ABSTRACT
King John’s succession in 1199 was less certain than Richard I’s had been ten years before, and more difficult. By 1202 John seemed to have survived his accession crisis; it looked on the face of it like business as usual in the Angevin Empire. John’s accession gave Philip an opportunity to take stock and re-assess his position. Any king in the period was forced to defend his own, and it was natural policy to compete with one’s neighbours for control of the frontier regions between their respective territories. Philip began to play an old game, giving support against the head of the family to a Plantagenet claimant, this time Arthur of Brittany against John. There were many contributory factors to Philip’s eventual victory over the Plantagenets. The defeat and elimination of other powerful princes in France, which left him more able to concentrate his energies against the Angevins, was one such factor.
