Capetian dynasty

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

House of Capet

One variation of the Capetian Armorial
Parent houseRobertians,
Karlings
Country
List
Founded987; 1037 years ago (987)
Founder
Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou
Cadet branchesSee below

The Capetian dynasty (/kəˈpiːʃən/ kə-PEE-shən; French: Capétiens), also known as the "House of France", is a dynasty of European origin, and a branch of the Robertians and the Karlings. It is among the largest and oldest royal houses in Europe and the world, and consists of Hugh Capet, the founder of the dynasty, and his male-line descendants, who ruled in France without interruption from 987 to 1792, and again from 1814 to 1848. 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. That line was succeeded by cadet branches, the Houses of Valois and then Bourbon, which ruled without interruption until the French Revolution abolished the monarchy in 1792. The Bourbons were restored in 1814 in the aftermath of Napoleon's defeat, but had to vacate the throne again in 1830 in favour of the last Capetian monarch of France, Louis Philippe I, who belonged to the House of Orléans. Cadet branches of the Capetian House of Bourbon are still reigning over Spain and Luxembourg.

The dynasty had a crucial role in the formation of the French state. Initially obeyed only in their own demesne, the Île-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, see Crown lands of France.

Members of the dynasty were traditionally Catholic, and the early Capetians had an alliance with the

Ottoman sultan to counter the growing power of the Holy Roman Empire. Henry IV
was 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 given appanages for 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 of Portugal, Sicily and Naples, Navarre, Hungary and Croatia, Poland, Spain and Sardinia, grand dukedoms of Lithuania and Luxembourg, and in Latin and Brazilian empires.

In modern times, King

European history, are related to the Capetian dynasty.[1][2][3]

Name origins and usage

The name of the dynasty derives from its founder,

Hugh, who was known as "Hugh Capet".[4] 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 word caput ("head"), and explain it as meaning "chief" or "head".[citation needed
]

Historians in the

Queen Marie Antoinette (a member of the House 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

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

The Capetian miracle (French: Miracle capétien) refers to the dynasty's ability to attain and hold onto the French crown.[5][page needed]

In 987,

orderly succession of power from father to son over such a long period of time meant that the French monarchs, who originally were essentially just the direct rulers of the Île-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 Crusader

King 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 the Hundred Years' War
of the 14th century.

The Robertians and before

Capetian dynasty Cadets
Main article: Robertians

The dynastic surname now used to describe Hugh Capet's family prior to his election as King of France is "Robertians" or "Robertines." The name is derived from the family's first certain ancestor,

Western Francia. The family became Counts of Paris under Odo and Dukes of the Franks under Robert, possessing large parts of Neustria
.

In the late 9th century, King Robert I, grandfather of Hugh Capet, married Beatrice of Vermandois, a direct descendant of Charlemagne, thus making the Capetian dynasty a cadet branch of the Carolingian dynasty.[6][7]

The Carolingian dynasty ceased to rule France upon the death of Louis V. After the death of Louis V, the son of Hugh the Great, Hugh Capet, was elected by the nobility as king of France. Hugh was crowned at Noyon on 3 July 987 with the full support from Holy Roman Emperor Otto III. With Hugh's coronation, a new era began for France, and his descendants came to be named the Capetians, with the Capetian dynasty and its cadet branches such as the House of Valois ruling France for more than 800 years (987–1848, with two interruptions during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, first between 1792 and 1814, and then for three months in 1815.)

Robertian family branches

Capetians through history

Genealogy of the Third Lineage of King of the Franks

Over the succeeding centuries, Capetians spread throughout Europe, ruling every form of provincial unit from kingdoms to manors.

Salic law

agnatic
) descendants of Hugh to succeed to the throne of France.

Without Salic law, upon the death of

Tour de Nesle Affair
; the French magnates adopted Salic law to avoid the succession of a possible bastard.

In 1328, King Charles IV of France died 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 the House of Capet after the death of Charles IV to Philip VI of France of the House of Valois, a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty,

  • then to Louis II, Duke of Orléans, of the Orléans branch of the Valois, who became
    Louis XII of France
    ,
  • then to Francis, Duke of Valois, Count of Angoulème, who became Francis I of France, and his descendants, of the Orléans-Angoulème,
  • then to Henry III of Navarre, who became Henry IV of France, of the House of Bourbon, a cadet branch of 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 available below.

Capetian cadet branches

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

Descendants of Louis IX of France

Descendants of Louis VIII of France

Descendants of Louis VI of France

  • House of Dreux (1137–1345)
    • Breton House of Dreux
      (1213–1341)
      • House of Montfort
        (1322–1488)
  • Capetian House of Courtenay (1150–1727)
    • Capetian House of Courtenay – Latin emperors of Constantinople (1217–1283)

Descendants of Henry I of France

  • Capetian House of Vermandois
    (1085–1212)

Descendants of Robert II of France

Sovereigns from the Capetian dynasty

Latin Empire

Kingdom of Albania

Kingdom of Etruria

Kingdom of France

Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Naples

Kingdom of Navarre

Kingdom of Poland

Kingdom and County of Portugal

Kingdom of Sicily

Kingdom of Spain

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Duchy of Brabant

Duchy of Brittany

Duchy of Burgundy

Duchy of Lorraine

Duchy of Lucca

Duchy of Luxemburg

Duchy of Milan

Duchy of Parma

Principality of Achaea

Principality of Taranto

Marquisate of Namur

Illegitimate descent

Empire of Brazil

Kingdom of Portugal

Senior Capets

Throughout most of history, the Senior Capet and the

Legitimist
pretenders thereafter. All dates are for seniority, not reign.

King of France
:

Legitimist Pretenders
:

  • Louis Anthony, Duke of Angoulême (1836–1844)
  • Henry, Count of Chambord (1844–1883)
  • John, Count of Montizón (1883–1887)
  • Charles, Duke of Madrid (1887–1909)
  • James, Duke of Anjou and Madrid (1909–1931)
  • Alphonse Charles, Duke of San Jaime (1931–1936)
  • King of Spain
    (1936–1941)
  • James Henry, Duke of Anjou and Segovia (1941–1975)
  • Alphonse, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz (1975–1989)
  • Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou (1989–)

The Capetian dynasty today

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, seven

Legitimist (Blancs d'Espagne
) claim to the French throne. Overall, dozens of branches of the Capetian dynasty still exist throughout Europe.

Except for the

illegitimate son of King John 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

  • Grand Duke of Luxembourg
    (since 2000)
  • King of Spain
    (since 2014)

Current Capetian pretenders

Arms of cadet branches

Main article:
List of coats of arms of the Capetian dynasty
Arms of branches founded before Philip Augustus
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

See also

Notes

Works cited

  • Naus, James (2016). Constructing kingship : the Capetian monarchs of France and the early Crusades. Manchester University Press.
    ISBN 9780719090974
    .

Further reading

External links
  1. ISBN 978-0-19-161640-2
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0-85613-672-6
    .
  3. ISBN 978-0-582-40428-1
    .
  4. ISBN 978-0-8264-2491-4
    .
  5. ^ Naus 2016.
  6. ^ Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafeln 10, 11
  7. ^ Pierre Riché, The Carolingians; A Family Who Forged Europe, trans. Michael Idomir Allen (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993), pp. 371, 375
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