General Notes

Alias:<ALIA> The /Fair/
REFN: 4282AN
REFN: P4283
Philip I (23 May 1052 – 29 July 1108), sometimes called the Fair, was t
he King of France from 1060 to his death. His reign, like that of mo
st of the early Capetians, was extraodinarily long for the time. The monar
chy began a modest recovery from the low it reached in the reign of his fa
ther and he added to the royal demesne the Vexin and Bourges.
Philip was the son of Henry I and Anne of Kiev. His name was of Greek orig
in, being derived from Philippos, meaning "lover of horses". It was rath
er exotic for Western Europe at the time and was bestowed upon him by h
is Eastern European mother. Although he was crowned king at the age of sev
en, until age fourteen (1066) his mother acted as regent, the first que
en of France ever to do so. Her co-regent was Baldwin V of Flanders.
Philip first married Bertha, daughter of Floris I, Count of Holland, in 10
72. Although the marriage produced the necessary heir, Philip fell in lo
ve with Bertrade de Montfort, the wife of Count Fulk IV of Anjou. He repud
iated Bertha (claiming she was too fat) and married Bertrade on 15 May 109
2. In 1094, he was excommunicated by Hugh, Archbishop of Lyons, for the fi
rst time; after a long silence, Pope Urban II repeated the excommunicati
on at the Council of Clermont in November 1095. Several times the ban w
as lifted as Philip promised to part with Bertrade, but he always return
ed to her, and after 1104, the ban was not repeated. In France, the king w
as opposed by Bishop Ivo of Chartres, a famous jurist.
Philip appointed Alberic first Constable of France in 1060. A great pa
rt of his reign, like his father's, was spent putting down revolts by h
is power-hungry vassals. In 1077, he made peace with William the Conquero
r, who gave up attempting the conquest of Brittany. In 1082, Philip I expa
nded his demesne with the annexation of the Vexin. Then in 1100, he took c
ontrol of Bourges.
It was at the aforementioned Council of Clermont that the First Crusade w
as launched. Philip at first did not personally support it because of h
is conflict with Urban II. The pope would not have allowed him to particip
ate anyway, as he had reaffirmed Philip's excommunication at the the sa
id council. Philip's brother Hugh of Vermandois, however, was a major part
icipant.
Philip died in the castle of Melun and was buried per request at the monas
tery of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire – and not in St Denis among his forefather
s. He was succeeded by his son, Louis VI, whose succession was, however, n
ot uncontested. According to Abbot Suger:
. . . King Philip daily grew feebler. For after he had abducted the Co
untess of Anjou, he could achieve nothing worthy of the royal dignity; con
sumed by desire for the lady he had seized, he gave himself up entire
ly to the satisfaction of his passion. So he lost interest in the affai
rs of state and, relaxing too much, took no care for his body, well-made a
nd handsome though it was. The only thing that maintained the streng
th of the state was the fear and love felt for his son and successor. Wh
en he was almost sixty, he ceased to be king, breathing his last brea
th at the castle of Melun-sur-Seine, in the presence of the [future kin
g] Louis... They carried the body in a great procession to the noble monas
tery of St-Benoît-sur-Loire, where King Philip wished to be buried; the
re are those who say they heard from his own mouth that he deliberately ch
ose not to be buried among his royal ancestors in the church of St. Den
is because he had not treated that church as well as they had, and becau
se among so many noble kings his own tomb would not have counted for much.
Philip's children with Bertha were:
Constance, married Hugh I of Champagne before 1097 and then, after her div
orce, to Bohemund I of Antioch in 1106
Louis (December 1, 1081 – August 1, 1137)
Henry (b.1083) (died young)
Charles (b.1085) abbot of Charlieu
Eudes