Charles V (1338-1380)
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The Merovingians
Descendants of the Salian Franks, this dynasty takes its name from Merovech, the ancestor of Clovis. The power of the first Merovingians was limited originally to the kingdoms of Cambrai, ruled by Clodio, and Tournai, governed by Childeric. Clovis (481-511), son of Childeric, soon extended his authority to all of Gaul. His conversion to Christianity
under the influence of his wife, the Burgundian princess Clotilda, paved the way for the Gallo-Roman population to recognize and accept him as king. Divided among Clovis's four sons
, who continued to expand its borders, the kingdom was united once again under Clotaire I (558-561). His sons in turn subdivided the legacy, but two of them, Chilperic I, king of Neustria wedded to Fredegund, and Sigibert I, king of Austrasia married to Brunhild, embarked on a long and savage conflict that lasted until Clotaire II (613-629) ascended the throne. His son, Dagobert I, reigned until 639. Dagobert's royal treasurer, Saint Eligius, established numerous religious houses and charitable institutions in his diocese of Noyon. Around this time mayors of the palace, who represented the interests of important landowners and royal officials, began to wield increasing power. Mayors of the palace exerted total control over the last Merovingians, impoverished and debauched figureheads known as rois fainéants (" do-nothing kings "
), who were gradually supplanted by the Carolingians.
The much-vaunted Trojan origins of the Franks are but a legend that dates back to the seventh century ; it was developed by chroniclers of the Capetian era to enhance the monarchy's prestige.
The Carolingians
This Frankish dynasty succeeded the Merovingians and ruled over Gaul, western Germany, the Alps, and northern Italy from the mid-eighth century to the end of the tenth century. The Carolingians rose to power gradually over a long period of time, in the shadow of the Merovingian kings. As early as 687 Pepin of Heristal became mayor of the palace and held all Neustria in his sway. His illegitimate son, Charles Martel (685-741), mayor of the palace to Thierry IV, strengthened his power base and won fame by repulsing the Arabs at Poitiers in 732
. Pepin the Short, his son, worked to consolidate the family's acquisitions, first alongside his brother Carloman, and later alone after his elder brother's abdication in 747. Pepin then united Austrasia and Neustria to become the first Frankish king of the Carolingian line (elected at Soissons in 751). Anointed by Saint Boniface, Pepin assisted Pope Stephen II against the Lombards ; from them he wrested the Exarchate of Ravenna and the Pentapolis, which he donated to the Church. His son Charles, better known as Charlemagne (742-814)
, was the true founder of the Carolingian empire, successively king of the Franks, king of the Lombards, then Emperor of the West
. Charlemagne initially shared power with his brother Carloman, but when the latter died in 771 he inherited a disparate collection of land holdings where his authority had yet to be firmly established. Still, at his death in 814, what he left behind was a remarkably well organized and administered empire that stretched from the River Elbe to the Pyrenees. Charlemagne's heir, Louis the Pious (778-840), proved incapable of maintaining unity owing to the quarrels of his sons. In 843 the Treaty of Verdun formalized the breakup of the empire : defeated at Fontenoy in 841
, Lothair retained possession only of Italy and Lotharingia (Lorraine), a strip of land running from Provence to Frisia ; his brother Louis received all of Germany, while Charles the Bald (823-877), the youngest son born of a second marriage, was allotted Francia occidentalis (western France). Two attempts to restore the empire, one led by Charles the Bald in 875 and another by his nephew, Charles the Fat in 885, both proved fruitless. Although art and culture continued to flourish, an inexorable decline had begun, accentuated by internal rifts and foreign threats (the Viking invasions). Thereafter each parcel of the former empire followed its separate destiny, and others would afterward take up the legacy.
The Capetians
The Capetian dynasty was founded by Hugh Capet, elected king of France in 987 over the last legitimate pretender of the Carolingian line, Charles, duke of Lower Lorraine. Originally conceded by election, kingship did not become hereditary among the Capetians until 1179. The Capetians initially controlled only the duchy of France (Paris and Orleans), but owing to a shrewd and persistent policy of annexation their jurisdiction progressively extended to other regions : Artois, Vermandois, and Auvergne were incorporated into the kingdom under Philip Augustus (1180-1223)
, who also confiscated from the English monarch John Lackland the territories of Anjou (birthplace of the Plantagenet family), Maine, Normandy, Poitou, Saintonge, and Touraine. Capetian dominions further expanded to include the county of Toulouse under Philip III the Bold (1270-1285), and later Champagne, Angoumois, and the county of Lyons under Philip IV the Fair (1285-1314). The direct Capetian line produced 14 monarchs, among them Saint Louis (1226-1270)
, then died out with Charles IV the Fair (1323-1328), the last of Philip IV the Fair's three sons. They were succeeded by the Valois branch of the Capetians, of which Charles V
was the third to rule after Philip VI of Valois (1328-1350)
and John II the Good (1350-1364)
. The Valois line endured until the death of Henry III in 1589. His successor, Henry IV (1589-1614) was the first Capetian king of the Bourbon line, which continued without interruption until Louis XVI was deposed in 1791.
Charles V (1338-1380)
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