Hugh Capet, duke and then king of France from 987 to 996, is the founder of the Capetian dynasty. After the unexpected death of the Carolingian king Louis V the Sluggard in 987, he obtained his election as king of the Franks thanks to the decisive role his family had played within the administration and court of the kingdom.
In the eyes of the nobles, electing a powerful king is also a guarantee of protection against the potential ambitions of neighboring, competing states. From then on, on July 3, 987, Hugh Capet received the royal anointing in Noyon during a religious ceremony aimed at confirming the new sovereign’s function. The young dynasty can now rely on authority and legitimacy of divine origin.
The Origins of Hugh Capet
The father of Hugh Capet, the Duke of France and Count of Paris, Hugh the Great, belongs to one of the most active feudal families, the Robertians, whose illustrious members have already been raised to royal dignity. Originally, the regional roots of this illustrious house were to be found in Anjou.
But very quickly, thanks to enhanced political acumen, Hugh ensures the valorization of the family’s success, to the extent that his possessions, initially between the Seine and the Meuse rivers, are later complemented, after 943, by Burgundy. Familiar or allied with the last Carolingian sovereigns, such as Emperor Otto I, Kings Louis IV of France, and Lothair, Hugh the Great exercised, in addition to significant local prerogatives, considerable influence over the institutions of the central state. Hence, some historians sometimes consider him to be the true founder of the future Capetian dynasty.
Nicknamed the “kingmaker,” Hugh personally intervened on multiple occasions during the election or maintenance of several monarchs. As accession to royalty was no longer hereditary by the end of the Carolingian era, only the great barons and the main prelates of Francia occidentalis were brought to elect their sovereign, at the cost of negotiations and concessions sometimes heavy with consequences for the autonomy and decision-making power of the future king.
Towards the end of his life, the dominance of the Duke of France and Count of Paris is such that King Lothair, only confirming certain succession arrangements, is forced to witness, powerless, the division of Hugh’s territories among his different sons. The eldest, the future Hugh Capet, receives the duchy of France, while the youngest, Eudes, is granted the duchy of Burgundy.
A Throne to Conquer, a Crown to Defend
Hugh Capet succeeded in establishing himself through an alliance with monasticism. He had abbeys rich in land. Linked to Cluny by a very ancient family tradition, Hugh was greatly influenced by the spirit of this abbey in his youth. One of his first “royal” acts was to protect the monasteries and their assets, and he governed with the advice of Adalbero, Archbishop of Reims, his faithful, until he died in 989.
When Lothair disappeared in 986, Hugh did not yet seek to dispute the crown with the son of the deceased Carolingian king, Louis V, who had been associated with power since 979. The latter died accidentally in 987, leaving only one Carolingian, Lothair’s brother, Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine, who was very unpopular.
Before the Assembly convened at Senlis and then at Noyon to designate the new king, the Archbishop’s intervention was decisive. Hugh Capet was proclaimed king on June 1, 987, and on July 3, Adalbero crowned him in Reims. But Charles of Lower Lorraine managed to seize Laon (988), and soon Adalbero’s death deprived Hugh Capet of his strongest support. The latter appointed Arnulf, who had delivered Laon to Charles of Lorraine, as the faithful prelate’s successor.
The Bishop of Laon, Ascelin, arranged for Charles of Lorraine, his wife, and his two sons to fall into the hands of the king (991). Only Arnulf remained. Hugh Capet attempted to rid himself of him by having him deposed by a council. But he encountered opposition from the pope.
The Reign of Hugh Capet
From the first year of his reign, he secured the future of his dynasty: a few months after his election, he associated his eldest son, Robert, with royalty (December 30, 987). Royal power, exercised jointly, became both indivisible and hereditary. The kingdom comprised approximately fifteen sizable territorial principalities, all under the control of hereditary dynasties. The king depended on the aristocracy that elected him and the church that anointed him.
The royal domain comprised the lands he personally possessed at the time of his election: the Île-de-France and Orléanais, the regions of Aisne and Oise, Compiègne, Reims, and Laon. Once king, he expanded it by annexing Senlis and Dreux, following the extinction of local dynasties. He is the “anointed of the Lord,” which grants him moral strength and religious prestige, rendering him superior to all the great ones. Without claiming an ambitious policy, he succeeds through his moderation in maintaining the positions of royalty in the face of the great vassals and enabling his dynasty to perpetuate itself.
It will take time and patience for the Capetians to consolidate and expand the royal domain, thus fortifying their authority. During the 12th century, royal suzerainty eventually imposed itself on all the lords of the kingdom, drawing particular strength from the coronation and the support of the Church. The destiny of the kingdom will be inseparably linked to that of the Capetian dynasty for eight centuries.
First of the Capetians
Hugh Capet, the first duke of France and Burgundy and overlord of the dukes of Normandy and Aquitaine, thus becomes the first king of the new French Capetian dynasty. However, at the time of his election, consecration, and coronation, no one could foresee that the new dynastic line would remain at the head of the French royal house until 1792.
In the 12th century, when it became necessary to name this dynasty definitively established on the throne of France, they chose to call it “Capetian,” inspired by a nickname that had already characterized Duke Hugh the Great in the 11th century. But it is only in the 12th century that King Hugh, following his father, himself received the nickname, Capet, probably because, by the custom of his ancestors, he was a lay abbot of Tours, where a fragment of Saint Martin’s cloak was preserved. It is this same nickname that, in derision, was bestowed upon Louis XVI after his deposition.
The rise to power of the young dynasty would probably have gone unnoticed if the first monarchs had not had the wisdom to associate their eldest son with the throne during their reign. Thanks to this coregency, real monarchical continuity can be established within the Robertian family that became sovereign.
The first Capetian kings elected and crowned their sons as heirs during their lifetime so by 1174, heredity finally replaced election. In this context of stability and dynastic continuity, peace and abundance can be established lastingly. Countrysides, cities, and monasteries develop, while commercial exchanges intensify.
