PREFACE

Some may question titling the 1202-1214 armed conflicts between the English king John Lackland and the French king, Philippe II Auguste as a consolidated or congruous 'war'. However, there is a coherent unity to the struggle that culminated in the dramatic and epic battle on a 1214 July Sunday, at the small hamlet of Bouvines. To name a war after its climatic engagement is not new, and the rationale will be explained in the summary and analysis at the end of this page. However, it is best understood after reviewing the discussion that follows.

BACKGROUND

Distant origins for the struggle between the French Capetian kings and the kings of England can be traced to Guillaume 'le Conquérant' [William the Conqueror] (1066-1087), duc de Normandie's conquest of England at the battle of Hastings (1066). This created an unusual feudal-political situation where a ducal vassal in France now held a parallel status of 'king' with his suzerain, the king of France, Philippe I (1052-1108). The French monarchs attempted to undercut the now 'Anglo'-Norman domains in France, and encouraged rebellions by the minor lords against the Norman 'duke-kings' whenever possible.

William the Conqueror's son, King Henry I (Beauclerc) of England (1068-1135) secured the ducal for Normandy from his rebellious brother, Robert Curthose (1054?-1134) at the battle of Tinchebrai (28 September 1106). In 1109, Henry I campaigned in the Vexin, a region in Normandy, to successfully prevent an attempt by Louis VI of France (1108-1137) [son of Philippe I] to divide Normandie with the duc d'Anjou.

In 1109, Henry I and his forces went to France because the Vexin, a valuable French region in Normandy, had been politically divided by Louis VI, the Angevin leaders, and Robert Curthose's son. Louis' side did badly in a sporadic series of raids against and truces with the English. However, Louis VI continued with alternating raids and truces in an attempt to secure control of Maine and Bretagne [Brittany] in northwestern France. A major battle at Brémule (20 August 1119) was decisively won by Henry I, and Louis VI had to agree that suzerainty over Maine and Brittany belonged to Henry I. However, Henry I's claim to Maine was also resisted by the powerful comte d'Anjou, Fulk V (1092-1143).

In 1123, Henry I led a campaign into northwestern France to secure his possession of Maine. The 'war' became one of attrition, and in frustration, both opponents arranged for a marriage to ultimately resolve the contest. Henry I's daughter Mathilde [Matilda] (1102-67) [also widow of German Emperor] married Fulk V's son, Geoffroi [Geoffrey] Plantagenêt (1129-1151) and duc d'Anjou upon his father's death in 1143. Henry I's sons had died before his death, and Matilda was designated his heiress to Normandie. Her claim to the English throne was contested in a civil war against Stephen, comte de Blois. The war ended with a compromise that Matilda's son, Henri Platagenêt (1151-1189), would be king upon the death of King Stephen of England (1135-1154). Before assuming the English throne, Henri Platagenêt married, in 1151, Aliénor [Eleanor] d'Aquitaine (1122?-1204), thus uniting her vast inheritance in southwest France to that of Anjou.

More Battle of Bouvines Part 1: The 'War' of Bouvines (1202-1214)

Preface and Background
Emergence of the Angevin 'Empire'
Preliminaries and Initial Operations
Papal, Empire, and Flemish Factions
John Lackland's Coalition Against Philipp II