Philip IV the Beautiful. “The Iron King”
Especially strengthened royal power in France under Philip IV the Beautiful. Favorably married, he took possession of the region of Champagne and the kingdom of Navarre beyond the Pyrenees, and then subdued to himself and the rich Flanders. However, the cities of Flanders soon rebelled and completely defeated in the so-called “Battle of Spurs” select French chivalry.
Philip IV Beautiful was really handsome – stately, pale-faced, fair-haired. He did not tolerate rudeness, respectfully treated the ladies, he seemed humble and modest, almost quiet. But at the same time he could be resolute, strict, even cruel. I was able to hide my true disposition of the spirit, but even more – to pick up clever and reliable assistants. He was fond of hunting.
Philip IV the Beautiful always lacked money. He lent them to foreign bankers, even became a Counterfeiter. But the king placed the greatest hopes on levying taxes on the population, and ordered that the tax be
For the people to reconcile themselves to the new taxes, Philip IV the Beautiful in 1302 convened the General States – a docile advisory body under the king, who existed in France until 1789. The General States included representatives of the clergy, nobility and townspeople. With the advent of the General States in France, the estate monarchy has grown stronger.
The very idea that the church in France must pay tax, led the pope out of balance. The pope and the French king quarreled. But the king won, and he made the popes permanently dependent on the French crown, even forced them to move to Avignon, to the territory of France.
Victory over the Catholic Church unleashed Philip IV’s hands. He took up his main creditors, the Templars, to whom he owed a ton of money. The king was troubled not so much by the debt itself, as by the power of the order, which was subordinate not to the monarch, but to the pope. The Templars owned lands in France, England, Flanders, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Germany, Hungary and the East. In France, their mighty fortresses propped
In 1307, the French king, demanding the consent of Pope Clement V, held a brilliant police action – arrested and imprisoned many members of this order, including his Grand Master – Jacques de Molay. The king was impatient to take hold of the treasure of the Knights Templar, but they fell through the earth.
The king and the pope arranged a trial for the Templars. Obedient judges accused them of all mortal sins, in particular that they allegedly desecrated the cross and did not honor Jesus Christ. This trial ended with the fact that fifty Templars were burned alive in Paris. There is a legend that Jacques de Molay, before death, cursed Philip IV and Clement V and predicted a near ruin for them. This gloomy prediction was accomplished – both the king and the pope soon left this world under very mysterious circumstances. Historians believe that they could be poisoned to avenge the dead Templars – “lesser sinners than their judges”.
The death in 1314 of Philip IV the Beautiful, who was nicknamed the “Iron King”, opened a new, gloomy page in French history.
“Battle of Spurs” – this name was given to the battle because the winners removed 4000 gilded spurs from the dead French knights and hung them in the cathedral as a token of their victory.
A counterfeiter is someone who, for personal gain, is minting a fake, inferior coin.
A bill is a document whereby money deposited in one bank can be obtained in another.
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