of his remaining French holding when evidence of new treachery came to light. This time, Charles had not only planned to betray France to the English once more, but plotted to go one better this time around and poison the French king while he was at it.
To the south, Charles’ poor reputation was no better in Spain. There, he allied with Peter the Cruel of Castile against Peter IV of Aragon in 1362. The following year, he turned around and betrayed Castile, allying with Peter IV against Peter the Cruel. In 1378, Castilian armies invaded Navarre and Charles was forced to flee. Out of allies, having betrayed them all, Charles was forced to agree to a humiliating treaty that defanged his kingdom. Charles the Cruel’s solution to the problem of Charles the Bad’s treachery was to reduce him and his Kingdom of Navarre to Castilian clients.