The first royal dynasty of the Franks. Kings and Emperors of France - II

Dynasty of Frankish kings. Dividing into two branches - Salic and Ripuarian, the Franks established themselves in the northeast of Gaul. After the first historical king, Chlodion, legend names Merovei as the king of the Salic Franks (in the middle of the 5th century), from whom the M dynasty supposedly took its name. Childeric is a completely historical person, who first fled from his state due to the indignation of the Franks who were dissatisfied with him. His struggle with Egidius after the victory over the Alemanni in 471 is known. His son Clovis (481-511) was the true founder of the Frankish kingdom; he united the Salic and Ripuarian Franks under his rule. After the death of Clovis comes specific period, since he divided his possessions among his four sons. Each of them enjoyed independent power, but their possessions formed one inseparable whole. Almost the entire reign of the sons of Clovis was spent in constant wars with external enemies and civil strife. In 558, all of Gaul was united under the rule of Chlothar I, who ruled it until his death in 561; then it was again divided between his 4 sons, and then formed three states - Burgundy, Austrasia and Neustria. The royal house of M. at this time (561-613) presents a terrible picture of crime, violence and murder. Particularly characteristic is the bloody struggle between the two queens - Brunegilda and Fredegonda. In 613, Fredegonda's son, Clothar II (613-628), united all three kingdoms under his rule, and the appanage period ended. From that time on, M.'s power was noticeably weakened, the king's rights were limited, and the magnates gradually became stronger, who, in the person of the mayordomos, finally seized into their own hands the supreme power and command over the army. In 629, Clothar II died, leaving two sons - Dagobert and Charibert. Dagobert (629-638) was recognized as the King of Austrasia and Burgundy, again uniting all 3 states under his rule. The secularization of church property carried out by Dagobert aroused the displeasure of the clergy, and the Merovingians lost their last support. Dagobert's successors were completely insignificant people, incapable of ruling. The period of M.'s insignificance and the dominance of the mayors begins. Mayor Pepin the Short, having suppressed external and internal enemies, decided to destroy the very fiction of the royal power of M. After consulting with Pope Zechariah II, Pepin was anointed and proclaimed king; He cut the hair of the last M., Childeric III, and imprisoned him in a monastery (November 751). This event did not make any impression on his contemporaries.

Carolingians(Karolinger, Carlovingiens, Carolingiens) - members of the dynasty of Charlemagne. Their older generations (before Charlemagne) are sometimes called by the name of Pepin of Geristal the Pipinids or by the name of the ancestor of K., Bishop of Metz, St. Arnulf - Arnulfings. Arnulf († 631) came from a noble family - probably Frankish. Together with the Austrasian mayor Pepin the Elder, or Lanzensky († 639), he took a prominent part in the political life of the Merovingian kingdom. His son Anzegiz, or Anzegizil, married Pepin's daughter, Begge. Anzegisile occupied a prominent position at the Austrasian court (according to some reports, he himself was a majordomo), but soon after the death of his father he was killed. Anzegisil's son, Majordomo Pepin of Geristal († 714), united Austrasia and Neustria under his rule, although he did not eliminate the Merovingian kings. This unification was strengthened by Pepin's son, Charles Martell. After his death (741) power was divided, with the title of mayordomos. his sons Carloman and Pepin the Short, who elevated Childeric III to the Merovingian throne. After the death of Carloman and the imprisonment of Childeric in the monastery, Pepin became king (752-768). After his death, his two sons were proclaimed kings - Charlemagne (766-814, emperor from 800) and Carloman († 771). Of the sons of Charlemagne (Charles, Pepin, Louis), only Emperor Louis the Pious (814-840) survived him. The discord that arose between his sons Lothair, Pepin († 838), Louis the German and Charles the Bald ended in 843 with the Treaty of Verdun. The K. dynasty was divided into several branches. Here are their main representatives:

• branch of Lothair, the eldest son of Louis the Pious, who received the title of emperor, Italy, part of Burgundy, Provence, Alsace and present-day Lorraine († 855). His sons:
  • Louis II, imp. († 875), received Italy, died without sons; the son of his daughter Ermengarde is Louis III the Blind, king of Italy († 905);
  • Lothair II received Lorraine (from him and took this name; † 869); after his death, Lorraine was captured by Louis the German and Charles the Bald;
  • Charles received the kingdom of Provence.
• The branch of Louis the German, who received Germany, are the sons:
  • Carloman, king of Bavaria and (from 877) Italian († 880); he has an illegitimate son, Arnulf, king of the Germans (887-899); Arnulf has a son, Louis III the Child, King of the Germans (900-911; last K. in Germany); Arnulf's daughter, Glismut, was married to Conrad, Duke of Frankishness; from this marriage son Conrad I, King of Germany (911-918);
  • Louis II the Young, received Franconia and Saxony, † 882, without issue;
  • Charles III the Thick, king of Allemania from 876, of Italy from 880, of all Germany - after the death of his brothers, from 881 - emperor, from 884 and king of France, thus again uniting the monarchy of Charlemagne; deprived of power 887, † 888
• Branch of Charles the Bald, who received France. His son is Louis II, Louis le Begue, † in 879; he has sons from his first marriage:
  • Louis III († 882) and
  • Carloman († 884), who ruled jointly,
  and from 2nd marriage
  • Charles the Simple († 929), first bypassed by the French barons in favor of Charles the Tolstoy, elevated to the French king only in 893, then deprived of power in favor of Rudolf of Burgundy. Charles the Simple has a son, Louis IV Overseas, cor. from 936, † 954; he has sons:
    • Lothair I of France († 986);
    • Karl, Hertz. Lower Lorraine († 991). Lothair I has a son, Louis V the Lazy († 987), the last of the Kings who reigned in France. On the female side, K. were related to many German ducal houses, to Italian kings and to the Capetian house.

Capetians - the third French dynasty, which gave France 16 kings and ended in the senior line in 1328 and - its junior lines. Historians do not agree regarding the origin of the K. dynasty: according to most French researchers, the K. come from Central France, while others (mostly Germans) derive them from the Saxon Witichin, whose son, Robert the Brave, acquired significant territory (the duchy between the Seine and Loire) and fell in the fight against the Normans in 866. His son Ed, or Eudes, Duke of Neustria and Count of Paris, after successfully defending Paris from the Normans, was (888) elected king of France and died in 898. opponent (from 893) Carolingian Charles the Simple allowed the crown to pass to Ed's brother, Robert, in 922, and after Robert's death to his son-in-law, Rudolf of Burgundy (d. 936).Robert's son Hugo the Great, Duke of France and Burgundy, c. Paris and Orleans, granted the royal crown to the Carolingians Louis of the Overseas and Lothair. His son Hugo Capet, elected king after the death of Louis V the Lazy (July 3, 987), defended the crown from the claims of Charles of Lower Taring, and since then the royal crown has passed in the family of K., in a straight line, for three hundred and forty years. The first Carolingians owed their rise to territorial power, success in the fight against the Normans, the help of the clergy, their outstanding abilities and the insignificance of their opponents, the last Carolingians. To consolidate royal dignity in their family, the first K. crowned their heirs during their lifetime (the last time Philip Augustus was crowned in this way was in 1179). After the death of Hugo Capet, his son Robert I (996-1031), crowned already in 988, ascended the throne. After Robert, the throne passed to his eldest son Henry I (before 1060), who left from his second marriage with Anna Yaroslavna (daughter of Yaroslav the Wise) two sons, the eldest of whom, Philip I, ruled after him until 1108. Philip's son and heir, Louis VI the Fat (1108-1137) left the throne to his second son, Louis VII (the eldest died during his father's lifetime). Louis VII (1137-1180) left his son Philip II Augustus from his third wife, who reigned from 1180 to 1223. His son Louis VIII (1223-1226) from his marriage to Blanche of Castile had, in addition to Saint Louis IX, three more sons: Robert, Alphonse and Charles of Anjou, founder of the Angevin dynasty that ruled for a long time in Naples. Saint Louis (1226-70) had 11 children, of whom, due to the premature death of the eldest, the crown passed to the second son, Philip III (1270-1285), while the youngest son, Robert, became the founder of the Bourbon dynasty. Philip III left sons Philip IV the Fair, who inherited the royal crown (1285-1314), and Charles, gr. Valois, as well as daughters - Margaret, who was married to Edward I of England, Blanca, who died without issue. After the death of Philip the Fair, his three sons ruled one after another: Louis X (1314-1316), Philip V (1316-1322) and Charles IV (1322-1328), who left no male offspring. Thus, in 1328, the senior line of K. ceased and a representative of the junior line, Philip VI of Valois, the son of the aforementioned Charles of Valois, took the throne - therefore, the grandson of Philip III and the cousin of the last three kings (see Valois). Right in French. the crown was challenged by the English king Edward III, the son of Edward II and Isabella, daughter of Philip the Fair, and therefore, on his mother’s side, the grandson of Philip the Fair. The basis for the preference of the male lateral line over the direct female line was the Salic law, which excluded women from inheritance, although its applicability to the inheritance of the crown was questionable and the beginning of female inheritance was applied in other European countries. The claims of the English kings to the French crown gave rise to the Hundred Years' War. The English kings relinquished the title of “King of the French” only in 1801. The Caucasian dynasty rendered serious services to France, ensuring the integrity of the state in the fight against feudal fragmentation, restructuring administration and significantly strengthening the supreme power at the expense of the feudal rulers.

Valois (Valois) is a small county of medieval France, in the province of Ile-de-France, and now divided between the departments of Aisne and Oise. The old counts of V. belonged to the younger line of the Vermandois family. The last heiress of this family married Hugo, son of Henry I of France, and brought him V. and Vermandois as a dowry. From this marriage came the family of Capetian Vermandois, which ceased in the 6th generation, after which the county of V. was annexed by Philip Augustus (1215) to the crown. King Philip III the Brave transferred the enlarged county of V., in 1285, to his son Charles. This Charles V., brother of King Philip IV the Fair, was the founder of the royal family of V. Pope Martin V in 1280 granted him the kingdom of Aragon, which he, however, renounced in 1290. His first marriage brought him the counties of Anjou and Maine; on the basis of the rights of his second wife, Catherine de Courtenay, he assumed the title of Emperor of Constantinople. Charles took an active part in affairs during the reign of his brother and died in 1325 in Nogent. He left two sons, the youngest of whom, Charles, Count of Alençon, who died in 1346, was the founder of the Valois line of Alençon. It ended in 1527, in the person of Constable Charles. After the three sons of Philip IV the Fair died without leaving male offspring, in 1328 the eldest son of Charles V., Philip VI, ascended the French throne as the closest descendant of the Capetians. This rise of the house of V. was the cause of long wars between England and France. Philip VI had 2 sons: his successor John the Good and Philip; the latter was declared Count of Valois and Duke of Orleans in 1375, but died without issue. John the Good, who reigned from 1350 to 1364. there were 4 sons, including his successor, Charles V, and Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy, who became the founder of the younger Burgundian house. Charles V (died 1380) had two sons, Charles VI and Prince Louis. Prince Louis received the title and lands of Duke of Orleans and Count of Angouleme and V. Under him, V. was made a duchy-peerage in 1406. Louis, known in history as the Duke of Orleans, during the unhappy reign of his brother Charles VI, argued about power with the Duke of Burgundy and was killed in 1407. His grandson Louis, Duke of V. and Orleans, after the childless death of the last representative of the senior line of V. , Charles VIII (after Charles VI his son reigned, Charles VII, who was succeeded by his son Louis XI, the father of Charles VIII), ascended the throne under the name of Louis XII (1498). ) and thus connected gr. V. with a crown. Subsequently, V. was repeatedly granted to the princes of the Valois, then the House of Bourbon, but always in conjunction with the Duchy of Orleans. The House of Orleans lost the ducal title of V. only during the Revolution of 1789, but partially retained the lands associated with the title. The youngest son of the Duke of Orleans and Valois, killed in 1407, John, Count of Angoulême, had a son, Charles, who, in turn, had a son who ascended the French throne, after the childless death of Louis XII, under the name Francis I (1615). His son, Henry II, had four sons, of whom three reigned (Francis II, Charles IX, Henry III), and the fourth was Duke of Alençon; none of them left legitimate offspring, and the French throne passed, after the assassination of Henry III (1589), to Henry IV, a representative of the House of Bourbon, also descended from the Capetians. The sister of the last kings of the house of W., Margaret, the divorced wife of Henry IV, died in 1615, as the last legitimate offspring of the house of W.

Bourbons (Bourbon) is an old French family, which, thanks to its relationship with the royal house of the Capetians, occupied the French and other thrones for a long time. Its name comes from the castle of B. in the former province of Bourbonnais. The first lord of this family mentioned in history was Adhemar, who founded the priory of Souvigny in Bourbonnais in 921. His fourth successor, Archambault I, changed the name of the family castle, adding his name to it, resulting in Bourbon l "Archambault. Under his heirs, the possessions increased significantly, so that Archambault VII could already receive the hand of Agnes of Savoy, which made him the brother-in-law of Louis the Tolstoy His son Archambault VIII had only one daughter Mago, and his possessions therefore passed, after a long dispute, to Guy de Dampierre, her second husband, in 1197. Their son, Archambault IX, was so powerful that the Countess Blanche of Champagne made him protector for life of her county, and King Philip Augustus made him constable of Auvergne. Archambault X left two daughters, Mago and Agnes, who both married into the House of Burgundy. Only the second of them left an heiress in the person of Beatrice, who was married in 1272 married Robert, sixth son of Saint Louis, King of France.Thus united by ties of kinship with the royal house of the Capetians, the Bourbons, as a subsidiary branch of this family, acquired, after the death of the last male descendant of the other branch, the Valois, legal rights to the French throne. Beatrice and Robert's son, Louis I the Lame, inherited the County of Clermont from his father. Charles the Fair made him duke in 1327. His eldest son, Peter I, second Duke of Bourbon, was killed in the battle of Poitiers, where he covered with his own body and thereby saved King John. His son and heir, Louis II, called the Good, had to follow the captive king to England as a hostage, and returned to France only after the peace concluded at Bretigny in 1360. After the death of Charles V (1380), Louis, along with 3 other royal princes, was elected guardian of the young Charles VI. In 1391, he undertook a naval expedition with 80 ships against the robber states on the North African coast. John I, the fourth Duke of B., distinguished by his chivalrous refinement, was captured at the Battle of Agincourt and taken to England, where he died. Charles I, Duke of B., took an active part in concluding the Peace of Arras, then several times rebelled against Charles VII. John II, Duke of B., nicknamed the Good, fought the English in 1450 at Formigny and in 1453. under Castiglione, died childless; he was succeeded by his brother Charles II, cardinal and archbishop of Lyon, who died a year later, after which all the property and possessions of the main branch of Beaujeu passed to the side line of Bourbon-Beaujeu, namely to Peter, Count of Beaujeu. The latter, a favorite and personal friend of Louis XI, married his daughter Anne, and was one of the regents of France during the childhood of Charles VIII. He was the eighth Duke of Bourbon, although he is better known as sire de Beaujeu. The rights of his daughter Suzanne to the inheritance, however, began to be disputed by Charles Bourbon, the famous constable. Wanting to reconcile both sides, Louis XII united them in marriage, after which Charles became the ninth Duke of B. Because he entered into an alliance with Emperor Charles V against France, the independence of the Duchy of B. was destroyed in 1523, and it was included in states. Of the various collateral lines of the same family, after the expulsion of the constable, the Vendome line acquired particular importance. It originates from Jacob B., Comte de la Marche, the second son of Louis the Lame, and through the marriage of Anton B., Duke of Vendome, with Jeanne d'Albret, first reached the Navarre throne, and then, after the death of the last representative of the house of Valois, occupied the French throne, in the person of Henry IV, and finally, through marriage and happy wars, the Spanish and Neapolitan throne. Of other lateral lines, one can also name Conti and Soissons. Only individual members of these lines bore the surname B.; such, for example, Cardinal Charles de B., who, under the name Charles X, was nominated by the Catholic League as a candidate for the French throne.B.'s dynasty on the French throne begins with Henry IV, son of Anton, Duke of Vendôme and king of Navarre, who, after the death of Henry in 1589 III, the last Capetian of the house of Valois, became, according to the Salic law of succession, the direct heir to the French throne.By his second wife, Marie de' Medici, Henry IV had five children, including Louis XIII, who succeeded him in 1610 Gaston, Duke of Orléans, died without male offspring; of Henry's three daughters, Henrietta Maria married Charles I of England. Louis XIII, married to Anne of Austria, daughter of Philip III of Spain, left two sons: Louis XIV and Philip, who received the title of Duke of Orleans and became the founder of the younger Bourbon dynasty. The son of Louis XIV from his marriage to Maria Theresa of Austria, daughter of Philip IV, Dauphin Louis, nicknamed Monsieur, died already in 1711, leaving three sons from his marriage to Maria Anna of Bavaria:

• Louis, Duke of Burgundy;
• Philip, Duke of Anjou, later (from 1700) King of Spain;
• Charles, Duke of Berry.

• Louis XVI, who succeeded his grandfather, Louis XV, in 1774;
• Louis Stanislas Xavier, Count of Provence, who took the French throne in 1814 under the name of Louis XVIII, and
• Charles Philippe, Count of Artois, who succeeded his newly named brother under the name of Charles X.

• the Dauphin Louis, who died in 1789;
• Louis, called Louis XVII and died in 1795, and
• Maria Theresa Charlotte, called Madame royale, later Duchess of Angoulême, died in 1851.

• Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, who was considered Dauphin until the revolution of 1830 and died without issue in 1844, and
• Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, assassinated in 1820.

• Maria Louise Theresa, called Mademoiselle d'Artois, who married the Duke of Parma and died in 1864;
• Henri-Charles-Ferdinand-Marie Diedonnet, Duke of Bordeaux, later Count of Chambord, who became a representative of the senior branch of B.

The Orléans line, which ascended the French throne in 1830 and was deposed in 1848, originates from the second son of Louis XIII and the brother of Louis XIV, Duke Philippe I of Orléans, who died in 1701. He left from his second marriage to Elizabeth- Charlotte of the Palatinate, Philip II, Duke of Orleans, Regent of France during the minority of Louis XV. The latter's son Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, † in 1752, left a son, also Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who died in 1785. His son Louis-Joseph-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, surnamed Egalité, died in 1793. on the scaffold. His eldest son Louis-Philippe, who during his father’s lifetime bore the title of Duke of Chartres and then Duke of Orleans, was King of France from 1830 to 1848 and died in 1850. Details about this branch of the House of Bourbon.

Spanish line. Louis XIV placed his grandson Philip, Duke of Anjou, on the Spanish throne in 1700, and he, under the name of Philip V, laid the foundation for the Spanish Bourbon dynasty. He was succeeded by his son Ferdinand, who died childless; then reigned Charles III, brother of Ferdinand, and Charles IV, son of Charles III, overthrown by Napoleon. The eldest son of Charles IV, after the fall of the empire, ascended the Spanish throne under the name Ferdinand VII, and the second son, Don Carlos, was a contender for the Spanish crown for a long time. After the death of Ferdinand VII, two daughters remained:

• Isabella Maria Louise, who, having ascended the Spanish throne under the name of Isabella II, was forced to renounce it in 1868; her son, Alphonse, took the throne again in 1875, under the name Alphonse XII; after his death in 1885, he was succeeded by his now reigning 5-year-old son Alfonso XIII.
• Louise Marie Ferdinande, wife of Duke Anton Montpensier.

Neapolitan line. As a result of the War of the Spanish Succession, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies passed from Philip V of Spain to Emperor Charles VI of Habsburg. After the Peace of Vienna, Philip V's youngest son, Don Carlos, became King of the Two Sicilies in 1735 under the name Charles III. When the latter was to succeed his brother Ferdinand VI on the Spanish throne, he granted the crown of Naples and Sicily to his third son, named Ferdinand IV, with the condition that this crown should not henceforth be united with the crown of Spain. In 1806, Ferdinand IV had to flee Naples, but after the fall of Napoleon he again became king of the Two Sicilies under the name Ferdinand I. He was succeeded by his son Francis I, who left the throne to his son Ferdinand II, who was succeeded by his son under the name Francis II. Francis II lost his throne in 1860, and his possessions passed to the new Kingdom of Italy.

The duchies of Parma and Piacenza were given by Austria at the Peace of Aachen in 1748 to the youngest son of Philip V, Don Philip, with the condition, however, that in the absence of male offspring, or if one takes the throne of the Two Sicilies or the Spanish, both duchies are transferred back to Austria. Philip was succeeded in 1765 by his son Ferdinand I. The latter's son, Louis, received Tuscany in 1802 with the title of King of Etruria; he was succeeded by his son Karl Ludwig Ferdinand, who was soon, however, forced to renounce the throne (Etruria passed to France). At the Congress of Vienna, Parma and Piacenza passed to Napoleon's wife Marie-Louise, and the Parma Bourbon line was given the Duchy of Lucca in return. After the death of Marie Louise (1847), Parma and Piacenza again went over to the B. line, which, for its part, had returned the Duchy of Lucca to Tuscany even earlier. Its representative at this time was Charles III, who was killed in 1854. From his marriage with the daughter of the Duke of Berry, four children remained, of whom the eldest, Robert-Charles-Louis-Maria, succeeded his father, and control of the state passed to the mother regent. The unrest of 1859 forced him to resign his crown.

Conde(Conde) - a French princely family that received its name from the city of Conde, which in the 14th century. transferred to the Vendôme line of the Bourbons. Louis I C., brother of Anton of Navarre, was the first to be called Prince C. His eldest son, Henry I, Prince C. (1552-1588), together with the Prince of Béarn (later Henry IV), stood at the head of the Huguenots. During the Night of Bartholomew, he was at the court of Charles IX and was forced to renounce his faith, but in 1574 K. returned to Calvinism and became one of the most influential and energetic leaders of the Huguenots. His son, Henry II, b. 1/2 year after his death (probably from poison), he was converted to Catholicism by Henry IV at the age of 8. Subsequently, saving his wife, Charlotte Montmorency, from the assassination attempts of Henry IV, he fled to the Netherlands, where he entered the Spanish service. Returning to France after the death of Henry IV, he, during the minority of Louis XIII, joined the ranks of the dissatisfied, but, having suffered defeat, was forced to make peace with Marie de Medici and later became a supporter of Richelieu and Mazarin. During the last 20 years of his life, K. took an active part in the persecution of the Huguenots. † in 1646, leaving the son of Louis II, the great C., and Armand, the founder of the Conti line. The eldest son of Louis II C., Henry III C. (1643-1709), until 1686 Prince of Enghien, fought with his father in the Netherlands. For the last 20 years of his life, K. suffered from dementia. He was succeeded by his son Louis III, Duke of Bourbon and Enghien (1668-1710), who, in turn, was succeeded by his eldest son Louis-Henry, Duke of Bourbon and Enghien (Duke of Bourbon-Condé; 1692-1740). The latter was appointed first minister under the young Louis XV, after the death of the Duke of Orleans (1723). An untalented ruler, he persecuted the Huguenots and Jansenists, and his attempt at tax reform was unsuccessful. In 1726 K. was removed from business. The second son of Louis III C., Charles C., Count of Charlesroi (1700-1760), fled France at the age of 17 to fight the Turks under Prince Eugene. His younger brother, Louis K., Count of Clermont (1709-1771) - a general who fought unsuccessfully in Seven Years' War. With the grandson of Louis-Henry K., Louis-Henry-Joseph K., the Bourbon-K line died out in 1830. The title of Prince K. was later borne by the eldest son of the Duke of Aumale, Louis-Philippe d'Orléans (1845-1866).

Vendôme (Vendome) is an ancient county in France, named after the city of the same name, in the present department of Loire and Cher, and raised by Francis I to a duchy for Charles of Bourbon. Henry IV, the grandson of this Bourbon, having ascended the French throne, annexed V. to the property of the royal house and subsequently gave it to one of his sons, who thus became the founder of the Vendôme family. Caesar, Duke of V., the eldest son of Henry IV from Gabriel d'Estrée, born in 1594, during the childhood of his half-brother, Louis XIII, took part in court intrigues and was repeatedly imprisoned for this. In 1626, for his participation in the Chalet plot against Richelieu, he, along with his brother Alexander, Grand Prior of the Order of Malta, was imprisoned in the castle of Vincennes. When his brother died in prison in 1629, Vendôme obtained his release from prison and went to Holland. Although later for several years, the court allowed him to return to France, but in 1641, having been caught in a new conspiracy, V. fled to England; by order of Richelieu, he was sentenced to death in absentia. Only after the death of the cardinal did he return to France and was acquitted in court. After the death of Louis XIII, V. came into favor with the ruler of the state, Anne of Austria. But since he again intervened in conspiracies against the court and Cardinal Mazarin, he had to leave France again. Having received permission in 1650 return to France, V. remained faithful to the court and, with the rank of great admiral of France, defeated the Spanish fleet at Barcelona in 1655. - His second son, Francois de V., Duke of Beaufort, played the role of a friend of the people during the unrest of the Fronde, which is why he received the nickname Roi des Halles. He was killed in the war with the Turks, in 1669 - Louis, Duke of V., Caesar's eldest son, b. in 1612 and during his father's lifetime bore the title of Merker. Mazarin in 1649 appointed him viceroy of Catalonia, conquered by the French. He married Mazarin's niece, Laura Mancini. After her death, he entered into the ecclesiastical rank, received the cardinal's hat and was appointed papal legate at the French court. Died 1669 - His eldest son, Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme, became famous as Louis XIV's commander in the War of the Spanish Succession. He was born in 1654 and began his military career under the command of Turenne. From then on, he participated with great distinction in all campaigns and especially in 1693 contributed to the victory that Catina won at Marsalia. In 1696, as commander-in-chief in Catalonia, he besieged Barcelona, ​​defended by the Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, defeated the Spaniards who rushed to its aid, and forced the fortress to surrender. At the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession, when the incapable Villeroy was captured in Cremona, V. took over the main command of the French army in Italy. On August 15, 1702, he gave Prince Eugene a great battle at Luzzar, which did not have a decisive outcome, and in the spring of 1703 he invaded Germany through the Tyrol to unite with the Elector of Bavaria. The courageous defense of the Tyroleans delayed his movement and he only reached Trient. In the fall of 1703, he disarmed the troops of the Duke of Savoy, who had fallen away from France, took several fortified cities in Piedmont and began the siege of Turin. In the spring of 1706, taking advantage of the departure of Prince Eugene to Vienna, he attacked the Austrians and drove them beyond Ech. Amid these successes, he was recalled to the Netherlands, where he had to once again make amends for the failure of Villeroy, defeated at Ramilly. With his strategic movements, he delayed the English commander Marlborough for a long time. In 1708, he was appointed second, after the Duke of Burgundy, head of the army operating in the Netherlands. Disagreements arose between him and the duke, and although he occupied Ghent, Bruges and Plassendaele, he was defeated by the allies on July 11 at Udenarden. As a result of this, and, moreover, having a strong enemy in the person of Madame Maintenon, V. was dismissed and remained inactive for two years. When, however, in the autumn of 1710 French affairs in Spain fell into great disorder, Louis XIV sent him with significant reinforcements across the Pyrenees. Despite his old age and painful condition, V. showed extraordinary activity. He returned Madrid to Philip V, then turned against the Austrians and on December 10 defeated General Staremberg at Villa Viciosa. All the gains made by the allies in Spain were lost as a result of this victory. V. died in Catalonia in 1712. The Spanish King Philip V ordered his body to be buried in Escurial. - Philip de V., younger brother of the previous one, b. 1655, fought with great distinction in the wars of Louis XIV in the Netherlands; on the Rhine, Italy and Spain. In 1705, he received the main command over the troops in Lombardy, pushed the Austrians back from Mantua and defeated them at Castiglione. When his brother, in the same year, entered into battle with Prince Eugene at Cassano, Vendôme did not give him help, for which he was deprived of his titles and income. Vendôme went to Rome and lived there for four years in extremely straitened circumstances. In 1710, with the permission of the king, he returned through Switzerland to France, but in Chur he was detained by order of the Austrian authorities and only in 1714. was released and returned to his homeland. His palace, the Temple, served as a meeting point for intelligent society. With his death in 1727, V.’s family came to an end.

Montpensier title (Montpensier) - a count and ducal title in France, originating from the small town of M. in Auvergne and passed in 1428 to the Bourbons as a result of the marriage of Louis I of Bourbon with Jeanne, heiress of Auvergne. After the betrayal of the constable of France, Charles of Bourbon (1524), the mother of King Francis I, Louise of Savoy, made a claim to the title and county of France. After her death (1531), the county again passed to the Bourbons, in the line of Vendôme, and was elevated to the level of a duchy (1539). Louis II of Vendôme, Duke of M. (1513-1582), and even more so his wife Catherine Maria of Lorraine, daughter of Francis of Guise, were bitter enemies of the Huguenots and members of the Catholic League during the religious wars. Catherine M. prepared the uprising of Paris, which forced Henry III to flee; she was in relations with his murderer, Clément. With the death of her grandson Henry (1608), the male offspring of the Dukes of M. ceased, and the title passed to Gaston d'Orléans, brother of Louis XIII, who married Mary, Henry's only daughter. Gaston's daughter, Anne-Marie-Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of M., is known in history under the name la grande Mademoiselle (1627-93). When her father, in alliance with the Prince of Condé, joined the Fronde cause, she commanded the troops in Orleans and held it behind the Fronde (1652). Later she campaigned in Paris for the admission of the Prince of Condé to the city. After the surrender of Paris to Turenne, she fled and only in 1657 could she return to Paris. At 42 years old, she fell passionately in love with the young Count Lozen; their marriage was given the consent of Louis XIV, but it did not take place, since as a result of various court intrigues Lauzen was imprisoned. After 10 years he was released due to the efforts of the Duchess; as they say, the marriage between them was concluded, but secretly and not for long: after 5 years the spouses separated. M. left memoirs (the best edition is by Cheruel, P., 1859), very important for the history of the Fronde and characteristics of the morals of the court of that time. M.'s entire inheritance, along with the title, passed to Philippe of Orleans, brother of Louis XIV, and since then the title has not left the Orleans family. Of those who wore it, the most famous is Prince Antoine-Marie-Philippe-Louis d'Orléans, Duke of M. (1824-1890), 5th son of Louis-Philippe, King of France. He served in the artillery and took part in the Algerian campaigns. In 1846 he married Marie Louise Ferdinand of Bourbon, sister of the Spanish. Queen Isabella II; this long-prepared marriage was one of those two “Spanish marriages” that were the result of persistent diplomacy. struggle and were considered a victory for Guizot over Palmerston. Since then, Duke M. lived in the Castle of Vincennes, where he commanded the artillery, trying to earn popularity mainly among writers and artists. The revolution of 1848 forced the prince to go first to England, then to Spain, where he entered military service and began to intrigue against Isabella, hoping to achieve the Spanish throne. In 1868, he was expelled from Spain, but after the September coup of the same year he returned, recognized the provisional government and openly stood as a candidate for the throne. Before the elections, M., in a proclamation to voters, expressed sympathy for liberal principles and promised to bow to the vote of the Cortes; despite this, he was not elected to the Cortes. His agitation caused a sharp clash with Isabella's cousin, Don Enrico Bourbon: a duel took place in which Don Enrico was killed, and M. was sentenced by a military court to a fine of 30,000 francs and to exile for 1 month. When the Cortes elected the king, M. received only 27 votes. Under Amedee, M. was exiled to the Balearic Islands, but, having been elected to the Cortes, was given the opportunity to return to Madrid (1871). After Amedee's abdication, M. renounced his claims to the crown in favor of his nephew Alphonse Bourbon (later King Alphonse XII), who married (for the first time) M's daughter, Maria Mercedes. Since then, M. lived as a private person, sometimes in Spain, sometimes in France. One of M's daughters, Isabella, married Count. Parisian. The title of Duke of M. is currently occupied by Ferdinand Francis, one of the sons of Count. Paris (born in 1884).

Braganza(Braganza) is the family name of the dynasty currently reigning in Portugal. The beginning of this house, which received its title from the city of Braganza, was laid by Alfonso I (died in 1461), the natural son of King John from the Burgundian family (Capetian). Thanks to their relationship with the royal house, as well as their enormous wealth, the Dukes of B. soon acquired great strength in the country, but at the same time they became the subject of envy and ill will. In 1580, when the House of Burgundy ceased, Duke John B. (died in 1582), instigated by his wife Catherine, the granddaughter of Emanuel the Great, laid claim to his inheritance, but could not achieve anything due to the opposition of the Spanish king Philip II. But when in 1640 the Portuguese clergy and nobility managed to overthrow the Spanish yoke, Duke John of Braganza was elevated to the Portuguese throne under the name John IV. In 1656 he was succeeded by his son Alfonso VI; in 1667, this sovereign, as a result of a coup d'état caused by the intrigues of his wife Maria Francisca, had to cede the throne to his brother Peter I, who, having married Maria Francisca, kept Alphonse imprisoned until his death (1683). - The son and successor of Peter I, John V (1706-1750), received the title of Rex fidelissimus from Pope Benedict XIV in 1748; Throughout his reign he was under the influence of the Roman Curia and the Jesuits and led the state into terrible decline. - Under his son Joseph I (1750-1777), the enlightened and energetic Pombal did everything he could to at least somewhat raise Portugal, but all his good transformations disappeared without a trace during the reign of Joseph’s daughter, Maria Francisca (1777-1792). After the death of her husband and uncle Peter (1786), her former co-ruler, she fell into mental illness and in February 1792 transferred the reign to her son John VI; the latter assumed the title of king only after the death of his mother (1816) and reigned until March 10, 1826. He was married to Carolina, daughter of the Spanish King Charles IV (born in 1785 and died on January 6, 1830) and had sons Pedro and Miguel with her. The first (born in 1798) on October 12, 1822 was proclaimed Emperor of Brazil under the name Pedro I and on May 2, 1826 renounced the Portuguese crown in favor of his daughter Maria da Gloria (born April 4, 1819). Her father's brother Don Miguel, in the same 1826, became engaged to his niece and on February 22. 1828 declared himself regent in place of one of his sisters, who had ruled the state since the death of John VI. Soon after, the Cortes, convened by Don Miguel, contrary to the constitution, proclaimed him king. The Brazilian Emperor was forced to support the rights of his daughter with weapons, and the thief of the throne was deposed and expelled - Maria da Gloria ascended the throne on September 23, 1833 and in January 1835 married the Duke of Leuchtenberg. A few months later, this latter died, and the young widow on April 9, 1836 entered into a new marriage with Ferdinand, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; from this marriage she had five sons and two daughters. On November 15, 1853, the queen died and was succeeded by her eldest son, Pedro V. On November 11, 1861, Pedro V died, and the Portuguese throne passed to his brother Louis (born October 31, 1838). On October 6, 1862, Louis I married Maria Pia, daughter of Victor Emanuel, King of Italy. On October 7, 1889, he died, leaving the throne to his son Carlos I, b. September 28, 1863. Side line Br. at home is the imperial dynasty that reigned until recently in Brazil. Its founder, Pedro I, abdicated the throne on April 7, 1831 in favor of his eldest son, Pedro II. The last one who gave birth. in December 1825, took power into his own hands on July 23, 1840. On November 4, 1889, a republic was proclaimed in Brazil, and the emperor and his entire family left for Europe. There was another sideline Br. house, descended from Alvarez, 2nd son of Ferdinand I of Braganza, who bore the title of Duke of Tentuggal and Olivenza. It died out in the person of Jacob de Mello, Duke de Cadaval, in December 1732.

Savoy House- an ancient French family, the first historically reliable representative of which is Count of Savoy Humbert White hand. The family's native domain - Savoy - is located in the south-east of France, the county capital was in Chambery. But already Humbert's son Amadeus I established himself in Piedmont, and gradually the interests of the House moved to Italy. Since 1416 - dukes. In 1538-1559 Savoy was occupied by France. Duke Emmanuel Philibert moved the capital of his domains from Chambery to Turin in order to secure the center of the duchy from French attacks. From that time on, the Italianization of the House began.

In 1713, the Dukes of Savoy annexed Sicily to their possessions and took the title of Sicilian kings. In 1718, King Vittorio Amadeo II exchanged Sicily for Sardinia and became the Sardinian king. The main line of the House ceased in 1831.

From home to different time four lines stood out - in 1259 the Counts of Piedmont (extinct in 1418), in 1285 - the Counts of Vaux (extinct in 1350), at the beginning of the 16th century. - Dukes of Savoy-Nemur (died in 1659), at the beginning of the 17th century. - Dukes of Savoy-Carignan, to whom the royal crown passed in 1831. Since 1861 - Italian kings, lost the throne in 1946.

In 1439-1449 Duke Amadeus VIII was antipope Felix V.

In 1871-1873, Duke Amadeo of Savoy-Aostia was the Spanish king.

Religion: Catholic.

In fact, the history of France as an independent state begins in 843, when the three grandsons of Charlemagne divided the vast Frankish Empire among themselves.

The territory of modern France - the West Frankish Kingdom - went to Charles the Bald.

End of the Carolingian dynasty in France. Hugo Capet from the Robertin dynasty was elected to the throne.

As a result of the revolution of 1830, the Bourbons were overthrown a second time. A representative of the younger branch of the dynasty, the Duke of Orleans, Louis Philippe, came to power.

Dynasty Orleansids, 1830-1848

Louis Philippe (1830-1848)

As a result of the revolution of 1848, the Bourbons were finally overthrown. A bourgeois republic was established in the country. Soon a workers' uprising broke out, to suppress which War Minister E. Cavaignac, who later became the chairman of the council, received virtually dictatorial powers. On December 10, presidential elections took place, which were unexpectedly won not by E. Cavaignac, but by Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of Emperor Napoleon I. At the end of 1851, he committed coup d'etat, establishing his dictatorship, and on December 2, 1852 he was proclaimed emperor.

Second empire, Bonaparte dynasty, 1852-1870.

Napoleon II the Bonapartists named the son of Napoleon I, who died early and never reigned.

Napoleon III (1852-1870)

In 1870, France was defeated in the war with Prussia. Emperor Napoleon III, who was surrounded by his army in Sedan, surrendered. At this time, another revolution took place in France, and the monarchy was finally overthrown. In 1871, Napoleon III was allowed to leave for England, where he died in 1873.

Merovingian Dynasty

The Merovingians are the first royal dynasty in the Frankish state (end of the 5th century - 751). Named after the founder of the clan - Merovey.

429 - 447 Chlodio

447 - 457 Merovei

457 - 481 Childeric I

481 - 511 Clovis

558 - 561 Chlothar I the Elder

613 - 629 Chlothar II the Younger

629 - 639 Dagobert I

657 - 657 Clovis II

657 - 673 Chlothar III

687 - 691 Theodoric III

691 - 695 Clovis III

695 - 711 Childeber III

711 - 715 Dagobert III

715 - 720 Chilperic II

720 - 737 Theodoric IV

743 - 753 Childeric III

Carolingian Dynasty

Carolingians - a dynasty of rulers of the Frankish state in 687 - 987, from 751 - kings, from 800 - emperors; named after its most significant representative, Charlemagne.

The founder of the dynasty was Pepin of Geristal in 687, major of Austrasia - one of the kingdoms into which the Merovingian power broke up. By this time, royal power had become purely nominal, and the real possibility of governing Austrasia, Neustria and Burgundy was concentrated in their hands by the mayordomos - the managers of the royal palace. Pepin of Geristal defeated the other majordomos, completely removed the “lazy” Merovingian kings from affairs and made the position of majordomo hereditary.

The son of Pepin of Geristal, Charles Martell (715 - 741), successfully continued his father’s policies, remaining the autocratic ruler of the newly united Frankish state, while the royal throne even remained vacant under him for a number of years.

The son and successor of Charles Martell, Major Pepin the Short (741 - 768), at a meeting of Frankish feudal lords with the support of the papal throne, was proclaimed king of the Franks in 751. The rite of anointing to the kingdom was performed on him, the first of the European sovereigns. The last of the Merovingians was forcibly tonsured a monk. The popes recognized the bishops appointed by Pepin and, under pain of excommunication, forbade the Franks to elect kings from another family.

The dynasty reached the height of its power under the son of Pepin the Short, Charlemagne (768 - 814). Taking advantage of the fact that the throne Byzantine Empire occupied by a woman, Empress Irina, which was contrary to tradition, he achieved that in 800 the pope crowned him emperor.

Charles's son Louis the Pious (814 - 840) was overthrown by his own children, then regained the throne, but after his death his sons (Lothair, Louis and Charles) began a war among themselves. It ended in 843 with the conclusion of the Treaty of Verdun on the division of the empire into three parts, which also corresponded to ethnic composition its population: Lothair retained the title of emperor and received Italy, as well as a narrow strip of lands along the left bank of the Rhine (Lorraine and Burgundy), Louis the German received lands north of the Alps and east of the Rhine (East Frankish Kingdom, later Germany ), Charles the Bald received territories west of the Rhone and Meuse (West Frankish Kingdom, later France). In 869, Louis the German and Charles the Bald captured Lorraine. In the 880s, the empire was briefly united under the rule of Charles III the Tolstoy, then fell apart again. The Italian Carolingian dynasty ended in 878 with the death of Lothair II; the German dynasty - in 911, when Louis the Child died; French - in 987 with the death of Louis V the Lazy. In Germany, after the interim reign of Conrad I, a relative of the Carolingians, power passed to the Saxon dynasty, in France - to the Capetians.

751 - 768 Pepin the Short

768 - 771 Carloman

768 - 814 Charlemagne

814 - 840 Louis the Pious

840 - 877 Charles II the Bald

877 - 879 Louis II Stutterer

879 - 882 Louis III

879 - 884 Carloman

884 - 888 Charles III the Fat

898 - 929 Charles IV Rustic

936 - 954 Louis IV Overseas

954 - 986 Lothair

986 - 987 Louis V the Lazy

Charles Martel (c. 688 - 741)

Mayor of the Frankish state (from 715) under the last Merovingians, son and successor of Pepin of Geristal. In fact, he concentrated the supreme power in his hands under the “lazy kings.” Conducted a beneficiary reform; defeated the Arabs at the Battle of Poitiers; opposed the German tribes that had disobeyed and again imposed tribute on them. Under Charles Martel, central power strengthened and the middle layer of landowners - beneficiaries, who formed the support of the Carolingian dynasty - was strengthened.

Pepin the Short (714/715 - 768)

Frankish king from 751, first of the Carolingian dynasty. Son of Charles Martel, majordomo (741 - 751). He overthrew the last king of the Merovingian dynasty, Childeric III, and, with the consent of the pope, achieved his election to the royal throne. This happened in Soissons at a meeting of the Frankish nobility. He subjugated Aquitaine and captured Septimania. In 754 and 756 he made campaigns in Italy. He transferred to the pope part of the lands captured from the Lombards, thereby laying the foundation for the Papal State. Father of Charlemagne.

Charlemagne (742 - 814)

Frankish king from 768, emperor from 800, eldest son of Pepin the Short. The Carolingian dynasty was named after him. Until 771 Charles The Great Ruled together with his brother Carloman, and after his death became the sole ruler of a huge kingdom, the borders of which he doubled as a result of numerous campaigns of conquest (against the Lombards in Italy, the Arabs in Spain, the Bavarians, Saxons, Avars, Slavs, etc.) and made the Frankish empire the strongest state in Western Europe. During his reign, the borders of the Frankish state were strengthened by border regions - marks led by margraves, the remaining possessions were ruled by dukes and counts. Charlemagne saw in the new state a revival of the Western Roman Empire. In 800, Pope Leo III crowned him with the imperial crown. The city of Aachen became the residence of the emperor at the end of his life.

The internal policy of Charlemagne is aimed at centralizing government (this was especially evident in the organization of regional and local government, in the introduction of the institution of royal envoys, etc.). Charlemagne maintained an alliance with both the pope and the local church hierarchy. His reign was important stage in the formation of feudal relations in Western Europe: the process of enslavement of the peasantry accelerated, the growth of large land ownership and the independence of the landowning nobility intensified. Under Charlemagne, there was a certain rise in the field of culture - the so-called “Carolingian Renaissance”.

Charlemagne is one of the few major political figures of the Early Middle Ages about whom sources have preserved rich historical material. The first biography of Charlemagne was Einhard's Life of Charlemagne.

Louis the Pious (778 - 840)

Frankish emperor from 814, son of Charlemagne. He received his nickname for his commitment to monastic asceticism and the church. He tried in vain to preserve the integrity of the empire. He was forced to divide the empire three times in 817, 819, 837. He was defeated in June 833 in the fight against his sons, was removed from power and exiled to a monastery in Soissons. Restored to the throne again in March 834. After the death of Louis the Pious, the empire fell apart.

Charles II the Bald (823 - 877)

The youngest and beloved son of Louis the Pious (from his second marriage), king of the West Frankish Kingdom in 840 - 877, which he finally received under the Treaty of Verdun in 843. The kingdom of Charles the Bald included the lands west of the Scheldt, Meuse and Rhone rivers - the main territories of the future France, in which the Romance languages ​​became widespread, which later formed the basis of the French language. According to the Treaty of Mersen in 870, Charles the Bald annexed part of Lorraine to his kingdom. After the death of Emperor Louis II in 875, he achieved the title of Emperor and King of Italy. Tried to seize the lands of the East Frankish Kingdom in 876.

Charles III the Fat (839 - 888)

Son of Louis the German, king of the East Frankish Kingdom in 876 - 887 and the West Frankish Kingdom in 884 - 887, emperor in 881 - 887. He united the territory of the former empire of Charlemagne under his rule. Overthrown by rebel feudal lords in 887.

Capetian Dynasty

The Capetians were a royal dynasty in France that ruled after the Carolingians from 987 to 1328. In 987, after the childless Carolingian Louis V the Lazy, Duke Hugh Capet of Ile-de-France, with the support of Bishop Adalberon of Reims and his learned secretary Herbert (the future Pope Sylvester II), was elected king at a congress of spiritual and temporal lords of France. Until the beginning of the 12th century, the Capetian domain was limited to the territory of Ile-de-France. The Capetians set themselves the goal of destroying the power of the lords and creating a united France with strong royal power. By the end of Capetian rule, the territory of France expanded significantly: by the beginning of the 14th century, the royal domain included 3/4 of the territory of France and extended from the English Channel to Mediterranean Sea and it included Normandy, Anjou, Maine, most of Poitou, Languedoc, Champagne and other territories. The Capetians were replaced by the Valois dynasty.

987 - 996 Hugo Capet

996 - 1031 Robert II Saint

1031 - 1060 Henry I

1060 - 1108 Philip I

1108 - 1137 Louis VI the Fat

1137 - 1180 Louis VII the Young

1180 - 1223 Philip II Augustus

1223 - 1226 Louis VIII

1226 - 1270 Louis IX Saint

1270 - 1285 Philip III the Bold

1285 - 1314 Philip IV the Fair

1314 - 1316 Louis X the Grumpy

1316 John I Posthumous

1316 - 1322 Philip V the Long

1322 - 1328 Charles IV the Handsome

Hugo Capet (c. 940 - 996)

French king since 987, founder of the Capetian dynasty; until 987 - Duke of Ile-de-France. Elected king after the death of the last representative of the Carolingian dynasty, Louis V the Lazy. The power of Hugo Capet extended to the lands of the domain (Ile-de-France with the cities of Paris and Orleans). The main residence of the first Carolingians was Orleans.

Louis VI the Fat (c. 1081 - 1137)

French king since 1108. Marked the beginning of the strengthening of royal power, primarily in the domain; fought with the barons of his seigneury, tried to eliminate the freemen of these small feudal lords, destroyed their castles or occupied them with his garrison. With help various means- conquests, confiscations, purchases - Louis VI became the complete master of Ile-de-France, after which the king's domain turned into a closed territory. Louis VI relied in his policy on the cities and the church, which he generously endowed.

Gallery of Figures

Merovingian Dynasty

Merovingians- the first dynasty of Frankish kings in the history of France. The kings of this dynasty ruled from the end of the 5th to the middle of the 8th century in the territory of modern France and Belgium. They came from the Salic Franks, who in the 5th century settled in Cambrai (Chlodion Longhair) and Tournai (Childeric I).

Contemporaries also called Merovingians "long-haired kings". From pagan times until their fall, the Merovingians wore long hair, which was considered an obligatory attribute of the monarch. The Franks believed that the Merovingians had sacred magical power, which consisted in the extremely long hair of their owners, and was expressed in the so-called “royal happiness,” which personified the well-being of the entire Frankish people. This hairstyle separated him from his subjects, who wore short haircuts, popular in the Roman era, considered a sign of the low status of a servant or slave. Cutting off hair was considered the gravest insult for a representative of the Merovingian dynasty; in practice, it meant the loss of rights to have power (an example of this is the son of Clodomir Clodoald, later known as Saint Claude).

Carolingian Dynasty

Carolingians- a royal and imperial dynasty in the state of the Franks, and after its collapse - in the West Frankish kingdom, in the East Frankish kingdom, in Italy and in some small states.

The Carolingians came to power in 751, when Charlemagne's father, Pepin the Short, overthrew the last Merovingian king, Childeric III; Pepin was crowned Frankish ruler in 754 at the Basilica of Saint-Deninet, near Paris. But in 787, his successor Charlemagne chose the city of Aachen (today a territory of Germany).

After the collapse of the Frankish Empire, the Carolingians ruled: in Italy - until 905, in the East Frankish Kingdom (Germany) - until 911 (from 919 the Saxon dynasty was established), in the West Frankish Kingdom (France) - intermittently until 987 (replaced by the Capetians).

Capetian Dynasty

Capetians- originating from the Robertine dynasty of French kings, whose representatives ruled from 987 to 1328, and along lateral lines until 1848. In the history of the French state, it is the third dynasty after the Merovingians and the Carolingians. The first king of the dynasty was the Parisian Count Hugh Capet, who was elected king by the royal vassals after the death of the childless Louis V. Abbot Hugh was nicknamed Capet because he wore the mantle of a secular priest, which was called a “capa”. It was Hugo Capet who gave the name to the largest royal dynasty in France, whose descendants ruled the country for many centuries.

The last representative of the direct Capetian branch on the French throne was Charles IV. Then the Valois dynasty, a junior branch of the Capetian family, came to power. And after the suppression of the Angoulême line of the Valois dynasty, another branch of the Capetian house, the Bourbons, came to power. The two current contenders for the throne of France are also direct descendants of Hugh Capet: the Legitimists are a representative of the Spanish branch of the Bourbons, the Autorléanists are a representative of the Orleans branch of the Bourbons.

Coat of arms of the Capetian dynasty

Kings of France:

DynastyValois(branch of the House of Capetians)

Valois- dynasty of kings of France, branch of the House of Capetian. It got its name from the title of Comte de Valois, which was borne by the founder of this branch, Charles of France, Comte de Valois.

Representatives of the Valois dynasty occupied the French throne from 1328 to 1589, when it was replaced by a younger branch of the Capetian house, the Bourbon dynasty.

Kings of France:

Bourbon Dynasty (junior branch of the House of Capet)

Bourbons- a European dynasty, a junior branch of the royal house of the Capetians, descended from Robert (1256-1317, Count of Clermont, by wife Sir de Bourbon), the youngest son of Louis IX the Saint. They ascended the French throne with the suppression of another branch of the Capetians - the Valois dynasty - in 1589 (represented by Henry IV of Navarre).

The dynasty is probably not only the oldest, but also the most numerous of the European royal houses. Even before the proclamation of Henry of Navarre as King of France, the Bourbon family separated from the main tree

Louis XVII

1793 – 1795

actually did not reign, was recognized as king by the French monarchists, the USA and most European states.

Family tree of the Bourbon dynasty

Conclusion: From V to XIX century in France there were 5 dynasties of rulers. Many kings had nicknames such as " King Knight", "Fair", "Beloved", etc. And they received these nicknames due to the events that happened to them, or their personal qualities. So, for example, Louis XV received his nickname while in the War of the Austrian Succession. At one time, Louis participated personally, but in the city he fell dangerously ill. France, greatly alarmed by his illness, joyfully welcomed his recovery and nicknamed himBeloved. Pepin the Short got his nickname because given his short stature, to put it mildly. Dumas wrote a short story of the same name about him (Le chronique du roi Pepin).

Despite the political unification of the country, religious and spiritual community and the establishment of absolutism, French law until the revolution of 1789 was a conglomerate of numerous legal systems. As Voltaire sarcastically noted, in France, “by changing post horses, they change the law.”

Charles IV left no male heirs, so his cousin Philip, Count of Valois inherited the throne, thus founding a new royal dynasty.

His rights were disputed by Philip IV's female grandson, King Edward III of England, which led to the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War

The reign of the Valois dynasty is divided into three parts:

Elder Valois (1328-1498),

House of Valois-Orléans (1498-1515),

House of Valois-Angoulême (1515-1598).

Before his death, the latter declared as his heir his distant relative, Henry de Bourbon, a representative of the younger branch of the Capetian house, descended from the 6th son of Louis IX the Saint.