France
Jean le Bel (1350-1364)
The succession, at least, went smoothly, for Philip had a son named Jean, known as 
Jean le Bel (John the Good). In many ways an echo
of his father, Jean was destined to undergo even greater tribulations.
One of those was trouble with an over-mighty vassal, Charles of Navarre (who was known as Charles the Bad). Charles was married to a daughter of Louis X, the daughter who had fought to have herself made Queen of France. Because of his royal connections, Charles wanted to have influence at court, but he was thwarted by the Constable of France, one of Jean's favorites and an inveterate enemy of Charles. So, he had the fellow and killed in January 1354. Jean retaliated by surprising Charles and his buddies at a feast. He had Charles' friends and followers slaughtered there in the hall and hauled Charles off to prison. As often happened in such cases, the French king soon relented, and a cowed but unchastened Charles sulked back to Navarre where he struck up an alliance with England. Navarre sits across the Pyrenees Mountains and so posed no immediate threat, but through his wife Charles held many castles in Normandy and these he threw open to the English.
The worst event of Jean's reign, though, was of course Poitiers in 1356. Jean himself stayed in captivity for four years, until the signing of the Treaty of Brétigny (1360). He was out only two years when one of Jean's sons violated the terms of the treaty. The honorable Jean voluntarily went back into captivity, dying in London in 1364.