Philippe Auguste(1165 — 1223)
Philip II Augustus
France
8 min read
King of France from 1180 to 1223, Philippe Auguste is one of the greatest monarchs of the Middle Ages. He strengthened royal power, vastly expanded the royal domain, and won the decisive victory of Bouvines in 1214. His reign marks the beginning of medieval France's rise as a major power.
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Crowned and began his reign in 1180 at the age of 15
- Victory at Bouvines in 1214 against a coalition of lords and the Holy Roman Empire
- Conquest of Normandy and Anjou at the expense of the English Plantagenets (1202–1204)
- Fivefold increase in the size of the royal domain during his reign
- Participation in the Third Crusade (1190–1191) alongside Richard the Lionheart
Works & Achievements
Circular keep surrounded by moats, the first major royal defensive construction in Paris. It symbolized the power of the Capetian king and protected the capital against Norman invasions.
A great stone wall of more than 5 km encircling Paris on both banks of the Seine. This fortification transformed Paris into a protected royal city and asserted Capetian power.
Establishment of itinerant royal agents (bailiffs) tasked with dispensing justice and collecting taxes on behalf of the king in the provinces. This reform laid the foundations of the French royal administration.
After the loss of his archives at Fréteval, Philip II Augustus organized the systematic preservation of royal acts. These registers are the direct ancestors of the French National Archives.
A series of military campaigns that wrested John Lackland's continental fiefdoms away from him and doubled the area of the royal domain. This was the greatest territorial expansion of the Capetian monarchy.
Royal confirmation of the privileges of Parisian masters and students, institutionalizing the greatest university of medieval Europe. Paris thus became the foremost intellectual center of Christendom.
Anecdotes
During the Third Crusade in 1191, Philip Augustus and Richard the Lionheart captured the city of Acre together after a long siege. But the two kings quarreled so violently over the division of the spoils and the choice of the King of Jerusalem that Philip returned to France as early as August 1191, leaving Richard to continue the crusade alone.
Philip Augustus was nicknamed 'Augustus' not at birth, but by a chronicler who admired the scale of his conquests and the growth of his kingdom, drawing a parallel with the Roman emperor Augustus. This nickname remained attached to him for eternity.
Before the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, Philip Augustus dismounted, knelt down, and prayed at length before the fight. When the melee turned against him, enemy soldiers managed to unhorse him and seize him by his garments — he was saved in extremis by his knights, which strengthened his legend as a warrior king.
Philip Augustus had the first great walls of Paris built and the main streets paved, exasperated by the smell of mud that rose all the way to his palace on the Île de la Cité. These works durably transformed the capital and made Paris a city worthy of the most powerful kingdom in the West.
His love life caused scandal: after the death of his first wife, he married Ingeborg of Denmark in 1193 but repudiated her the very day after their wedding without ever explaining why, triggering a diplomatic and religious conflict that lasted twenty years, with the Pope even threatening to excommunicate the kingdom.
Primary Sources
King Philip, having drawn up his battalions and commended his soul to God, charged with his men against the allied enemies and, by divine grace, won a complete victory at Bouvines.
The king ordered that all the streets of Paris be paved with hard and solid stones, so as to remove the unbearable stench rising from the mud of the city.
Philip, surrounded by enemies, was seized by the hands and arms, but the strength of his companions freed him, and the banner of France flew victorious over the field of Bouvines.
We order that the bailiffs of our domain render account of their actions and their revenues each year at Candlemas, so that our treasury and our justice be precisely known.
Key Places
Main residence of Philip II Augustus and administrative heart of the kingdom. It was from this palace that he governed and transformed Paris into a true royal capital.
Village in Flanders where the decisive battle was fought on 27 July 1214 against the coalition of the Holy Roman Empire, England, and Flanders. This victory secured French dominance in Western Europe.
Fortress built by Richard the Lionheart on the Seine, which Philip II Augustus besieged and captured in 1204, opening the conquest of Normandy and wresting the duchy from England.
Fortress built around 1190–1210 by Philip II Augustus to defend Paris on the western side. This square keep was the first building of what would become the royal Louvre palace.
Royal necropolis north of Paris, home of the Oriflamme and a site of symbolic legitimation for the kings of France. Philip II Augustus strengthened the bond between the monarchy and its divine protector there.
Liens externes & ressources
Références
Œuvres
Construction de la forteresse du Louvre
vers 1190-1210
Enceinte de Philippe Auguste (murs de Paris)
1190-1215
Réforme administrative et création des baillis
vers 1190-1200
Création du Trésor des chartes et des premiers registres royaux
à partir de 1194
Conquête de la Normandie, de l'Anjou et du Maine
1202-1204
Charte de fondation de l'Université de Paris
1200-1215
