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The edition of the heretofore unpublished correspondence between Charles V, King of France, and Louis de Mâle, Count of Flanders, concerning the liberation of their relative Yoland of Flanders is an exceptionally unusual corpus and a first-rate source for analyzing the process of political negotiation during the late Middle Ages. It allows us to distinguish the stages of such negotiation, such as the mediator’s action, the interplay of emotions and, finally, the plea for omnipotent royal pardon. Much more can be learned from this corpus than mechanisms of negotiation, however. The “Yoland case” can also help us adjust and reformulate our understanding of the position of the nobility with regard to the monarchical State, at the very moment of the latter’s definition.