Philip+II+of+France

King Philip II of France, also known as //Philip Augustus//, was born in 1165 at Gonesse in the Val-d’Oise, the son of [|Louis VII] and his third wife [|Adele of Champagne]. At the age of fifteen, in 1180, he was anointed king, on the feast of All Saints, while his father still lived “albeit gravely hampered by sickness, a paralysis which totally prevented him from walking”. 1 Philip ruled as King of France from his death in 1223. His forty-three year reign marked the emergence of the Capetian monarchy as the most influential force in the kingdom. Through his land acquisitions, his governmental developments and his expansion of the influence of the French monarchy he secured the Capetian dynasty on the throne and, by the fourteenth century, saw France “elevated to a hegemonic role in western Europe”.2
 * King Philip II of France [[image:Philip_II_Augustus.jpg width="198" height="252" align="right" caption="19th Century Portrait of King Philip II of France by Louis-Felix Amiel" link="http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Image:Louis-F%C3%A9lix_Amiel-Philippe_II_dit_Philippe-Auguste_Roi_de_France_%281165-1223%29.jpg"]] **

Expansion of the Royal Demesne

When Philip II ascended to the throne in 1180, his father [|Louis VII]  left him a diminished royal demesne--the French Monarchy controlled less of France than the King Henry II of England. By the end of Philip's rule, however, he had reclaimed the French territories conquered by the kings of England and furthered the royal domain north into Flanders and south into Languedoc . 3  This expansion of the royal domain through conquering and reconquering territories played a vital role in establishing France as a dominant power in Western Europe. Philip acquired Vermandois, Picardy, and Artois through marriage negotiations , while the territories of Normandy and Acre were obtained through invasion. 4 Acre was captured by Philip during the Third Crusade and regarded as a personal liberation . 5 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Normandy, however, was invaded in 1204 during the Anglo-French war <span style="color: #141413; font-family: Georgia,serif;">and brought the ‘Anglo-Norman’ realm—which was created by William the Conqueror in 1066—to an end. 6 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Although the French monarchy was unable to preserve their hold on all of the acquired territories, the Normandy was permanently annexed, bringing the royal domain to three or four times its former size. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; vertical-align: super;">7 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Using this land Philip was able to fill the royal treasury, and solidify the financial security of France by exploiting the land for resources.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Philip’s Role in Assessing Guilt and Delivering Justice in France

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Philip Augustus’ reign also marked the beginning of the Kings increased role in assessing guilt and delivering justice. This increased role is evident in the accounts of his actions following the ransacking of the house of the Dean of the Cathedra in 1210. 8 The Dean and almost all of the canons made a complain to the king and “the king, in response to [their complaint] … held counsel with his close advisors [aulici] about what was to be done about this … but [that] he first wanted the truth of the matter, since, as judge, he ought [first] to make an inquiry before he could act as their avenger. And thus it [an inquiry] was done”. 9 In addition to his role as a judge, King Philip was also involved in the sentencing of this riot as he “regally announced and pronounced the sentence of the court publicly and openly, commanding that the aforementioned ministers of the countess, namely the marshal and provost, should publicly make amends [rectu m]”.<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; vertical-align: super;">10

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">References
 * 1) ^ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%; line-height: 22px;">Rigord //Deeds of Philip II Augustus//, (1145/50-1209): trans Paul Hyams. “http://falcon.arts.cornell.edu/prh3/408/texts/Rigindex.html”
 * 2) ^ <span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">Baldwin, John W. “Persona et Gesta: The Image and Deeds of the Thirteenth-Century Capetians”, //Viator// 19 (1988): 193
 * 3) ^ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;"> Baldwin, John and Hollister, Warren “The Rise of Administrative Kingship: Henry I and Philip Augustus”, //The American Historical Review// 83, no. 4 (October 1978), . 891-892
 * 4) ^ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%; line-height: 22px;">Ibid., 891
 * 5) ^ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">// Itinerarium Peregrinorum et Gesta Regis Ricardi //, ed. William Stubbs, Rolls Series, (London: Longmans, 1864) III, 21-22 (pp. 236-39), translated by James Brundage, //The Crusades: A Documentary History//, (Marquette University Press 1962), 181-83 in Internet
 * 6) ^ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%; line-height: 22px;">Moore, Tony K "The Loss of Normandy and the Invention of Terre Normannorum, 1204". //The English historical review// //(0013-8266)//, CXXV(516) (2010): 1071
 * 7) ^ <span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">Baldwin, John and Hollister, Warren “The Rise of Administrative Kingship: Henry I and Philip Augustus”, 891-892
 * 8) ^ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">// Cartulaire de Notre-Dame de Chartres //, 3 vols., ed. E. de Lepinois and L. Merlet (Chartres: Garnier, 1863), 2:56-62. Translated by Richard Barton, 1998: Internet Medieval Source Book “http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/1210chartres.asp”
 * 9) ^ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">Ibid
 * 10) ^ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">Ibid