Philip IV (Aprilâ€"June 1268 â€" 29 November 1314), called Philip the
Fair (French: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314.
By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of
Navarre as Philip I from 1284 to 1305, as well as Count of Champagne.
Although Philip was known as handsome, hence the epithet le Bel, his
rigid and inflexible personality gained him (from friend and foe
alike) other nicknames, such as the Iron King (French: le Roi de fer).
His fierce opponent Bernard Saisset, bishop of Pamiers, said of him:
"he is neither man nor beast. He is a statue."[a]Philip relied on
skilful civil servants, such as Guillaume de Nogaret and Enguerrand de
Marigny, to govern the kingdom rather than on his nobles. Philip and
his advisors were instrumental in the transformation of France from a
feudal country to a centralized state. The king, who sought an
uncontested monarchy, compelled his vassals by wars and restricted
feudal usages. His ambitions made him highly influential in European
affairs. His goal was to place his relatives on foreign thrones.
Princes from his house ruled in Naples and Hungary. He tried and
failed to make another relative the Holy Roman Emperor. He began the
long advance of France eastward by taking control of scattered
fiefs.Philip relied on skilful civil servants, such as Guillaume de
Nogaret and Enguerrand de Marigny, to govern the kingdom rather than
on his nobles. Philip and his advisors were instrumental in the
transformation of France from a feudal country to a centralized state.
The king, who sought an uncontested monarchy, compelled his vassals by
wars and restricted feudal usages. His ambitions made him highly
influential in European affairs. His goal was to place his relatives
on foreign thrones. Princes from his house ruled in Naples and
Hungary. He tried and failed to make another relative the Holy Roman
Emperor. He began the long advance of France eastward by taking
control of scattered fiefs.The most notable conflicts of Philip's
reign include a dispute with the English over King Edward I's fiefs in
southwestern France, and a war with the Flemish, who had rebelled
against French royal authority and humiliated Philip at the Battle of
the Golden Spurs in 1302 but resulted with Philip's ultimate victory
with which he received a significant portion of Flemish cities which
were added to the crown lands along with a vast sum of money. In 1306,
Philip expelled the Jews from France, and in 1307 he annihilated the
order of the Knights Templar. He was in debt to both groups and saw
them as a "state within the state". To further strengthen the
monarchy, Philip tried to take control of the French clergy, leading
to a violent conflict with Pope Boniface VIII. This conflict resulted
in the transfer of the papal court to the enclave of Avignon in
1309.His final year saw a scandal amongst the royal family, known as
the Tour de Nesle affair, in which Philip's three daughters-in-law
were accused of adultery. His three sons were successively kings of
France: Louis X, Philip V, and Charles IV. Their deaths without
surviving sons of their own would compromise the future of the French
royal house, which until then seemed secure, precipitating a
succession crisis that would eventually lead to the Hundred Years' War
(1337â€"1453). Philip IV of France Top Movies & Young Movies