The Children of Adam and Eve

Philip VI (1293-1350), king of France (1328-50), the grandson of King
Philip III, the nephew of King Philip IV (the Fair), and son of Charles de
Valois (1270-1325), born in Fontainebleau. Philip held several countships,
including Valois, when he became regent of France on the Death in 1328 of
his cousin Charles IV, king of France, the last of the Capetian line.
Although Edward III of England (a grandson of Philip IV) also had a claim
to the throne, Philip was crowned at Reims later the same year, becoming
the first ruler of the Valois dynasty. Also in that year he crushed a
popular revolt in Flanders.

In 1337 France embarked on the Hundred Years' War with England. The war
began badly for France. The English destroyed the French fleet off Sluis
in the Netherlands in 1340, won a major victory over the French army at
Cr?, France, in 1346, and captured Calais, France, in 1347. Following
these defeats, Philip made a truce with Edward III of England that lasted
until Philip's Death. To meet the expenses of the war, Philip debased the
coinage, borrowed heavily, and levied burdensome taxes, particularly on
salt. In the last three years of Philip's reign France was devastated by a
plague called the Black Death.