Philip III. surnamed the Hardy, succeeded to the throne when he was 25 years old. Had it not been for the assis tance afforded him by his uncle, Charles of Anjou, he would have found it impossible to have extricated himself and the remains of his army from the Infidels ; but he hav ing defeated them, concluded a peace for his nephew, on the favourable conditions that the King of Tunis should pay him a large sum of money ; Charles himself the an cient tribute due to him as King of Sicily ; that the Chris tians in Tunis should enjoy the full exercise of their reli gion; and that the prisoners on each side should be ex changed. Little of moment occurred after Philip's re turn to France. In 1274, he declared war against Alphon so of Castile, on the subject of the succession to that crown ; but the war soon terminated without producing any event of consequence. Philip's character led him frequently to engage in enterprises with great alacrity and zeal ; but he had not sufficient firmness to persevere in them. He was much under the influence of the Pope; and to him the pa pal government was indebted for the Venaissin, which they retained till the Revolution.
Philip naturally took great interest in the affairs of his uncle, Charles Duke of Anjou, King of Sicily. And this leads us to notice the Sicilian Vespers. The inhabitants of Sicily, when Charles governed with more strictness than policy, resolved to rid themselves entirely of the French. They were farther excited to revolt by Peter III. King of Arragon, who laid claim to the throne of Si cily, and promised the Sicilians his assistance to expel the French. On the evening of Easter day, A. D. 1282, the massacre began. Not a Frenchman was spared. Peter arrived ; was crowned at Palermo, and Charles was com pelled to abandon the island. The Pope, however, em braced the side of the latter, excommunicated Peter, and gave his kingdom to Charles the second son of Philip. The King of France immediately prepared to establish his son on his new throne by force of arms ; but he was not successful, and in 1285, as he was returning from this expedition, he died at Perpignan. Letters of nobility were first used in France during this reign. They were grant ed to Raoul, a goldsmith. This, however, was only a res toration of the old custom of the Franks, who were all esteemed equally noble. A distinct and privileged nobili ty first arose at the close of the second race of kings.
Philip was succeeded by his son Philip IV. surnamed the Fair. The first object of this monarch was to corn pose all differences with his neighbours. To this step he was led by the derangement of his finances. Although in thus settling his differences, he was much indebted to Edward I. of England, yet he ungratefully, as well as im politically, soon afterwards engaged in hostilities with him ; and he also rashly attempted to gain possession of Flan ders, which had joined England. But in this enterprise he was unsuccessful ; though it cost him much blood and treasure. These events, however, were of trifling mo ment, compared to the quarrel between him and the Pope Boniface VIII. a man of a turbulent disposition, arrogant, and overbearing. He had prohibited the clergy from granting any aids. But Philip, being determined to support his own power, and being moreover very poor, resolved that the clergy in France should contribute, equal ly with his other subjects, to the exigencies of the state ; and he resolved not only on this, but also forbade them to send money abroad without his permission. This gave
rise to the quarrel between Boniface and the king. The former was by no means disposed to yield ; on the contra ry, he appointed as his legate to the court of France, Ber nard Saissette, who had rebelled against the king, and who on this, as well as on account of his disposition, Boni face must have known would be particularly obnoxious to him. This legate fully acted up to the orders of his mas ter; he braved Philip at his own court, and threatened him with an interdict. Philip was so much under the in fluence of superstition, or so afraid of the impression it might make on his subjects, that he did not bring the le gate to trial, but contented himself with delivering him into the hand of his metropolitan. On this the Pope, en raged, issued a bull, declaring " that the Vicar of Christ is vested with full authority over the kings and kingdoms of the earth ; and at the same time, the French clergy were ordered to repair to Rome. Philip commanded the bull to be committed to the flames, and the bishops not to leave France ; and he seized the possessions of those who did leave it. In this state of things, he had recourse to a most politic measure. He assembled the states of the kingdom, and they disavowed the claim of the Pope, and recognised him as an independent sovereign in his own kingdom. Having proceeded thus far, Philip resolved to wage open war against Boniface; but the Pope was not intimidated. He displayed great coolness and courage. Having been insulted, however, in his own territories, by a band of des peradoes hired at the instigation of Philip, he was so much affected that he died in a few days. Benedict XI. his suc cessor, a mild and good man, took the interdict off Philip ; but this Pope was too good and wise for the age in which he lived. He was taken off by poison A. D. 1305 ; and his successor Clement V. being a Frenchman, and entire ly in the interest of France, fixed his residence in that kingdom. Philip being now at peace, turned his attention to the internal affairs of his kingdom. Supreme tribunals, called Parliaments, were instituted, and the commons, or third estate, were formally admitted into the assemblies of the nation. So far his measures were wise and popular ; but, in what regarded the finances, they were of an oppo site character. The royal treasury was exhausted ; and, to remedy this evil, the nominal value of money was raised. The dilapidation of his finances led the king also to adopt another measure still more unjust. The Knights Tern plars, a religious and military order, had acquired large possessions in almost every part of Europe, but especially in France. In consequence of the severity of the taxes which Philip levied, a sedition arose in Paris ; the Knights Templars were accused of having fomented it ; orders were issued that they should all be committed to prison in one day ; absurd and enormous crimes were imputed to them. They were put to the rack ; confession extorted, or forged confessions imputed to such as were firm ; and at last Philip succeeded in destroying most of them, and in ob taining possession of their riches. Soon after this disgrace ful proceeding, A. D. 1314, Philip again unsuccessfully attempted to unite Flanders to the crown of France ; and his death is supposed to have been in a great measure oc casioned by his failure.