France in the Middle Ages

Up to the 12th century, the period saw the elaboration and extension of the seigneurial economic system (including the attachment of peasants to the land through serfdom); the extension of the Feudal system of political rights and obligations between lords and vassals; the so-called "feudal revolution" of the 11th century during which ever smaller lords took control of local lands in many regions; and the appropriation by regional/local seigneurs of various administrative, fiscal and judicial rights for themselves. From the 13th century on, the state slowly regained control of a number of these lost powers. The crises of the 13th and 14th centuries led to the convening of an advisory assembly, the Estates General, and also to an effective end to serfdom.

From the 12th and 13th centuries on, France was at the center of a vibrant cultural production that extended across much of western Europe, including the transition from

Geography

From the Middle Ages onward, French rulers believed their kingdoms had natural borders: the Pyrenees, the Alps and the Rhine. This was used as a pretext for an aggressive policy and repeated invasions.^[1] The belief, however, had mere basis in reality for not all of these territories were part of the Kingdom and the authority of the King within his kingdom would be quite fluctuant. The lands that composed the Kingdom of France showed great geographical diversity; the northern and central parts enjoyed a temperate climate while the southern part was closer to the Mediterranean climate. While there were great differences between the northern and southern parts of the kingdom there were equally important differences depending on the distance of mountains: mainly the Alps, the Pyrenees and the Massif Central. France had important rivers that were used as waterways: the Loire, the Rhône, the Seine as well as the Garonne. These rivers were settled earlier than the rest and important cities were founded on their banks but they were separated by large forests, marsh, and other rough terrains.^[1]

Before the Romans conquered Gaul, the Gauls lived in villages organised in wider tribes. The Romans referred to the smallest of these groups as pagi and the widest ones as civitates.^[1] These pagi and civitates were often taken as a basis for the imperial administration and would survive up to the middle-ages when their capitals became centres of bishoprics. These religious provinces would survive until the French revolution.^[1] During the Roman Empire, southern Gaul was more heavily populated and because of this more episcopal sees were present there at first while in northern France they shrank greatly in size because of the barbarian invasions and became heavily fortified to resist the invaders.^[1]

Discussion of the size of France in the Middle Ages is complicated by distinctions between lands personally held by the king (the "

in the 12th century.

Louis XI gain control of most of modern-day France (except for Brittany, Navarre

, and parts of eastern and northern France).

The weather in France and Europe in the Middle Ages was significantly milder than during the periods preceding or following it. Historians refer to this as the "Medieval Warm Period", lasting from about the 10th century to about the 14th century. Part of the French population growth in this period (see below) is directly linked to this temperate weather and its effect on crops and livestock.

Demography

Main articles:

Medieval demographics and Demographics of France

At the end of the Middle Ages, France was the most populous region^[clarification needed] in Europe—having overtaken Spain and Italy by 1340.^[2] In the 14th century, before the arrival of the Black Death, the total population of the area covered by modern-day France has been estimated at 16 million.^[3] The population of Paris is controversial.^[4] Josiah Russell argued for about 80,000 in the early 14th century, although he noted that some other scholars suggested 200,000.^[4] The higher count would make it by far the largest city in western Europe; the lower count would put it behind Venice with 100,000 and Florence with 96,000.^[5] The Black Death killed an estimated one-third of the population from its appearance in 1348. The concurrent Hundred Years' War slowed recovery. It would be the mid-16th century before the population recovered to mid-fourteenth century levels.^[6]

In the early Middle Ages, France was a center of Jewish learning, but increasing persecution, and a series of expulsions in the 14th century, caused considerable suffering for French Jews; see History of the Jews in France.

Languages and literacy

Main articles: History of French, Old French, and Occitan language

During the Middle Ages in France,

liturgical language of the Catholic Church; it was also the language of science, literature, law, and administration. From 1200 on, vernacular languages began to be used in administrative work and the law courts,^[7] but Latin would remain an administrative and legal language until the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts

(1539) prescribed the use of French in all judicial acts, notarized contracts, and official legislation.

The vast majority of the population, however, spoke a variety of vernacular languages derived from

Franco-Provençal language

", whose modern word for "yes" is ouè.

The

Francien, were influenced by Germanic languages spoken by the earliest Frankish invaders. From the time of Clovis I on, the Franks expanded their rule over northern Gaul. Over time, the French language developed from either the Oïl languages found around Paris and Île-de-France (the Francien theory) or from a standard administrative language based on common characteristics found in all Oïl languages (the lingua franca

theory).

The

Gascon and Provençal

, have relatively little Frankish influence.

The Middle Ages also saw the influence of other linguistic groups on the dialects spoken in France. From the 4th to 7th centuries,

Anglo-Saxon invasions of England, and established themselves in Armorica in northwest France. Their dialect evolved into the Breton language in more recent centuries, and they gave their name to the peninsula they inhabited: Brittany

.

Attested since the time of

Gascon

.

French-influenced English

had spread throughout English society.

Also around this time period, many words from the

spices (camphre, safran), trade goods (alcool, bougie, coton), sciences (alchimie, hasard), and mathematics

(algèbre, algorithme).

While education and literacy had been important components of aristocratic service in the Carolingian period,[9] by the 11th century and continuing into the 13th century, the lay (secular) public in France—both nobles and peasants—was largely illiterate,^[10] except for (at least to the end of the 12th century) members of the great courts and, in the south, smaller noble families.^[11] This situation began to change in the 13th century, where we find highly literate members of the French nobility like Guillaume de Lorris, Geoffrey of Villehardouin (sometimes referred to as Villehardouin), and Jean de Joinville (sometimes referred to as Joinville).^[12] Similarly, due to the outpouring of French vernacular literature from the 12th century on (chanson de geste, chivalric romance, troubadour and trouvère poetry, etc.), French eventually became the "international language of the aristocracy".^[12]

Society and government

Peasants

In the Middle Ages in France, the vast majority of the population—between 80 and 90 percent—were peasants.^[13]

Traditional categories inherited from the Roman and Merovingian period (distinctions between free and unfree peasants, between tenants and peasants who owned their own land, etc.) underwent significant changes up to the 11th century. The traditional rights of "free" peasants—such as service in royal armies (they had been able to serve in the royal armies as late as Charlemagne's reign) and participation in public assemblies and law courts—were lost through the 9th to the 10th centuries, and they were increasingly made dependents of nobles, churches and large landholders.^[14] The mid-8th century to 1000 also saw a steady increase of aristocratic and monastic control of the land, at the expense of landowning peasants.^[15] At the same time, the traditional notion of "unfree" dependents and the distinction between "unfree" and "free" tenants was eroded as the concept of serfdom (see also History of serfdom) came to dominate.^[16]

From the mid-8th century on, particularly in the north, the relationship between peasants and the land became increasingly characterized by the extension of the new "bipartite estate" system (manorialism), in which peasants (who were bound to the land) held tenant holdings from a lord or monastery (for which they paid rent), but were also required to work the lord's own "demesne"; in the north, some of these estates could be quite substantial.^[17] This system remained a standard part of lord-tenant relations into the 12th century.^[18]

The economic and demographic crises of the 14th–15th centuries (agricultural expansion had lost many of the gains made in the 12th and 13th centuries^[19]) reversed this trend: landlords offered serfs their freedom in exchange for working abandoned lands, ecclesiastical and royal authorities created new "free" cities (villefranches) or granted freedom to existing cities, etc. By the end of the 15th century, serfdom was largely extinct;^[20] henceforth "free" peasants paid rents for their own lands, and the lord's demesne was worked by hired labor.^[21] This liberated the peasantry to a certain degree, but also made their lives more precarious in times of economic uncertainty.^[21] For lords who rented out more and more of their holdings for fixed rents, the initial benefits were positive, but over time they found themselves increasingly cash-strapped as inflationary pressures reduced their incomes.^[22]

Cities and towns

Much of the Gallo-Roman urban network of cities survived (albeit much changed) into the Middle Ages as regional centers and capitals: certain cities had been chosen as centers of bishoprics by the church^[23] (for example, Paris, Reims, Aix, Tours, Carcassonne and Narbonne, Auch, Albi, Bourges, Lyon, etc.), others as seats of local (county, duchy) administrative power (such as Angers, Blois, Poitiers, Toulouse). In many cases (such as with Poitiers) cities were seats of both episcopal and administrative power.

From the 10th to the 11th centuries, the urban development of the country expanded (particularly on the northern coasts): new ports appeared and dukes and counts encouraged and created new towns.^[24] In other areas, urban growth was slower and centered on the monastic houses.^[25] In many regions, market towns (burgs) with limited privileges were established by local lords. In the late 11th century, "communes", governing assemblies, began to develop in towns.^[24] Starting sporadically in the late 10th, and increasingly in the 12th century, many towns and villages were able to gain economic, social or judicial privileges and franchises from their lords (exemptions from tolls and dues, rights to clear land or hold fairs, some judicial or administrative independence, etc.).^[25][26] The seigneurial reaction to expanding urbanism and enfranchisement was mixed; some lords fought against the changes, but some lords gained financial and political advantages from the communal movement and growing trade.^[27]

The 13th to 14th centuries were a period of significant urbanization. Paris was the largest city in the realm, and indeed one of the largest cities in Europe, with an estimated population of 200,000 or more at the end of the century. The second-largest city was Rouen; the other major cities (with populations over 10,000) were Orléans, Tours, Bordeaux, Lyon, Dijon, and Reims. In addition to these, there also existed zones with an extended urban network of medium to small cities, as in the south and the Mediterranean coast (from Toulouse to Marseille, including Narbonne and Montpellier) and in the north (Beauvais, Laon, Amiens, Arras, Bruges, etc.).^[28] Market towns increased in size and many were able to gain privileges and franchises including transformation into free cities (villes franches); rural populations from the countrysides moved to the cities and burgs.^[29] This was also a period of urban building: the extension of walls around the entirety of the urban space, the vast construction of Gothic cathedrals (starting in the 12th century), urban fortresses, castles (such as Philip II Augustus' Louvre around 1200) and bridges.^[30]

Aristocracy, nobles, knights

Further information: French nobility and knight

In the Carolingian period, the "aristocracy" (nobilis in the Latin documents) was by no means a legally defined category.^[31] With traditions going back to the Romans; one was "noble" if he or she possessed significant land holdings, had access to the king and royal court, could receive honores and benefices for service (such as being named count or duke).^[31] Their access to political power in the Carolingian period might also necessitate a need for education.^[32] Their wealth and power was also evident in their lifestyle and purchase of luxury goods, and in their maintenance of an armed entourage of fideles (men who had sworn oaths to serve them).

From the late 9th to the late 10th century, the nature of the noble class changed significantly. First off, the aristocracy increasingly focused on establishing strong regional bases of landholdings,^[33] on taking hereditary control of the counties and duchies,^[34] and eventually on erecting these into veritable independent principalities^[35] and privatizing various privileges and rights of the state. (By 1025, the area north of the Loire was dominated by six or seven of these virtually independent states.^[36]) After 1000, these counties in turn began to break down into smaller lordships, as smaller lords wrest control of local lands in the so-called "feudal revolution"^[37] and seized control over many elements of comital powers (see vassal/feudal below).

Secondly, from the 9th century on, military ability was increasingly seen as conferring special status, and professional soldiers or milites, generally in the entourage of sworn lords, began to establish themselves in the ranks of the aristocracy (acquiring local lands, building private castles, seizing elements of justice), thereby transforming into the military noble class historians refer to as "knights".^[38]

Vassalage and feudal land

Further information: Vassal and Fief

The Merovingians and Carolingians maintained relations of power with their aristocracy through the use of clientele systems and the granting of honores and benefices, including land, a practice which grew out of Late Antiquity. This practice would develop into the system of vassalage and feudalism in the Middle Ages. Originally, vassalage did not imply the giving or receiving of landholdings (which were granted only as a reward for loyalty), but by the eighth century the giving of a landholding was becoming standard.^[39] The granting of a landholding to a vassal did not relinquish the lord's property rights, but only the use of the lands and their income; the granting lord retained ultimate ownership of the fee and could, technically, recover the lands in case of disloyalty or death.^[39]

In the 8th-century Frankish empire, Charles Martel was the first to make large scale and systematic use (the practice had remained until then sporadic) of the remuneration of vassals by the concession of the usufruct of lands (a beneficatium or "benefice" in the documents) for the lifetime of the vassal, or, sometimes extending to the second or third generation.^[40] By the middle of the 10th century, feudal land grants (fee, fiefs) had largely become hereditary.^[41] The eldest son of a deceased vassal would inherit, but first he had to do homage and fealty to the lord and pay a "relief" for the land (a monetary recognition of the lord's continuing proprietary rights over the property). By the 11th century, the bonds of vassalage and the granting of fiefs had spread throughout much of French society, but it was in no ways universal in France: in the south, feudal grants of land or of rights were unknown.^[42]

In its origin, the feudal grant had been seen in terms of a personal bond between lord and vassal, but with time and the transformation of fiefs into hereditary holdings, the nature of the system came to be seen as a form of "politics of land" (an expression used by the historian

bailliages

, leaving them only affairs concerning seigneurial dues and duties, and small affairs of local justice)

This "fragmentation of powers" was not however systematic throughout France, and in certain counties (such as Flanders, Normandy, Anjou, Toulouse), counts were able to maintain control of their lands into the 12th century or later.

liege lord" was developed (where the obligations to one lord are regarded as superior) in the 12th century.^[48]

Peerage

Main article: Peerage of France

Medieval French kings conferred the dignity of peerage upon certain of his preëminent vassals, both clerical and lay. Some historians consider Louis VII (1137–1180) to have created the French system of peers.^[49]

Peerage was attached to a specific territorial jurisdiction, either an episcopal see for episcopal peerages or a fief for secular. Peerages attached to fiefs were transmissible or inheritable with the fief, and these fiefs are often designated as pairie-duché (for duchies) and pairie-comté (for counties).

By 1216 there were nine peers:

• Archbishop of Reims
  who had the distinction of anointing and crowning the king
• Bishop of Langres
• Bishop of Beauvais
• Bishop of Châlons
• Bishop of Noyon
• Duke of Normandy
• Duke of Burgundy
• Duke of Aquitaine
  also called Duke of Guyenne
• Count of Champagne

A few years later and before 1228 three peers were added to make the total of twelve peers:

• Bishop of Laon
• Count of Flanders
• Count of Toulouse

These twelve peerages are known as the ancient peerage or pairie ancienne, and the number twelve is sometimes said to have been chosen to mirror the 12

An important part of the French aristocracy also involved itself in the crusades, and French knights founded and ruled the Crusader states. An example of the legacy left in the Middle East by these nobles is the Krak des Chevaliers' enlargement by the Counts of Tripoli and Toulouse.

The history of the monarchy is how it overcame the powerful barons over ensuing centuries, and established absolute sovereignty over France in the 16th century. A number of factors contributed to the rise of the French monarchy. The dynasty established by Hugh Capet continued uninterrupted until 1328, and the laws of

• William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy (1066): conquered the Kingdom of England
• The success of the First Crusade led to the creation of a Frankish kingdom in the Levant in 1099
• Norman knights settled in Sicily, which was raised to a kingdom in 1130
• Fulk V, Count of Anjou (1131): became King of Jerusalem by marriage
• Afonso I of Portugal (1139): great-grandson of Robert I, Duke of Burgundy, and founder of the Kingdom of Portugal
• Henry II of England (1154): ruled England and much of Western France (The Angevin Empire)
• Alfonso II of Aragon, Count of Barcelona (1164): first Count of Barcelona to become King of Aragon in his own right
• Theobald I of Navarre, Count of Champagne (1234): inherited the Kingdom of Navarre from his uncle
• Charles I of Naples, Count of Anjou (1266): youngest son of Louis VIII of France
  , conquered the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, proclaimed himself King of Albania
• Charles I of Hungary (1301): scion of the Capetian House of Anjou, King of Hungary and Croatia
• Charles of Valois
  for the imperial throne, but the German electors were unwilling to expand French influence even further. Henry was elected King of Germany in 1308 as a compromise candidate, and became emperor in 1312.
• John of Bohemia (1310): son of Emperor Henry VII, he became of King of Bohemia by marriage. John was raised in Paris, and died fighting for the French in the Battle of Crécy
• Philip III of Navarre, Count of Évreux (1328): became King of Navarre by marriage
• Louis I of Hungary (1342): son of Charles I of Hungary, eventually became King of Poland in addition to the realms inherited from his father
• Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (1346): son of John of Bohemia, he received French education and resided in the French court for seven years. His close connection to the House of France facilitated the sale of Dauphiné, an imperial fief, in 1349, and its eventual transfer into the French crown.
• Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (1363): with his appanage of Burgundy and his marriage to the heiress of Flanders, he founded the House of Valois-Burgundy, the most powerful dynasty of the Middle Ages which is not of royal rank

The power of the French monarchy grew at a slower rate at the beginning:

• The early Capetians ruled much longer than their contemporaries, but had little power. They did not have the will, or the resources, to coerce their vassals into obedience.
• Louis VI began an aggressive policy of demanding obedience from his vassals in the Ile-de-France backed by military force
• Louis VII's marriage with Eleanor of Aquitaine brought the French monarchy's influence to southern France, but the annulment of their marriage brought about the rise of the Angevin dynasty, the most formidable rival of the French monarchy
• Philip II made the French king the foremost power within his own kingdom, destroying Angevin power in France through the conquest of Normandy and Anjou
• Louis VIII embarked on the Albigensian Crusade, which brought northern France to war against the south
• Louis IX brought the prestige of the French monarchy at its height. Even the Mongol leader Hulagu, who had been under the impression that the Pope was the ruler of all Christians, realized that the true power rested in the King of France and sought an alliance with him. His crusading ventures, however, were unsuccessful
• Philip III inherited Toulouse and married his son to the heiress of Navarre and Champagne
• Philip IV was the most absolutist of the medieval French kings, but his costly policies brought him into conflict with the pope and the persecution of the Templars in order to obtain their resources.
• The orderly succession of French kings for more than 300 years, combined with an abrupt dynastic crisis in 1316 led to the adoption of a succession law that prevented the kingship from going out of the Capetian dynasty. The successive deaths of the sons of Philip IV in a short period of time led to the rise of the House of Valois
• Philip VI was an initially promising ruler, having brought Flanders into submission early in his reign. At the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War France was the foremost power in Western Europe, but this did not prevent his overwhelming defeat at Crécy.
• John II brought the French monarchy at its lowest with another overwhelming defeat in Poitiers.
• Charles V recovered most of the territories lost during the war
• The madness of Charles VI multiplied the woes of France, as the princes of the royal house split into factions in order to obtain power. France suffered another defeat at Agincourt, and the king was forced to disinherit his own son in favor of Henry V of England
• Charles VII was apathetic during the early years of his reign, but his fortunes changed with the rise of Joan of Arc in 1429 and his reconciliation with the Duke of Burgundy in 1435. The French were victorious at the end of the war in 1453, and the King of France was once again the most powerful monarch in Europe, with the first standing army since Roman times.

Royal administration

King's Council

The kings of France traditionally always sought the advice of their entourage (

The king was expected to survive on the revenues of the "domaine royal", or lands that belonged to him directly. In times of need, the taille, an "exceptional" tax could be imposed and collected; this resource was increasingly required during the protracted wars of the 14th–15th centuries and the taille became permanent in 1439, when the right to collect taxes in support of a standing army was granted to Charles VII of France during the Hundred Years' War.

To oversee the Kingdom's revenues and expenditure, the French King first relied solely on the Curia Regis. However, by the mid-12th century, the Crown entrusted its finances to the Knights Templar, who maintained a banking establishment in Paris. The royal Treasury was henceforth organized like a bank and salaries and revenues were transferred between accounts. Royal accounting officers in the field, who sent revenues to the Temple, were audited by the King's Court, which had special clerks assigned to work at the Temple. These financial specialists came to be called the Curia in Compotis and sat in special sessions of the King's Court for dealing with financial business. From 1297, accounts were audited twice yearly after Midsummer Day (24 June) and Christmas. In time, what was once a simple Exchequer of Receipts developed into a central auditing agency, branched off, and eventually specialized into a full-time court.

In 1256, Saint Louis issued a decree ordering all mayors, burghesses, and town councilmen to appear before the King's sovereign auditors of the Exchequer (French gens des comptes) in Paris to render their final accounts. The King's Court's general secretariat had members who specialized in finance and accountancy and could receive accounts. A number of maîtres lais were commissioned to sit as the King's Exchequer (comptes du Roi).

In or around 1303, the Paris Court of Accounts was established in the Palais de la Cité. Its auditors were responsible for overseeing revenue from Crown estates and checking public spending. It audited the royal household, inspectors, royal commissioners, provosts, baillifs, and seneschals. In 1307, the Philip IV definitively removed royal funds from the Temple and placed them in the fortress of the Louvre. Thereafter, the financial specialists received accounts for audit in a room of the royal palace that became known as the Camera compotorum or Chambre des comptes, and they began to be collectively identified under the same name, although still only a subcommission of the King's Court, consisting of about sixteen people.

The Vivier-en-Brie Ordinance of 1320, issued by Philip V, required the Chambre to audit accounts, judge cases arising from accountability, and maintain registers of financial documents; it also laid out the basic composition of financial courts: three (later four) cleric masters of accounts (maîtres-clercs) to act as chief auditors and three maîtres-lais familiers du Roi empowered to hear and adjudge ("oyer and terminer") audit accounts. They were assisted by eleven clerks (petis clercs, later clercs des comptes) who acted as auditors of the prests. This complement grew by 50 percent in the next two decades but was reduced to seven masters and twelve clerks in 1346. The office of président was created by the Ordinance of 1381, and a second lay Chief Baron was appointed in 1400. Clerks of court were eventually added to the court's composition. Examiners (correcteurs) were created to assist the maitres. Other court officers (conseillers) appointed by the King were created to act alongside the maîtres ordinaires. Lastly, the Ordinance of 26 February 1464 named the Court of Accounts as the "sovereign, primary, supreme, and sole court of last resort in all things financial".^[56]

While gaining in stability in the later 14th century, the court lost its central role in royal finances. First, currency was moved to a separate body (Chambre des monnaies), then the increasingly regular "extraordinary" taxes (aide,

Parlements

The

In 1302, expanding French royal power led to a general assembly consisting of the chief lords, both lay and ecclesiastical, and the representatives of the principal privileged towns, which were like distinct lordships. Certain precedents paved the way for this institution: representatives of principal towns had several times been convoked by the king, and under

The Estates-General included representatives of the First Estate (

Prévôts, baillages

The prévôts were the first-level judges created by the Capetian monarchy around the 11th century who administered the scattered parts of the royal domain. Provosts replaced viscounts wherever a viscounty had not been made a fief, and it is likely that the provost position imitated and was styled after the corresponding ecclesiastical provost of cathedral chapters. Provosts were entrusted with and carried out local royal power, including the collection of the Crown's domainal revenues and all taxes and duties owed the King within a provostship's jurisdiction. They were also responsible for military defense such as raising local contingents for royal armies. The provosts also administered justice though with limited jurisdiction.

In the 11th century, the provosts tended increasingly to make their positions hereditary and thus became more difficult to control. One of the King's great officers, the Great Seneschal, became their supervisor. In the 12th century, the office of provost was put up for bidding, and thereafter provosts were farmers of revenues. The provost thus received the speculative right to collect the King's seignorial revenues within his provostship. This remained his primary role.

To monitor the performance and curtail abuses of the prévôts or their equivalent (in

Carolingian legacy

During the later years of the elderly

The history of medieval France starts with the election of

Count Borell of Barcelona called for Hugh's help against Islamic raids, but even if Hugh intended to help Borell, he was otherwise occupied in fighting Charles of Lorraine. The loss of other Spanish principalities then followed, as the Spanish marches grew more and more independent.^[58] Hugh Capet, the first Capetian king, is not a well documented figure, his greatest achievement being certainly to survive as king and defeating the Carolingian claimant, thus allowing him to establish what would become one of Europe's most powerful house of kings.^[58]

Hugh's son – Robert the Pious – was crowned King of the Franks before Capet's demise. Hugh Capet decided so in order to have his succession secured. Robert II, as King of the Franks, met Holy Roman Emperor Henry II in 1023 on the borderline. They agreed to end all claims over each other's realm, setting a new stage of Capetian and Ottonian relationships. Although a king weak in power, Robert II's efforts were considerable. His surviving charters imply he relied heavily on the Church to rule France, much like his father did. Although he lived with a mistress – Bertha of Burgundy – and was excommunicated because of this, he was regarded as a model of piety for monks (hence his nickname, Robert the Pious).^[58] The reign of Robert II was quite important because it involved the Peace and Truce of God (beginning in 989) and the Cluniac Reforms.^[58]

Robert II crowned his son –

The next King of the Franks was Robert II's next son, Henry I (reigned 1027–1060). Like Hugh Magnus, Henry was crowned as co-ruler with his father (1027), in the Capetian tradition, but he had little power or influence as junior king while his father still lived. Henry I was crowned after Robert's death in 1031, which is quite exceptional for a French king of the times. Henry I was one of the weakest kings of the Franks, and his reign saw the rise of some very powerful nobles such as William the Conqueror.^[58] Henry I's biggest source of concerns was his brother – Robert I of Burgundy – who was pushed by his mother to the conflict. Robert of Burgundy was made Duke of Burgundy by King Henry I and had to be satisfied with that title. From Henry I onward, the Dukes of Burgundy were relatives of the King of the Franks until the end of the Duchy proper.

King Philip I, named by his Kievan mother with a typically Eastern European name, was no more fortunate than his predecessor^[58] although the kingdom did enjoy a modest recovery during his extraordinarily long reign (1060–1108). His reign also saw the launch of the First Crusade to regain the Holy Land, which heavily involved his family although he personally did not support the expedition.

The area around the lower Seine, ceded to

Thanks to Abbot Suger's political advice, King Louis VII (junior king 1131–1137, senior king 1137–1180) enjoyed greater moral authority over France than his predecessors. Powerful vassals paid homage to the French king.^[59] Abbot Suger arranged the 1137 marriage between Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine in Bordeaux, which made Louis VII Duke of Aquitaine and gave him considerable power. However, the couple disagreed over the burning of more than a thousand people in Vitry during the conflict against the Count of Champagne.^[60]

King Louis VII was deeply horrified by the event and sought penitence by going to the Holy Land. He later involved the Kingdom of France in the Second Crusade but his relationship with Eleanor did not improve. The marriage was ultimately annulled by the pope under the pretext of consanguinity and Eleanor soon married the Duke of Normandy – Henry Fitzempress, who would become King of England as Henry II two years later.^[60] Louis VII was once a very powerful monarch and was now facing a much stronger vassal, who was his equal as King of England and his strongest prince as Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine.

(Henry had inherited the Duchy of Normandy through his mother, Mathilda of England, and the County of

Abbot Suger's vision of construction became what is now known as Gothic architecture. This style became standard for most European cathedrals built in the late Middle Ages.^[60]

The late direct Capetian kings were considerably more powerful and influential than the earliest ones. While Philip I could hardly control his Parisian barons, Philip IV could dictate popes and emperors. The late Capetians, although they often ruled for a shorter time than their earlier peers, were often much more influential. This period also saw the rise of a complex system of international alliances and conflicts opposing, through dynasties, Kings of France and England and Holy Roman Emperor.

Philip II Augustus and Louis VIII (1180–1226)

The reign of Philip II Augustus (junior king 1179–1180, senior king 1180–1223) marked an important step in the history of French monarchy. His reign saw the French royal domain and influence greatly expanded. He set the context for the rise of power to much more powerful monarchs like Saint Louis and Philip the Fair.

Philip II spent an important part of his reign fighting the so-called Angevin Empire, which was probably the greatest threat to the King of France since the rise of the Capetian dynasty. During the first part of his reign Philip II tried using Henry II of England's son against him. He allied himself with the Duke of Aquitaine and son of Henry II – Richard Lionheart – and together they launched a decisive attack on Henry's castle and home of Chinon and removed him from power.

Richard replaced his father as King of England afterward. The two kings then went crusading during the Third Crusade; however, their alliance and friendship broke down during the crusade. The two men were once again at odds and fought each other in France until Richard was on the verge of totally defeating Philip II.

Adding to their battles in France, the Kings of France and England were trying to install their respective allies at the head of the

France became a truly centralised kingdom under Louis IX (reigned 1226–1270). Saint Louis has often been portrayed as a one-dimensional character, a flawless example of the faith and an administrative reformer who cared for the governed ones. However, his reign was far from perfect for everyone: he made unsuccessful crusades, his expanding administrations raised opposition, and he burned Jewish books at the Pope's urging.^[61] His judgments were not often practical, although they seemed fair by the standards of the time. It appears Louis had a strong sense of justice and always wanted to judge people himself before applying any sentence. This was said about Louis and French clergy asking for excommunications of Louis' vassals:^[62]

For it would be against God and contrary to right and justice if he compelled any man to seek absolution when the clergy were doing him wrong.

Louis IX was only twelve years old when he became King of France. His mother – Blanche of Castile – was the effective power as regent (although she did not formally use the title). Blanche's authority was strongly opposed by the French barons yet she maintained her position until Louis was old enough to rule by himself.

In 1229 the King had to struggle with a long-lasting

The kingdom was vulnerable: war was still going on in the County of Toulouse, and the royal army was occupied fighting resistance in Languedoc.

King Henry III of England had not yet recognized the Capetian overlordship over Aquitaine and still hoped to recover Normandy and Anjou and reform the Angevin Empire. He landed in 1230 at Saint-Malo with a massive force. Henry III's allies in Brittany and Normandy fell down because they did not dare fight their king, who led the counterstrike himself. This evolved into the Saintonge War (1242).

Ultimately, Henry III was defeated and had to recognize Louis IX's overlordship, although the King of France did not seize Aquitaine from Henry III. Louis IX was now the most important landowner of France, adding to his royal title. There were some opposition to his rule in Normandy, yet it proved remarkably easy to rule, especially compared to the County of Toulouse which had been brutally conquered. The Conseil du Roi, which would evolve into the Parlement, was founded in these times.

After his conflict with King Henry III of England, Louis established a cordial relation with the Plantagenet King. An amusing anecdote is about Henry III's attending the French Parlement, as Duke of Aquitaine; however, the King of England was always late because he liked to stop each time he met a priest to hear the mass, so Louis made sure no priest was on the way of Henry III. Henry III and Louis IX then started a long contest for who was the most faithful; this evolved to the point that none ever arrived on time to the Parlement, which was then allowed to debate in their absence.^[63]

Saint Louis also supported new forms of art such as Gothic architecture; his Sainte-Chapelle became a very famous gothic building, and he is also credited for the Morgan Bible.

The Kingdom was involved in two crusades under Saint Louis: the Seventh Crusade and the Eighth Crusade. Both proved to be complete failures for the French King. He died in the Eighth Crusade and Philip III became king.

The 13th century was to bring the crown important gains also in the south, where a papal-royal crusade against the region's Albigensian or Cathar heretics (1209) led to the incorporation into the royal domain of Lower (1229) and Upper (1271) Languedoc. Philip IV's seizure of Flanders (1300) was less successful, ending two years later in the rout of his knights by the forces of the Flemish cities at the Battle of the Golden Spurs near Kortrijk (Courtrai).

Philip III and Philip IV (1270–1314)

After Louis IX died of bubonic plague crusading in Tunisia in 1270, his son Philip III (1270–1285) and grandson Philip IV (1285–1314) followed him. Philip III was called "the Bold" on the basis of his abilities in combat and on horseback, and not because of his character or ruling abilities. Philip III took part in another crusading disaster: the Aragonese Crusade, which cost him his life in 1285.

Philip III continued the steady expansion of the royal domain. He inherited Toulouse in 1271 from his uncle and married his son and heir to the heiress of Champagne and Navarre.

After taking the throne, Philip III felt obliged to continue his father's apparently solid diplomacy despite circumstances having changed. In 1282, the misrule of

Of the later Capetian rulers, Philip IV was the greatest, bringing royal power to the strongest level it would attain in the Middle Ages, yet alienated a great many people and generally left France exhausted. As such, his sons were obliged to follow a more restrained course without however abandoning their father's ambitions. Philip IV for the most part ignored the Mediterranean and instead focused his foreign policy efforts on France's northern frontiers. Some of this was done at the expense of the Holy Roman Emperors, but the king's most aggressive actions were against England. Disputes over Aquitaine were a bone of contention for years and finally in 1294, war broke out. The French armies drove deep into Gascony, leading to Edward I of England joining forces with Flanders and other allies on the northern borders of France. The allied forces were soundly beaten in 1297 by a French army led by Robert of Artois and a truce was agreed to, leading to preservation of the status quo ante bellum. As part of the peace arrangement, Edward married Philip's sister and the son and daughter of both kings were slated to marry.

Flanders remained stubbornly rebellious and insubordinate. Although their count had been imprisoned by Philip, this did not prevent the Flemish burghers from rising up against French troops stationed there, inflicting a sensational defeat on them at the 1302

In addition, Philip IV extended royal jurisdiction by treaty into the ecclesiastical territories of Vivers, Cahors, Mende, and Le Puy. With all this, the king could now assert power nearly anywhere in France, yet there was still a great deal of work yet to be done and French rulers for the time being continued to do without Brittany, Burgundy, and numerous lesser territories although they legislated for the whole realm. Governmental administration in France during this period became more bureaucratic and sophisticated along with the steady expansion of royal power. Even so, the Capetian kings should not be taken as arbitrary tyrants since feudal custom and tradition still acted as restraints on them.

If Philip's policies provoked hostility and complaints, it was because they favored no class in particular. The king's policy towards the towns remained fairly traditional, but this was not the case with the Church. When he wanted to tax French clergy to fund military campaigns, he encountered the objection of Pope

In 1301, fresh trouble erupted when the Bishop of Pamiers was accused by the King of heresy and treason, leading to another protest from

Philip ensured that he would never again have trouble with the Church by promoting Raymond Bertrand de Got, archbishop of Bordeaux, as the next Pope. The papal conclave was evenly divided between French and Italian cardinals, but the latter acquiesced and de Got became Pope

More administrative reforms were made by Philip IV, also called Philip the Fair (reigned 1285–1314). This king signed the Auld Alliance, and established the Parlement of Paris.

One of the more bizarre episodes of Philip's reign was his involvement in the destruction of the

Louis X, Philip V and Charles IV (1314–1328)

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In 1314, Philip IV died abruptly in a hunting accident at the age of 47 and the throne passed to his son Louis X (1314–1316). Louis's brief reign saw further unsuccessful attempts to assert control over Flanders as the king mobilized an army along the border, but supply problems caused the effort to break down. Louis died in the summer of 1316 at only 26 of an unknown illness (possibly gastroenteritis) after consuming a large quantity of chilled wine following a game of tennis on an extremely hot day. The king's wife was then pregnant and gave birth to a son, John, in November, but he died after a week and the throne passed to his brother Philip.

Philip V (1316–1322) made peace with Flanders via a marriage compact with its count Robert III and faced continued quarrels with Edward II of England over Gascony. He made plans for a new crusade to relieve the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, but the Flanders situation remained unstable and an attempted French naval expedition to the Middle East was destroyed off Genoa in 1319. At this point, peasants and soldiers originally intended to invade Flanders rose in another self-proclaimed crusade (Pastoreux) which once again turned into an assault on the nobility, tax collectors, and Jews. Pope

In 1321,

Having failed to produce a son that survived infancy, Philip was succeeded by his brother (and the youngest of Philip IV's sons)

Charles was also eager to begin a new crusade in the Levant and had once plotted to become Byzantine emperor. He failed to work out an agreement with the Pope over funding the expedition however, and his attention was distracted by the events in Gascony. But in 1327, a French ambassador traveled to Constantinople and found the Byzantine Empire beset by civil wars. The following year, Charles IV died, ending any plans for crusades in the region.

The Hundred Years' War (1328–1453)

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The death of

French losses in the first phase of the conflict (1337–1360) were partly reversed in the second (1369–1396); but Henry V's shattering victory at the battle of Agincourt in 1415 against a France now bitterly divided between rival Armagnac and Burgundian factions of the royal house was to lead to his son Henry VI's recognition as king in Paris seven years later under the 1420 Treaty of Troyes, reducing Valois rule to the lands south of the Loire River Valley.

France's humiliation was abruptly reversed in 1429 by the appearance of a restorationist movement embodied by the peasant maid

Reconciliation in 1435 between the king and

The losses of the century of war were enormous, particularly owing to the plague (the Black Death, usually considered an outbreak of bubonic plague), which arrived from Italy in 1348, spreading rapidly up the Rhone valley and thence across most of the country: it is estimated that a population of some 18–20 million in modern-day France at the time of the 1328 hearth tax returns had been reduced 150 years later by 50% or more.

The tensions between the Houses of

• Capetian Dynasty (House of Capet
  ):
  • Hugh Capet, 940–996
  • Robert the Pious, 996–1027
  • Henry I, 1027–1060
  • Philip I, 1060–1108
  • Louis VI the Fat, 1108–1137
  • Louis VII the Young, 1137–1180
  • Philip II Augustus, 1180–1223
  • Louis VIII the Lion, 1223–1226
  • Saint Louis IX, 1226–1270
  • Philip III the Bold, 1270–1285
  • Philip IV the Fair, 1285–1314
  • Louis X the Quarreller, 1314–1316
  • John I the Posthumous, five days in 1316
  • Philip V the Tall, 1316–1322
  • Charles IV the Fair, 1322–1328
• House of Valois:
  • Philip VI of Valois, 1328–1350
  • John II the Good, 1350–1364
  • Charles V the Wise, 1364–1380
  • Charles VI the Mad, 1380–1422
    • English interlude (between Charles VI and VII):
      • Henry V of England
      • Henry VI of England and France, 1422–1453
  • Charles VII the Well Served, 1422–1461

Religion and the Church

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• List of Ancien Régime dioceses of France

Jewish-Christian Relations in France

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In the Middle Ages, France was primarily made up of a Christian population that maintained a positive relationship with the Jewish minority. In a historical sense, Christians and Jews both made generalizations about the success of their community relations in Medieval France. The history of Jewish-Christian relations was focused primarily on the persecution that Jews faced in a prominently Christian world. In France, however, there were many examples of Jewish and Christian people working together towards a prosperity that was beneficial to both religions. They conducted business together, as well as participated in intimate social affairs. While the Jews would never fully assimilate into French culture by choice, they were accepted by the Christians in their societies.^[64]

After years of peace, in the 13th Century, Louis IX became obsessed with restricting Jewish activities. Eventually, after the Jewish population suffered multiple expulsions from France, the anti-Jewish rhetoric gained some popularity in small villages and towns. Jews began to face a fatal price for practicing their religious traditions. This discriminatory action promoted by the Royals, did not take hold with the general civilian populations in large cities because a large population of Christians permitted and accepted the differing Jewish faith.^[64]

Small communities however, incorporated these prejudiced ideas into their beliefs, which led to some instances of blood libels which took many Jewish lives. Blood Libels consisted of accusations directed at small Jewish communities that promoted a false belief that there was a sacrificial aspect in Jewish prayer. These falsities proclaimed that a Jewish religious event included the sacrifice of a Christian child. In Blois, France, as many as 40 Jews were accused of killing a young Christian boy. They were found guilty and killed. Though Blood Libels and persecution did not define Jewish-Christian relations in the Middle-Ages in France, it had a large impact on the way the history of this time period is recited.^[64]

Economy and technology

The period after the death of Charlemagne was marked by an economic crisis caused by political instability; town life all but disappeared. However, this had changed by the 11th century. The introduction of new crops, the improvements in the climate, and the introduction of new agricultural technologies created a large agricultural surplus. This was accompanied by the growth in town life, trade, and industry. The economy once again collapsed in the fourteenth century because of war, bad weather, and the Black Death.

The rural economy was based on the manor; in urban areas economic activity was organized around guilds.

Culture

Literature

• For the literature of Northern France written in one of the Old French languages ("langues d'oïl") and (later) Middle French, see Medieval French literature.
• For the literature of Southern France written in one of the Occitan languages, see Occitan literature.
• For the literature written in the "langue d'oïl" Anglo-Norman language during the Norman rule of England, see Anglo-Norman literature.

Art and music

Art was a large staple of the medieval France. Illuminated manuscripts were diligently written and illustrated within this period, some notable examples include the Hours of Philip the Bold, the Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux and the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry of the 14th and 15th centuries. Some of the earliest painters lived in the Later Middle Ages in France such as Jacquemart de Hesdin, Jean de Beaumetz and Colart de Laon. While in music, the Ars antiqua musical style was common in the High Middle Ages and Ars nova in the Later Middle Ages. A group of composers from the Notre-Dame school, were active during Ars antiqua period, arguably the most famous being the 12th-century Léonin and Pérotin. Troubadour culture flourished after the 12th century, exemplified by famous personages of the High Middle Ages such as Perdigon, Bertran de Born and Raimbaut de Vaqueiras among others.

References

• Stéphane Lebecq. Les origines franques: Ve-IXe siècles. Series: Nouvelle histoire de la France médiévale. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1999.
  ISBN 2-02-011552-2
• Chris Wickham. The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages, 400–1000. Penguin: 2009.
  ISBN 978-0-14-311742-1

• Dominique Barthélemy. (in French) L'ordre seigneurial: XIe-XIIe siècle. Series: Nouvelle histoire de la France médiévale, tome 3. Editions du Seuil.
  ISBN 2-02-011554-9
• Marc Bloch. Feudal Society. 2nd edition: Routledge, 1989.
  ISBN 978-0226059785
• Constance Brittain Bouchard. Strong of Body, Brave and Noble": Chivalry and Society in Medieval France.
  ISBN 978-0801485480
• Norman F. Cantor. The Civilization of the Middle Ages. New York: HarperPerennial, 1993.
  ISBN 0-06-092553-1
• Alain Demurger. (in French) Temps de crises, temps d'espoirs: XIVe-XVe siècle. Series: Nouvelle histoire de la France médiévale, tome 5. Editions du Seuil.
  ISBN 2-02-012221-9
• Monique Bourin-Derruau. (in French) Temps d'équilibres, temps de ruptures: XIIIe siècle. Series: Nouvelle histoire de la France médiévale, tome 4. Editions du Seuil.
  ISBN 2-02-012220-0
• Georges Duby. France in the Middle Ages 987–1460: From Hugh Capet to Joan of Arc. Wiley-Blackwell. 1993.
  ISBN 978-0631189459
• Elizabeth M. Hallam & Judith Everard. Capetian France 987–1328. Editions Longman. 2nd edition: Pearson, 2001.
  ISBN 978-0582404281
• William Kibler. Medieval France: An Encyclopedia Series: Routledge Encyclopedias of the Middle Ages. Routledge, 1995.
  ISBN 978-0824044442