Battle of Fréteval

The Battle of Fréteval, which took place on 3 July 1194, was a medieval battle, part of the ongoing fighting between Richard the Lionheart and Philip II of France that lasted from 1194 to Richard's death in April 1199. During the battle, the English and Norman forces ambushed the French army, which was defeated. Philip managed to flee but lost his archives which were captured by Richard. After the battle, Philip decided to keep them in Paris, which led to the creation of the French national library, the Archives Nationales.

King Richard I of England had been captured and imprisoned by Leopold of Austria on the King's return from crusade in December 1192. For over a year, the terms of his release were negotiated, until he was released on payment of a massive ransom in January 1194. Whilst he was imprisoned, Richard's brother, John, had allied against Richard with the French King, Philip II, who had also wanted to capture the English king. John had granted Philip much land from Richard's estates in Aquitaine. As well as various castles, this included the whole of the duchy lands east of the River Seine. During Richard's imprisonment, Philip had made attempts at physically occupying these estates, with some success, particularly around the important Channel ports of Dieppe and Le Tréport. However, as soon as Richard returned to Normandy, John made his peace with him, abandoning Philip; Richard proceeded to unravel much of Philip's recent gains in the region, beginning with the raising of Philip's siege of Verneuil on 29 May 1194. There, Philip was forced into a hasty retreat, and, foreshadowing his losses at Fréteval, abandoned his siege engines and other valuable matériel.

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