1022-2 Capetian dynasty

Philip III  King of France r. 1270–1285

Philip IV  King of France  King of Navarre r. 1285–1314

Charles of Valois d. 1325

Louis X  King of France  King of Navarre r. 1314–16

Philip V  King of France  King of Navarre r. 1316–22

Charles IV  King of France  King of Navarre r. 1322–28

Isabella

Edward II  King of England

Philip VI  King of France r. 1328–50

Joan II  Queen of Navarre b. 1312

Joan III of Burgundy b. 1308

Edward III  King of England b. 1312

Charles of Évreux b. 1332

Philip of Burgundy b. 1323

Capetian dynasty

The Capetian dynasty /kəˈpiːʃⁱən/, also known as the House of France, is a dynasty of Frankish origin, founded by Hugh Capet. It is among the largest and oldest European royal houses, consisting of Hugh Capet's male-line descendants. 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. They were succeeded by cadet branches, the Houses of Valois and the Bourbon, which ruled until the French Revolution.

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. The early Capetians had an alliance with the Church. The French were also the most active participants in the Crusades, culminating in a series of five Crusader Kings – Louis VII, Philip Augustus, Louis VIII, Saint Louis, and Philip III. The Capetian alliance with the papacy suffered a severe blow after the disaster of the Aragonese Crusade. Philip III's son and successor, Philip IV, humiliated a pope and brought the papacy under French control. The later Valois, starting with Francis I, ignored religious differences and allied 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 are 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. Through this, the Capetians spread widely over Europe.

In modern times, both King Felipe VI of Spain and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg are members of this family, both through the Bourbon branch of the dynasty. Along with the House of Habsburg, it was one of the two most powerful continental European royal families, dominating European politics for nearly five centuries.

ast heirs[edit]

The last of the direct Capetians were the daughters of Philip IV's three sons, and Philip IV's daughter, Isabella. Since they were female, they could not transmit their Capetian status to their descendants. The wife of Edward II of England (1284–1327), Isabella (c.1295–1358) overthrew her husband in favour of her son (Edward III, 1312–1377) and her co-hort (Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, 1287–1330), only for Edward III to execute Mortimer and have Isabella removed from power. On the death of her brother, Charles IV, she claimed to be her father's heiress, and demanded the throne pass to her son (who as a male, an heir to Philip IV, and of adult age, was considered to have a good claim to the throne); however, her claim was refused, eventually providing a cause for the Hundred Years' War.

Joan (1312–1349), the daughter of Louis X, succeeded on the death of Charles IV to the throne of Navarre, she now being – questions of paternity aside – the unquestioned heiress. She was the last direct Capetian ruler of that kingdom, being succeeded by her son, Charles II of Navarre (1332–1387); his father, Philip of Évreux (1306–1343) had been a member of the Capetian House of Évreux. Mother and son both claimed on several occasions the throne of France, and later the Duchy of Burgundy.

Of the daughters of Philip V and Joan II of Burgundy, the elder two had surviving issue. Joan III, Countess of Burgundy (1308–1349), married Odo IV, Duke of Burgundy (1295–1350), uniting the Duchy and County of Burgundy. Her line became extinct with the death of her sole grandchild, Philip I, Duke of Burgundy (1346–1361), whose death also served to break the union between the Burgundys once more. Her sister, Margaret (1310–1382), married Louis I, Count of Flanders (1304–1346), and inherited the County of Burgundy after the death of Philip I; their granddaughter and heiress, Margaret III, Countess of Flanders (1350–1405), married the son of John II of France (1319–1364), Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404), uniting the two domains once more.

Of Charles IV's children, only Blanche (1328–1392) – the youngest, the baby whose birth marked the end of the House of Capet – survived childhood. She married Philip of Valois, Duke of Orléans (1336–1376), the son of Philip VI, but they produced no children. With her death in 1392, the House of Capet finally came to an end.

http://www.robertsewell.ca/capet.html

The Capetian Dynasty

France in Early Mediæval Times

    For most of the middle ages, the land we know to-day as France was neither a distinct political nor geographical place.  The territorial boundaries rarely coincided with modern France.  Originally part of the Roman Empire, the region was settled by Germanic tribes from central Europe including the Franks, Visigoths and Burgundians.  At the end of the fifth century, Clovis united many tribes into a single Frankish kingdom.  Following Clovis' death in 511, the kingdom was split up among his four sons according to ancient Frankish tradition and law.  Charlemagne (742 - 814) founded a Frankish empire covering what is to-day France and Germany; but it too was split up after the death of his son Louis (I) "the Pious" in 840.

    The election of Hugh Capet as king in 987 began the Capetian Dynasty which ruled France for much of the middle ages.  However, the actual royal domaine, known as Ile-de-France, was small and weak, consisting of little more that the land surrounding Paris, Orléans and Laon.  It was not until the 12th century that later Capetians took steps to strenghten the king in the Ile-de-France.

    Our genealogy shown here is considered reliable and is based on:

• George Andrews Moriarty: The Plantagenet Ancestry of King Edward III and Queen Philippa,  Mormon Pioneer Genealogical Society, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1985

• Frederick L. Weis and Walter L. Sheppard: Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America before 1700, 7th Edition, Baltimore, 1999.