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Books about Philip, King of France :
Six French monarchs bore the name of Philip. Of the six, four were of special note.
(born 1052, ruled 1060-1108). The son of Henry I of France and Anne, daughter of a Russian grand duke, Philip was named for Philip of Macedon, from whom his mother claimed descent. Although weak, he stood up against William I and William II of England, whose power in France was great.
(born 1165, ruled 1180-1223). Called Philip Augustus (from the Latin augere, "to increase") because
he enlarged the boundaries of the state, Philip II was a contemporary of Richard the Lion-Hearted of England and
the Holy Roman emperor Frederick I (Frederick Barbarossa). All three of these rulers took part in the Third Crusade.
When Philip came to the throne, he ruled only a small territory around Paris. Most of the present kingdom of France
was held as a fief by the king of England, with whom the French ruler was frequently at war. Philip took a large
part of the continental possessions of the English kings and also lessened the influence of the feudal lords. Paris
then became the capital of the realm. By the time of his death, Philip had made himself the richest and most powerful
king in Europe.
(born 1268, ruled 1285-1314). Called the Fair, Philip IV carried out a prolonged power struggle with the Roman popes. His reign was notable chiefly for the development of royal power, the increase in taxation, the meeting of the first session of the Estates-General, and for his eventual triumph over Pope Boniface VIII. Philip persuaded Clement V, who became pope in 1305, to move the papacy from Rome to Avignon in southern France. This relocation, called the Babylonian Captivity of the church, lasted from 1309 until 1377.
(born 1293, ruled 1328-50). The grandson of Philip III and the nephew of Philip IV, Philip VI is important because
his accession to the throne had serious consequences for both France and England. In 1328 the last Capetian king
of France, Charles IV, died without a son, and there arose the question of succession to the throne. The throne
went to his cousin Philip of Valois, who became Philip VI.
Philip's chief rival was young Edward III of England, whose mother was the sister of Charles IV. In 1337 Edward
III laid claim to the throne of France. His claim was one of the reasons for the Hundred Years' War (see Hundred
Years' War).
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