Étienne Marcel (died 31 July 1358) was
provostA provost is the ceremonial head of many Scottish local authorities, and under the name prévôt was a governmental position of varying importance in Ancien Regime France.-History:...
of the
merchantA merchant is a businessman who trades in commodities that they do not produce themselves, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
s of
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
under King
John IIJohn II , called John the Good , was the King of France from 1350 until his death. He was the second sovereign of the House of Valois and is perhaps best remembered as the king who was vanquished at the Battle of Poitiers and taken as a captive to England.The son of Philippe VI and Jeanne of...
.
Étienne Marcel belonged by birth to the wealthy Parisian
bourgeoisieHistorically, the bourgeoisie were a social class of people, characterized by their ownership of capital and the related culture. They were a part of the middle or merchant classes of European feudalism, where their power came from employment, education, and wealth, as distinguished from those...
, being the son of a clothier named Simon Marcel and of Isabelle Barbou. He is mentioned as provost of the
Grande-Confrérie of Notre Dame in 1350, and in 1354 he succeeded Jean de Pacy as provost of the Parisian merchants representing the mercantile leaders of the Third Estate.
His political career began in 1356, when John was made prisoner after the
battle of PoitiersThe Battle of Poitiers was fought between the Kingdoms of England and France on 19 September 1356 near Poitiers, resulting in the second of the three great English victories of the Hundred Years' War: Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt.- Background :...
.
Étienne Marcel (died 31 July 1358) was
provostA provost is the ceremonial head of many Scottish local authorities, and under the name prévôt was a governmental position of varying importance in Ancien Regime France.-History:...
of the
merchantA merchant is a businessman who trades in commodities that they do not produce themselves, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
s of
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
under King
John IIJohn II , called John the Good , was the King of France from 1350 until his death. He was the second sovereign of the House of Valois and is perhaps best remembered as the king who was vanquished at the Battle of Poitiers and taken as a captive to England.The son of Philippe VI and Jeanne of...
.
Étienne Marcel belonged by birth to the wealthy Parisian
bourgeoisieHistorically, the bourgeoisie were a social class of people, characterized by their ownership of capital and the related culture. They were a part of the middle or merchant classes of European feudalism, where their power came from employment, education, and wealth, as distinguished from those...
, being the son of a clothier named Simon Marcel and of Isabelle Barbou. He is mentioned as provost of the
Grande-Confrérie of Notre Dame in 1350, and in 1354 he succeeded Jean de Pacy as provost of the Parisian merchants representing the mercantile leaders of the Third Estate.
His political career began in 1356, when John was made prisoner after the
battle of PoitiersThe Battle of Poitiers was fought between the Kingdoms of England and France on 19 September 1356 near Poitiers, resulting in the second of the three great English victories of the Hundred Years' War: Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt.- Background :...
. In conjunction with
Robert le CoqRobert le Coq was a French bishop and councillor.Le Coq belonged to a bourgeois family of Orléans, where he first attended school before coming to Paris. In Paris he became advocate to the parlement ; then John II appointed him master of requests, and in 1351, a year during which he received many...
, bishop of Laon, he played a leading part in the
states generalIn France under the Ancient Regime, the States-General or Estates-General , was a legislative assembly of the different classes of French subjects. It had a separate assembly for each of the three estates, which were called and dismissed by the king...
called together by the dauphin
CharlesCharles V , called the Wise, was King of France from 1364 to his death and a member of the House of Valois...
on 17 October. A committee of eighty members, constituted on their initiative, pressed their demands with such insistence that the dauphin prorogued the states-general; but financial straits obliged him to summon them once more on 3 February 1357, and the promulgation of a
great edict of reformThe Great Ordinance of 1357 was an edict through which Étienne Marcel attempted to impose limits on the French monarchy, in particular in fiscal and monetary matters.-Historical context:...
was the consequence. John the Good forbade its being put into effect, whereupon a conflict began between Marcel and the dauphin, Marcel endeavouring to set up
Charles the BadCharles II , called "Charles the Bad," was King of Navarre 1349-1387 and Count of Évreux 1343-1387....
, king of Navarre, in opposition to him. The states general assembled again on 13 January 1358, and on 22 February the populace of Paris, led by Marcel, invaded the palace and murdered the
marshalThe Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
s of
ChampagneThe Champagne wine region is a historic province within the Champagne administrative province in the northeast of France. The area is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name...
{Jean de Conflans} and
NormandyNormandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is situated along the English Channel coast of Northern France between Brittany and Picardy and comprises territory in northern France and the Channel Islands.Normandy is divided between French and British...
{Robert de Clermont} before the prince's eyes. However, the murder of the nobles undermined Marcel's further support by the aristocracy.
Thenceforward Marcel was now in open hostility to the throne. After vainly hoping that the insurrection of the
JacquerieThe Jacquerie was a popular revolt in late medieval Europe by peasants that took place in northern France in the summer of 1358, during the Hundred Years' War. The revolt, which was violently suppressed after a few weeks of violence, centered in the Oise valley north of Paris...
might turn to his advantage, he next supported the king of Navarre, whose armed bands infested the neighborhood of Paris. On the night of 31 July Marcel was about to open the gates of the capital to them, but Jean Maillart prevented the execution of this design. He was killed by the guards at the Porte Saint-Antoine. During the following days his adherents were likewise put to death, and the dauphin was enabled to re-enter Paris.
Étienne Marcel married first Jeanne de Dammartin, and secondly Marguerite des Essars, who survived him.