Philip IV the Fair, King of France
(1268–1314)
King Philip IV the Handsome of France from the Capetian dynasty remained in the memory of descendants primarily as the monarch who destroyed the Templar Order. He was born in 1268 at Fontainebleau and inherited the throne in 1285 after the death of his father Philip III the Bold. His mother, Queen Isabella of Aragon, was the first wife of Philip III, whose second marriage was to Countess of Flanders Maria of Brabant, who also bore the high-profile title of Queen of Sicily and Jerusalem. With the help of his marriage to Queen Joan of Navarre, concluded in 1284, he significantly expanded his possessions. He also continued attempts to annex Aragon and Sicily, which his father had dynastic rights to. However, here, unlike his father, who died during the campaign against Aragon, Philip relied more on diplomacy rather than on force of arms. He did not support the claims of his brother Charles of Valois to the Aragonese and Sicilian thrones. In 1291, on the initiative of Philip, an international congress was convened in Tarascon to resolve the Aragonese issue. It was attended by representatives of the kings of England, France, Naples and the Pope. A peaceful settlement was reached. In 1294, Philip began a war with England over the rich province of Guienne (Duchy of Aquitaine), which lasted 10 years and greatly depleted the French treasury. Philip used the conflict between British and French merchants in Aquitaine as a pretext and summoned the English king Edward I, formally considered his vassal, to the court of the Parisian parliament. Edward offered Guienne as bail for 40 days, during which an investigation was to be carried out, but, naturally, did not appear at the trial. But Philip, having occupied Guienne, refused to return it and declared war on Edward. He responded by inciting his ally, the Count of Flanders, against France. Peace with England was concluded in 1304 on the basis of the status quo, that is, the return of Guienne to the English, thanks to the fact that Philip's daughter married the new English king Edward II. In 1302, Philip's army invaded Flanders, but was defeated by local militia at the Battle of Courtrai. Nevertheless, in 1304 Philip led big army invaded Flanders, and according to the peace concluded in 1304, the Flemish cities of Douai, Lille and Bethune went to France.
In 1296, Pope Boniface VIII prohibited the taxation of clergy without papal permission. However, the joint performance of Philip and the English king Edward I forced the pope to back down. The kings simply began to take away the estates of those clergy who, guided by the papal bull, refused to pay. Philip also, by a special edict in 1297, prohibited the export of gold and silver from France, which cut off income from the French clergy to the papal treasury. The Pope was forced to back down and cancel the bull.
In general, throughout the entire period of his reign, Philip was constantly in need of money, so he was forced to introduce more and more new taxes and reduce the gold content in the coin. He had large staff lawyers called “legists”, “royal notaries”, “knights of the king” and “men of the king”, who won all the cases in favor of the king in the French courts, cleverly manipulating the law, and sometimes simply flouting the law. These people acted on the principle: “Whatever pleases the king has the force of law.”
In 1306, Philip expelled the Jews from France, and then the Knights Templar. He had previously made large forced loans from both of them and, instead of returning them, chose to remove his creditors from the country. Also, in order to obtain new funds and support in the confrontation with the pope, Philip in April 1302 convened the first French parliament - the Estates General, which was supposed to vote for new taxes. The parliament included barons, representatives of the clergy and lawyers. The deputies were read a false papal bull, after which they promised the king support in any actions to protect the state and the rights of the church in France from the encroachments of the pope. This support was unconditional from the townspeople and nobility of the northern provinces, who expressed their readiness to condemn Pope Boniface as a heretic. The nobles and townspeople of the southern provinces, as well as the entire clergy, were much more moderate. The bishops only asked the pope to allow the French clergy not to participate in the church council, at which it was proposed to excommunicate King Philip. The Pope responded to the decision of the Estates General with the bull “One Holy One,” where he stated: “Spiritual power must set up earthly power, and judge it if it has deviated from true path..." Here Boniface formulated the theory of two swords - spiritual and secular. The spiritual sword is in the hands of the pope, the secular sword is in the hands of the sovereigns, but they can draw it only with the sanction of the pope and to protect the interests of the church. Submission to the pope was elevated to a dogma of faith. The Pope threatened to excommunicate not only King Philip, but also the entire French people if he supported the king in the fight against the church. In April 1303, the pope excommunicated the king and released the seven ecclesiastical provinces in the Rhone Valley from the royal oath. However, the French clergy, contrary to the pope's request, did not appear at the council. Meanwhile, Philip's counter-propaganda campaign was a success. In response, Philip called a meeting senior clergy and the nobility, at which the chancellor and keeper of the royal seal, Guillaume de Nogaret, accused Boniface of heresy and atrocious crimes. At this meeting, Philip declared Boniface a false pope and promised to convene a council to elect a true pope. One of the king's closest advisers, legist and chancellor Guillaume Nogaret, was sent to the pope with a summons to a church council, accompanied by an armed detachment. The pope fled from Rome to the city of Ananyin, but on September 7, 1303, Nogare’s detachment reached there. Boniface was placed under arrest, but categorically refused to renounce his rank. A few days later, the townspeople rebelled, drove out the French and freed the pope. After the meeting with Nogaret, the pope fell ill, and a month later, on October 11, 1303, 85-year-old Boniface died.
Boniface's successor, Benedict XI, reigned for only a few months and died suddenly, outliving Boniface by only ten months. Then in June 1305, after many months of struggle, under pressure from Philip, Archbishop of Bordeaux Bertrand de Gault was elected pope, taking the name Clement V. The king granted him the city of Avignon for permanent residence, marking the beginning of the “Avignon captivity of the popes.” Clement introduced several French cardinals into the conclave, guaranteeing in the future the election of popes pleasing to the French kings. In a special bull, Clement fully supported Philip's position in the dispute with Boniface, calling him a “good and just king,” and canceled the bull “One Holy One.” However, he refused to support the accusations against Boniface of heresy and unnatural vices, and also to carry out the posthumous execution on him - to dig up and burn his corpse.
Philip was able to increase French territory at the expense of several principalities bordering German Empire. The king's authority was also recognized by the cities of Lyon and Valenciennes.
In 1308, Philip attempted to install Charles of Valois as German emperor when the throne became vacant after the assassination of Emperor Albrecht of Austria. Some close associates recommended that Philip himself try his luck in the fight for the imperial crown. However, the creation of such a powerful state - in the event of a union of France and Germany - frightened all of France's neighbors, especially since Philip clearly indicated his intention to annex the left bank of the Rhine to his kingdom. The German princes opposed Charles Valois, who was not supported even by Pope Clement V. Henry of Luxembourg was elected emperor.
In 1307, on the orders of Philip, members of the Templar Order were secretly arrested throughout France on one day. They were accused of heresy, allegedly expressed in desecration of the cross, idolatry and sodomy. Before this, Philip asked to be accepted into the order, hoping to become its grandmaster and legally take over all the wealth of the Templars. However, the grandmaster of the order, Jacques de Molay, figured out the game and politely but firmly refused him. But Philip received a pretext for reprisals, claiming that the Templars were engaged in secret affairs, which they are afraid to dedicate French king. Under torture, the Templars confessed everything, and seven years later open process everyone denied it. The real reason the reprisal was that the king owed the order a large amount. In 1308, to approve repressions against the Templars, the king convened the Estates General for the second time in history. Trials of the Templars took place throughout France. Their leaders were executed with the blessing of the Pope, who first tried to protest against the massacre of the Templars, and later, in 1311, under pressure from Philip, who convened a church council in Vienne that abolished the Templar Order. The property of the order was transferred to the royal treasury in 1312.
In 1311, Philip banned the activities of Italian bankers in France. The property of the expelled replenished the treasury. The king also imposed high taxes, which did not delight his subjects. At the same time, he included Champagne (in 1308) and Lyon and the surrounding area (in 1312) into the royal domain. By the end of his reign, France had become the strongest power in Europe.
On August 1, 1314, Philip convened the Estates General for the third time to obtain funds for a new campaign in Flanders. For this purpose, deputies voted an emergency tax. However, the Flanders campaign did not take place, as Philip died of a stroke at Fontainebleau on November 29, 1314. Since Pope Clement and Chancellor Nogaret had died a few months earlier, rumor attributed the deaths of all three to a curse placed on them before their death by the Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay, who, as he was being roasted over a low fire on March 18, 1314, shouted: “Pope Clement! King Philip! Not even a year will pass before I summon you to God’s judgment!” Philip's three sons, Louis X, Philip V and Charles IV, did not survive their father much, although they managed to reign.
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Philip IV the Fair was born at Fontainebleau in 1268, the second son of Philip III the Bold and Isabella of Aragon. He became king in 1285, at the age of seventeen.
His father, Philip III, could not be called a successful monarch. During his reign, the willful barons pursued their own policies, the treasury was empty, and the papal legates dictated their will.
And when the Pope ordered Philip III to lead a campaign to Aragon to punish the Aragonese king for taking Sicily from Charles of Anjou, Philip was forced to submit, and french army went on a hike. In this campaign, the French suffered a heavy defeat, and the king himself died on the way back.
His seventeen-year-old son, also Philip, fought alongside his father. From this situation he learned one, but very important lesson - a persistent reluctance to be an instrument of others, even papal interests.
In 1285, the coronation of Philip IV the Fair took place. He was truly handsome, with regular facial features, large fixed eyes, wavy dark hair, and graceful manners. And with that beautiful face Melancholy was an eternal imprint. It seemed to contemporaries a mysterious and motionless sculpture, bewitchingly inaccessible in its majestic detachment.
“Quiet, God forbid, the king looks at us. His gaze makes your blood run cold, and it seems like your heart is about to stop. “God gave me strength,” the courtiers whispered, looking at how this extraordinary king walked through the throne room.
First of all, young Philip had to deal with the Aragonese problem inherited from his father. And he solved it! Philip the Fair completely stopped hostilities, despite the urgent objections of the Pope. The still completely inexperienced king refused the services of his father’s high-ranking advisers. The young monarch established the Royal Council, membership in which was ensured by special merits and abilities, and by no means by noble origin. Europe was in shock! For feudal society this was a real revolution.
It was not noble people, but educated people who gained access to power. They were called legalists because they knew the laws well. From among them, the king created his own team, with the help of which he was able to solve the most complex problems. Of this team, a special role at the court of Philip the Fair was played by: Guardian of the Seal Guillaume Nogaret, Chancellor Pierre Flotte and Coadjutor Enguerrand Marigny. They determined the course of all state policy.
Having thus solved the Aragonese problem, Philip focused his attention on relations with England. The king wanted to get Flanders. He summoned the English king Edward I to the trial of the Parisian parliament, and when he refused to appear, he used his refusal as a pretext for war. Both sides acquired allies and began military operations. Upon learning of this, Pope Boniface VIII called on both monarchs to reconcile. But they ignored this call.
On Edward's side were Emperor Adolf, the counts of Flanders, Brabant, Gueldern and Savoy, as well as the King of Castile. The Count of Burgundy, the Duke of Lorraine, the Count of Luxembourg and the Scots expressed a desire to become Philip's allies.
True, of all the listed allies, only the Scots and Count of Flanders Guy Dampierre were able to have a real influence on events. Edward himself, whose attention was focused on the war in Scotland, concluded a peace with Philip in 1303, according to which Guienne was left for English king.
In 1297, the French army invaded Flanders. Lille, Douai, Bruges and Ghent were captured practically without resistance.
The ruler of these lands, Count Guy Dampierre, surrendered along with his two sons and 51 knights. The king deprived him of his possessions as a rebel and annexed rich Flanders to his kingdom.
In 1301, Philip toured his new territories and was greeted everywhere with expressions of submission. But he imposed exorbitant taxes on the country. The rigid rules introduced by the French protege Jacques of Chatillon also did not please the Flemings.
When riots broke out in Bruges in 1301, Jacques ordered huge fines to be collected from the perpetrators and ordered to break city wall and build a citadel in the city.
A second uprising in 1302 soon spread to the entire province. Over the course of one day, more than 3 thousand French knights and soldiers were killed in Bruges. An army led by Robert Artois was sent to suppress the uprising, but in stubborn battle at Courtrai it was defeated. Thousands of spurs taken from the slain knights were piled up in the Maastricht church as trophies of victory.
Philip couldn't leave it like that. In 1304, at the head of an army of 60,000, the king himself approached the borders of Flanders. In August, the Flemings were defeated at the Battle of Mons-en-Null, but in perfect order retreated to Lille. After several unsuccessful assaults on this city, peace was concluded with the son of Guy Dampierre, Robert of Bethune, who was in French captivity. Philip agreed to return the country to him and preserve the Flemings' rights and privileges. For his release, Robert of Bethune had to pay a substantial indemnity. As collateral, the king took for himself lands on the right bank of the Lys with the cities of Lille, Douai, Bethune and Orsha. But having received the money, Philip violated the agreement and did not return the land. leaving them forever behind France.
All these events took place against the backdrop of contradictions with the pope that worsened every year. In the first years of his pontificate, Boniface was quite friendly towards the French king. However, in the fall of 1296, Boniface issued a bull categorically prohibiting the clergy from paying taxes to the laity, and the laity from demanding such payments from the clergy without the special permission of Rome. At the Paris court, the doctrine began to dominate that the clergy was obliged to help the needs of their country with money. Philip the Handsome, who constantly needed money, saw this bull as damage to his interests.
In response to the bull, the king prohibited the export of gold and silver from the country, which were a prominent source of income for Rome. Then the Pope gave in: a new bull nullified the previous one. As a sign of special favor, the Pope canonized the king's late grandfather, Saint Louis.
In response, Philip allowed the pope's income in the form of gold and silver, which he received from the French clergy, to be exported to Rome, but continued to oppress the church,
The legalists surrounding Philip the Fair advised him to remove entire categories of criminal cases from the jurisdiction of church justice. In 1300, relations between Rome and France deteriorated sharply. Bishop Bernard Sesseti of Pamiers, whom Pope Boniface sent to Philip as a special legate, behaved very impudently. The king incited against him trial and demanded that the Pope deprive him of his clergy, accusing the bishop not only of insulting the king, but also of treason and other crimes.
To this in December 1301, the Pope responded by accusing Philip himself of encroaching on spiritual authority and demanded him to appear before his court. He sent a bull to the king, in which he emphasized the fullness of papal power and its superiority over all (without exception) secular power.
According to legend, the king burned this bull. In April 1302 he convened the Estates General (the first in French history). Philip the Fair received the unconditional support of the nobles and representatives of the cities. The clergy decided to ask the Pope to allow them not to travel to Rome, where a council was being prepared against Philip. Boniface did not allow them to disobey such a thing, but the clergy still did not go to Rome, because Philip categorically forbade them to do so.
The mutual attacks between the king and the Pope continued.
Eventually, in 1303, Nogaret and a small retinue went to Italy to arrest the Pope. Boniface went to Anagni, where he wanted to publicly curse Philip. The Pope had many enemies there. Nogare and his companions freely entered the city and were able to enter the palace. They treated the Pope extremely rudely; there is even a version that Nogaret slapped the Pope.
Two days later the inhabitants of Anagna freed the Pope. A few days later, from the humiliation suffered, Boniface VII fell into such a disorder that he went crazy and then died. And 10 months later, his successor, Boniface IX, also died. Rumor attributed this death, so beneficial to the French king, to poisoning
In his place, the Archbishop of Bordeaux, Bertrand du Gotha, was elected, taking the name of Clement V. He did not go to Italy, but was ordained in Lyon. In 1309 he moved his residence to Avignon, which was not in power, but under the direct influence French government. Until his death, he remained an obedient executor of the will of the French king.
The period of the so-called “Avignon captivity of the popes” began, when the Roman high priests turned into French court bishops.
In addition to many other concessions to Philip, Clement agreed in 1307 with the accusations against the Templar Order.
This knightly order played a huge role during the Crusades and gained great popularity in Europe. The Order accumulated enormous wealth, and when the era of the Crusades ended, it began to actively interfere in the state affairs of Europe.
Philip the Handsome did not want to have powerful order Templars, who at any moment could encroach on the power of the king. In addition, the king owed the order a huge amount, which he did not want to repay.
In 1307, the king ordered the secret arrest of all Templars in the kingdom. 140 French knights of this order were arrested, and a trial began against them on charges of heresy.
The investigation lasted 7 years. Under torture, the Templars confirmed accusations of heresy, witchcraft, and serving the devil. But during the public trial they recanted their testimony.
On March 18, 1314, the Grand Master of the Order, Jacques de Molay, was burnt to death. Before his death, he cursed King Philip and his entire family and predicted the imminent degeneration of the Capetians. The Grand Master declared that Pope Clement, King Philip and Chancellor Nogaret would be summoned to the judgment of God within a year
Philip the Fair was in good health, had three adult sons, and therefore did not take the prophecy seriously. But Jacques de Molay's predictions came true exactly. On April 20, Pope Clement died in agony. In November, Philip the Handsome died. A year later, Enguerrand de Marigny, who prepared the trial against the Templars, was hanged. Guillaume de Nogaret, who led the investigation, died in agony. The sons of Philip the Fair, who ruled in turn after his death, were unable to pass on the throne to their children. They all died prematurely, leaving no male heirs.
When he was beheaded in 1793 Louis XVI, a man jumped onto the scaffold, dipped his hand in the blood of the dead king and said loudly: “Jacques de Molay, you are avenged!” Louis XVI was the thirteenth descendant of King Philip the Fair.
He was married to Joan, Queen of Navarre, and Countess of Champagne (1270-1305). Even the marriage of Philip the Fair was subordinated great goal expansion of France. Thanks to this marriage, the king added Champagne to his dominions, and also led to the first unification of France and Navarre. Family life Philippa was happy.
Four children from this marriage who lived quite long lives:
* Louis X, king of France (from 1314) and Navarre (from 1307)
* Philip V, King of France and Navarre (from 1316)
* Isabella, wife of King Edward II of England and mother of Edward III. From Isabella comes the Plantagenets' claims to the French crown, which served as the pretext for the start of the Hundred Years' War.
* Charles IV, king of France and Navarre (from 1322)
After Jeanne's death, Philip did not remarry, despite the most lucrative offers. Rumor claimed that he loved the queen so much that after her death he did not know any women at all.
In this, as in many other things, this king remained a mystery to historians. All the policies he pursued make one think that he was a man of iron will and rare energy, accustomed to pursuing his goals with unshakable perseverance. But people who personally knew the king characterize him as a man who was distinguished by extraordinary meekness and modesty, avoided obscene conversations with disgust, carefully attended services, performed fasts with precision and wore a hair shirt. He was kind, forgiving and willing to place complete trust in people who did not deserve it. According to contemporaries, the king easily obeyed bad advice.
Shortly before Philip's death, in 1314, a scandal broke out in which the wives of his sons were involved, two of whom were convicted of adultery, and the third of aiding them. The former were sentenced to life imprisonment, the latter to repentance in a monastery. The sentencing of the adulterous princesses and the execution of their lovers were carried out publicly.
Contemporaries and descendants wondered: why did the king not try to hide the shame of his family? There is no answer to this day, because the thoughts and feelings of Philip the Handsome, this extremely reserved and always imperturbable person, were not known even to his closest associates.
The French kingdom under Philip IV the Fair reaches the height of its power. It was the largest Christian state in terms of population. Western world(13-15 million people or a third of the entire Catholic world). France was experiencing real economic prosperity at that time, the area of arable land increased, trade flourished, which, in particular, resulted in the flourishing of the fair in Champagne.
The era of Philip the Fair was a turning point in the history of France. He expanded the royal domain, introduced royal courts and Roman law, and subjugated the church and feudal lords. State life took on a completely different character than under his predecessors.
The king did a lot to form an absolute monarchy in France and at the same time created the first organ of democratic power - the Estates General.
Philip IV the Fair died on November 29, 1314, at the age of 47, in his birthplace - Fontainebleau. His son Louis X the Grumpy became his successor.
Philip IV the Fair
philipp the handsome war duchy
Philip IV the Fair (1268-1314)- King of France since 1285. Continuing the work of his ancestors, especially his grandfather, the king Louis IX Saint, he sought to strengthen royal power and free the country from the power of the Pope. To do this, it was necessary to develop cities and strengthen the influence of the third estate, that is, the townspeople. Philip took petty knights and rich townspeople as his comrades and created a government apparatus that would obey only him. They were humble and obliged to the king, so they served Philip faithfully and supported him in everything. The highest authority became Paris Parliament, Supreme Court and the Accounts Chamber (Treasury).If before people lived according to the laws of the church and customs, then under Philip they began to live according to the laws Roman law.
Taking care of France, Philip tried to expand the country's borders. So in 1295-1299he fought with the king of England Edward I for the Duchy of Aquitainein southwest France. This territory was owned by the English kings as vassals of the French. Philip found fault with the violation of the rights of the feudal lords and summoned Edward to court. He knew that at that time England was at war with Scotland, and the King of England could not attend the trial. Failure to appear in court was a serious violation of the law. Edward offered Philip this dukedom as collateral for 40 days, and in return guaranteed his presence at the trial. But Philip later refused to return it, but 1299he still had to do it. The county was threatened from the north of France Flanders. Which was vassal to the French crown. But an ally of England. The war between France and Flanders began in 1297 g., when Philip defeated the Count of Flanders at the Battle of Furne.The townspeople were unhappy with their count and helped Philip capture Flanders. But the Flemings did not like both Philip’s management and 18 May 1302they rebelled. It went down in history as "Matins of Bruges". A July 11in the battle of CourtrayThe Flemish foot militia defeated the mounted knightly army. The winners laid down the spurs of the knights on main square, and this battle was called "Battle of the Golden Spurs" 18 August 1304having won the battle in Mont-en-Pevelle, the French managed to conquer the Flemings. During the war with England, the conflict with the Papacy intensified. More Saint Louisdid not want Rome to interfere in the state affairs of France. Louis was pious and did not allow conflict to break out. But his follower , Philip IVwasn't that pious. First his relationship with Pope Boniface VIIIwere quite friendly. But in 1296The Pope forbade the clergy to pay taxes to the state. Philip needed money for the war with England and Flanders. In addition, he believed that all residents, regardless of class, should help their country. Philip prohibited the export of gold and jewelry from France. Church collections were no longer received from France by the Papacy. Boniface canceled the decree. However, the peace did not last long. The King demanded that everyone in the kingdom submit to a single royal court, and the Pope insisted on obedience to church laws. In 1302year, Philip convened for the first time in history Estates General- a legislative meeting of representatives of three classes: the clergy, the nobility and the third class (citizens). At this meeting, the first in history French Chancellor Pierre de Flotdeclared France's disagreement with the Pope. The nobles and townspeople fully supported the king. Boniface declared at the Council that in all matters, both spiritual and secular, one must obey the Pope. This was a condition for the salvation of the soul. Philip was excommunicated and his subjects were released from their oath. In response to this new Chancellor and Keeper of the Seal of the Kingdom of France Guillaume Nogaret de Saint-Felixcalled Boniface a heretic. He sent an army to Rome. Dad fled to the city Alanya. September 7, 1303The French army ran into Alanya and arrested the Pope. A few days later, the mood of the townspeople changed, they expelled the French and freed the Pope. However, Bonniface died after so many shocks. His successor Benedict XIable 10 months later. People said that Philip poisoned him. In 1305 Frenchman Bertrand de Gaultbecame Pope and took the name Clement V. He lifted the king's excommunication and moved the papacy from Rome to Avignon, which was located in France. Roman high priests became French court bishops. In 1308Philip convened again Estates General, in which he accused the Knights of the Templar Order of heresy and executed him. The king decided on a new campaign in Flanders, which wanted to fight with France. 1 August 1314he called Estates Generalto approve a new tax for this war. But the trip did not take place. November 20, 1314 Philip IV died. They died soon Pope Clement V and Chancellor Nogaret. They were said to have been poisoned by Templar supporters to avenge the execution of their brethren. The family life of Philip the Handsome was happy. IN 1284he married Zhanna Navarskaya, which brought the kingdom of Navarre and the county of Champagne. They had four children: Louis, King of Navarre, who was King of France from 1314. He was nicknamed Louis X the Grumpy. Second son - Philipwas king since 1316. He was nicknamed Philip V the Long. His daughter Isabelmarried the king of England Edward II. Younger son - Charlesbecame king Charles VV 1322.
It was not for nothing that Philip IV received his nickname the Handsome. Regular facial features, large, motionless eyes, wavy dark hair. He was like a magnificent sculpture, motionless and bewitchingly inaccessible in his majestic detachment. Melancholy, an eternal imprint on his face, made him a mysterious and unique person in history...
Philip was the second son of King Philip III and Isabella of Aragon. Even then, extraordinary beauty was visible in the angelic features of the baby, and it is unlikely that the happy father, looking at his offspring, could have imagined that he would become the last large-scale representative of the Capetian royal family.
Philip III cannot be called a successful monarch. The feudal lords did not really obey him, the treasury was empty, and the papal legates dictated their will.
And when the almighty pope ordered the French king to lead a campaign to Aragon to punish the Aragonese king for taking Sicily from the pope’s favorite (Charles of Anjou), Philip could not resist, and the French army set off on a campaign. Fate was not on Philip’s side: the French suffered a heavy defeat, and the king himself died on the way back.
Philip IV the Fair
His seventeen-year-old son, who fought alongside his father, learned one very important lesson from this deplorable enterprise - a persistent reluctance to serve the interests of others, even papal ones. In 1285, the coronation of Philip IV took place and his era began, which in all respects could be called “new.”
First of all, the young king had to deal with his father’s legacy and solve the Aragonese problem. He solved it in the most beneficial way for France - he completely stopped military operations, despite the urgent objections of the Holy See.
A real shock for medieval Europe was the refusal of the still completely inexperienced monarch from the services of his father’s high-ranking advisers. Instead, he established a Royal Council, membership in which was ensured by special merit, and not by noble origin. For feudal society this was a real revolution.
Thus, not noble, but educated people gained access to power. For their knowledge of the laws they were called legalists and were hated very much. Three of his close associates played a special role at the court of Philip the Fair: Chancellor Pierre Flotte, Keeper of the Seal Guillaume Nogaret and Coadjutor Enguerrand Marigny. Raised to power by the king himself, they were extremely loyal to him and determined the course of all state policy.
And the entire policy of Philip IV came down to solving two problems: how to annex new lands to the state and where to get the money for this.
Joan I of Navarre, Princess of the House of Champagne, reigning queen Navarre since 1274, daughter and heiress of Henry I of Navarre and Queen of France since 1285 - wife of Philip IV the Fair.
Even Philip's marriage was subordinated to the great goal of the expansion of France: he married Joan I, Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne. This marriage gave him the opportunity to add Champagne to his possessions, and also led to the first unification of France and Navarre.
But this was not the limit of the king’s dreams. Refusing to pander to papal interests, Philip focused his attention on English affairs. The stumbling block was the monarch's desire to gain Flanders.
Having summoned Edward I to the court of the Parisian parliament, and using his refusal as a pretext for war, both sides, having acquired allies, began military operations with great pleasure. Pope Boniface VIII, who learned about this, called on both monarchs to reconcile. And both ignored this call.
The matter was further complicated by the fact that Philip was in dire need of money to wage the war, and therefore forbade the export of gold and silver from France to Rome. The pope lost one of his sources of income, and the relationship between Philip and Boniface did not become any warmer because of this.
Philip IV the Handsome - King of France from 1285, King of Navarre 1284-1305, son of Philip III the Bold, from the Capetian dynasty.
The Pope threatened to excommunicate Philip. And then the legalists took up arms, that is, their feathers, and moved against the pope whole line accusations of both intrigues against France and heresy.
The agitation bore fruit: the French ceased to fear the papal wrath, and Nogaret, who went to Italy, concocted an extensive conspiracy against the pope. Soon, the already quite elderly Boniface VIII died and the protege of France, Clement V, sat on the papal throne. The papal dispute was resolved.
Philip always lacked money. The policy of unification and accession that he pursued required high costs. The first victim of the king's financial difficulties was the coin. Its weight was significantly lightened, and output was increased, which led to increased inflation. The second point financial program taxation became king. Taxes were constantly rising, which led to popular unrest. And finally - the matter of the Templars.
The Templar Order arose at the beginning of the 12th century in Jerusalem. He imagined himself as knights guarding the Holy Sepulcher. In addition, the Knights Templar protected their own, quite considerable, wealth and money of those who trusted them. The Muslim offensive forced the Templars to leave the Holy Land, and over time, their main function became financial. They practically became a bank that stored and invested money.
One of the debtors of the order was Philip the Fair himself. As life has shown, the king really did not like to repay debts, and therefore in 1307, with the tacit consent of the pope, all the Templars throughout France were arrested on the same day. The trial of the order was clearly a whitewash, the charges were far-fetched, interrogations were carried out with the use of torture, and the case ended in blazing fires throughout France. The Grand Master of the Order, Jean Molay, was also burned.
Jacques de Molay is the twenty-third and last Master of the Knights Templar.
As popular rumor testified, before the execution the master cursed Clement V and Philip IV and predicted death for the first in forty days, and for the second in twelve months. The prediction miraculously came true.
The pope died of dysentery thirty-three days after the execution of Molay, and the king then fell ill with some strange illness and died on November 29, 1314. The curse also fell on Philip's descendants. His three sons - the “damned kings” - did not leave any offspring on the throne, according to the Templar curse, and the Capetian line was soon interrupted.
Philip the Fair has remained a mysterious and controversial figure in history. Some call him a great reformer, others call him a cruel despot who fell under the influence of his advisers. The results of his reign were disappointing: the vertical of power was never fully formed, but in the end the finances were upset.
The zigzags of his politics, as well as his frequent mood swings, as well as his manner of freezing, staring at one point without blinking, many modern researchers associated with manic-depressive disorder of his consciousness.
According to eyewitnesses, at certain periods he was cheerful, talkative and even joked. But he soon became gloomy, withdrawn, silent and indifferently cruel.
Philip IV the Fair
Well, strong of the world This is also characterized by weaknesses. And yet, King Philip the Fair during his reign made France the most powerful country in the world and began new era in the history of this state.
During the reign of Philip IV the Fair, the power of the monarch is so strengthened that in Philip they see the first ruler of a new type in Europe: the state is more powerful and centralized than ever, the king’s entourage is legalists - educated and educated people, real experts in the field of law.
Philip IV (Philippe IV le Bel) remains for historians in some way mysterious figure. On the one hand, all the policies he pursued make one think that he was a man of iron will and rare energy, accustomed to pursuing his goal with unshakable persistence. Meanwhile, the testimony of people who personally knew the king is in strange contradiction with this opinion. The chronicler William the Scotsman wrote about Philip that the king had a beautiful and noble appearance, graceful manners and behaved very impressively. With all this, he was distinguished by extraordinary meekness and modesty, avoided obscene conversations with disgust, carefully attended divine services, performed fasts with precision and wore a hair shirt. He was kind, forgiving and willing to place complete trust in people who did not deserve it. They, according to William, were the culprits of all those troubles and abuses that marked his reign, the introduction of oppressive taxes, extraordinary levies and the systematic damage to coins. Another chronicler, Giovanni Vilani, wrote that Philip was very handsome, gifted with a serious mind, but he hunted a lot and liked to entrust other people with the affairs of government. Geoffrey also reports that the king easily obeyed bad advice. Thus, we have to admit that big role In Philip's politics, his confidants played the role: Chancellor Pierre Flotte, Guardian of the Seal Guillaume Nogaret and Coadjutor of the Kingdom Enguerrand Marigny. All these were humble people, elevated to the heights of power by the king himself.
Philip IV the Fair" >
Philip IV the Fair was born in Fontainebleau in 1268 to Philip III and Isabella of Aragon. Philip ascended the throne at the age of seventeen and first of all set about resolving the Sicilian and Aragonese issues that he inherited from his father.
He immediately stopped hostilities and did nothing to support the claims of his brother Charles of Valois, who dreamed of becoming the Aragonese (or, at worst, Sicilian) king. Negotiations, however, dragged on for another ten years and ended with Sicily remaining with the Aragonese dynasty. In relations with the English king Edward I, Philip's policy was more energetic. Clashes often occurred between the subjects of the two states. Taking advantage of one of them, Philip in 1295 summoned the English king, as his vassal, to the court of the Parisian parliament. Edward refused to submit, and war was declared on him. Both opponents were looking for allies. Emperor Adolf, the counts of Holland, Geldern, Brabant and Savoy, as well as the King of Castile, became Edward's supporters. Philip's allies were the Count of Burgundy, the Duke of Lorraine, the Count of Luxembourg and the Scots. However, of these, only the Scots and Count of Flanders Guy Dampierre had a real influence on events. Edward himself, busy with a difficult war in Scotland, concluded a truce with Philip in 1297, and in 1303 a peace, according to which Guienne was left to the English king. The entire burden of the war fell on the shoulders of the Flemings. In 1297, the French army invaded Flanders. Philip himself besieged Lille, and Count Robert of Artois won a victory at Fournes (largely thanks to the betrayal of the nobility, among whom there were many adherents of the French party). After this, Lille surrendered. In 1299 Charles Valois captured Douai, passed through Bruges and in May 1300 entered Ghent.
He met no resistance anywhere. Count Guy surrendered along with his two sons and 51 knights. The king deprived him of his possessions as a rebel and annexed Flanders to his kingdom. In 1301, Philip toured his new possessions and was greeted everywhere with expressions of submission. But he immediately tried to extract maximum benefit from his new acquisition and imposed heavy taxes on the country. This caused dissatisfaction and harsh management Jacques of Chatillon's hatred of the French became even more intense. When riots began in Bruges in 1301, Jacques sentenced those responsible to huge fines, ordered the city wall to be broken and a citadel built in the city. Then in May 1302 a second, much more powerful uprising broke out. Within one day, the people killed 1,200 French knights and 2,000 soldiers in the city. After this, all of Flanders took up arms. In June, a French army led by Robert Artois approached. But in a stubborn battle at Courtray it was completely defeated. Up to 6,000 French knights fell along with their commander. Thousands of spurs taken from the dead were piled up in the Mastricht church as trophies of victory. Philip could not let such a shame go unrevenged. In 1304, at the head of an army of 60,000, the king approached the borders of Flanders. In August, in a stubborn battle at Mons-en-Null, the Flemings were defeated, but retreated to Lille in good order. After several attacks, Philip made peace with the son of Guy Dampierre, Robert of Bethune, who was in his captivity. Philip agreed to return the country to him, while the Flemings retained all their rights and privileges.
However, for the release of their count and other prisoners, the cities had to pay a large indemnity. As a pledge for paying the ransom, the king took for himself lands on the right bank of the Lys with the cities of Lille, Douai, Bethune and Orsha. He was supposed to return them after receiving the money, but he treacherously violated the agreement and left them with France forever.
These events unfolded against the backdrop of contradictions with the pope that worsened every year. At first, there seemed to be no signs of this conflict. None of European kings was not as loved by Pope Boniface VIII as Philip the Fair. Back in 1290, when the pope was only Cardinal Benedetto Gaetani and came to France as papal legate, he admired the piety of the young king. Having ascended the throne in 1294, Boniface zealously supported the policies of the French king in Spain and Italy. The first signs of mutual distrust were revealed in 1296. In August, the pope promulgated a bull in which he forbade the laity to demand and receive subsidies from the clergy. By a strange coincidence, and perhaps in response to the bull, Philip at the same time prohibited the export of gold and silver from France: by this he destroyed one of the main sources of papal income, because the French church could no longer send any money to Rome. Even then a quarrel could have arisen, but Boniface’s position was papal throne was still fragile, the cardinals begged him to stop the scandals caused by the bull, and he gave in to them.
In 1297, a bull was promulgated, which actually abolished the previous one. Apparently, the pope expected the king to also make concessions. Philip allowed the pope's income, which he received from the French clergy, to be exported to Rome, but continued to oppress the church, and soon new clashes with the pope occurred. The Archbishop of Narbonne complained to Boniface that the royal dignitaries had taken from him fief power over some of the vassals of his see and were generally harming him various grievances. The Pope sent Bishop Bernard Sessé of Pamiers as legate to Paris on this matter. At the same time, he was instructed to demand the release of the Count of Flanders from captivity and the fulfillment of the previously given promise to participate in crusade. Bernard, known for his arrogance and hot temper, was absolutely not the person who could be entrusted with such a delicate task. Having failed to achieve concessions, he began to threaten Philip with an interdict and generally spoke so harshly that he infuriated the usually cool-headed Philip. The king sent two members of his council to Pamiers and the county of Toulouse to collect evidence to accuse Bernard of disobedience. During the investigation, it turned out that the bishop often used inappropriate expressions during his sermons and incited his flock against royalty. Philip ordered the legate to be arrested and taken into custody in Sanli. He also demanded that the pope depose Bernard and allow him to be brought before a secular court. The pope responded to the king with an angry letter, demanded the immediate release of his legate, threatened Philip with excommunication and ordered him to appear at his trial in order to justify himself from accusations of tyranny and misgovernment. Philip ordered this bull to be solemnly burned on the porch of Notre Dame Cathedral.
In April 1302, he convened the first ever Estates General in Paris. They were attended by representatives of the clergy, barons and prosecutors of the main northern and southern cities. To arouse the indignation of the deputies, a forged papal bull was read to them, in which the pope’s claims were strengthened and sharpened. After this, Chancellor Flott turned to them with a question: can the king count on the support of the estates if he takes measures to protect the honor and independence of the state, as well as to rid the French church of violations of its rights? The nobles and city deputies responded that they were ready to support the king. The clergy, after a short hesitation, also joined the opinion of the other two classes. After this, for a year the opponents hesitated to take decisive measures, but the hostility between them grew. Finally, in April 1303, Boniface excommunicated the king and freed the seven ecclesiastical provinces in the Rhone basin from vassalage and from the oath of allegiance to the king. This measure, however, had no effect. Philip declared Boniface a false pope (indeed, there were some doubts about the legality of his election), a heretic and even a warlock. He demanded that an ecumenical council be convened to hear these accusations, but at the same time he said that the pope should be at this council as a prisoner and accused. From words he moved on to action. In the summer, Nogare, faithful to him, a large amount money went to Italy. Soon he entered into relations with Boniface's enemies and formed an extensive conspiracy against him. The Pope was at that time in Anagni, where on September 8 he wanted to publicly curse Philip.
On the eve of this day, the conspirators burst into the papal palace, surrounded Boniface, showered him with all sorts of insults and demanded his abdication. Nogaret threatened to put him in chains and take him to the council in Lyon as a criminal to sentence him. Dad withstood these attacks with dignity. For three days he was in the hands of his enemies. Finally, the people of Ananya freed him. But from the humiliations he suffered, Boniface fell into such disorder that he went crazy and died on October 11. His humiliation and death had dire consequences for the papacy. The new Pope Benedict XI excommunicated Nogaret, but stopped the persecution of Philip himself. In the summer of 1304 he died. In his place, the Archbishop of Bordeaux, Bertrand du Gotha, was elected, taking the name of Clement V. He did not go to Italy, but was ordained in Lyon. In 1309 he settled in Avignon and turned this city into a papal residence. Until his death, he remained an obedient executor of the will of the French king. In addition to many other concessions to Philip, Clement agreed in 1307 with the accusations against the Templar Order. In October, 140 French knights of this order were arrested and a trial began against them on charges of heresy. In 1312, the pope declared the order destroyed. Philip, who owed the Templars huge sums, took possession of all their wealth. In March 1313, the Grand Master of the Order, Jacques Molay, was burned. Before his death, he cursed the entire Capetian family and predicted its imminent degeneration.
In 1314, Philip conceived a new campaign against Flanders, where anti-French forces intensified. On August 1 he convened States General, who agreed to the introduction of an emergency war tax, the first act of taxation in history with the sanction of popular representation. Soon after the execution, Philip began to suffer from a debilitating illness that doctors could not recognize.
And the campaign did not take place, because on November 29, 1314, in the 46th year of his life, the king died in Fontainebleau, apparently from a stroke, although rumor attributed his death to the curse of Jacques de Molay or poisoning by the Templars.
Contemporaries did not like Philip the Handsome; people close to him were afraid of the rational cruelty of this unusually handsome and surprisingly impassive man. Violence against dad sparked outrage across the board Christendom. Large feudal lords were dissatisfied with the infringement of their rights and the strengthening of the central administration, which consisted of rootless people. The tax-paying class was outraged by the increase in taxes, the so-called “damage” of the coin, i.e., a decrease in its gold content while forcing its denomination to remain the same, which led to inflation. Philip's heirs were forced to soften his centralization policy.
The reign of Philip IV the Fair, who ascended to the French throne at the age of seventeen, after the death of his father Philip III, on October 5, 1285, is considered by historians not only as one of the most important periods in the history of France, but also as one of the most controversial.
This reign seems important because the French kingdom reaches the pinnacle of its power: the largest state in terms of population in the Christian Western world (13-15 million or a third of the entire Catholic world), real economic prosperity (it is enough to cite as an example the increase in arable land or the rise of the fair in Champagne). In addition, the power of the monarch is strengthening so much that in Philip they see the first ruler of a new type in Europe: the state is more powerful and centralized than ever, the king’s entourage is legalists - well-mannered and educated people, real experts in the field of law.
However, this rosy picture is not consistent with other facts. Thus, the apparent economic prosperity only masks a sluggish crisis, as evidenced by numerous shocks in the financial market (under Philip, monetary policy was extremely, as they now say, voluntaristic). And at the end of his reign, the fairs in Champagne could not withstand the competition with the sea trade of the Italians, and in addition, literally the next day after the death of the king, a devastating famine of 1315-1317 broke out. Moreover, if you look closely, you can see that the king did not know his kingdom well: he did not even realize how far its borders extended, he was unable to establish direct taxes, and effective and clear management of the state remained elusive. It is unlikely that the king’s popularity was added to by a chain of dubious, semi-political, semi-secular scandals, in particular, the trial of the bishop of the city of Troyes, Guichard, who was accused of murdering the queen through witchcraft, or the trial of the Bishop of Pamiers, Bernard Sesset, a trial that complicated the already difficult relations between the king and dad. What about the Templar trial? What about the imprisonment of the king’s daughters-in-law and the execution of their lovers? In general, the identity of King Philip the Fair remains mysterious. Who was he? The core of French politics or simple tool in the hands of their advisors? The authors of the chronicles - the king's contemporaries - are inclined mainly to the second option - they, in particular, reproach the king for inept monetary and tax policies, explaining this by the fact that the king was given worthless advice by incompetent advisers. But, despite such uncertainty in assessments, the king is still seen as a “non-classical” monarch of the Middle Ages. Although chroniclers insist that France treated him with respect, which, however, he allegedly owes to the authority of his grandfather, Philip Augustus, who undertook economic and political reforms aimed at strengthening central government.
The leitmotif of historians contemporary with Philip the Fair is regret about the era of “His Majesty Saint Louis,” which is considered almost as a golden age, while Philip IV is characterized as “the antipode of Saint Louis.” But, despite all this, historians agree on one thing: with this king began new era. However, it is hardly worth exaggerating the “modernity” of Philip the Fair and France of his time.
And yet, the reign of Philip IV the Fair constituted a turning point in history medieval France: he expanded the kingdom by annexing new lands (shortly before his death he annexed Lyon and its surroundings to France), forced the church and feudal rulers to obey the commands of the king and suppressed all power independent of himself in his state. The royal administration under him covered all aspects of society: cities, feudal nobility, clergy - everyone came under its control. His reign seemed to his contemporaries a time of cruel oppression and despotism. But behind all this a new era was already visible. With the help of a large corporation of lawyers, the king took advantage of every opportunity to establish royal courts everywhere and introduce Roman law. By the end of his life, all judicial power in the country passed exclusively to the crown, and public life acquired a completely different character than under his predecessors.