History of the Kings and Monarchy of France - Introduction - 1

In this lecture, we are going to review the history of the French monarchy. But before we do that, we are going to start our discussion with Gaul. Gaul was essentially what France is today. Before Rome made it a province, Gaul was primarily run by several Gallic tribes. The Roman Republic had long desired to take over Gaul, and began to launch invasions as early as 121 BC. Roman legions were successful in capturing the southernmost areas of Gaul. Julius Caesar finished off the task by defeating the Celtic tribes in the Gallic Wars. After this, Gaul became a Roman province. The Romans would rule Gaul for nearly six centuries, and this allowed Roman culture to permeate throughout the province, especially in the south. The Romans who lived in Gaul were referred to as Gallo-Romans. Now, as the Western Roman Empire began to fall apart, Gaul was carved up into several different states. The last holdout was a Roman enclave in Gaul called the Kingdom of Soissons. To the north of Soissons were the Franks. The Franks soon launched an attack led by their leader, Clovis. The Romans were defeated and the territory was incorporated into the increasingly successful Frankish Kingdom. Clovis eventually united all of Gaul under Merovingian rule. The Merovingians were the first ruling dynasty of the Franks. Merovingian custom divided up the kingdom to all male heirs of age. So when Clovis died, his lands were split up between his four sons. They succeeded in taking over Burgundy, which further increased the repute of the Frankish Kingdom. It was around this time period that the Merovingians formed what was referred to as the Mayors of the Palace. Under the Merovingian dynasty, the Mayor of the Palace was the manager of the household for the Frankish King. So they were one of the highest ranking officials working for the King. As time wore on, the Mayors of the Palace became very powerful in their own right. Eventually, the Merovingian King held little real power. Instead, it was the Mayors of the Palace that ruled the Franks. The Mayors often fought each other for control of Gaul. Eventually, one house was able to take over all of the mayorships. This was accomplished under Charles Martel, who founded the Carolingian dynasty. It was during Martel's rule that a great threat emerged to all of Gaul, the Islamic Caliphate in the south. Charles Martel led his Frankish army to a major victory over the forces of the Caliphate. And with that, Charles extended his authority in the south. There is little dispute that the battle helped lay the foundations of the Carolingian Empire. And Charles Martel is the undisputed ruler of the Franks, even though he did not formally take the title of King. So why didn't Charles Martel just assume the title of King of the Franks? Well, for centuries, the Merovingians held the customary right to be Kings. And these old Germanic customs were very important to many of the Germanic tribes, even after they had become Christianized. So the Carolingians needed to find some way to get rid of the Merovingians without violating their all-important Germanic customs. An opportunity for this arose in Italy. The Lombards had been ravaging Italy, putting immense pressure on the Pope. They were pushing the Byzantines straight out of Italy, and were on the cusp of overrunning the entire peninsula. Pepin, who was now the ruler of the Franks and the grandson of Charles Martel, decided to take advantage of the situation. He asked the Pope to crown him King of the Franks. The Pope, who was clearly in need of some powerful allies, agreed and Pepin was crowned King in 751. This effectively ended the Merovingian dynasty. The Carolingians were now the legitimate rulers of the Franks. Pepin's coronation also formed an even closer bond between the Franks and the Church. In 755, Pepin's first major act as King was to go to war against the Lombards. He defeated the Lombards and forced them to return all of the Pope's property. In addition, Pepin gave several of the lands he had conquered to the Pope. This became known as the Donation of Pepin, and helped create the Papal States. Pepin's son Charlemagne was also a man of war. He continued his father's policy against the Lombards, and conquered more territory in Italy. Charlemagne also united most of Western and Central Europe for the first time since the era of the Roman Empire. He even captured parts of Europe that had never been under Roman rule. In the year 800, Charlemagne traveled to Rome. At Mass on Christmas Day, the Frankish King knelt at the altar to pray. Pope Leo then crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans in St. Peter's Basilica. After Charlemagne died in 814, his son Louis assumed control of the entire Frankish Empire, except for Italy. Louis was the only one of Charlemagne's three legitimate sons to survive infancy. As I mentioned before, Italy was the only territory that Louis did not control. The ruler in Italy was Bernard, and he wanted to declare independence. Louis responded to this threat by launching an invasion. Bernard was then forced to surrender and was condemned to death. Louis faced many difficulties expanding his empire. There were serious problems on the frontiers, especially in the East. Slavic tribes often raided Frankish territory near the borders. Louis died in 840. Soon a dispute broke out between his surviving sons. The Civil War was settled in 843 by the Treaty of Verdun, which split the Frankish realm into three parts. This would form the basis of the modern nation-states of France and Germany. Here is the division. Lothair received the central portion of the Frankish Empire. His domain included the Low Countries, Lorraine, Burgundy, Province, and the Kingdom of Italy. Louis the German received the eastern Frankish portion of the Empire. He was guaranteed all the lands to the east of the Rhine and to the north and east of Italy. It eventually became the medieval Kingdom of Germany, the largest component of the Holy Roman Empire. Charles the Bald received the western portion of the Empire, which later became the Kingdom of France. The middle Frankish Kingdom soon became difficult to administer, especially since communications were hampered by the Alps. As a result, the Kingdom soon became fragmented. This made it difficult for future Frankish kings to reassemble Charlemagne's Empire. However, later on, Charles the Fat was able to reunify the Empire. Despite the unification, Charles faced major invasions by the Vikings, who actually sieged Paris in 885. Charles eventually was able to encircle the Vikings, but refused to fight them. Instead, he bribed them to simply leave France. When the Vikings withdrew from France the next spring, Charles reportedly gave them 700 pounds of silver, as promised. The Frankish Empire once again fell apart after Charles' death, splintering into five different kingdoms. The territory would not be reunited again until the time of Napoleon. The last Carolingian king to rule France was Louis V. His premature death left no heir. Hugh Capet was elected by the nobility as King of France. This would establish the Capetian Dynasty. The descendants of Hugh Capet would rule France continuously, all the way from 987 up until 1792, and again from 1814 to 1848. Similar to his predecessors, Hugh Capet did not call himself King of France. He ruled as the King of the Franks. By the way, later on, Philip II was the first king to use the title of King of France. The lands Hugh Capet ruled were close to the boundaries of modern-day France, and thus only a portion of the original lands of the Frankish Empire. Hugh Capet died on October 24th, in the year 996, in Paris. Most historians regard the beginnings of modern France with the reign of Hugh Capet. This is because he established Paris as the center of his power. Charles IV was the last ruling king of the House of Capet. When he died without an heir, he was succeeded in Navarre by his niece, Joan II, and in France by his paternal first cousin, Philip of Valois. However, a dispute broke out in this succession plan, and this led to the Hundred Years' War. The House of Valois' claim to the throne was disputed by the rulers of England, the House of Plentanginate. The two houses went to war with each other to enforce their respective claims. England achieved major victories early on in the war, and occupied large areas of France, including Paris. However, eventually the House of Valois was ultimately successful, and English forces were for the most part driven out of France. The conflict also led to the development of strong national identities in both countries. Because the House of Valois was ultimately victorious, French historians count their leaders as the rightful kings. But the ruling house faced another crisis during their reign, the rise of the Protestants. During King Francis' reign, Martin Luther's writings sparked the Protestant Reformation, which spread throughout most of Europe, including France. Initially, King Francis was relatively tolerant of the new movement, but an incident occurred that changed Francis' entire attitude towards the Protestants. Notices started to appear on the streets of Paris, and other major cities denouncing the Catholic mass. Francis responded by ordering the arrests and executions of several Protestants. Many of those that survived were forced into exile. Decades later, the crisis only worsened, and a full-blown war broke out in 1562. Henry III, Francis' grandson, saw the wars of religion dominate his reign. Henry was crowned King of France in 1575. Henry decided to pursue a moderate policy towards the Protestants. In 1576, the king signed an edict which basically granted many concessions to the main Protestant wing, the Huguenots. This action angered many Catholics, and resulted in the formation of the Catholic League. Henry was eventually forced to rescind most of the concessions that had been made to the Protestants. Despite this, the Catholics were still enraged at Henry. On May 12th, 1588, the Duke of Guise entered Paris. As the leader of the Catholic League, he had widespread popularity throughout Paris and France. Fearing for his safety, Henry III fled the city. Soon, King Henry wanted to set up a meeting with the Duke of Guise. The duke was told that the king wished to meet him in a private room next to his royal bedroom. Once there, the Duke of Guise was seized and murdered by royal guardsmen. The king then had the duke's son imprisoned. The Duke of Guise had been very popular in France, and the population largely turned against Henry for the murder. The parliament even brought up criminal charges against the king. On August 1st, 1589, Henry III camped just outside Paris with his army. He began to prepare for an attack against the city to reclaim control. However, a young friar was able to gain access to Henry on false pretenses. The friar then stabbed Henry III to death. The assassination of Henry III ended the House of Valois' line. Since Henry had no heir, France was again plunged into a succession crisis over who would be the next king. The best claimant, Henry of Navarre, was a Protestant, and thus unacceptable to much of the French nobility. Ultimately, after winning numerous battles in defense of his claim, Henry IV was crowned king, founding the House of Bourbon. King Henry IV was determined to end the religious wars that had plagued his country. In an effort to keep peace with the nobility, he converted to Catholicism. He also guaranteed religious liberties to Protestants, which effectively ended the Wars of Religion. Still, he was disliked by some Catholics, and considered a traitor by many Protestants. There were numerous assassination attempts. He was finally killed in Paris in 1610 by a Catholic fanatic, who stabbed him in his coach while it was stuck in traffic. Henry gained much more popularity after his death. He was remembered as the Good King Henry, who was always concerned about the welfare of his subjects. He worked to improve France's finances and eliminate corruption. Without a doubt, the greatest king of the House of Bourbon was Louis XIV. Louis was a strong proponent in the divine right of kings, and therefore worked to create a strong centralized state. During Louis' reign, France was the leading European power, and fought in several major wars. He also kept France in a constant state of readiness for any conflict that might arise. Louis was a strong patron of the arts, and had no problem commemorating himself in a grand manner that was unrivaled by any monarch of the day. Louis also made the Palace of Versailles the principal royal residence in 1682. One of the main additions was the Hall of Mirrors. The hall was lavishly constructed out of mirror-clad arches that overlooked magnificent gardens. Louis' reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest recorded stretch of any monarch in European history, and this is one of the reasons he is seen as one of the greatest kings in history. Louis XIV died in 1715. In the latter part of the century, the French monarchy began to lose its popularity. Louis XVI attempted to reform the French government by abolishing serfdom and also showing tolerance towards non-Catholics. Still, things took a turn for the worse in the 1770s. Increases in food prices and bad harvests led to revolts. Also, Louis' participation in the American Revolution increased the state's debt and contributed to a severe financial crisis. This led to a large amount of hostility towards the French aristocracy. The crisis hit a flashpoint on the afternoon of July 14, 1789. The medieval armory and political prison known as the Bastille represented royal authority in the center of Paris. To the revolutionaries, it was a symbol of everything that was wrong with the French monarchy. The Bastille was stormed and taken on that fateful day. It was a huge turning point in the French Revolution. The riots in Paris forced Louis to recognize the authority of the National Assembly. Despite this, Louis XVI was eventually taken prisoner. The monarchy was then abolished and the First French Republic was proclaimed on September 21, 1792. The Capetian dynasty, which had ruled for nearly eight centuries, came to an end. Louis was found guilty of high treason and executed on January 21, 1793. His wife Marie Antoinette was also found guilty of treason and executed later in that same year. The French First Republic was plagued by instability and corruption. As a result, the government only lasted from 1792 to 1804, after which the highly popular Napoleon decided to make France yet again a monarchy. He took the title of Emperor, but avoided assuming the title of King of France. Napoleon's grand army seemed almost unbeatable. His forces conquered an area of land that was comparable to the Frankish Empire at his height. In 1812, Napoleon set his sights on Russia. His main objective was to compel the Tsar to stop trading with Great Britain. At the start of the invasion, the grand army totaled 680,000 soldiers. It was the largest army ever known to have been assembled in the history of warfare up to that point. Although Napoleon succeeded in capturing Moscow, his supplies were running low. He was forced to retreat. Only 27,000 soldiers made it out of Russia. 380,000 soldiers of Napoleon's army were dead, with another 100,000 captured during the campaign. It was the turning point of the Napoleonic Wars. Soon after this, the Sixth Coalition defeated Napoleon in 1814. Louis XVIII was made King, and the House of Bourbon ruled France again. However, Napoleon escaped from exile and restored his French Empire. And a Seventh Coalition declared war on the French Empire, defeating Napoleon yet again. And once again, Louis XVIII was restored to the French throne. Louis XVIII ruled as King for almost a decade. Upon his death, the crown passed to his brother, Charles X. But Charles was forced to abdicate after the July Revolution of 1830. This brought a permanent end to the House of Bourbon's rule. Charles was replaced by Louis-Philippe, a distant cousin with more liberal tendencies. He was never crowned King, making him disputed as a genuine monarch. Over time, Philippe became more conservative, and began to lose popularity. When a revolution broke out in 1848, he fled to Great Britain. Two days later, the Second French Republic was declared. The French Second Republic lasted from 1848 to 1852, when its president, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, was declared Emperor of the French. He took the regal name of Napoleon III, after his uncle, Napoleon I, and his cousin, Napoleon II. Napoleon III would later be overthrown after the Prussians defeated France in 1870. He was the last monarch to rule France. Since then, the country has been ruled by a succession of Republican governments.