Philip I, Count of Flanders
Philip I (1143 – 1 August 1191), commonly known as Philip of Alsace, was count of Flanders from 1168 to 1191. During his rule Flanders prospered economically. He took part in two crusades and died of disease in the Holy Land.
Philip I
War with France[edit]
Philip returned from Palestine in 1179, at which point Louis VII, now sick, named him guardian of his young son Philip II. One year later, Philip of Alsace had his protégé married to his niece, Isabelle of Hainaut, offering the County of Artois and other Flemish territories as dowry, much to the dismay of Baldwin V.[5] When Louis VII died, Philip II began to assert his independence. War broke out in 1180. Picardy and Île-de-France were devastated. King Philip refused to give open battle and gained the upper hand. Baldwin V, at first allied with his brother-in-law, intervened in 1184 on behalf of his son-in-law, King Philip, in support of his daughter's interests.[6] The dispute between Count Philip and Baldwin was encouraged by King Philip, who went so far as to name Baldwin his representative in negotiations with the Count.
Philip's wife, Elisabeth, died in 1183, prompting King Philip II to seize the province of Vermandois on behalf of Elisabeth's sister, Eleonore. Philip then remarried, to Theresa, daughter of Afonso I, the first King of Portugal. Philip gave Theresa a dower that included a number of major Flemish towns, in an apparent slight to Baldwin V.[6] Fearing that he would be surrounded by the royal domain of France and the County of Hainaut, Philip signed a peace treaty with King Philip II and Count Baldwin V on 10 March 1186, recognizing the cession of Vermandois to the king, although he was allowed to retain the title Count of Vermandois for the remainder of his life.
Philip's second crusade[edit]
In 1190, Philip took the cross for a second time and joined the Flemish contingents which had already gone to Palestine. After arriving at the Siege of Acre, he was stricken by the epidemic passing through the crusader camp, and died on 1 August 1191.[7] His body was brought back to Flanders by his wife Theresa, who acted as regent during his absence. Philip was buried in Clairvaux Abbey. Since he was unsuccessful in producing an heir with Countess Theresa, he was succeeded by his sister Margaret I and brother-in-law Baldwin VIII.[6]
Philip had an illegitimate son, Thierry, who went on the Fourth Crusade and married the daughter of Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus.[8]