Philip of Artois, Count of Eu

Who was Philip of Artois, Count of Eu?

Philip of Artois, son of John of Artois, Count of Eu, and Isabeau of Melun, was Count of Eu from 1387 until his death, succeeding his brother Robert.

Philip was a gallant and energetic soldier. In 1383, he captured the town of Bourbourg from the English. He went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and was imprisoned there by the Sultan of Egypt, being released through the mediation of Jean Boucicaut and the Venetians. In 1390, he joined the unsuccessful expedition of Louis II, Duke of Bourbon, against Mahdia. In 1392, he was created Constable of France.

On January 27, 1393, he married Marie, daughter of John, Duke of Berry. They had four children:

Philip II of Artois, Count of Eu, was an infant when he succeeded his father, and survived him only by a little over six months. As his father was a captive in Turkey at the time, and it took time to know that Count Philip I had died, his own time as Count was a brief one, little marked, and, in fact, generally ignored. However, he is buried in a tomb that names him as Comte d'Eu, in the crypt of the Collegiale church of Eu. His next brother Charles succeeded him on his death, aged about 4, on December 23, 1397.