1338-1380

French king noted for his support of scholarship. Known as Charles le Sage (the Wise), he became regent in 1356 after the capture of his father, John II, by the English at Poitiers during the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453). In bailing out his father he ceded territory to the English, but later won it back. Charles reigned from 1364-80 and, though he raised taxes on his people, was credited as a wise and fair ruler. He opened one of the first important libraries in Europe, the National Library in Paris, in 1373, and was also a patron of art and literature. In 1380, however, he banned the study of alchemy in France, and made it a crime to possess alchemical instruments.