Navarre, Champagne, Brie: Negotiating the Succession (1328–1336)

The 1328 crisis concerns not only France: it also concerns Navarre and principalities linked to the crown by inheritance. Philip VI must secure Paris and the cohesion of the kingdom without creating, alongside the King of England, another “foreign king” too powerful in France.

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🏔️ Navarre: A Different Dynastic Logic

Navarre does not follow the same succession practice as France: transmission “through women” is admitted there. Joan II of Navarre (daughter of Louis X) is the legitimate heir, and the Navarrese barons demand a sovereign present, not a subsidiary governed from Paris.

In April 1328, a great council assembled at Saint Germain-en-Laye leaves Navarre to Joan II (and to her husband Philip of Évreux), but refuses to cede Champagne and Brie.

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🧭 Champagne and Brie: Protecting Paris

Ceding Champagne and Brie would make the Évreux‑Navarre princes too powerful, capable of putting Paris in a vice between their Norman and Champenois lands. Philip VI thus chooses a balanced solution: keep these lands close to the royal heart and plan compensation.

The exchange is fixed in 1336: the Évreux receive notably the County of Mortain and, for a time, the County of Angoulême.

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🧠 Key Points to Remember

• 1328: Navarre goes to Joan II, but Champagne and Brie remain with the King of France.
• Philip VI avoids creating a rival territorial prince too powerful at the gates of Paris.
• The 1336 compromise structures political balances durably.