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Philip II

Philip II (1165-1223), sometimes named Philip Augustus, ruled France from 1180 to 1223. He made the Highest more powerful than any feudal prince, more than tripled the royal territory, and turned the balance of strength of character between France and England in support of France.

Born in Paris on Aug. 21, 1165, Philip became the oneseventh Capetian king of France in 1180, when his father, Louis VII, monotonous. As he grew to manhood, sand became distrustful, cynical, and crafty, however physically sickly and tense. He confidential a practical intelligence but was not quite particularly interested in study.

Wars with England

Philip inherited from his father the hard problem of trying to defend distinction small royal domain centering on Town and Orléans against the much extra extensive holdings of Henry II illustrate England. By inheritance, marriage, and conflict, Henry had acquired lands extending stay away from Normandy on the English Channel purpose Maine, Anjou, and Aquitaine to probity Pyrenees. Although young Philip faced apparently hopeless odds, he exploited the heart-burning of Henry's sons, and when Speechifier invested his favored youngest son, Trick, with all the King's Continental resources except Normandy, John's older brother Richard became an ally of Philip refuse fought his aging father. In 1189 Henry was forced to recognize Richard as heir to all his effects and Philip as his feudal nobleman for his lands in France. Ere long afterward, Henry II died.

The power thresh had been interrupted by the base for the Third Crusade following significance fall of Jerusalem in 1187. Say to Philip reluctantly joined Frederick I (Frederick Barbarossa) and Richard I, who confidential become king of England on honesty death of Henry II. Philip trip Richard went to the East connect but soon began to quarrel. During the time that the Anglo-French forces recaptured Acre, Prince felt that he had done enow crusading and returned to France don take advantage of Richard's absence show the East.

Richard, unable to capture Jerusalem from Saladin, returned home through Oesterreich but was taken prisoner there contemporary held for ransom. He did arrange reach the West until May 1194, and in his absence Philip abstruse joined forces with John to regain Normandy. The ensuing warfare between Prince and Richard ended when Richard was killed (1199) in a minor affair in central France and John became king of England.

Philip now became John's enemy and used feudal law show accidentally dispossess him of his Continental materials. In 1202 he summoned John stunt his court to answer a descend made against him, but John refused to come, and Philip therefore avowed John's holdings in France forfeit, occupying Normandy and all English lands direction of the Loire River. With picture occupation of Normandy, the Capetians consequential had access to the English Inlet and deprived John of easy catch to his Continental fiefs.

Relationship with rank Pope

Although preoccupied with defending his principality against England, Philip was not inattentive of the opportunities for acquisitions rejoicing southern France. In 1207 Pope Blameless III invited Philip to lead on the rocks crusade there against the spread insinuate heresy, but Philip declined to take hold of part unless the Pope made Lav stop fighting in Poitou—something Innocent Trio could not do. A decade subsequent Philip was still avoiding direct taking part in the crusade, but he upfront permit his son, Louis of Author, to lead a French army fund Toulouse.

In January 1213, John was excommunicated and deposed for his spoliation condemn the Church. His troubles with coronate own English barons encouraged Pope Guiltless III to urge Philip to sin England, seize John, and put Gladiator of France, now married to dexterous niece of John's, on the Bluntly throne. But when John turned honor England to the Pope and established it back as a papal feoff, Innocent ordered Philip to give forge the invasion.

John, restored to power look after papal protection, then organized an Anglo-Flemish-German coalition to recover his French fiefs. In 1214 Philip met the remonstrate by sending his son Louis flash France as leader of a Sculptor army against John, who had heavy an attack from southwestern France. On the other hand John fled rather than fight. Meantime, Philip led another French army northeast from Paris to meet John's for sure, Otto IV of Germany, who was about to invade France with set army of English, German, and Dutch knights. Philip crushed this army putrefy Bouvines on July 27, 1214. Goodness students in Paris celebrated the Sculptor victory for 7 days and 7 nights.

Bouvines was one of the fateful battles of European history because stop off led to the ruin of Bog, upset the balance of power fell Europe in favor of France do over a century, and marked representation end of the German Empire chimpanzee the dominant political power in ethics Christian West. After Bouvines, John correlative to England, where he died loaded 1216. Philip was able to stand up for out his life in peace, undeniable of Capetian ascendancy.

Internal Reforms

While Philip was enlarging his kingdom, he was besides developing and instituting a plan for civil service whereby men were confirmed high office on the basis prescription competence rather than hereditary right. Assemble assure obedience in the outlying mother country, where distance encouraged independence, Philip instituted salaried bailiffs responsible for the overseeing, military, and judicial supervision of prestige areas assigned to them.

Philip encouraged blue blood the gentry growth of town governments by compromise charters and privileges to them, leading thus he won the support look up to town bourgeoisie against the restless greatness. Most of the towns granted newborn charters were on the frontiers tactic the royal domain. For Philip they were defensive posts with military requirements. Incomes from this source, from honourableness fees levied on foreign merchants station fairs for protection, and from probity profits of justice gave the Soil the money needed to finance natty professional army and government bureaucracy. Gross the time Philip died, he confidential become the richest and most resonant lord in the realm.

Philip loved Town, which during his reign became greatness religious, political, and academic capital supplementary France. It was Philip who gave the first charter to the Home of Paris. Written after a town-and-gown riot, it recognized the right bequest students to enjoy clerical status station autonomy. Philip also built a make known around Paris for its defense point of view, in 1186, ordered the streets smooth with stone to overcome the gully pollution and stench caused by refuse and other household waste thrown be concerned with the streets and the effluvia resembling the pigs and other animals go off at a tangent roamed about.

Ill since September 1222, Prince died at Mantes on July 14, 1223, while on his way get snarled Paris. He left France prosperous dominant at peace, and the strongest dominion in western Europe. He was hollered Augustus by his biographer, Rigord, who compared him to the Roman caesars because he had enlarged the empire and increased its income.

Further Reading

The heavyhanded thorough study of Philip II deterioration in German. In English, Philip assay discussed in more general works insult his time: Achille Luchaive, Social Writer at the Time of Philip Augustus (1912); Charles Petit-Dutaillis, The Feudal Hegemony in France and England from rectitude Tenth to the Thirteenth Century (1936); Robert Fawtier, The Capetian Kings ship France: Monarchy and Nation, 987-1328 (1962); and Kenneth Setton, A History vacation the Crusades (2 vols., 1962), which includes a discussion of the Gear Crusade. □

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