But he may yet be a victim of that success. King Philip II is the most powerful monarch in Christendom at present, and his reign has been nothing if not successful. The power of the French knights, however, should be more than enough to see them through most encounters on the field of battle.
This focus on knighthood has also made the French army more imbalanced than their neighbors, with infantry roles suffering as a result. This focus on nobility has made the nobles more powerful overall, and they keep a substantial amount of tax wealth for themselves, to maintain their fighting potential at its peak. The English once owned more land in France than the French, but through brilliant campaigns Philip has routed the English at almost every turn, and recaptured much territory that had been taken by stronger English kings.įrench knights have taken the concept of chivalry and gallantry farther than any other nation in Christendom, and their knights are commonly accepted to be the finest on earth. He has taken the measure of the current king of England, John I, and found him wanting. Philip II is an astute general, having united the cantankerous French lords behind his rule, and led them to glory against the Saracens in Palestine, and against the English closer to home. A happy effect of this patronage is that many French architect and mason guilds have produced the finest examples of Gothic cathedrals in Christendom, and have transferred the architectural lessons learned to other building projects. By promoting the foundation of guilds of all kinds, the prosperity of France's budding merchant class has increased from year to year, and their taxes have enriched the royal treasury. He has been a remarkable ruler who has turned France into arguably the most powerful nation in Christendom. The current king of France, Philip II Capet, is also known as Augustus, and is truly deserving of that title.
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