16 Capetian dynasty

Hugh Capet

Capetian dynasty

The Capetian dynasty /kəˈpiːʃⁱən/, also known as the House of France, is a dynasty of Frankish origin, founded by Hugh Capet. It is among the largest and oldest European royal houses, consisting of Hugh Capet's male-line descendants. The senior line ruled in France as the House of Capet from the election of Hugh Capet in 987 until the death of Charles IV in 1328. They were succeeded by cadet branches, the Houses of Valois and the Bourbon, which ruled until the French Revolution.

The House of Capet or the Direct Capetians (French: Les Capétiens, la Maison capétienne), also called the House of France (la maison de France), or simply the Capets, ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians. Historians in the 19th century came to apply the name "Capetian" to both the ruling house of France and to the wider-spread male-line descendants of Hugh Capet. It was not a contemporary practice (see wiki article House of France). They were sometimes called "the third race of kings", the Merovingians being the first, and the Carolingians being the second. The name is derived from the nickname of Hugh, the first Capetian King, who was known as Hugh Capet. The direct succession of French kings, father to son, from 987 to 1316, of thirteen generations in almost 330 years, was unparallelled in recorded history.

The direct line of the House of Capet came to an end in 1328, when the three sons of Philip IV all failed to produce surviving male heirs to the French throne. With the death of Charles IV, the throne passed to the House of Valois, descended from a younger son of Philip III. It would later pass to another Capetian branch, the House of Bourbon, descended from Louis IX's younger son, and to its cadet branch, the House of Orléans, always remaining in the hands of agnatic descendants of Hugh Capet.


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Capetian dynasty, ruling house of France from 987 to 1328, during the feudal period of the Middle Ages. By extending and consolidating their power, the Capetian kings laid the foundation of the French nation-state.

The Capetians all descended from Robert the Strong (died 866), count of Anjou and of Blois, whose two sons, usually styled Robertian rather than Capetian, were both crowned king of the Franks: Eudes in 888, Robert I in 922. Though Robert I’s son Hugh the Great restored the Carolingian dynasty in 936, his son Hugh Capet was elected king in 987, thus removing the Carolingians forever.

he 13 kings from Hugh Capet to the infant John I, who succeeded one another from father to son, and John I’s two uncles, Philip V and Charles IV (d. 1328), are designated as the Capetians “of the direct line.” They were followed by the 13 Capetian kings of the house of Valois (see Valois dynasty). Of these, seven kings (from Philip VI to Charles VIII) succeeded from father to son. Thereafter came the Valois-Orléans branch (represented by Louis XII) and the Valois-Angoulême branch (five kings from Francis I to Henry III) until 1589. Then the Capetians of Bourbon succeeded (see Bourbon, house of).

Hugh Capet’s rule was limited to his own domain around Paris, while the rest of the French kingdom was in the hands of powerful local lords. His direct successors gradually increased the territory over which they had control through conquest and inheritance and also by skillfully exploiting their rights as suzerains in areas not under their direct authority. Under the Capetians, many of the basic administrative institutions of the French monarchy, including Parlements (royal law courts), the States General (representative assembly), and the baillis (royal local officials), began to develop.

Among the most notable of the Capetians was Philip II (reigned 1180–1223), who wrested from the Angevin rulers of England much of the empire that they had built up in western France. Another notable Capetian was Louis IX, or Saint Louis (reigned 1226–70), whose devotion to justice and saintly life greatly enhanced the prestige of the monarchy.

Many other sovereign princes of medieval Europe descended in the male line from the Capetian kings of France. There were two lines of Capetian dukes of Burgundy (1032–1361 and 1363–1477); the Capetian house of Dreux, a line of dukes of Brittany (1213–1488); three Capetian emperors of Constantinople (1216–61), of the house of Courtenay; various counts of Artois (from 1237), with controversial succession; the first Capetian house of Anjou, with kings and queens of Naples (1266–1435) and kings of Hungary (1310–82); thehouse of Évreux, with three kings of Navarre (1328–1425); the second Capetian house of Anjou, with five counts of Provence (1382–1481); and other lesser branches.