'' by
Hendrik Scheffer, 1837 Philip's reign was plagued with crises, although it began with a military success in
Flanders at the
Battle of Cassel (August 1328), where Philip's forces re-seated
Louis I, Count of Flanders, who had been unseated by
a popular revolution. Philip's wife, the able
Joan the Lame, gave the first of many demonstrations of her competence as regent in his absence. Philip initially enjoyed relatively amicable relations with Edward III, and they planned a crusade together in 1332, which was never executed. However, the status of the
Duchy of Aquitaine remained a sore point, and tension increased. Philip provided refuge for
David II of Scotland in 1334 and declared himself champion of his interests, which enraged Edward. By 1336, they were enemies, although not yet openly at war. During the preliminary period before the war with England, Philip VI joined a
naval league with Venise, the Pope, the Hospitaler Knights and the Kingdom of Cyprus. Originally, Edward III was to join, in a bid to dissuade war between the two kingdoms, although the King of England ultimately did not participate. Philip VI kept his promise and the allied fleet assembled in may 1334 at the
Negroponte. The crusade engaged in a series of raids against the Turkish coast and scored a victory at the battle of Adramytion in september, defeating a large Turkish fleet. Plans were made to launch another crusade, larger than the last, in the following years. Although rising tensions with England forced Philip VI to move his naval power in the Channel. Philip successfully prevented an arrangement between the
Avignon papacy and
Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV, although in July 1337 Louis concluded an alliance with Edward III. The final breach with England came when Edward offered refuge to
Robert III of Artois, formerly one of Philip's trusted advisers, after Robert committed forgery to try to obtain an inheritance. As relations between Philip and Edward worsened, Robert's standing in England strengthened. Thus began the
Hundred Years' War, complicated by Edward's renewed
claim to the throne of France in retaliation for the forfeiture of Aquitaine.
Hundred Years' War Philip entered the Hundred Years' War in a position of comparative strength.
France was richer and more populous than
England and was at the height of its medieval glory. The opening stages of the war, accordingly, were largely successful for the French. At sea, French privateers raided and burned towns and shipping all along the southern and southeastern coasts of England. The English made some retaliatory raids, including the burning of a fleet in the harbour of
Boulogne-sur-Mer, but the French largely had the upper hand. With his sea power established, Philip gave orders in 1339 to begin assembling a fleet off the
Zeeland coast at
Sluys. In June 1340, however, in the bitterly fought
Battle of Sluys, the English attacked the port and captured or destroyed the ships there, ending the threat of an invasion. By September 1340, Edward was in financial distress, hardly able to pay or feed his troops, and was open to dialogue. After being at
Bouvines for a week, Philip was finally persuaded to send
Joan of Valois, Countess of Hainaut, to discuss terms to end the siege. Close behind him, Philip had planned to halt for the night and reconnoitre the English position before giving battle the next day. However, his troops were disorderly, and the roads were jammed by the rear of the army coming up and the local peasantry, which furiously called for vengeance on the English. Finding them hopeless to control, he ordered a general attack as evening fell. Thus began the
Battle of Crécy. When it was done, the French army had been annihilated and a wounded Philip barely escaped capture. Fortune had turned against the French. The English seized and held the advantage. Normandy called off the siege of Aiguillon and retreated northward, while Sir
Thomas Dagworth captured
Charles of Blois in Brittany. The English army pulled back from Crécy to mount the
siege of Calais; the town held out stubbornly, but the English were determined, and they easily supplied across the
English Channel. Philip led out a relieving army in July 1347, but unlike the
Siege of Tournai, it was now Edward who had the upper hand. With the plunder of his Norman expedition and the reforms he had executed in his tax system, he could hold to his siege lines and await an attack that Philip dared not deliver. It was Philip who marched away in August, and the city capitulated shortly thereafter.
Final years , illustrated by
Loyset Liédet After the defeat at Crécy and loss of Calais, the
Estates of France refused to raise money for Philip, halting his plans to counter-attack by invading England. In 1348 the
Black Death struck France and in the next few years killed one-third of the population, including Queen Joan. The resulting labour shortage caused inflation to soar, and the king attempted to
fix prices, further destabilising the country. His second marriage to his son's betrothed
Blanche of Navarre alienated his son and many nobles from the king. Philip's last major achievement was the acquisition of the
Dauphiné and the territory of
Montpellier in the
Languedoc in 1349. At his death in 1350, France was very much a divided country filled with social unrest. Philip VI died at Coulombes Abbey,
Eure-et-Loir, on 22 August 1350 and is interred with his first wife, Joan of Burgundy, in
Saint Denis Basilica, though his
viscera were buried separately at the now demolished church of
Couvent des Jacobins in Paris. He was succeeded by his first son by Joan of Burgundy, who became
John II. ==Marriages and children==