French Monarchs

A history of French monarchs.

Kingdom of France

The kingdom of France emerged from the fragmenting West Francia. Important factions were:

• the Vikings who had settled along the Seine and established the duchy of Normandy

  • William the Conqueror was the most problematic such duke

• the house of Burgundy (a cadet branch of the Capetians), who held the duchy of Burgundy

• the house of Poitiers, who held the county of Poitiers, the duchy of Aquitaine, and the duchy of Gascony

Hugh Capet was elected king of the Franks in 987.

The ancien regime was organized as follows:

• Government by the great officers of the royal household (maison du roi).

• Administration by appointed intendants seleted from the senior nobility (i.e., nobles of the robe, noblesse de robe).

  • Louis XIV created the council of messages (Conseil des dépêches) to oversee the domestic administration. This was a less prestigious council.

• Policy deliberation by council.

  • Francis I created the Conseil des affaires, more generally known as the Upper Council (Conseil d'en haut). This was a very prestigious council.

    • Under Louis XV the council focused on foreign affairs, and became known as the Conseil d'État.

• Judicial deliberation by council.

  • Initially, judicial affairs were heard in the royal court (Curia regis) in which the nobility held substantial power.

  • By the 13th century, the judiciary was professionalized by moving deliberations from court to a specialized royal council (Conseil du roi). This institution was supported by a staff of jurists trained at the University of Paris, establishing a pipeline from the law school into nobility.

  • Charles VIII reformed the royal council and delegated judicial affairs to the new Grand conseil as a superior court. Note however there remained significant royal oversight of the judiciary:

    • Only the king had the power to convene the court.

    • Henry IV created the privy council of state (Conseil d'État privé, sometimes known as Conseil des parties) as a supreme court.

Napoleonic Empires

July Revolution

Dynasties

Capetian

The House of Capet is synonymous with the kingdom of France.

Valois

The house of Valois was a cadet branch of the Capetians.

Bourbon

The house of Bourbon was also a cadet branch.

Orléans

The house of Orléans was yet another cadet branch. After Charles X was forced to abdicate, Louis Philippe I succeeded the throne. He himself was forced to abdicate in 1848 and the kingdom was abolished.

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