Philippe IV le Bel
King of France · 1285-1314 · born in June 1268, died on 29 November 1314
Grandson of Saint Louis, Philip the Fair pursued a policy of brutal assertion of royal authority, against a background of financial difficulties. He convened a first sketch of the Estates-General (1302) and made massive use of taxation and monetary manipulation.
His conflict with Pope Boniface VIII weakened the papacy: the election of Clement V in 1305 and then the installation of the papacy at Avignon (1309) placed the Holy See under French influence.
In 1307 he launched the arrest of the Templars, whose order was dissolved; Jacques de Molay was burned in 1314. This reign, often described as authoritarian and cynical, completed the Capetian work of state sovereignty, but left an exhausted dynasty: in 1328, the direct Capetians died out.
In the tree of power
- Era: Capetians
- Predecessor: Philippe III le Hardi (1270-1285)
- Successor: Louis X le Hutin (1314-1316)