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The extraordinary tale of Philip Augustus, one of medieval Europe''s greatest monarchs, and the part he played in the downfall of four Plantagenet kings of England. Philip II ruled France with an iron fist for over 40 years, expanding its borders and increasing its power. For his entire reign his counterpart on the English throne was a member of the Plantagenet dynasty, and Philip took on all of them: Henry II, Richard the Lionheart, John and Henry III. And yet we know so little about medieval England''s greatest enemy. Historian Catherine Hanley, author of the critically acclaimed 1217 , redresses this imbalance, bringing Philip out of the shadows in this fascinating new history. Delving into French medieval archives, Nemesis explores Philip''s motives for attacking England and in doing so we learn not only about him but discover so much more about England''s most colourful and controversial of rulers - the Plantagenets. When Philip first succeeded to the throne in 1180, Henry II of England, thanks to his Angevin and Norman ancestry as well as his wife''s inheritance of Aquitaine, ruled more of France than Philip himself. By the end of Philip''s reign in 1223, the pendulum of power had swung the other way. Nemesis reveals how Philip exploited the constant familiar squabbles of the Plantagenets to secure his grip on France, his wily political manoeuvring combined with a mastery of the medieval battlefield turning France into a powerhouse of Europe.
Über den Autor / die Autorin
Catherine Hanley has a PhD in Medieval Studies, specialising in 12th- and 13th-century warfare. She has written five books of popular history including
Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior (2019) and
Two Houses, Two Kingdoms: A History of France and England, 1100-1300 (July 2022), both for Yale University Press.
Matilda was reviewed very positively in, among others, the
Guardian and was named by both the
Financial Times and
BBC History Magazine as one of their 'Best Books of 2019'.
