Conflict with Richard the Lionheart, 1191–1199 The immediate cause of Philip's conflict with
Richard the Lionheart stemmed from Richard's decision to break his betrothal with Philip's sister
Alys at
Messina in 1191. Some of Alys's dowry that had been given over to Richard during their engagement was part of the territory of
Vexin. This should have reverted to Philip upon the end of the betrothal, but Philip, to prevent the collapse of the Crusade, agreed that this territory was to remain in Richard's hands and would be inherited by his male descendants. Should Richard die without an heir, the territory would return to Philip, and if Philip died without an heir, those lands would be considered a part of Normandy. Returning to France in late 1191, Philip began plotting to find a way to have those territories restored to him. He was in a difficult situation, as he had taken an oath not to attack Richard's lands while he was away on a crusade. The Third Crusade ordained territory under the protection of the Church in any event. Philip was unsuccessful in requesting a release from his oath from
Pope Celestine III, so he was forced to build his own
casus belli. On 20 January 1192, Philip met
William FitzRalph, Richard's
seneschal for Normandy. Presenting some documents purporting to be from Richard, Philip claimed that the English king had agreed at Messina to hand disputed lands over to France. Not having heard anything directly from their sovereign, FitzRalph and the Norman barons rejected Philip's claim to Vexin. Philip at this time also began spreading rumours about Richard's action in the east to discredit the English king in the eyes of his subjects. Among the stories Philip invented included Richard being involved in treacherous communication with
Saladin, alleging he had conspired to cause the fall of
Gaza,
Jaffa, and
Ascalon, and that he had participated in the murder of
Conrad of Montferrat. Finally, Philip made contact with John, Richard's brother, whom he convinced to join the conspiracy to overthrow the legitimate king of England. At the start of 1193, John visited Philip in Paris, where he paid homage for Richard's continental lands. When word reached Philip that Richard had finished crusading and had been captured on his way back from the Holy Land, he promptly invaded Vexin. His first target was the fortress of Gisors, commanded by
Gilbert de Vascoeuil, which surrendered without putting up a struggle. Philip then penetrated deep into Normandy, reaching as far as
Dieppe. To keep the duplicitous John on his side, Philip entrusted him with the defence of the town of
Évreux. Meanwhile, Philip was joined by Count
Baldwin IX of Flanders, and together they laid siege to
Rouen, the ducal capital of Normandy. Here, Philip's advance was halted by a defence led by the
Earl of Leicester. Unable to penetrate this defence, Philip moved on. At
Mantes on 9 July 1193, Philip came to terms with Richard's ministers, who agreed that Philip could keep his gains and would be given some extra territories if he ceased all further aggressive actions in Normandy, along with the condition that Philip would hand back the captured territory if Richard would pay homage. To prevent Richard from spoiling their plans, Philip and John attempted to bribe Holy Roman Emperor
Henry VI in order to keep the English king captive for a little while longer. Henry refused, and Richard was released from captivity on 4 February 1194. By 13 March Richard had returned to England, and by 12 May he had set sail for Normandy with some 300 ships, eager to engage Philip in war. Philip had spent this time consolidating his territorial gains and by now controlled much of Normandy east of the
Seine, while remaining within striking distance of Rouen. His next objective was the castle of
Verneuil, which had withstood an earlier siege. Once Richard arrived at
Barfleur, he soon marched towards Verneuil. As his forces neared the castle, Philip, who had been unable to break through, decided to strike camp. Leaving a large force behind to prosecute the siege, he moved off towards Évreux, which John had handed over to his brother to prove his loyalty. Philip retook the town and sacked it, but during this time, his forces at Verneuil abandoned the siege, and Richard entered the castle unopposed on 30 May. Throughout June, while Philip's campaign ground to a halt in the north, Richard was taking a number of important fortresses to the south. Philip, eager to relieve the pressure off his allies in the south, marched to confront Richard's forces at
Vendôme. Refusing to risk everything in a major battle, Philip retreated, only to have his rear guard caught at
Fréteval on 3 July. This
Battle of Fréteval turned into a general encounter in which Philip barely managed to avoid capture as his army was put to flight in a rout. Fleeing back to Normandy, Philip avenged himself on the English by attacking the forces of John and the
Earl of Arundel, seizing their baggage train. By now both sides were tiring, and they agreed to the temporary Truce of Tillières. The war resumed in 1195 when Philip once again besieged Verneuil. He continued the siege in secret as Richard arrived to negotiate in person; when Richard found out, he swore revenge and left. Philip now pressed his advantage in northeastern Normandy, where he conducted a raid at
Dieppe, burning the English ships in the harbor while repulsing a counterattack at the same time. Philip then marched southward into the Berry region. His primary objective was the fortress of
Issoudun, which had just been captured by Richard's mercenary commander,
Mercadier. The French king took the town and was besieging the castle when Richard stormed through French lines and made his way in to reinforce the garrison, while at the same time, another army was approaching Philip's supply lines. Philip called off his attack, and another truce was agreed; the
Treaty of Louviers. The war slowly turned against Philip over the course of the next three years. Political and military conditions seemed promising at the start of 1196 when Richard's nephew
Arthur I, Duke of Brittany ended up in Philip's hands, and he won the Siege of
Aumale, but Philip's good fortune did not last. Richard won over a key ally,
Baldwin of Flanders, in 1197. The same year, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI died and was succeeded by
Otto IV, Richard's nephew, who put additional pressure on Philip. Finally, many Norman lords were switching sides and returning to Richard's camp. This was the state of affairs when Philip launched his campaign of 1198 with an attack on Vexin that was pushed back and then compounded by the Flemish invasion of
Artois which diverted his attention elsewhere. On 27 September, Richard entered Vexin, taking
Courcelles-sur-Seine and
Boury-en-Vexin before returning to
Dangu. Philip, believing that Courcelles was still holding out, went to its relief. Discovering what was happening, Richard decided to attack the French king's forces, catching Philip by surprise. Philip's forces withdrew and attempted to reach the fortress of Gisors. Bunched together, the French knights with king Philip attempted to cross the
Epte River on a bridge that promptly collapsed under their weight, almost drowning Philip in the process. He was dragged out of the river and shut himself up in Gisors. Philip soon planned a new offensive, launching raids into Normandy and again targeting Évreux which he captured and sacked. Richard countered Philip's thrust with a successful counterattack in Vexin, while Mercadier led a raid on
Abbeville. By autumn 1198, Richard had regained almost all that had been lost in 1193. Finding himself in an increasingly difficult situation, Philip offered a truce so that discussions could begin towards a more permanent peace, with the offer that he would return all of the territories except for Gisors. In mid-January 1199, the two kings met for a final meeting, Richard standing on the deck of a boat, and Philip standing on the banks of the Seine River. Shouting terms at each other, they could not reach an agreement on the terms of a permanent truce, but they did agree to further mediation, which resulted in a five-year truce that held. Later in 1199, Richard was killed during a siege involving one of his vassals.
Conflict with John of England, 1200–1206 In May 1200, Philip signed the
Treaty of Le Goulet with Richard's successor
John. The treaty was meant to bring peace to Normandy by settling the issue of its much-reduced boundaries. The terms of John's vassalage were not only for Normandy, but also for
Anjou, Maine, and
Touraine. John agreed to heavy terms, including the abandonment of all the English possessions in Berry and 20,000 marks of silver, while Philip in turn recognized John as king of England, formally abandoning Arthur of Brittany's candidacy, whom he had hitherto supported, recognizing instead John's suzerainty over the
Duchy of Brittany. To seal the treaty, a marriage between
Blanche of Castile, John's niece, and
Louis the Lion, Philip's son, was contracted. This agreement did not bring warfare to an end in France, however, since John's mismanagement of Aquitaine led the province to rebel later in 1200, a disturbance that Philip secretly encouraged. To disguise his ambitions, Philip invited John to a conference at
Andely and then entertained him at Paris, and both times he committed to complying with the treaty. In 1202, disaffected patrons petitioned the French king to summon John to answer their charges in his capacity as John's feudal lord in France. John refused to appear, so Philip again took up Arthur of Brittany's claims to the English throne as well as betrothing him to his six-year-old daughter
Marie. In retaliation, John crossed over into Normandy and his forces soon captured Arthur, presumably as well as Arthur's sister Eleanor. In 1203, Arthur disappeared, with most people believing that John had had him murdered. The outcry over Arthur's fate saw an increase in local opposition to John, which Philip used to his advantage. He took to the offensive and, apart from a five-month siege of Andely, swept all before him. After Andely surrendered, John fled to England. By the end of 1204, most of Normandy and the Angevin lands, including much of
Aquitaine, had fallen into Philip's hands. Philip requested John release Eleanor of Brittany, claiming that she was to be his daughter-in-law, but to no avail. What Philip had gained through victory in war, he sought to confirm by legal means. Philip, again acting as John's liege lord over his French lands, summoned him to appear before the Court of the Twelve Peers of France to answer for Arthur's murder. John requested safe conduct, but Philip only agreed to allow him to come in peace, while providing for his return only if it were allowed after the judgment of his peers. Not willing to risk his life on such a guarantee, John refused to appear, so Philip summarily dispossessed the English of all lands. Pushed by his barons, John eventually launched an invasion of northern France in 1206, disembarking with his army at
La Rochelle during one of Philip's absences, but the campaign ended in disaster. After backing out of a conference that he himself had demanded, John eventually bargained at
Thouars for a two-year truce, the price of which was his agreement to the chief provisions of the judgment of the Court of Peers, including a loss of his patrimony.
Alliances against Philip, 1208–1213 coin of Philip II In 1208,
Philip of Swabia, the successful candidate to become
Holy Roman Emperor, was assassinated. As a result, the imperial crown was given to his rival Otto IV, the nephew of King John. Otto, prior to his accession, had promised to help John recover his lost possessions in France, but circumstances prevented him from making good on his promise. By 1212, both John and Otto were engaged in power struggles against
Pope Innocent III: John over his refusal to accept the papal nomination for the
archbishop of Canterbury, and Otto over his attempt to strip King
Frederick II of Germany of the Kingdom of Sicily. Philip decided to take advantage of this situation, first in Germany, where he aided the German noble rebellion in support of the young Frederick. John immediately threw England's weight behind Otto, and Philip now saw his chance to launch a successful invasion of England. In order to secure the cooperation of all his vassals in his plans for the invasion, Philip denounced John as an enemy of the Church, thereby justifying his attack as motivated solely by religious scruples. He summoned an assembly of French barons at
Soissons, which was well attended. The only exception was Count
Ferdinand of Flanders, who refused out of anger over the loss of the towns of
Aire and
Saint-Omer that had been captured by Philip's son Louis the Lion. He would not participate in any campaign until he was restored to his ancient lands. Philip was eager to prove his loyalty to Rome and thus secure papal support for his planned invasion, announced at Soissons a reconciliation with his estranged wife
Ingeborg of Denmark, which the popes had been promoting. The barons fully supported his plan, and they all gathered their forces and prepared to join with Philip at the agreed rendezvous. Through all of this, Philip remained in constant communication with
Pandulf Verraccio, the
papal legate, who was encouraging Philip to pursue his objective. Verraccio however was also holding secret discussions with King John. Advising the English king of his precarious predicament, he persuaded John to abandon his opposition to
papal investiture and agreed to accept the papal legate's decision in any ecclesiastical disputes as final. In return, the pope agreed to accept the
Kingdom of England and the
Lordship of Ireland as papal fiefs, which John would rule as the pope's vassal, and for which John would do homage to the pope. No sooner had the treaty between John and the pope been ratified in May 1213 than Verraccio announced to Philip that he would have to abandon his expedition against John, since to attack a faithful vassal of the
Holy See would be a
mortal sin. Philip argued in vain that his plans had been drawn up with the consent of Rome, that his expedition was in support of papal authority that he only undertook on the understanding that he would gain a
plenary indulgence; he had spent a fortune preparing for the expedition. The papal legate remained unmoved, but Verraccio did suggest an alternative. The Count of Flanders had denied Philip's right to declare war on England while King John was still
excommunicated, and that his disobedience needed to be punished. Philip eagerly accepted the advice, and quickly marched at the head of his troops into the territory of Flanders.
Battle of Bouvines, 1214 in 1214 (from the
Chronica Majora, c. 1250 by
Matthew Paris) The French fleet proceeded first to
Gravelines and then to the port of Damme. Meanwhile, the army marched by
Cassel,
Ypres, and
Bruges before laying siege to
Ghent. Hardly had the siege begun when Philip learnt that the English fleet had captured a number of his ships at Damme and that the rest were so closely blockaded in its harbour that it was impossible for them to escape. He ordered the fleet to be burned to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. The destruction of the French fleet had once again raised John's hopes, so he began preparing for an invasion of France and a reconquest of his lost provinces. The English barons were initially unenthusiastic about the expedition, which delayed his departure, so it was not until February 1214 that he disembarked at La Rochelle. John was to advance from the
Loire, while his ally Otto IV made a simultaneous attack from Flanders, together with the Count of Flanders. The three armies did not coordinate their efforts effectively. It was not until John had been disappointed in his hope for an easy victory after being driven from
Roche-au-Moine and had retreated to his transports that the Imperial Army, with Otto at its head, assembled in the
Low Countries. '', c. 1350–1375) On 27 July 1214, the opposing armies suddenly discovered that they were quite close to one another, on the banks of a little tributary of the
River Lys, near the bridge at
Bouvines (near
Lille in southern Flanders). It being a Sunday, Philip did not expect the allied army to attack, as it was considered unholy to fight on the Sabbath. Philip's army numbered some 7,000, while the allied forces possessed around 9,000 troops. The armies clashed at what became known as the
Battle of Bouvines. Philip was unhorsed by the Flemish pikemen in the heat of battle, and were it not for his mail armor he would have probably been killed. When Otto was carried off the field by his wounded and terrified horse, and the Count of Flanders was severely wounded and taken prisoner, the Flemish and Imperial troops saw that the battle was lost, turned, and fled the field. The French did not pursue as it was late in the day and nearly dark. Philip returned to Paris triumphant, marching his captive prisoners behind him in a long procession, as his grateful subjects came out to greet the victorious king. In the aftermath of the battle, Otto retreated to his castle of
Harzburg and was soon overthrown as
Holy Roman Emperor, to be replaced by
Frederick II. Count Ferdinand remained imprisoned following his defeat, while King John's attempt to rebuild the Angevin Empire ended in complete failure. Philip's decisive victory was crucial in shaping Western European politics in both England and France. In England, the defeated John was so weakened that he was soon required to submit to the demands of his barons and sign Magna Carta, which limited the power of the crown and established the basis for common law. The Battle of Bouvines marked the end of the Angevin Empire. ==Marital problems==