The bishop of Pamiers, Bernard Saisset, said that Philip IV of France was like ‘an owl, the most beautiful of birds, but worth absolutely nothing ... He is the most handsome of beings but he knows only how to stare fixedly at men’. Philip the Fair gave away little about himself to contemporaries, and he remains a controversial and enigmatic figure, whose personal involvement with the events of his reign remains a matter of dispute. For a long time, many scholars followed contemporary critics of the king like Geoffrey of Paris in blaming Philip for allowing himself to be duped and misled by evil councillors. More recently, however, analyses of the copious administrative records of the reign have suggested that Philip, while not often in the forefront of negotiations, retained control over his advisers, and that, while he delegated power, he was not dominated by his councillors. Philip has thus become the moving force behind the events of his reign, if not the director of all the details of policy; but this in its turn makes his character and convictions a matter of great importance.