Kingdoms of France


France The country of France emerged from what had been the Celtic territory known to the Romans as as Gaul or Gallia. The Germanic Franks migrated into northern France and Belgium during the fourth and fifth centuries as the Roman Empire was fading, eventually becoming the chief power in their region. Domination of all of modern France followed in the late fifth century, and the Merovingian Franks extended their domination to cover almost all of Western Europe under the Carolingian kings. By the end of the ninth century their empire started to break up and was officially divided in AD 888, at which point modern France was created.


Tribal Leaders of the Franks The Franks are thought to have originated from the region of the Black Sea. They moved up to the Rhine during the third century (the Period of Migration). They were one of several west Germanic federations, and were formed out of the Salians, Sicambri, Chamavi, Tencteri, Chattuarii, Bructeri, Usipetes, Ampsivarii, and Chatti. Most of these peoples were living along the Rhine's northern borders in what was then known as Francia. The Salian (Western) Franks led the influx of Frankish and sub-Frankish peoples into the Empire from the east bank of the Rhine into modern northern Belgium and the southern Netherlands, where they were treated as foederati (AD 358), and founded minor kingdoms along the line of their advance, such as at Cambrai and Yssel. The Frankish realm underwent many partitions and changes of border, since the Franks divided their property among surviving sons and, lacking a broad sense of a res publica, they primarily conceived of their realm as a large swathe of private property. (Additional information taken from The Oxford History of England: Roman Britain, Peter Salway.)

c.250	A group of Franks take advantage of a weakened Roman Empire and penetrate as far as Tarragona in modern Spain. They plague this region for about a decade before Roman forces subdue them and expel them from Roman territory.

358	The Franks are accepted into the northern Roman Empire by Julian the Apostate.

407	By now the Franks are settled on the west bank of the Rhine in minor 'kingdoms' which cover much of north-eastern Gaul, along with some groups of Suevi. They defend the Rhine against invading Germans and remain a strong force in support of Rome for most of the century, and eventually, under Clovis, even strive to replace Rome as a European empire-builder. During the crossing of the Vandals (to avoid the Huns), the Franks attack this apparent threat to their own position. The Alans, also crossing the Rhine, come to the aid of the Vandals and save them from destruction.
fl 417	Merovée	Frankish leader. Sicambrian Frank. Semi-legendary.
409 - 426	Pharamond	Frankish leader. First king of Salian Franks.
418 - 486	Roman government in the area centered on Soissons is maintained, even though the region becomes more and more isolated from Italy and surrounded by Frankish states which are setting up in north-western Gaul (modern Belgium). From 461 it becomes almost permanently independent in all but name.
fl 422	Theudemeres	Frankish leader. Details are unknown.
c.422	Theudemeres is the son of the Roman commander, Ricimer (Richomeres). A Roman army enters Gaul, possibly in retaliation for Frankish support for the Roman usurper, Jovinus. Theudemeres and his mother Ascyla (Ricimer's wife) are executed by the sword.
426 - 448	Clodian / Chlodio VI	Pharamond's son. First King of Cambrai.
428	The Franks on the Rhine are defeated by Romans under the command of Aetius.
432	Gregory of Tours mentions Chlodio as the first king to start the conquest of Gaul by taking Camaracum (Cambrai) and Tournai in north-eastern Gaul (modern Belgium), and expanding the border of Frankish territory south to the Somme. This probably takes some time, and Sidonius relates that the Roman general Aëtius had surprised them at their first attempt in 431 and had driven them back.
448 - 458	Merovée/Merovech/Meerwig the Young	Son of Merovée. King of the Salian Franks of Yssel (Cambrai).
455	A related royal branch of the Salian Franks capture the Roman city of Cologne (at the heart of the Rhineland) and make it their capital.
458 - 481	Childeric I	Son. King of the Salian Franks of Yssel (bordering Frisia).
463 - 481	Childeric becomes an important ally for the Roman Domain of Soissons on his southern border, probably as foederati. Aegidius helps him defeat the Visigoths in 463.
475	The Franks conquer the former Roman capital of Gaul, Trier (Augusta Treverorum). The city had already been sacked by Franks (probably in 413 and 421) and by the Huns in 451. As a result of the conflicts of this period, Trier's population decreased from an estimated 80,000 in the fourth century to 5,000 at the beginning of the sixth century. Its last Roman ruler was Arbogast, descendant of the man of the same name who was magister militum under Western Emporer Valentinian III in the fourth century. Until its fall it had probably been one of a string of relatively friendly states stretching from Armorica to the Rhine in the mid-fifth century (including Soissons and the Franks themselves).


Merovingian Kings of the Franks AD 481 - 751 The Frankish leader, Clovis, united the Salians with the Ripuarian (Eastern) Franks and they were converted to Catholic Christianity in 497. The kingdom was aggressively expanded by Clovis and his sons to include Neustria (northern France), Austrasia (Netherlands, Austria, northern Germany), Burgundy, and Provence by 714. The Franks quickly became the dominant Germanic tribe in not only Gaul but throughout Central and Western Europe. The territory between modern-day France and Germany, and south to Central Italy, became known as Francia. The kingdoms this eventually encompassed included West Francia (France), East Francia (eventually to emerge as Germany), Burgundy, Lombardy, Lotharingia / Lorraine (only briefly an independent kingdom before it splintered into various interrelated principalities, known as the Stem Duchies), and the Papal States (which started life as the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna), which were centered on Rome. All of this territory was part of the empire of Charlemagne.
481 - 511	Clovis I (Chlodwig)	Son of Childeric. Founded kingdom. m.Chlothild.
486	Clovis occupies the remnants of Northern Gaul which are still outside his kingdom. This includes the Roman administration of Soissons. He moves the Frankish capital to Paris.
496	The Franks conquer the Alemanni, reaching the Loire and defeating the last of the allies of Soissons.
505	The Franks absorb the Alemanni (who later emerge as the Swabians).
507	In alliance with the related royal Frankish house at Cologne, Clovis defeats the Visigoths, forcing them out of Gaul and securing a dominant Frankish kingdom there instead.
511	The kingdom is divided between Clovis' four sons, ruling Austrasia, Orleans, Paris, and Soissons. Clotaire, king of Soissons is also the new king of the Franks, so Soissons is incorporated directly under that rule.
511 - 560	Clotaire / Chlothar I	Son. Established the basis of early Frankish monarchy in Gaul.
531	The Thuringians are conquered.
534	The Burgundians are conquered.
555	The Bavarians are conquered.
561 - 567	Charibert I	King of the Franks.
561 - 584	Chilperic I	Son. King of Neustria.
558	Orleans and Paris are drawn back under direct control of the king of the Franks.
584 - 629	Clotaire / Chlothar II	Son. King of Neustria.
613	The Frankish Empire is reunified under Chlothar II's rule, with Neustria (and the attached Swiss territories) forming its heartland. Austrasia becomes semi-independent again in 622.
629 - 632	Charibert II	King of Aquitaine.
630 - 638	Dagobert I	King of Austrasia. Defeated in battle by Carinthian Slavs.
633 - 656	Clovis II	633 could be year of birth.
656	Dagobert II
	Grimoald	Son of Pepin I. Carolingian Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia.
656 - 661	Childebert Adoptivus	Son. Adopted by Sigibert III of Austrasia.
662 - 675	Childeric II	Son of Clovis II. King of Austrasia.
675 - 676	Clovis III
673 - 691	Theuderich III	Son of Clovis II. King of Neustria, Burgundy, & Austrasia.
689 - 719	The Franks conquer the kingdom of Friesland.
691 - 695	Clovis IV	Reunited Neustria & Austrasia under central government.
695 - 711	Childebert III	Son of Theuderich III. King of Neustria, Burgundy, & Austrasia.
711 - 715	Dagobert III	Son. King of Neustria, Burgundy, & Austrasia.
715 - 721	Daniel Chilperich II	Son of Childerich II. King of Neustria.
717 - 720	Chlothar / Lothair IV	Son of Theuderich III. King of Austrasia.
721 - 737	Theuderich IV	Son of Dagobert III. King of Neustria, Burgundy, & Austrasia.
737 - 743	Interregnum, Carolingian mayors rule. By 737, Iberian Navarre is formed as a Frankish march county in the face of the Islamic invasion of the peninsula.
743 - 751	Childeric III	Grandson of Childeric II. King of Neustria, Burgundy, & Austrasia.
751	With the Pope's blessing, the Carolingian Mayors of the Palace depose Childeric and the Merovingian royal house and take control of the empire (Childeric dies in 755). Neustria, Austrasia & Burgundy are controlled directly, and the former two names fade from common use.


Carolingian (Frankish) Empire AD 751 - 888
628 - 639	Pepin I	Mayor. His dau m.Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia.
687 - 714	Pepin II of Herstal (the Fat)	Grandson. Mayor.
714 - 741	Charles Martel (the Hammer)	Son. Mayor. Defeated Islamic Spain at Poitiers in 732.
741 - 747	Carloman	Son. Mayor.
741 - 751	Pepin III the Short	Brother. Mayor.
743 - 744	The mayors of the Merovingian palace, Pepin the Short and Carloman, march first against the Bavarians and then the Saxons to bring them both back into line under Frankish domination.
751	Pepin III deposes the last Merovingian king in 751 and, with the Pope's blessing, assumes the title.
751 - 768	Pepin III
768 - 814	Charles the Great / Charlemagne	Son. King of West Francia. French HRE (800-814).
768 - 771	Carloman I	Brother. Joint king of France.
814 - 840	Louis I the Pious	I of France, Italy, Germany, Burgundy, & Empire. Lost Croatia.
840	Louis wills the Frankish Empire to his sons, but tries to ensure that the eldest gains the biggest share, in order to avoid the fragmentation of territory that so weakened the Merovingians. Lothar receives Middle Francia (the Rhine corridor and Italy); Charles the Bald receives Western Francia (France); Louis the German receives Eastern Francia (Germany). However, Lothar initially claims overlordship over all three regions and Louis and Charles have to go to war to convince him to relent.
843	The Treaty of Verdun sees the official division of the empire between Charlemagne's surviving three grandsons, with rule over the empire as a whole being nominal.
840 - 855	Lothar I of the Middle (Italian) Franks rules the empire.
855 - 875	Louis II of the Middle (Italian) Franks rules the empire.
875 - 877	Charles II of the Western Franks rules the empire.
881 - 888	Charles III of the Eastern Franks rules the empire.
888	The rule of the Holy Roman Empire (the former Eastern Franks) falls to non-Frankish emperors.



Carolingian Kings of the Western Franks (France) AD 843 - 987
843 - 877	Charles II the Bald	II of France & Empire. Emperor (875-877).
845	Paris is sacked by the army of the Danish Viking king, Ragnarr Lothbrok (father of Ivarr the Boneless and Halfdan, rulers in succession of the Viking Kingdom of Dublin).
856 - 862	Charles gives his daughter, Judith, in marriage to Aethulwulf of Wessex. In the same year Aethulwulf is forced to abdicate by his son, Aethelbald, and dies in 858. Aethelbald quickly marries his widowed stepmother but the marriage is annulled in 860. Judith returns home and elopes with Baldwin Iron Arm and Charles grants the couple the County of Flanders.
877 - 879	Louis II the Stammerer	II of France.
879 - 882	Louis III	III of France.
879 - 884	Carloman II	II of France.
884 - 888	Charles III the Fat	of Germany.
888	Charles III (his numbering is not strictly counted within the list of French monarchs) is deposed by the Germans and the Frankish Empire is officially divided between East and West. The western section becomes modern France, the eastern section, modern Germany.
888 - 898	Odo / Eudes	Count of Paris. Elected by the nobility. Capetian ancestor.
898 - 922	Charles III the Simple	Son of Louis II. King of Lotharingia. Granted land to the Normans.
922 - 923	Robert I	Brother of Odo. Count of Paris.
923 - 936	Rudolf / Raoul	m.Emma, daughter of Robert I. Duke of Burgundy (921-936).
936 - 954	Louis IV d'Outremer	Son of Charles III. Had been exiled in England (=outre mer).
954 - 986	Lothair V	Son.
986 - 987	Louis V	Son.
987	By this time the Carolingian kings and those drawn from the House of Paris have so weakened the effectiveness of the monarchy in France that it owns little land outside Paris. The Carolingian son of Louis V, Charles of Lower Lorraine, is ignored in favour of passing the crown permanently to the House of Paris.


Capetian Dynasty AD 987 - 1328
987 - 996	Hugh Capet
996 - 1031	Robert II the Pious
1031 - 1060	Henry I
1060 - 1108	Philip I
1108 - 1137	Louis VI
1137 - 1180	Louis VII
1180 - 1223	Philip II Augustus
1202	John, king of England, loses the duchy of Normandy to the French crown.
1217	Philip sends his son, Louis, and the Count de Perche to invade England via Dover in order to defeat the child king, Henry III, and his regent, the famed knight, William Marshal. The Battle of Lincoln sees William lead the charge, and he personally kills de Perche and escorts the defeated French noblemen to a ship bound for France.
1223 - 1226	Louis VIII	Son.
1226 - 1270	St Louis IX
1270	Louis IX leads the Seventh Crusade into Tunisia.
1270 - 1285	Philip III
1285 - 1314	Philip IV the Fair	m.Jeanne I of Navarre.
1314 - 1316	Louis X	Also Luis the Stubborn of Navarre.
1316	John I	Reigned in France for eight days.
1316 - 1322	Philip V	Also Philip of Navarre.
1322 - 1328	Charles IV	Also Charles I of Navarre.
1328	Charles' daughter, Jeanne, is disqualified from occupying the French throne by Salic Law. Instead, she accedes the throne of Navarre, while the Valois succeed to France.


Valois Dynasty AD 1328 - 1589
1328 - 1350	Philip VI of Valois
1337 - 1453	Edward III of England invades France to press his own claim to the throne. The Hundred Years War begins.
1350 - 1364	John II
1364 - 1380	Charles V
1380 - 1422	Charles VI
1422 - 1461	Charles VII
1461 - 1483	Louis XI
1482	The duchy of Burgundy reverts to the French throne.
1483 - 1498	Charles VIII
1498 - 1515	Louis XII of Orléans
1513	Henry VIII of England campaigns in France, capturing two towns and beating off the French in the Battle of the Spurs, named for the sight of the spurs of the French cavalry, as they flee at great speed.
1515 - 1547	Francis I of Angloulême
1532	Francis secures the duchy of Brittany for France.
1547 - 1559	Henry II
1559 - 1560	Francis II
1560 - 1574	Charles IX
1562	A massacre of Protestants by Catholics near Paris ignites the first of eight French 'wars of religion'.
1572	Henry, Duke of Anjou, begins marriage negotiations with Elizabeth Tudor of England, but it comes to nothing and his younger brother takes over before his own untimely death in 1584. Henry goes on to become king of Poland & Lithuania in 1573, and king of France in 1574.
1574 - 1589	Henry III of Valois	Previously king of Poland & Lithuania (1573-1574).


Bourbon Dynasty AD 1589 - 1792
1589 - 1610	Henry IV of Bourbon	King of French Navarre (1562-1589).
1610 - 1643	Louis XIII
1643 - 1661	The Regency Period. The queen mother rules in Dauphine's name.
1661 - 1715	Louis XIV
1715 - 1774	Louis XV	Marries Marie Lesczinska, Heiress of Lorraine.
1757	The British East India Company are victorious over the nawwab of Bengal, a French ally, which signals the end of any serious French ambitions in what was Moghul India.
1767	The Duchy of Lorraine passes to France through Louis XV's marriage.
1774 - 1792	Louis XVI	Deposed in 1792 and beheaded in 1793.
1792	Louis XVII	Son. Never crowned.
1789 - 1792	The French Revolution changes France forever. The king is deposed in 1792 and is executed in 1793.
1792 - 1803	The French First Republic. Once Napoleon Bonaparte becomes First Citizen, he gravitates the country towards the creation of the First Empire.


French First Empire AD 1803 - 1814
1803 - 1814	Napoleon I Bonaparte	Created the empire.
1805	Bavaria is raised to a kingdom by Napoleon.
1806	The Bourbon kingdom of the Two Sicilies is conquered in southern Italy and the Napoleonic kingdom of Naples is created in its place, incorporating much of Benevento. In the north, the Kingdom of Italy is created out of acquisitions from Austria. Napoleon also liberates Prussia's holdings in Poland and forms an Imperial satellite state. Baden-Durlach is raised to a grand duchy, and Saxony and Württemberg are raised to kingdoms.
1807 - 1811	France occupies Spain and Portugal.
1813	France is pushed out of Spain.
1814	Napoleon is defeated and the monarchy restored.
1815	Napoleon I Bonaparte	Restored.
1815	Napoleon returns from exile for The Hundred Days rule. Louis XVIII flees to Belgium. Some weeks after being defeated at Waterloo, Napoleon abdicates in favour of his son, Napoleon II of the House of Napoleon Bonaparte. The allies ensure the Bonapartes are removed from power, while the less hostile czar of Russia helps in the choice of the Mediterranean island of Elba as a small kingdom to which Napoleon can retire.


Bourbon Restoration AD 1814 - 1848
1814 - 1824	Louis XVIII	Nephew of Louis XVI. Deposed by July Revolution.
1824 - 1830	Charles X	Brother.
1830 - 1848	Louis Philippe of Orléans	Abdicated under pressure.
1834	Algeria is annexed by France.
1848 - 1852	The French Second Republic. This is replaced in 1852 by the Second Empire.


French Second Empire AD 1852 - 1871 The Second Empire was created under Louis Napoleon III of the House of Napoleon Bonaparte.
1852 - 1871	Louis Napoleon III Bonaparte	Founded the Second Empire.
1854 - 1856	Britain and France join the Ottoman empire in the Crimean War against Russia, to halt Russian expansion. The war ends with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, a severe setback to Russian ambitions.
1863	Cambodia becomes a French Protectorate.
1870 - 1871	France goes to war against Prussia and is humiliated with defeat and an invasion of France which leads to the siege of Paris. The empire collapses.


French Republics AD 1871 - Present A series of republics replaced any further attempts at forming a monarchy or empire.
1871 - 1940	The French Third Republic is formed, although it almost founders with the crushing of the Paris Commune and the majority decision to select a new king.
1873	Henri Dieudonné	Count of Chambord. Elected to be king but refused.
1883	The French establish a Protectorate in Vietnam, annexe Tunisia, and fight the First Franco-Hova War in Madagascar.
1892 - 1894	France begins take control of the kingdom of Dahomey during the Dahomey War, as well as conquering the Tukulor Empire in Mali.
1900	Chad is conquered.
1901	The Songhai Empire of Niger is conquered.
1910 - 1958	A federation of French colonial possessions in Central Africa is formed which comprises Gabon, Middle Congo, Oubangui-Chari (or Ubangi-Shari, now the Central African Republic) and Chad.
1912	Morocco becomes a French Protectorate.
1918	A French mandate is established in Lebanon.
1920	France ousts King Faysal of Greater Syria and claims the recently liberated territory for itself.
1940 - 1944	France is occupied by the German Nazi Third Empire. Vichy (Fascist) rule is allowed as a puppet state in southern France. The French Protectorate in Vietnam ends.
1943	Lebanon gains full independence from France.
1944 - 1947	Provisional Government.
1945 - 1954	The French re-establish their Protectorate in Vietnam.
1947 - 1959	Fourth Republic. Discredited by inflation and colonial defeats, including a major defeat in Vietnam which effectively ends French involvement in Indochina.
1956	Morocco gains independence from France.
1959 - Present	Fifth Republic.
1960	The Central African Republic, Chad, Dahomey (Benin), Madagascar, Mali, and Niger gain full independence.
1962	Algeria wins independence from France.
1965	Tunisia wins independence from France.


Heirs of Napoleon Bonaparte The descendants of the House of Bonaparte retain the title of imperial highness. There are no remaining descendants in the male line from any of Napoleon's brothers other than the youngest, Jérôme. There are, however, numerous descendants of Napoleon's illegitimate, but recognised son, Walewski, from his union with Marie, Countess Walewski. The American Bonapartes were senior in descent from King Jérôme, but the last male of that line died in 1945, although this branch was never considered to be dynastic.
1815 - 1832	Napoleon II	Son of Napoleon Bonaparte. Died aged 21.
1832 - 1879	Louis / Napoleon III	Son of Louis Bonaparte. Emperor of the French 1852-1871.
1873 - 1879	Eugène / Napoleon IV	Son. Died fighting the Zulus in British South Africa.
1879 - 1926	Victor / Napoleon V	Grandson of Jérôme Bonaparte by his second marriage.
1926 - 1997	Louis / Napoleon VI	Son. Born 1914.
1997 - Present	Charles / Napoleon VII	Son. Born 1950.
	Jean Napoleon	Son. Born 1986.

European Kingdoms

The Franks