ABSTRACT
Philip Augustus acceded to power before he ascended the throne. Until 1179 Louis VII had resisted the coronation of his son during his own lifetime, probably because it seemed unnecessary. The marriages of Philip’s half-sisters by Eleanor of Aquitaine to the counts of Champagne and Blois, and of his half-sister Margaret by Constance of Castile to the Plantagenet heir, Young Henry, complicated rather than resolved any settlement. Philip’s marriage to Isabella had been organized by Louis VII and the count of Flanders. Louis VII’s system had depended primarily upon his prevots, and Philip significantly increased their numbers from thirty-five to fifty-two by 1190. Philip issued an edict against the Jews in 1180, which led to many arrests. Louis VII had gone further along the path of tolerance than the general populace or the Church was prepared to accept.
