FRA 
their difcontents promoted, the arms of France. Charles 
Valois, at the head of a powerful army, foon reduced 
Guy to throw hitnfelf on the mercy of the king ; but 
the count obtained a promife, that neither his own nor 
the freedom of his fons thould be violated ; and if in the 
fpace of a year he could not compromife his differences 
with Philip, he (hould be at liberty to retire, and purfue 
whatever meafures he might deem expedient. To gra¬ 
tify the enmity of his confort to his noble captive, Philip 
was prevailed on to mortally wound his brother’s honour 
and his own : the count, with two of his fons, were 
clofely imprifoned ; and the king of France, entering 
Flanders in triumph, appointed John de Chatillon; a re¬ 
lation of his queen, a man bold, penetrating, and oppref- 
five, the governor of his new acquifitions. 
The Flemings, intent on trade alone, had neglefted the 
internal defence of their country ; their towns were rich 
and populous, but their fortifications had been fuffered 
gradually to decay. See the article Flanders, in this 
volume. Thefe were repaired by the activity of Chatil- 
lon, and citadels were eredted to bridle the future levity 
of the inhabitants. But the poverty of the times al¬ 
lowed not the monarch to maintain regular garrifons ; 
and the private murmurs of the people at Bruges and 
Ghent broke out into open infurrefitions. The firft fparks 
were cxtinguifhed by the vigilance of the magiftrates; 
but the flame was re-kindled by the prefence of Chatillon, 
who entered Bruges with feventeen hundred horfe, and 
infultingly difplayed two hogflteads of ropes, the inftru- 
ments of the executions he impatiently meditated. The 
people whom he had devoted to deftrudtion took their 
meafures with fpeed and fecrecy ; the danger was inftant, 
their determinations were unanimous; in one moment 
they rofe, and fifteen hundred French were exterminated ; 
while Chatillon himfelf efcaped by fwimming, under 
cover of the night, acrofs the town-ditch. Three fons 
©f Guy, who had (heltered themfeives in Namur from 
the lawlefs ambition of Philip, were re-called by the 
Flemings ; and at the head of fixty thoufand infurgents 
pretred the fiege of Courtray. The count of Artois, on 
whom Philip had devolved the command of the French, 
determined, contrary to the advice of the conftable count 
de Nefle, to attack them in their intrenchments : he fell 
the vidtirn of his own rafhnefs; and the conftable was 
involved in the fame fate, with above twenty thoufand 
of their troops. Philip, to raife a new force, debafed his 
coin ; and again entered Flanders with a hoft fuperior to 
reliftance. But Edward king of England, who beheld 
with concern the danger of his allies, artfully imparted 
as a fecret to his queen, a feigned correfpondence of the 
nobles of France with the hcftile court of Rome : Mar¬ 
garet eagerly communicated the intelligence to her bro¬ 
ther Philip ; and the French king, diftrufiful of the fide¬ 
lity of his troops, retired without performing any thing 
worthy his preparations or reputation. 
The gallies of Genoa in the pay of France, in conjunc¬ 
tion with thofe of Hainault, had in the mean while ob¬ 
tained a fignal victory over the fleet of the Flemings; 
and the king, in hopes of improving this advantage by 
the arts of negociation, releafed Guy count of Flanders, 
that he might perfnade his fubjetts to fubmifiion. But 
his arguments were ineffectual ; and he nobly returned 
to expire, at the age of fourfcore years, a prifoner in 
Compeigne. Philip himfelf, his brothers the counts of 
Valois and Evreux, with the flower of French chivalry, 
re-entered Flanders, and approached the Flemilh army at 
Mons. The Flemings were commanded by the three 
younger fons of their count; but in the hour of adtion 
tb.e chief authority was yielded to the military experience 
of one only, whofe name was Philip. Their camp was 
haftily fortified with their carriages ; and, animated by 
the love of freedom, they fallied forth with impetuous 
valour: they were repulfed and driven back by the French 
with fatal (laughter; yet far from yielding to defpair, 
they renewed the attempt, favoured by the darknefs of 
N C E. 675 
the night, and even penetrated to the tent of the king, 
who narrowly efcaped their fvvords. But the French 
were rallied by the example and condudt of their nobles ; 
the Flemings were again compelled to retire, and even¬ 
tually to abandon their camp with precipitation. Philip 
of Flanders threw himfelf into Lifle, which was imme¬ 
diately inverted by the king of France ; but when the 
king lead expedted, he was furprifed by the appearance 
of John of Namur at the head of fixty thoufand men, 
undifciplined indeed, but daring and defperate. The 
king, doubtful of the event, confented to releafe Robert 
de Bethune, the eldeft fon of the count of Flanders ; to 
receive his homage for the county ; to accept of eight 
hundred thoufand livres as an indemnification for the ex- 
pences of the war, for the payment of which fum he was 
to retain Lifle, Douay, and Bethune. The treaty was 
again impioufiy violated by Philip towards the conclnfion 
of his reign ; but his hopes of annexing the valuable fief 
of Flanders to the crown of France, were baffled by the 
valour of the Flemings, and the interpofition of the pope ; 
and the acquifition of Courtray was the only fruit of an 
enterprife, which exhaufted the refources and alienated 
the minds of his fubjedts. 
During the progrefs of the war, the attention of Eu¬ 
rope had been excited by a criminal procefs againft the 
knights templars. This honourable order had extended 
their pollefiions throughout every kingdom, and their im- 
menfe revenues enabled them to fupport a royal magnifi¬ 
cence. In France they were accufed of every fpecies of 
fenfual luxury which degrades human n ature ; and the 
doubtful evidence of two criminals, who obtained their 
forfeited lives from the fecrets they affected to reveal, 
was ftrengthened by the confeffion of the templars them- 
felves. Yet thefe foon retracted their declarations ; and 
afferted, that the (lain which they had fixed on their own 
reputation was extorted by the menace of impending de- 
ftrudtion. Without the form of trial their eftates were 
ccnfifcated, and above fifty fuffered death with unfliaken 
conrtancy. The grand maffer with three great officers, 
were, in the prefence of the king himfelf, confumed by a 
flow fire ; and maintained in their lart moments the purity 
of their condudt. Their firmnefs commanded the belief 
of the people ; and the avarice of Philip rather appears 
to have been gratified than the juftice of the monarch 
to have been confulted hy their huffy condemnation. 
But from the fate of thefe unhappy vidlims the thoughts 
of Philip were directed to the cares and miferies of do- 
meftic life; the fhame and diforders of his own family 
could not be concealed from his knowledge and obferva- 
tion. His eldeft fon Louis, who enjoyed the title of king 
of Navarre, had efpoufed Margaret daughter of the duke 
of Burgundy ; his two younger fons, Philip and Charles, 
had married Jane and Blanch, the offspring of Otho count 
of Burgundy. But public report loudly impeached the 
reputation of each princefs ; and all three were accufed 
of violating the honour of their hufbands, and ftaining 
the purity of the marriage-bed by their lafeivious amours. _ 
After a fevere examination, Margaret and Blanch were 
condemned to expiate their licentious conduct by perpe¬ 
tual imprifonment ; and their paramours, Philip and 
Walter de Launay, feverely atoned for the tranfports of 
illicit love. After fuffering the torment of being flayed 
alive, they were fufpended with an uftierof the chamber, 
the confidant of their amours, on a public gibbet. 
The conftitution of Philip might have been impaired 
by a reign of continual activity ; but his life was the 
victim of inceffant chagrin and difappointment. 't he fi. 
lent progrefs of a confumption was accelerated by the 
pangs of domeftic vexation. The powers of medicine 
were exhaufted, and even tire fal.ubrious air of Fontain- 
bleau could not delay the rapid approach of death ; in 
the thirtieth year of his reign, and the forty-feventh year 
of his age, Philip expired, A.D. 1314, in the fentiments 
of penitence and piety, and with hi s- la ft breath exhorting 
his fucceffor to avoid the errors which had embarraffed 
.his 
