Character Catalog

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.

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.

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.

Large hanging wax seal depicting the king in majesty on his throne, used to authenticate royal acts. Philip Augustus generalized its use to assert sovereign authority over the entire kingdom.

Red silk banner with golden flames, the war standard of the kings of France kept at the Abbey of Saint-Denis. Philip Augustus had it carried at Bouvines as a sign of divine protection granted to the kingdom.

Iron mail armor (hauberk) and cylindrical helm protecting the king's head in combat. Philip Augustus fought in person at Bouvines and nearly lost his life there.

Supports for administrative and diplomatic acts drafted in Latin by the clerks of the royal chancellery. Philip Augustus's reform of the archives gave rise to the first preserved royal registers.

Silver coin struck with the royal effigy, symbol of monetary sovereignty. Philip Augustus strengthened royal control over coin minting within his expanding domain.

Projectile of the crossbow, a formidable ranged weapon widely used in Philip Augustus's royal armies during the sieges and battles of the reconquest of the Angevin fiefs.