The Skaggs-Files

Philippe II, Auguste also called Philip Augustus (August 21,1165-July 14,1223) was King of France from 1180 to 1223.

A member of the Capetian dynasty, Philippe II was born August 21, 1165 at Gonesse, Val-d'Oise, France, the son of Louis VII of France and his third wife, Adèle de Champagne.

In declining health, his father had him crowned at Reims in 1179.

He was married on April 28, 1180 to Isabelle of Hainaut (April 1170 - March 15, 1190) and they had one son:
Louis VIII (September 5, 1187 - November 8, 1226)

A few years after Isabelle's passing, on August 15, 1193 he married Ingeborg of Denmark (1175-1236). The marriage produced no children and ended in divorce.

King Philippe II married for a third time on May 7, 1196 to Princess Agnès of Méranie (c.1180 - July 29, 1201. Their children were:
1) Philippe Hurepel (1200 - 1234)
2) Marie (1198 - October 15, 1224)

As king, he would become one of the most successful in consolidating France into one royal domain. He seized the territories of Maine, Touraine, Anjou, Brittany, and all of Normandy from King John of England. His decisive victory at the Battle of Bouvines over King John and a coalition of forces that included Otto IV of Germany ended the immediate threat of challenges to this expansion (1214) and left Philippe as the most powerful monarch in all of Europe.

He reorganized the government, bringing to the country a financial stability which permitted a sharp increase in prosperity. His reign was popular with ordinary people when he checked the power the nobles and passed some of it on to the growing middle class his reign had created.

He went on the Third Crusade with Richard the Lionhearted and the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick I Barbarossa (1189-1192).

King Philippe would play a significant role in one of the greatest centuries of innovation in construction and in education. With Paris as his capital, he had the main thoroughfares paved, built a central market, Les Halles, continued the construction begun in 1163 of the Gothic Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, constructed the Louvre as a fortress and gave a charter to the University of Paris (the Sorbonne) in 1200. Under his guidance, Paris became the first city of teachers the medieval world had known.

King Philippe II Auguste died July 14, 1223 at Mantes and was interred in Saint Denis Basilica. He was succeeded by his son by Isabelle of Hainaut, Louis VIII.

Philip II (of France) (1165-1223), king of France (1180-1223), one of the most powerful European monarchs of the Middle Ages. His full name was Philip Augustus.

The son of King Louis VII, Philip was born on August 21, 1165, in Gonesse, near Paris. He became coregent with his father in 1179. From 1181 to 1186 Philip combated a coalition of barons in Flanders, Burgundy, and Champagne and at their expense increased the royal domain. Philip allied himself with Richard, duke of Aquitaine, who in 1189 became Richard I of England, and in 1190 the two kings embarked on the Third Crusade. The kings quarreled, however, and Philip returned to France in 1191. Allied with Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI and Richard's brother, John, later king of England, Philip attacked Richard's territories in France. Richard returned in 1194 and went to war against Philip. By the time of Richard's death in 1199, Philip had been forced to surrender most of the territory he had annexed. Philip subsequently warred against John, who became king of England in 1199; between 1202 and 1205 Philip more than doubled his territory by annexing Normandy (Normandie), Maine, Brittany, Anjou, Touraine, and Poitou.

A coalition of European powers, including England, challenged the growing power of France in 1214. Philip's forces, however, decisively defeated the coalition at the Battle of Bouvines, establishing France as a leading country of Europe.

Philip increased the royal power not only by extending the royal domain but also by reducing the power of the feudal lords. He replaced the noble officers at court with an advisory council appointed from the middle class and supported the communes against the nobles. France prospered from his judicial, financial, and administrative reorganization of the government; serfdom declined, towns grew, and commerce flourished. Philip established Paris as the fixed capital of France, paved the streets, and had many new buildings constructed in the city.

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1. Abbrev: Ahnentafel for Margery Arundell
Title: Marlyn Lewis, Ahnentafel for Margery Arundell (08 Oct 1997)
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2. Abbrev: Pullen010502.FTW
Title: Pullen010502.FTW
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Text: Date of Import: Jan 5, 2002