Capetian Kings

The dynastic imperative of any hereditary king is to provide healthy sons who can perpetuate his family into future generations. But men being unable to give birth, the responsibility for producing heirs naturally falls upon the monarchs’ wives. French kings sought spouses for themselves and their heirs from across the royalty and nobility of Europe. Viewed separately, these women span a remarkable range, but when considered together, they reflect larger developments in domestic and international politics and provide a window into how a decentralized, factious medieval kingdom evolved into one of the most powerful and influential states of modern Europe.

L’acclamation de Jean Ier en 1385 plaça sur le trône de Portugal la nouvelle dynastie d’Avis. Au long du xve siècle et jusqu’au début du siècle suivant, les monarques successifs (Édouard Ier, Alphonse V, Jean II et Manuel Ier) firent de la monnaie un instrument privilégié d’affirmation du pouvoir et de propagande royale. D’autant plus que le roi de Portugal avait toujours détenu l’exclusivité du « jus monetae » dans l’ensemble de son royaume : la monnaie était donc perçue comme symbole de souveraineté, mis à la portée de la plupart des sujets. La propagande royale présente sur les monnaies utilisait deux codes complémentaires : l’écriture et l’emblématique. Ces deux codes fonctionnaient de façon intégrée, profondément enracinée dans les doctrines de théologie politique qui
formaient alors la base idéologique de la monarchie.

This chapter situates the growth of the first six Capetian kings’ authority within the wider social, cultural, and religious context of the royal court from 987 to 1180, a time of political decentralization. It examines key aspects of the Capetian court as a place of residence, government, judicial procedure, ritual, and patronage, as well as its changing relations with nobles, with other royal courts, and with the Church. Though the Capetians’ land holdings remained small compared to those of the territorial princes in this period, gradual changes introduced into the practice and ideology of rulership during the late tenth to twelfth century ultimately strengthened the Capetians’ hold on power and helped make further political consolidation in the thirteenth century possible.

This article traces the early reception of Ludovicus Decus Regnantium, the most common Proper Office for Saint Louis, King of France, canonized in 1297. It is generally considered a Dominican Office thought to have been produced on commission by the Dominican, Arnaud DuPrat, after his Order instituted Louis’ feast day. A number of factors confuse this attribution, including the existence of an earlier, rare Office for Louis, Nunc Laudare. A close examination of the extant evidence for the attribution and early reception of the Office leads to the conclusion that the Office was not celebrated by most, or even many, of the Dominican convents in France. It can thus be better understood in its Parisian and royal milieu within the context of the close relationship between the royal court of Philip the Fair (r. 1285–1314) and the Dominican convent of the Rue St-Jacques in Paris.

The House of Anjou endorsed the motto, "An illiterate king is a crowned ass." Kings of England exalted high culture. They showed off their own learning and attracted to their court many intellectuals of the clergy. Their knights were likewise better educated than in the past and worked with these priests to strengthen royal administration. Some milites literati are particularly well documented: Ranulf Glanville, the Beaumont twins, Gilbert fitz Baderon, and Constance, wife of Raoul fitz Gilbert. Their literacy was indeed pragmatic and used for bureaucracy; however, this instrumental 'misuse' of reading and writing did not exclude Belles-Lettres. Not only the king's court but also the castles of his nobles became places of creation and performance of poetry in the vernacular. This literature certainly benefitted from the elitism of Anglo-Norman French, the socially prestigious language of the conquerors.

Der französische Mönch Odo von Deuil schilderte einen der größten Misserfolge der Kreuzzugsgeschichte. Als ursächlich für das Scheitern betrachtete er jedoch ausschließlich die ungünstigen Umstände. Seine Darstellungsabsicht war es, so die These dieser Studie, König Ludwig VII. zu entschulden.

The french monk Odo of Deuil described one of the greatest failures in the History of the Crusades. He presented the unfavourable circumstances as sole explanation. This study puts forward the hypothesis that it was his intent to exculpate King Louis VII.

Le moine français Odon de Deuil a décrit une des plus grandes défaites dans l'Histoire des Croisades. Il a donné les circonstances défavorables en tant que seule explication. Cette étude propose l'hypothèse que son intention était d'excuser Louis VII, roi de France.

The rise and rise of the Capetian dynasty is one of the great epics of European history.  Starting in the tenth century, they built a nation that stretched from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and from the Rhône to the Pyrenees.  They transformed Paris from a muddy backwater to a splendid metropole, and popularised the fleur-de-lys, the lily, as the emblem of France. Time and again, their opponents woefully misjudged who they were up against as, through ruthlessness, luck and marriage the Capetians disposed of them all.

This is the story of the most powerful kingdom in Christendom. It is a tale of religious upheaval, adulterous affairs, holy wars, pogroms and persecution. From Hugh Capet to Eleanor of Aquitaine, the Capetians were men and women of vision and ambition, who considered themselves chosen by God to fulfil a great destiny. If they were mistaken in their assumptions and merciless in their methods, in one respect they were right. They did not simply rule France: they created it.

House of Lilies is a highly enjoyable account of this extraordinary sequence of events. Justine Firnhaber-Baker wonderfully evokes not only the sheer glamour of the French court, but also the intellectual achievements, the battles, and the series of catastrophes that led to the dynasty’s ultimate demise.

To examine the differing moral stances of medieval historians who described the life of William Fitz Osbert, with special attention to his unusual riot in London in 1196. Method The narratives of each of the principal historians of the life and times of London magistrate William Fitz Osbert are set out in separate appendices below, with dates, so that you can compare them. I have kept their styles and terminology intact and used translations from the Latin and Old English where available. I have also used other sources. However, the main thrust of events and the differences perceived by the various historians are dealt with in the discussion section below the Introduction to this paper.

The powerful lineage of the Thibaldians who were counts in Blois, in Chartres and then in Champagne still raises questions about their origins and their rise. This study shows that they probably had their roots on the borders of northern Burgundy and Lotharingia. The political uncertainties of the end of the 9th century pushed one of their offspring to join the loyalty of the Robertians, in the heart of their regnum, the Neustrian Loire. The tropism towards Burgundy and Lotharingia nevertheless remains a constant among the Thibaldians and partly explains the genesis of the future Champagne. This study also shows how the “March” that Hugh the Great entrusted to Theobald the Trickster was constructed. It casts a new look which makes it possible to remove several contradictions regarding the alliances of the first Thibaldians and even more regarding their county responsibilities in Tours, Blois, Châteaudun or Chartres, as on their role north of the Seine, in Provins and in Berry. In the light of this reassessment, we will return, in a final and more concise part, to the various crises between Capetians and Thibaldians (962, 991, 1014 and 1022) and their consequences.

In 1191 Philip Augustus, king of France, issued a charter accepting Renaud of Dammartin as his ''liege man'' for the county of Boulogne. According to both medieval and modern sources, Renaud had secured control of this powerful fief by abducting and marrying Ida, the recently widowed heiress of the county. 1 Although Renaud had acted without the king's consent and consequently in breach of feudal law, Philip agreed to acknowledge the union, hoping to secure the loyalty of Renaud as a vassal of the crown. But it is likely that Philip regretted doing so. Although the king showered Renaud with honors, elevating him to a position of particular prominence among his most intimate advisers and arranging lucrative marriages for members of his family, Renaud used the power and wealth he had obtained through his wife to challenge Philip. 2 After flouting royal authority on several occasions, Renaud joined and played a key role in the anti-French alliance that