Kingdom of France

Kingdom of France

Main articles: Kingdom of France, Capetian dynasty, Valois dynasty, and Bourbon dynasty

See also: List of French monarchs, France in the Middle Ages, Early modern France, and Ancien Régime

The Carolingian dynasty ruled France until 987, when Hugh Capet, Duke of France and Count of Paris, was crowned King of the Franks.^[35] His descendants – the Capetians, the House of Valois, and the House of Bourbon – progressively unified the country through wars and dynastic inheritance into the Kingdom of France, which was fully declared in 1190 by Philip II Augustus. French knights took an active part in many of the Crusades that were fought between 1095 and 1291 to restore Christian control over the Holy Land. Crusaders were so predominately French that the word "crusader" in the Arabic language is simply known as Al-Franj or "The Franks"^[36] and Old French became the lingua franca of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.^[37]

Joan of Arc led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War which paved the way for the final victory.

The Albigensian Crusade was launched in 1209 to eliminate the heretical Cathars in the south-western area of modern-day France. In the end, the Cathars were exterminated and the autonomous County of Toulouse was annexed into the kingdom of France.^[38] Later Kings expanded their territory to cover over half of modern continental France, including most of the North, Centre and West of France. Meanwhile, the royal authority became more and more assertive, centred around a hierarchically conceived society distinguishing nobility, clergy, and commoners.
Charles IV (The Fair) died without an heir in 1328.^[39] Under the rules of the Salic law adopted in 1316, the crown of France could not pass to a woman nor could the line of kinship pass through the female line.^[39] Accordingly, the crown passed to Philip of Valois, a cousin of Charles, rather than through the female line to Charles' nephew, Edward, who would soon become Edward III of England. During the reign of Philip of Valois, the French monarchy reached the height of its medieval power.^[39]
However, Philip's seat on the throne was contested by Edward III of England and in 1337, on the eve of the first wave of the Black Death,^[40] England and France went to war in what would become known as the Hundred Years' War.^[41] The exact boundaries changed greatly with time, but French landholdings of the English Kings remained extensive for decades.
With charismatic leaders, such as Joan of Arc and La Hire, strong French counterattacks won back all English continental territories, except Calais, which was captured in 1558 by the French. Like the rest of Europe, France was struck by the Black Death. Around 1340, France had a population of approximately 17 million,^[42] which by the end of the pandemic had declined by about one-half.^[43]