Philip of Flanders
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Philip of Alsace was count of Flanders from 1168 to 1191. He succeeded his father Thierry of Alsace.
In 1159 Philip married Élisabeth of Vermandois, elder daughter of count Raoul I of Vermandois and Petronilla of Aquitaine. The same year as his father died, his wife inherited a major portion of Vermandois. This pushed Flemish authority further south, and threated to completely alter the balance of power in northern France. In 1175, Philip discovered his wife was committing adultery, and had her lover, Walter de Fontaines, beaten to death. Philip then obtained complete control of her lands in Vermandois from King Louis VII of France. But Élisabeth died childless in 1183, and soon after King Philip II of France seized Vermandois on behalf of Élisabeth's sister, Éleonore.
In 1177, Philip travelled to the Holy Land, where he met King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem. The king was very impressed with Philip's reputation and wealth, and offered him the role of regent of the kingdom. Philip refused, saying that he had come to Jerusalem to make pilgrimages, not to fight wars.
In 1183, Philip married Teresa of Portugal, daughter of Afonso I of Portugal, first king of that country. Philip died in Acre in 1191. Philip had no children, and was succeeded in Flanders by his sister Margaret and her husband Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut.
Sources
- Bradbury, Jim. Philip Augustus, 1998.
- Payne, Robert. Dream and the Tomb, 1984
| Preceded by: Thierry | Count of Flanders | Succeeded by: Margaret I |