Hugh Capet of France

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hugh Capet (French: Hugues Capet) (c.940 – October 24, 996) was King of France from 987 to 996. Capet is a byname of uncertain meaning distinguishing him from his father Hugh the Great.<ref>Folk etymology connects it with cape, other suggested etymologies derive it from terms for chief, mocker or big head. See further fr:Capet (nom). His father's byname is presumed to have been retrospective, Latin: Hugo Magnus, meaning Hugh the Elder, this Hugh being Hugh the Younger, Capet being a 12th century addition; James, p. 183.</ref>

Born in about 940, he was the son of Hugh the Great and Hedwige of Saxony. His paternal family, the Robertians, were powerful landowners in the Île-de-France. His grandfather was King Robert I of France, his grandmother Beatrix of Vermandois, daughter of Herbert I of Vermandois. Odo, Count of Paris was Robert's brother, King Rudolph his son-in-law. Hugh Capet's maternal grandfather was German King Henry the Fowler.<ref>For a fuller explanation of the descent and relationships of Hugues, see the genealogical tables in Riché, Les Carolingiens, pp. 399 ff.</ref>

For all this, Hugh's father was never king. When King Rudolph died in 936, Hugh the Great organised the return of the Carolingian Louis d'Outremer, son of Charles the Simple, from his exile at the court of Athelstan of England. Hugh's motives are unknown, but it is presumed that he acted to forestall Rudolph's brother and successor as Duke of Burgundy, Hugh the Black, Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, or William Longsword, Count of Rouen, from taking the French throne.<ref>James, pp. 183–184; Theis, pp. 65–66.</ref>

In 956, Hugh inherited his father's estates and became one of the most powerful nobles of his time in the much-reduced West Frankish kingdom. However, as he was not yet an adult, his uncle Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne, acted as regent. Young Hugh's neighbours made the most of the opportunity. Theobald the Trickster, count of Blois, a former vassal of Hugh the Great, took the counties of Chartres and Châteaudun, and married a daughter of Herbert of Vermandois. Further south, on the border of the kingdom, Fulk II of Anjou, Count of Anjou, another former client of Hugh the Great, carved out a principality at Hugh's expense and that of the Bretons.<ref>Theis, pp. 69–70.</ref>

Image:France.Xe.siecle.png

The kingdom in which Hugh grew up, and of which he would one day be king, bore no resemblance to modern France. Hugh's predecessors did not call themselves "kings of France", and that title was not used until the time of his distant descendant Philip the Fair (died 1314). Kings ruled as "king of the Franks" (Latin: rex Francorum), and the lands over which they ruled comprised only a very small part of the former Frankish Empire. The eastern Frankish lands, the Holy Roman Empire, were ruled by the Ottonian dynasty, represented by Hugh's first cousin Otto II and then by Otto's son, Otto III. The lands south of the river Loire had largely ceased to be part of the West Frankish kingdom in the years after Charles the Simple was deposed in 922. The Duchy of Normandy and the Duchy of Burgundy were largely independent, and Brittany entirely so, although from 956 Burgundy was ruled by Hugh's brothers Odo (died 965) and Otto-Henry (died 1002).<ref>James, pp. xxiii, 182–183; Gauvard, pp. 163–168; Riché, pp. 285 ff.</ref>

From 978 to 986, Hugh Capet allied himself with the German emperors Otto II and Otto III and with archbishop Adalberon of Reims to dominate the weak Carolingian king, Lothair. By 985, he was king in all but name. After Lothair and his son died in early 987, the archbishop of Reims convinced an assembly of nobles to elect Hugh Capet as their king. He was crowned King of France at Noyon, Picardie on July 3, 987, the first of the Capetian to rule France.

Hugh Capet possessed minor properties near Chartres and Anjou. Between Paris and Orléans he possessed towns and estates amounting to approximately 400 square miles (1,000 km²). His authority ended there, and if he dared travel outside his small area, he risked being captured and held for ransom or even murdered. Indeed, there was a plot in 993 masterminded by the Bishop of Laon and Odo I of Blois to deliver Hugh Capet into the custody of Otto III. The plot failed, but the fact that no one was punished illustrates how tenuous his hold on power was. Beyond his power base, in the rest of France, there were still as many codes of law as there were fiefdoms. The country operated with 150 different forms of currency and at least a dozen languages. Uniting all this into one cohesive unit was a formidable task and a constant struggle between those who wore the crown of France and its feudal lords. As such, Hugh Capet's reign was marked by numerous power struggles with the vassals on the borders of the Seine and the Loire. Beyond his realm, the investiture and then deposition of Arnulf, nephew of the duke of Lorraine, as archbishop of Reims involved the king and bishops in conflict with Pope John XV that was not yet resolved at Hugh Capet's death in 996.

While Hugh Capet's military power was limited and he had to seek military aid from Richard I of Normandy, his unanimous election as king gave him great moral authority and influence. Adémar de Chabannes records, probably apocryphally, that during an argument with the Count of Auvergne, Hugh demanded of him: "Who made you count?" The count riposted: "Who made you king?"<ref>Bordenove, pp. 265–266.</ref>

Hugh Capet died on October 24, 996 in Paris, and was interred in the Saint Denis Basilica. He was succeeded by his son, Robert II.

[edit] Family

Hugh Capet married Adelaide, daughter of William Towhead, Count of Poitou. Their son Robert was king after Hugh died. Their two daughters were Hedwig, or Hathui, who married Reginar IV, Count of Hainaut, and Gisela, or Gisele. A number of other daughters are less reliably attested.<ref>Thus Gauvard, p. 531.</ref>

Preceded by: Hugh the Great	Duke of the Franks 956–987	Succeeded by: became King of France
Preceded by: Louis V	King of France 987–996	Succeeded by: Robert II

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

Bordenove, Georges, Les Rois qui ont fait la France: Hugues Capet, le Fondateur. Paris: Marabout, 1986. ISBN 2-501-01099-X
Gauvard, Claude, La France au Moyen Âge du Ve au XVe siècle. Paris: PUF, 1996. 2-13-054205-0
James, Edward, The Origins of France: From Clovis to the Capetians 500-1000. London: Macmillan, 1982. ISBN 0-333-27052-8
Riché, Pierre, Les Carolingiens: Une famille qui fit l'Europe. Paris: Hachette, 1983. 2-012-78551-0
Theis, Laurent, Histoire du Moyen Âge français: Chronologie commentée 486-1453. Paris: Perrin, 1992. 2-87027-587-0