Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Étienne Marcel was provost of the merchants of Paris under King John II, called John the Good. Étienne Marcel belonged by birth to the wealthy Parisian bourgeoisie, 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.