Philip Count of Flanders: Encyclopedia II - Philip Count of Flanders - War with France

Philip Count of Flanders - War with France

Philip returned from Palestine in 1179, and Louis VII, now sick, named him guardian of his young son Philip II. The count had the king married to his niece, Isabelle of Hainaut, with an imprudently disproportionate dowry: the County of Artois. When Louis VII died, Philip II began to assert his independence. War broke out in 1180 and Picardy and the Ile-de-France were devastated; King Philip refused to give open battle and gained the upper hand, and Baldwin of Hainaut, at first allied with his brother-in-law Count Philip, soon intervened on behalf of his son-in-law the King, in support of his daughter's interests. The dispute between Count Philip and Baldwin was encouraged by King Philip, who went so far as to name Baldwin his representation in negotations with the Count.

Count Philip's wife Elisabeth died childless in 1183, and King Philip seized Vermandois on behalf of Elisabeth's sister, Eleonore. Philip then married Teresa of Portugal, daughter of Afonso I of Portugal, first king of that country, and Maud of Savoy. Teresa arrived with a large dowry, but this marriage was also childless. Fearing that he would be surrounded by the royal domain of France and the County of Hainaut, Philip signed a peace treaty with his enemies on March 10, 1186, recognizing the cession of Vermandois to the king, although he was allowed to retain the title Count of Vermandois for the remainder of his life.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "War with France", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki