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Kingdom of France (Middle Ages): A Visual History

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Visual history of an empire

From Hugh Capet's little domain around Paris to the most powerful monarchy in Europe: eight centuries of Capetians, crusades, cathedrals and the Hundred Years' War.

Existed
987 to 1498
Duration
511 years
Existed
987 to 1492 (medieval phase)
Area
About 450,000 km2 (1300)
Population
About 17 to 20 million (1300), the largest in Europe
Capital
Paris
Notable rulers
Philip II Augustus, Louis IX, Philip IV, Charles VII, Louis XI

The medieval Kingdom of France began with the election of Hugh Capet in 987, whose direct heirs ruled until 1328 and whose Valois and Bourbon cousins continued to 1792. Philip II Augustus took Normandy and Anjou from the English king John in 1204, Louis IX (Saint Louis) made the monarchy the model of Christian kingship, and Philip IV crushed the Templars and moved the papacy to Avignon. The Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) nearly destroyed the kingdom before Joan of Arc and Charles VII expelled the English; Louis XI then absorbed Burgundy's lands, leaving France the largest and richest state in Christendom.

When it existed: the era ribbon

The bold bar is Kingdom of France (Middle Ages). The lighter bars are empires and wars from the same era and the same part of the world. Click any bar to jump to its page.

200400600800100012001400160018002000Kingdom of France (Middle Ages) (987 to 1498)Open: Byzantine EmpireByzantine Empire (395 to 1453)Open: Francia (Frankish kingdoms)Francia (Frankish kingdoms) (481 to 843)Open: ReconquistaReconquista (718 to 1492)Open: Holy Roman EmpireHoly Roman Empire (800 to 1806)Open: CrusadesCrusades (1096 to 1291)Open: Almohad CaliphateAlmohad Caliphate (1121 to 1269)Open: Latin Empire of ConstantinopleLatin Empire of Constantinople (1204 to 1261)Open: Hundred Years' WarHundred Years' War (1337 to 1453)Open: First French colonial empireFirst French colonial empire (1534 to 1814)Open: French Wars of ReligionFrench Wars of Religion (1562 to 1598)

Royal domain under direct crown control

The kingdom's nominal borders changed little; what grew was the land the king actually governed.

0100200300400987: 151180: 401223: 1301314: 2001420: 1201461: 2501492: 400100011001200130014001492thousand km2 (approximate)

Timeline of the Kingdom of France (Middle Ages)

  1. 987
    Hugh Capet elected king
  2. 1144
    Saint-Denis consecratedGothic architecture begins.
  3. 1204
    Normandy conquered from John
  4. 1214
    Bouvines
  5. 1270
    Louis IX dies on crusade
  6. 1307
    Templars arrested
  7. 1337
    Hundred Years' War begins
  8. 1415
    Agincourt
  9. 1429
    Joan of Arc relieves Orleans
  10. 1453
    Castillon; English expelled
  11. 1477
    Burgundy annexed

The early Capetians

Hugh Capet's real power extended little beyond the Ile-de-France; the dukes of Normandy, Aquitaine and Burgundy and the counts of Flanders and Toulouse were mightier. The Capetians survived by crowning their heirs in their lifetimes and by luck: an unbroken run of sons for 341 years. Louis VI and Louis VII, advised by Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis, tamed the robber barons of the royal domain, and Suger's abbey church invented Gothic architecture.

Philip Augustus to Philip the Fair

Philip II (1180-1223) took Normandy, Maine, Anjou and Touraine from King John and beat John's German and Flemish allies at Bouvines in 1214, quadrupling the royal domain. Louis IX went on two crusades, built the Sainte-Chapelle and dispensed justice under an oak at Vincennes. Philip IV (1285-1314) fought Flanders and England, humiliated Pope Boniface VIII, destroyed the Templars, expelled the Jews and summoned the first Estates General. Paris was the largest city in Europe and its university the greatest.

The Hundred Years' War and recovery

When the last Capetian died in 1328 Edward III of England claimed the crown; the Valois Philip VI took it. Crecy, Poitiers, the Black Death, the Jacquerie and Agincourt (1415) followed, and by 1420 the English king was heir to France. Joan of Arc's relief of Orleans in 1429 turned the tide; Charles VII took Paris (1436), Normandy (1450) and Bordeaux (1453). Louis XI (1461-1483) outmanoeuvred Charles the Bold and annexed Burgundy, Picardy and Provence; Brittany followed by marriage in 1491.

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8 surprising things about the Kingdom of France (Middle Ages)

  1. The Capetians produced a direct male heir in every generation for 341 years, the 'Capetian miracle'.
  2. Philip IV's arrest of all the Templars on Friday 13 October 1307 is one origin story for the unlucky date.
  3. Louis IX is the only French king to be canonised; St Louis, Missouri, is named after him.
  4. The Sainte-Chapelle was built to house the Crown of Thorns, which Louis IX bought from Constantinople for more than the chapel cost.
  5. In 1300 Paris had perhaps 200,000 people, more than London and Rome combined.
  6. Joan of Arc was 17 when she led the army at Orleans and 19 when burned at Rouen; she was declared a saint in 1920.
  7. Charles VII was known as 'the Well-Served' because his ministers won his war for him.
  8. Louis XI was called 'the universal spider' for his web of intrigues and kept prisoners in iron cages.

Sources

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