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Hugh Capet of FranceHugh Capet of France (29) (938-996), married Adele or Adelaide (29) (952 - ?), who according to Burke, was daughter of Otto I (30). His son was Robert the Pious (28) (971-1031), married (2nd) Constantia, who was called Constance of Provence (28). His father was Hughes Capet the Great, Duke of France (30) (900 - 956) (known as "the Great") married Princess Hedwidge (30) (910 - 965) (p. 184 Wurtz Magna Charta, Vol. I and II). From Encyclopaedia Britannica Hugh Capet b. c. 938, d. Oct. 14, 996, Paris, France French HUGUES CAPET king of France from 987 to 996, and the first of a direct line of 14 Capetian kings of that country. The Capetian dynasty derived its name from his nickname (Latin capa, "cape"). Hugh was the eldest son of Hugh the Great, duke of the Franks. On his father's death in 956, Hugh Capet inherited vast estates in the regions of Paris and Orléans, extending in some places south of the Loire River. He thus became one of the most powerful vassals in the kingdom and a serious danger to the Carolingian king, Lothair. Hugh married Adelaide, daughter of William III, Duke of Aquitaine, in 970, but his efforts to extend his influence into that southwestern kingdom were unsuccessful. From 978 to 986 Hugh was allied with the German emperors Otto II and Otto III and with Adalbero, archbishop of Reims, in political intrigues against the Carolingian king. By 985 Hugh was actually the ruler in all but title; and, after the brief reign of Lothair's son, Louis V (986-987), Hugh was elected king of France in May 987 by the assembly of Frankish magnates. Adalbero was able to convince the magnates that the crown was elective rather than hereditary and that Charles of Lorraine, the only legitimate Carolingian contender, was unfit to rule. Hugh was crowned at Noyon on July 5, 987. Scholars are generally agreed that Hugh's election was not a revolutionary action. His grandfather Robert I, his great-uncle Eudes, and his uncle Rudolf (Raoul) had all earlier been non-Carolingian kings. Hugh's reign was marked by the unavailing efforts of Charles of Lorraine (imprisoned 991) to assert himself and by continual conflict between Eudes I, count of Blois, and Fulk Nerra of Anjou, whom Hugh later supported. In 993 Eudes was aided by the bishop of Laon in an unsuccessful conspiracy to deliver Hugh and his son Robert over to Otto III. That no one was punished for the incident indicated the weakness of the new Capetian dynasty. Hugh's crown was probably preserved by the inability of his enemies to coordinate their activities against him. The Capetian dynasty's subsequent rule for more than 300 years has invested Hugh Capet's reign with a greater significance than his actual achievements merit. Very soon after ascending the throne, Hugh Capet arranged the coronation (December 987) of his own son, Robert, who upon Hugh's death succeeded to the throne without difficulty. This practice of crowning the heir during the father's lifetime was continued by the Capetians until the time of Louis VII and undoubtedly contributed to the dynasty's stability and longevity. Capetian dynasty ruling house of France from 987 to 1328, during the feudal period of the Middle Ages. By extending and consolidating their power, the Capetian kings laid the foundation of the French nation-state. The Capetians all descended from Robert the Strong (died 866), count of Anjou and of Blois, whose two sons, usually styled Robertian rather than Capetian, were both crowned king of the Franks: Eudes in 888, Robert I in 922. Though Robert I's son Hugh the Great restored the Carolingian dynasty in 936, his son Hugh Capet was elected king in 987, thus removing the Carolingians forever. The 13 kings from Hugh Capet to the infant John I, who succeeded one another from father to son, and John I's two uncles, Philip V and Charles IV (d. 1328), are designated as the Capetians "of the direct line." They were followed by the 13 Capetian kings of the house of Valois (see Valois dynasty). Of these, seven kings (from Philip VI to Charles VIII) succeeded from father to son. Thereafter came the Valois-Orléans branch (represented by Louis XII) and the Valois-Angoulême branch (five kings from Francis I to Henry III) until 1589. Then the Capetians of Bourbon succeeded (see Bourbon, house of). Hugh Capet's rule was limited to his own domain around Paris, while the rest of the French kingdom was in the hands of powerful local lords. His direct successors gradually increased the territory over which they had control through conquest and inheritance and also by skillfully exploiting their rights as suzerains in areas not under their direct authority. Under the Capetians, many of the basic administrative institutions of the French monarchy, including Parlements (royal law courts), the States General (representative assembly), and the baillis (royal local officials), began to develop. Among the most notable of the Capetians was Philip II (reigned 1180-1223), who wrested from the Angevin rulers of England much of the empire that they had built up in western France. Another notable Capetian was Louis IX, or Saint Louis (reigned 1226-70), whose devotion to justice and saintly life greatly enhanced the prestige of the monarchy. Many other sovereign princes of medieval Europe descended in the male line from the Capetian kings of France. There were two lines of Capetian dukes of Burgundy (1032-1361 and 1363-1477); the Capetian house of Dreux, a line of dukes of Brittany (1213-1488); three Capetian emperors of Constantinople (1216-61), of the house of Courtenay; various counts of Artois (from 1237), with controversial succession; the first Capetian house of Anjou, with kings and queens of Naples (1266-1435) and kings of Hungary (1310-82); the house of Évreux, with three kings of Navarre (1328-1425); the second Capetian house of Anjou, with five counts of Provence (1382-1481); and other lesser branches. Return to the Genealogy Overview page or the Indexes on the Detail page.
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