CAPETIAN

In October 987, in the heart of medieval France, a council of nobles gathered at the Romanesque cathedral of Noyon, northeast of Reims. The meeting was a significant one: the anointment of a new king. Hugues Capet, Count of Paris, was crowned, marking the birth of a dynasty that would shape the destiny of France for centuries. Few could have predicted the impact of that moment—Hugues was merely one of many local counts after the collapse of the Roman Empire and successive barbarian invasions.

The Capet family, although relatively modest at the time, would rule France for over 800 years, establishing one of the longest unbroken monarchic lines in European history. However, their rise to power wasn’t a clean break from the past: the Capetians were closely linked to their predecessors, the Carolingians—the dynasty founded by Charlemagne, the legendary emperor who united much of Western Europe to revive the spirit of ancient Rome. Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire on Christmas Day, but his vision did not endure long.

The Capetians descended from a powerful family that had long served the Carolingians. Hugues Capet himself traced his lineage to Robert the Strong, a key ally of Charlemagne. As the Carolingian dynasty weakened during the 9th and 10th centuries, the Robertians gained influence. The last Carolingian king, Louis V, died in 987 without an heir, and the Capetians were ready to fill the power vacuum.

Hugues’s election to the throne ended the Carolingian line, but his bloodline—through his mother—still linked him to Charlemagne, offering a fragile yet meaningful legitimacy. Upon his coronation, the French monarchy entered a new era. Yet, the early Capetian kings ruled little more than the Île-de-France region, while powerful feudal lords governed vast territories with considerable independence.

Hugues didn’t inherit a unified empire like Charlemagne’s; instead, he had to expand his influence gradually, relying on strategic marriages, alliances, and the slow absorption of feudal lands.

Hugues’ son, Robert II (known as Robert the Pious), continued his father’s work but faced internal family strife, rebellions from his sons, and criticism for his tumultuous marriage to Bertha of Burgundy - a relative. The Church condemned the union for its incestuous nature. Robert later married Constance of Arles, a sharp and ambitious woman who wielded great influence at court. Her political manoeuvring caused tension within the royal family as she sought power for her sons.

The Capetians truly flourished under Philippe II Augustus in the early 13th century. By reclaiming territories from England in Normandy—the ancestral homeland of English kings—Philippe not only expanded the realm but also increased the crown’s revenues. The royal treasury grew, and Paris was transformed into a political and cultural hub. It was during his reign that the University of Paris, one of the oldest in Europe, opened its doors—attracting elite students from across the continent.

With their power growing, the Capetians sought to bolster their prestige by leading Christendom’s largest military expedition: the Crusades. Backed by the Pope, Christian Europe launched a campaign to recapture Jerusalem—then under Muslim control, ruled by the Ottomans. What began as a religious mission turned into a mass migration of knights, merchants, and peasants.

The Capetians’ first participation was underwhelming. Louis VII - though devout—proved indecisive. His involvement in the Second Crusade (1147) failed. His marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of Europe’s wealthiest women, briefly strengthened the dynasty. But their scandalous divorce saw Eleanor remarry England’s Henry II—bringing her vast lands with her and igniting a bitter France–England rivalry.

The Third Crusade fared better. Philippe II Augustus joined forces with England’s Richard the Lionheart and Germany’s Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Upon Philippe’s return, France entered a golden age of Capetian wealth and extravagance, fuelling rumours of lavish parties and courtly love affairs.

In central Rome, just behind the ancient Pantheon, stands “San Luigi dei Francesi” (St. Louis of the French)—France’s national church in Italy. Built in the 16th century by Catherine de’ Medici, it honors Louis IX, the only French king to be canonized. The church houses three masterpieces by Caravaggio.

Louis IX, nephew of Philippe Augustus, became the most venerated Capetian ruler. Canonized after his death, Saint Louis embodied Christian kingship. He participated in two Crusades (the Seventh and Eighth), was renowned for justice and piety, and is said to have renounced wealth if not bound by duty.

He brought peace with the Plantagenets, annexed territories like Beaucaire and Carcassonne, and achieved victory in the Albigensian Crusade. His reign laid the foundations for a monarchy guided by Christian values—merging spiritual and political authority in a single sovereign. He weakened feudal excesses and nudged France from a violent monarchy toward a centralized absolutism, influenced by Roman imperial law.

Despite his legacy, his death in 1270 during a North African Crusade marked the beginning of Capetian decline. Pope Boniface VIII canonized him a few years later.

The turning point came in 1328, when Charles IV—last direct Capetian king—died without a male heir. The French crown was suddenly in dispute. Edward III of England, whose mother was French, claimed it. Powerful and ambitious, Edward had already built Windsor Castle, founded the Order of the Garter, and endured the Black Death. France was his next target.

Thus began the Hundred Years’ War—a series of conflicts (not one continuous war) that devastated France. The English, led by the Black Prince, won significant ground. The Battle of Agincourt in 1415 was a major blow, allowing England to control northwest France and even Paris. In 1417, Henry VI of England declared himself king of France.

The war ended in 1475 with the Treaty of Picquigny. Edward IV renounced his claim, distracted by England’s internal War of the Roses. France’s King Louis XI of Valois (a Capetian branch) regained authority. During the conflict, Joan of Arc—a peasant girl from Domrémy—claimed divine guidance, led troops, and helped crown Charles VII. Her heroism inspired the French cause.

By the late 1500s, a new Capetian branch—the Bourbons—rose as the Valois faded. Henry IV, the first Bourbon king, restored order after the Wars of Religion. He famously converted to Catholicism for political reasons, saying: “Paris is worth a Mass.”

His rule saw economic revival, but his affairs caused scandal. The Bourbons reached their peak under Louis XIV - the Sun King - who ruled for 72 years, the longest reign in history. Under him, France became Europe’s dominant power.

Versailles became the symbol of royal opulence. A single banquet there was said to feed a village for a month. But Louis XIV’s extravagance drained state coffers, sowing the seeds of fiscal ruin. His heir, Louis XV, foresaw it all, reportedly saying: “Après moi, le déluge” (After me, the flood).

In 1774, as American colonies rebelled against Britain, Louis XVI ascended the throne. France’s finances were in shambles. His indecisiveness and Marie Antoinette’s excesses enraged the public.

Rumours of infidelity and luxury fueled revolutionary anger. On July 14, 1789, peasants stormed the Bastille. The French Revolution had begun. A few years later, Louis XVI was executed by guillotine - marking the bloody end of the French monarchy.

Though briefly restored in the 19th century, the Capetians never reclaimed full power. The Revolution had changed France forever.

After Louis XVI’s death, royalists declared his young son, Louis-Charles (Louis XVII), king. He never ruled—he died in prison at age 10.

Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI, fled to England—ironically prompting the British monarchy to finally drop its claim to the French throne (a relic from Edward III’s days). After Napoleon’s defeat, Louis XVIII returned to rule France as a constitutional monarch.

He was succeeded by Charles X, who was deposed in the July Revolution of 1830. A brief return under the Orléans branch followed. The last Capetian, Henri, Count of Chambord, died childless in 1883. His death marked the symbolic end of the dynasty.

By then, Napoleon III had been defeated at Sedan, and France had become a republic—its third.