Charles Orland, Dauphin of France, was born on the 11th of October 1492. His parents were King Charles VIII of France called the Affable (l’Affable) and Anne de Bretagne (Anne of Brittany), who was his consort and Duchess of Brittany in her own right. Charles Orland was their eldest son,...
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)...
End of the Siege of Acre (1189-1191)
On July 12 1191, the long siege of Acre (1189-1191) during the Third Crusade was finally over. The city of Acre offered terms of surrender to the Crusaders, and this time, these terms were considered suitable and were accepted. The siege had begun when Guy de Lusignan attacked Acre in...
End of the Capets: the beginning of the Valois royal dynasty
On the 29 May 1328, King Philippe VI of France, once simply Count de Valois, was crowned at Reims Cathedral. The nearest male relative to the last Capetian monarch, Charles IV of France known as the Fair (le Bel), Philippe inherited the throne because of the direct male line of...
Struggle for power: Hugh Capet and Lothair of France
Today, on the 3rd of July 987, Hugh Capet was crowned King of France. He was the eldest son of Hugh the Great, Duke of the Franks. When his father died in 956, teenaged Hugh inherited his estates, becoming a vassal to the Carolingian king Lothair III (sometimes called Lothair...