Isabelle de Hainaut: ancestress of the Capetian, Valois, and Bourbon dynasties

Isabelle de Hainaut, Queen of France, was the first wife of King Philippe II of France known as Augustus. She was born in Valenciennes on the 5th of April 1170 to Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut, and his wife, Countess Marguerite I of Flanders. Isabelle was their oldest daughter and...

Philippe III of France: an imitation of Saint Louis’ kingship based on favoritism

Philippe III of France (born on the 30th of April 1245 and died on the 5th of October 1285) ascended to the throne upon the death of his father – Louis IX known as Saint Louis – on the 25th of August 1270.  His father passed away of dysentery in...

King Henri I of the Franks: the weak royal demesne of France

King Henri I of the Franks, born c 1008 in Reims, died on the 4th of August 1060, in Vitry-aux-Loges in France.  He was crowned at Reims in 1027 in his father’s lifetime, following the sudden demise of his elder brother Hugh Magnus.   Son of Robert Capet (King Robert II)...

Louis XII of France: a king by accident with dreams of Italian conquests

King Louis XII of France was born on the 27th of June 1462 at Château de Blois.  The son of Duke Charles d'Orléans, and Mary of Cleves, Louis XII  succeeded his father only at the age of 3.  King Louis XI appointed the chief councilors and servitors of the young...