Capetian France 987-1328In 987, when Hugh Capet took the throne of France, founding a dynasty which was to rule for over 300 years, his kingdom was weak and insignificant. But by 1100, the kingdom of France was beginning to dominate the cultural nd religious life of western Europe. In the centuries that followed, to scholars and to poets, to reforming churchmen and monks, to crusaders and the designers of churches, France was the hub of the universe. La douce France drew people like a magnet even though its kings were, until about 1200, comparatively insignificant figures. Then, thanks to the conquests and reforms of King Philip Augustus, France became a dominant force in political and economic terms as well, producing a saint-king, Louis IX, and in Philip IV, a ruler so powerful that he could dictate to popes and emperors. Spanning France's development across four centuries, Capetian France is a definitive book. This second edition has been carefully revised to take account of the very latest work, without losing the original book's popular balance between a compelling narrative and an fascinating examination of the period's main themes. |
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abbey abbot administration Alfonso Angevin apanage Aquitaine archbishop authority became began bishops Blanche Blois Boniface Brittany brother Burgundy canons Capetian kings Carolingian castellans castles Champagne Charles of Anjou charters Cistercian considerable count of Blois count of Flanders count of Toulouse crown crusade ducal duchy duke early Capetians ecclesiastical eleventh century emperor England English king feudal fiefs French church French king French kingdom Gascony Geoffrey granted heir Henry Henry III homage houses Île-de-France important John king's knights Languedoc Laon later lords Louis IX Louis IX's Louis VII Medieval monarchy monasteries monastic monks nobility nobles Norman Normandy northern France Orléans papacy papal Paris Philip Augustus Philip IV Plantagenet Poitiers Poitou political pope Raymond region reign Reims Richard Robert the Pious royal lands royal power royal principality Saint Louis Saint-Denis siècle Suger Templars territorial princes Theobald Toulouse towns trans twelfth century Valois vassals Vermandois Vexin whilst William