Wikipedia

Capetian dynasty

For the "Direct Capetians", who ruled France from 987 to 1328, seeHouse of Capet.

TheCapetian dynasty(/kəˈpiːʃən/kə-PEE-shən;French:Capétiens), also known as theHouse of France(French:La Maison de France), is adynastyofFrankishorigin, and a branch of theRobertiansagnatically, and theKarlingsthrough female lines. It is among the largest and oldestroyal housesinEuropeand the world, and consists ofHugh Capet,the founder of the dynasty, and his male-line descendants, who ruled inFrancewithout interruption from 987 to 1792, and again from 1814 to 1848. The senior line ruled in France as theHouse of Capetfrom the election of Hugh Capet in 987 until the death ofCharles IVin 1328. That line was succeeded bycadet branches,the Houses ofValoisand thenBourbon,which ruled without interruption until theFrench Revolutionabolished the monarchy in 1792. The Bourbons were restored in 1814 in the aftermath ofNapoleon's defeat, but had to vacate the throne again in 1830 in favor of the last Capetian monarch of France,Louis Philippe I,who belonged to theHouse of Orléans.Cadet branches of the Capetian House of Bourbon are still reigning overSpainandLuxembourg.

House of Capet

One variation of theCapetian Armorial
Parent houseRobertians, Karlings(female lines only)
Country
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Founded987;1038 years ago(987)
FounderHugh Capet
Current headLouis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou
Titles
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Cadet branchesSee below

The dynasty had a crucial role in the formation of the French state. From a power base initially confined to their owndemesne,[3]theÎle-de-France,the Capetian kings slowly but steadily increased their power and influence until it grew to cover the entirety of their realm. For a detailed narration on the growth of French royal power, seeCrown lands of France.

Members of the dynasty were traditionally Catholic, and the early Capetians had an alliance with theChurch.The French were also the most active participants in theCrusades,culminating in a series of five Crusader kings –Louis VII,Philip Augustus,Louis VIII,Louis IX,andPhilip III.The Capetian alliance with the papacy suffered a severe blow after the disaster of theAragonese Crusade.Philip III's son and successor,Philip IV,arrested Pope Boniface VIII and brought thepapacy under French control.The later Valois, starting withFrancis I,ignored religious differences andalliedwith theOttoman sultanto counter the growing power of theHoly Roman Empire.Henry IVwas a Protestant at the time of his accession, but realized the necessity of conversion after four years of religious warfare.

The Capetians generally enjoyed a harmonious family relationship. By tradition, younger sons and brothers of the king of France were givenappanagesfor them to maintain their rank and to dissuade them from claiming the French crown itself. When Capetian cadets did aspire for kingship, their ambitions were directed not at the French throne, but at foreign thrones. As a result, the Capetians have reigned at different times in the kingdoms ofPortugal,SicilyandNaples,Navarre,Hungary and Croatia,Poland,SpainandSardinia,grand dukedoms ofLithuaniaand Luxembourg, and inLatinandBrazilianempires.

In modern times, KingFelipe VI of Spainis a member of this family, whileGrand Duke Henri of Luxembourgis related to the family byagnatic kinship;both through theBourbon branchof the dynasty. Along with theHouse of Habsburg,arguably its greatest historic rival, it was one of the two oldest European royal dynasties. It was also one of the most powerful royal families in European history, having played a major role in its politics for much of its existence. According toOxford University,75% of allroyal familiesinEuropean history,are related to the Capetian dynasty.[4][5][6]

Name origins and usage

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The name of the dynasty derives from its founder,Hugh,who was known as "Hugh Capet".[7]The meaning of "Capet" (a nickname rather than a surname of the modern sort) is unknown. While folk etymology identifies it with "cape", other suggestions indicate it might be connected to the Latin wordcaput( "head" ), and explain it as meaning "chief" or "head".[citation needed]

Historians in the 19th century (seeHouse of France) 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. The name "Capet" has also been used as a surname for French royalty, particularly but not exclusively those of theHouse of Capet.One notable use was during the French Revolution, when the dethronedKing Louis XVI(a member of theHouse of Bourbonand a direct male-line descendant of Hugh Capet) andQueen Marie Antoinette(a member of theHouse of Habsburg-Lorraine) were referred to as "Louis and Antoinette Capet" (the queen being addressed as "the Widow Capet" after the execution of her husband).

Capetian miracle

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12th-century portrait of Hugh Capet. His direct descendants ruled France for many centuries.

TheCapetian miracle(French:Miracle capétien) refers to the dynasty's ability to attain and hold onto the French crown.[8][page needed]

In 987,Hugh Capetwas elected to succeedLouis Vof theCarolingiandynasty that had ruled France for over three centuries. By a process of associating elder sons with them in the kingship, the early Capetians established the hereditary succession in their family and transformed a theoretically electoral kingship into a sacral one. By the time ofPhilip II Augustus,who became king in 1180, the Capetian hold on power was so strong that the practice of associate kingship was dropped. While the Capetian monarchy began as one of the weakest in Europe, drastically eclipsed by the new Anglo-Norman realm in England (who, asdukes of Normandy,were technically their vassals) and even othergreat lords of France,the political value of orderly succession in the Middle Ages cannot be overstated. Theorderly succession of power from father to sonover such a long period of time meant that the French monarchs, who originally were essentially just the direct rulers of theÎle-de-France,were able to preserve and extend their power, while over the course of centuries the great peers of the realm would eventually lose their power in one succession crisis or another.

By comparison, the CrusaderKingdom of Jerusalemwas constantly beset with internal succession disputes because each generation only produced female heirs who tended to die young. Even the English monarchy encountered severe succession crises, such asThe Anarchyof the 1120s between Stephen and Matilda, and the murder ofArthur I, Duke of Brittany,the primogeniture heir ofRichard I of England.The latter case would deal a severe blow to the prestige ofKing John,leading to the eventual destruction of Angevin hegemony in France. In contrast, the French kings were able to maintain uncontested father-to-son succession from the time of Hugh Capet until the succession crisis which began theHundred Years' Warof the 14th century.

Capetians through history

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Hugh Capet's line, from theGenealogy of the Third Lineage of King of the Franks

Over the succeeding centuries, Capetians spread throughout Europe, ruling every form of provincial unit fromkingdomstomanors.

Salic law

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Salic law,re-established during theHundred Years' Warfrom an ancientFrankishtradition, caused the French monarchy to permit only male (agnatic) descendants of Hugh to succeed to the throne of France.

Without Salic law, upon the death ofJohn I,the crown would have passed to his half-sister,Joan(later Joan II of Navarre). However, Joan's paternity was suspect due to her mother's adultery in theTour de Nesle Affair;the French magnates adopted Salic law to avoid the succession of a possible bastard.

In 1328, KingCharles IV of Francedied without male heirs, as his brothers did before him.Philip of Valois,the late king's first cousin, acted as regent, pending the birth of the king's posthumous child, which proved to be a girl.Isabella of France,sister of Charles IV, claimed the throne for her son,Edward III of England.The English king did not find support among the French lords, who made Philip of Valois their king. From then on the French succession not only excluded females but also rejected claims based on the female line of descent.

Thus the French crown passed from theHouse of Capetafter the death ofCharles IVtoPhilip VI of Franceof theHouse of Valois,acadet branchof the Capetian dynasty,

This did not affect monarchies not under that law such as Portugal, Spain,Navarre,and various smaller duchies and counties. Therefore, many royal families appear and disappear in the French succession or become cadet branches upon marriage. A complete list of the senior-most line of Capetians is availablebelow.

Capetian cadet branches

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The Capetian dynasty has been broken many times into (sometimes rival) cadet branches. A cadet branch is a line of descent from another line than the senior-most. This list of cadet branches shows most of the Capetian cadet lines and designating their royal French progenitor, although some sub-branches are not shown.

See also:Armorial of the Capetian dynasty

Descendants of Philip III of France

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Descendants of Louis IX of France

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Descendants of Louis VIII of France

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Descendants of Louis VI of France

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Descendants of Henry I of France

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Descendants of Robert II of France

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Sovereigns from the Capetian dynasty

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Latin Empire

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Kingdom of Albania

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Kingdom of Etruria

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Kingdom of France

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Kingdom of Hungary

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Kingdom of Naples

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Kingdom of Navarre

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Kingdom of Poland

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Kingdom and County of Portugal

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Kingdom of Sicily

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Kingdom of Spain

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Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

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Grand Duchy of Lithuania

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Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

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Duchy of Brabant

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Duchy of Brittany

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Duchy of Burgundy

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Duchy of Lorraine

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Duchy of Lucca

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Duchy of Luxemburg

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Duchy of Milan

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Duchy of Parma

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Principality of Achaea

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Principality of Taranto

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Marquisate of Namur

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Illegitimate descent

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Empire of Brazil

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Kingdom of Portugal

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Senior Capets

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Throughout most of history, theSenior Capetand theKing of Francewere synonymous terms. Only in the time beforeHugh Capettook the crown for himself and after the reign ofCharles Xis there a distinction such that the senior Capet must be identified independently from succession to the French Crown. However, since primogeniture and theSalic lawprovided for the succession of the French throne for most of French history, here is a list of all the French kings from Hugh until Charles, and all theLegitimistpretenders thereafter. All dates are for seniority, not reign.

King of France:

Legitimist Pretenders:

The Capetian dynasty today

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Many years have passed since the Capetian monarchs ruled a large part of Europe; however, they still remain as kings, as well as other titles. Currently two Capetian monarchs still rule in Spain and Luxembourg. In addition, sevenpretendersrepresent exiled dynastic monarchies in Brazil, France, Spain, Portugal, Parma and Two Sicilies. The current legitimate, senior family member isLouis-Alphonse de Bourbon,known by his supporters asDuke of Anjou,who also holds theLegitimist(Blancs d'Espagne) claim to the French throne. Overall, dozens of branches of the Capetian dynasty still exist throughout Europe.

Except for theHouse of Braganza(founded by anillegitimate sonof KingJohn I of Portugal,who was himself illegitimate), all current major Capetian branches are of the Bourbon cadet branch. Within the House of Bourbon, many of these lines are themselves well-defined cadet lines of the House.

Current Capetian rulers

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Current Capetian pretenders

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Arms of cadet branches

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Main article:List of coats of arms of the Capetian dynasty
Arms of branches founded before Philip Augustus
House of Burgundy
House of Vermandois
House of Dreux
House of Courtenay
Arms of branches founded after Philip Augustus
House of Artois
House of Anjou
House of Bourbon
House of Valois
House of Évreux

Family tree

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List of male-line members of the House of Capet

Male, male-line, legitimate, non-morganatic members of the house who either lived to adulthood, or who held a title as a child, are included. Heads of the house are in bold.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^abTitular claim rather thande facto.
  2. ^Title given to Philip II by his father, Charles V, prior to his marriage with Mary of England. This was to ensure that Philip would not be outranked by his wife.
  3. ^Contested.

Works cited

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  • Naus, James (2016).Constructing kingship: the Capetian monarchs of France and the early Crusades.Manchester University Press.ISBN9780719090974.

References

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  1. ^Kiva, Cross, and Crown: The Pescos Indians and New Mexico,p. 251.
  2. ^Letters of Don Diego de Vargas to His Family from New Spain and New Mexico,p. 56.
  3. ^Sassier, Yves (1897).Hugues Capet: naissance d'une dynastie.Fayard. p. 238.ISBN978-2-213-01919-2.
  4. ^An Empire of Memory: The Legend of Charlemagne, the Franks, and Jerusalem before the First Crusade.Oxford University Press. 2011. p. 22.ISBN978-0-19-161640-2.
  5. ^MacLagan, Michael; Louda, Jiri (1984).Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe.London: Orbis.ISBN978-0-85613-672-6.
  6. ^Hallam, Elizabeth M.; Everard, Judith (2001).Capetian France, 987–1328(second ed.). Harlow, UK: Longman.ISBN978-0-582-40428-1.
  7. ^Bradbury, Jim (2007).The Capetians: Kings of France 987–1328.Bloomsbury Publishing.ISBN978-0-8264-2491-4.
  8. ^Naus 2016.

Further reading

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  • Brown, A. r.Elizabeth, (1991). Politics and Institutions in Capetian France.
  • Firnhaber-Baker, Justine (2024).House of Lilies: The Dynasty That Made Medieval France.Basic Books.ISBN978-1-5416-0477-3.
  • Ingmar Krause:Konflikt und Ritual im Herrschaftsbereich der frühen Capetinger – Untersuchungen zur Darstellung und Funktion symbolischen Verhaltens.(in German).Rhema-Verlag, Münster 2006,ISBN978-3-930454-62-4
  • Fawtier, Robert.The Capetian Kings of France: Monarchy & Nation (987–1328).Macmillan, 1960. (translated from French edition of 1941)
  • Hallam, Elizabeth M.Capetian France 987–1328.Longman, 1980.
  • Le Hête, Thierry.Les Capetiens: Le Livre du Millenaire.Editions Christian, 1987.
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