1356 was a year of disaster for the French Crown. The Battle of Poitiers saw King John captured and taken to England, the French army significantly weakened, and central authority collapse. Back in France, John’s oldest son the Dauphin Charles was struggling to hold it all together. English raids, peasant revolt, and Norman rebellion all caused headache after headache for the Dauphin while John and his youngest son Philip, now called the Bold for his exploits at Poitiers, had a comfortable English imprisonment. When John and Philip finally made it back to France, the King was determined to give Philip the Bold a proper token to show his gratitude, the wealthy and powerful Duchy of Burgundy.
Time Period Covered: 1356-1364
Notable People: Philip of Rouvres, Philip the Bold, King Charles V, Charles the Bad, Etienne Marcel, King John the Good, Edward the Black Prince, Margaret of Flanders
Notable Events/Developments: Battle of Poitiers, The Jacquerie, Treaty of Bretigny
Sources
The Hundred Years War: Trial by Battle by Jonathan Sumption
The Hundred Years War: Trial by Fire by Jonathan Sumption
The Hundred Years War by Robert Neillands
Philip the Bold by Richard Vaughan
The Golden Age of Burgundy by Joseph Calmette
The Black Prince and the Capture of a King by Marilyn Livingstone and Morgen Witzel
Chronicles by Jean Froissart
The Burgundians by Bart Van Loo
The Promised Lands by Wim Blockmans and Walter Prevenier
Grand Dukes of the West 
I continue to enjoy the podcast! I’ll be sad to see the medieval French coverage decrease as the focus moves, but much of excitement remains to be had in Burgundy, on we go!
Some more pronunciation advice:
Poitou: pwa-toe
Langres – lon-gruh
Bertrand du Guesclin – bare-tron-do-gey-clan
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