Kingdom of France
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]
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]
