Philip was born c. 1052 atChampagne-et-Fontaine, the son ofHenry I and his wifeAnne of Kiev.[2] Unusual for the time in Western Europe, his name was ofGreek origin, being bestowed upon him by his mother. In 1059 Henry I had Philip crowned inReims at the age of seven.[3] Philip had a brother namedHugh, who was slightly younger than him. Henry also appointed his brother-in-lawBaldwin V of Flanders as regent of the kingdom, a role which Baldwin would share with Anne after the death of Henry in 1060.[4] Despite his young age, Philip would rule in his own right, append royal documents with his own seal, and accompany Baldwin to several administrative visits to Flanders.[5] This close association allowed Baldwin to maintain peaceful relationships between the king and his vassals.[6] At age fourteen Philip was knighted by Baldwin's son,Baldwin VI ("the Good").[7]
Philip appointedAlberic firstConstable of France in 1060. A great part of his reign, like his father's, was spent putting down revolts by his power-hungry vassals. In 1077, he summoned a great host to relieveDol-de-Bretagne and prevent the annexation ofBrittany byWilliam the Conqueror, who was forced to capitulate and make his peace with Philip.[10] In 1082, Philip I expanded his demesne with the annexation of the Vexin,[9] in reprisal againstRobert Curthose's attack on William's heir,William Rufus. Then in 1100, he took control of Bourges.[11] Philip expanded the royal demesne by incorporating the monasteries of Saint-Denis and Corbie.[12]
Philip first marriedBertha of Holland in 1072.[18] Although the marriage produced the necessary heir, Philip fell in love withBertrade de Montfort, the wife ofFulk IV, Count of Anjou. He repudiated Bertha (claiming she was too fat) and married Bertrade on 15 May 1092.[19] In 1094 following the synod of Autun, he wasexcommunicated by the papal representative,Hugh of Die, for the first time;[20] after a long silence,Pope Urban II repeated the excommunication at theCouncil of Clermont in November 1095.[21] Several times the ban was lifted as Philip promised to part with Bertrade, but he always returned to her.
In 1101, the sentence was renewed by Urban II inPoitiers, despite the protest ofWilliam IX, Duke of Aquitaine, who entered the church with his knights to prevent his suzerain from being excommunicated on his lands.[22] After making a public penance in 1104, Philip received absolution and was reconciled with the Church, and must have kept his involvement with Bertrade discreet.[23] In France, the king was opposed by BishopIvo of Chartres, a famous jurist.[24]
Philip died in the castle ofMelun on 29 July 1108, and was buried per his request at the monastery ofSaint-Benoît-sur-Loire[25] – and not inSt Denis among his forefathers. He was succeeded by his son,Louis VI, whose succession was, however, not uncontested. According toAbbot Suger:[26]
… King Philip daily grew feebler. For after he had abducted the Countess of Anjou, he could achieve nothing worthy of the royal dignity; consumed by desire for the lady he had seized, he gave himself up entirely to the satisfaction of his passion. So he lost interest in the affairs of state and, relaxing too much, took no care for his body, well-made and handsome though it was. The only thing that maintained the strength of the state was the fear and love felt for his son and successor. When he was almost sixty, he ceased to be king, breathing his last breath at the castle of Melun-sur-Seine, in the presence of the [future king] Louis... They carried the body in a great procession to the noble monastery of St-Benoît-sur-Loire, where King Philip wished to be buried; there are those who say they heard from his own mouth that he deliberately chose not to be buried among his royal ancestors in the church of St. Denis because he had not treated that church as well as they had, and because among those of so many noble kings, his own tomb would not have counted for much.
d'Avray, David, ed. (2014). "Philip I of France and Bertrade".Dissolving Royal Marriages: A Documentary History, 860–1600. Cambridge University Press.
Barlow, Frank, ed. (1999).The Carmen de Hastingae Proelio of Guy, Bishop of Amiens. Clarendon Press.
Bradbury, Jim (2007).The Capetians: The History of a Dynasty. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Brown, Elizabeth A. R. (1990). "Authority, the Family, and the Dead in Late Medieval France".French Historical Studies.16 (4 Autumn):803–832.doi:10.2307/286323.JSTOR286323.
Bull, Marcus (1993).Knightly Piety and the Lay Response to the First Crusade. Clarendon Press.
Fliche, Augustin (1912).Le règne de Philippe Ier, roi de France (1060-1108). Société française d'imprimerie et de librairie.
Huscroft, Richard (2016).Tales from the Long Twelfth Century: The Rise and Fall of the Angevin Empire. Yale University Press.
McDougall, Sara (2017).Royal Bastards: The Birth of Illegitimacy, 800–1230. Oxford University Press.
Nicholas, Karen S. (1999). "Countess as Rulers in Flanders". In Evergates, Theodore (ed.).Aristocratic Women in Medieval France. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Paul, Nicholas L. (2012).To Follow in Their Footsteps: The Crusades and Family Memory in the High Middle Ages. Cornell University Press.ISBN978-0-801-45097-6.OL25307863M.
Petit-Dutaillis, C. (1936).The Feudal Monarchy in France and England:From the 10th to the 13th Century. Translated by Hunt, E.D. Routledge.OL27789341M.
Power, Daniel (2004).The Norman Frontier in the Twelfth and Early Thirteenth Centuries. Cambridge University Press.
Prou, Maurice (1908).Recueil des actes de Philippe Ier, roi de France (1059-1108). Imprimerie Nationale.
Rolker, Christof (2009).Canon Law and the Letters of Ivo of Chartres. Cambridge University Press.
Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1997).The First Crusaders, 1095-1131. Cambridge University Press.
Shepherd, Jonathan (2003). "The 'muddy-road' of Odo Arpin from Bourges to La Charitie-sur-Loire". In Edbury, Peter; Phillips, Jonathan (eds.).The Experience of Crusading. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press.
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