Philip IV of France Trivia Quiz

Answer: He was canonized.

Louis IX was canonized in 1297, not long after his death in 1270. His family was known for their piety. His sister Isabelle of France was also worshipped as a Saint. In the centuries after his death, Louis was seen as the ideal Christian king. Having a saint in the family added greatly to the prestige of the French Royal family.

Louis IX did go on Crusade twice, but wasn't very successful. The Battle of Bouvines was a great French victory, but was won by Louis IX's grandfather Philip II in 1214.

Answer: He still had an older brother at that point.

Louis, Philip's older brother, was considered the heir to the throne of France when Philip was born in 1268. Philip only became heir apparent at age eight, when Louis died. His mother Isabella of Aragon had already passed away at that point, falling from a horse while being pregnant again.

Answer: She still played a political role at times and took part in negotiations with England.

Marie had three children with Philip III, but she would survive all of them and Philip as well. Together with Philip's Queen Jeanne and Jeanne's mother Blanche of Artois she negotiated a peace with the English in 1294.

Answer: The Fair

Reportedly, Philip was very handsome. His son Charles inherited some of his looks, as he was also called 'the Fair'. His daughter Isabella was also called 'the Fair' sometimes, but now she is better known as the 'She-Wolf of France'.

Philip was also said to be neither man nor beast, but like a statue by a contemporary. This hints at his reputation being darker than his fair nickname would suggest. 'The Wise' was the nickname for king Charles V of France, who reigned later in the fourteenth century. Charles II, the Bad, of Navarre was a great-grandson of Philip. This Charles really earned his nickname. Charles VII lived in the Fifteenth Century and was called 'The Victorious' for winning the Hundred Years War. Of course, he did so with the help of a certain peasant girl.

Interestingly enough, there was another 'Philip the Fair' in history. This Philip was the son of Mary, the Duchess of Burgundy, and Maximilian II of Habsburg, Holy Roman Emperor. This Philip would die in 1506 and his son would rule large parts of Europe, but not France.

Answer: They had a good marriage and she played a very active part in politics.

The royal couple was known for being close and Jeanne played an active role in politics. Apart from being Queen of Navarre, she was also Countess of Champagne, which was richer than Navarre. Jeanne led an army against an invading force and acted independently there. She died in 1305, probably in childbirth.

Answer: The Battle of the Golden Spurs

The Battle was called the Battle of the Golden Spurs because of the spurs found at the battlefield, some of which were golden. The battle was part of a revolt against France in Flanders. Several of its cities participated. Losing to civic militias was an embarrassment to France's army and the participating nobles. Philip retaliated and won the Battle of The Battle of Mons-en--Pévèle in 1304, after destroying the Flemish Fleet at Zierikzee.

The Battle of the Ice was fought on a frozen lake on the border of what is now Russia and Estonia. There was a War of the Oaken Bucket, which was fought between Bologna and Modena just over a decade after Philip's death. The Battle of The Wooden Swords does not exist.

Answer: Mongolian Empire

The alliance was aimed at the Mamluk Turks, who were a common enemy. The Mongolians promised the French Jerusalem if they fought together in an alliance. The Empire of Mali was gaining in power during Philip's lifetime. They did not try to set up an alliance with Philip, though.

The Kingdom of Makuria was located in what is now southern Egypt and the northern part of Sudan. It had once had an advanced civilization, but was on the decline during Philip's lifetime.

Answer: The Jews

The Jews were expelled from French territories in 1306. It was probably no coincidence that Philip was heavily in debt to them, as he was to the Knights Templar. They were allowed to return under conditions in 1315 under Louis X, but were expelled again in 1394.

Scots Guards became the personal bodyguards of the Kings of France, but this military unit was founded more than a century after Philip had died. The Knights Hospitallers benefited from Philip's policies, as they would receive many of the assets first belonging to the Knights Templar.

Answer: None of them had a legitimate son who would rule as king for more than a few days.

Philip's three sons had married to six different women, but none of them had any luck with fathering a healthy son. Louis X had a posthumous son, who would reign as John I, but John died very soon after his birth. Louis, Philip and Charles had all been married initially to women of the house of Burgundy. Marguerite and Blanche, the wives of Louis and Charles, were accused of adultery and imprisoned near the end of Philip's reign. Prince Philip's wife Jeanne was said to have known about the adultery and was placed under house arrest.

Philip V believed in his wife's innocence and took her back when he became king, but Marguerite died in prison and Blanche was repudiated. Louis and Charles remarried, but years of being separated from their legitimate wives had reduced their chances of fathering a male heir. However, Philip's daughter Isabella's son Edward did become king, but of England. He succeeded Isabella's husband Edward II as Edward III. It is an understatement to say that he also had some interest in becoming king of France as well. Isabella would later rebel against her husband and lead a successful invasion of England with her lover Roger Mortimer, after years of poor treatment and misrule from her husband.

Answer: He cursed Philip.

Jacques de Moley showed no fear as he was burned at the stake in 1314. According to legend, Jacques cursed Philip and Pope Clement, who was largely influenced by Philip. Both died within the same year as Jacques. None of Philip's sons begat a son that would rule for longer than a few days. All this gave fuel to the rumor and the end of his lineage was seen as punishment for Philip's deeds.

Burgundian dukes would cause France a lot of problems in the fifteenth century, but this was not the same family that ruled Burgundy during Philip's reign. Instead, they descended from a junior branch of the Valois Royal House of France. The Valois were of course themselves a junior branch from the Capetians, of which Philip's sons were the last kings of France.