Philip Augustus (Philip II of France 1165-1223), grandfather of Saint Louis, was one of France's greatest kings. While England's Henry II was locked in combat with his rebellious offspring, Philip and his loyal son, Louis, steadily consolidated the scattered territories of their little kingdom. In this short, but vivid history we meet King Philip, now riding, at the behest of the imperious Pope Innocent III, with his spurned wife, Ingeborgis, behind him on the saddle, now impetuously flying at his enemies at the Battle of Bouvines. In his later years he quietly fended off conflict and crusade and passed, as the author writes, "from district to district hearing complaints, redressing wrongs...a great king ceaselessly active, of unwearied vigilance and ever-changing scheme...stern,secret, subtle, obstinate, and invincibly patient in the pursuit of what his eye desired and his hand found to do." - Summary by Pamela Nagami

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