Philip IIor Philip Augustus

Philip II., or Philip Augustus, King of France (1165-1223),succeededhisfather Louis VII., in 1180. He started with Richard I. on the Third Crusade (1190), and remained with him during the winter in Sicily, but returned to France soon after his arrival in Syria. Bent on regaining the English possessions in France, he seized every opportunity of hampering the reigning king, encouraging the sons of Henry II. to rebel against their father, intriguing with John against Richard during the latter's absence in Palestine, and supporting the claims of Arthur of Brittany against those of John. The disturbed state of England in 1204 enabled him to lay hands on Normandy, Maine, Anjou, Touraiue, and part of Poitou, his pretext being that. John had not fulfilled the duties of a feudal vassal. In 1214 he gained a great victory at Bouvines over Otto IV. and the Count of Flanders. The reign of Philip Augustus marks a distinct step forward in the consolidation of the French monarchy.