Capetian Kings of France

What factors gaind the way of the Capetian Kings of France in the Twelfth hundred? France in the eleventh century had been a fragmented land, divided into federal principalities, or mini-states ruled by princes or dukes. though they recognized the King of Frances position they did non expect him to exercise it in their individual territories. feudalisticism increase the forefinger of these mini-states in the twelfth century, and was the tool used by the Capetian Kings of France to deliver the goods their influence and wealth.Why and how the Capetian dynasty sought to confirm and wherefore successfully implement this particular system will be the main focus of my essay. Feudal law was the customs and relations between passkey and liege subject in regards to the most valuable medieval commodity land. Under the oath of devotion the lord encourageed the vassal and gave him land to hold in deliver for produce, labour services, or military services. The feudal lord could acq uire a substantial sum of m bingley if his vassals son wished to moderate his deceased fathers fiefdom.The capability heir would pay a relief to the lord to secure his succession. Other advantages in the feudal emplacement were in cases of the land reverting entirely back to the lord if its vassal died without any successors. The benefits of a feudal society were significant in ground of power and profit for a feudal lord. Therefore, a King who was similarly feudal lord of his country would hold a strong mystify of authority. King Louis VI (the fat) sought to establish himself as a feudal milkweed butterfly, perhaps to regain some of the distinction that had been enjoyed by his predecessor, Charlemagne.Louis VIs reign was from 1108 1137 AD, during which magazine he sought to unify his power as a feudal lord in his demesne. The Capetian King would then have established a base from which to further expand his regal authority in the land of France. Louis VI felt that he sho uld protect the lands of his vassals well and not appear to be seizing them for himself. It appears that he hoped this would establish a mutual confidence between lord and vassal and would be a great incentive for other subjects in the poufdom to draw his vassals voluntarily. Ceaseless vigilance was required by the king to assert his proud power and go on its loss if it was not exercised. Louis VI therefore sp give the axe a great batch of his reign travelling from one end of his demesne to the other, quashing petty disputes with vassals and granting permission for festivals and markets. All this was in pursuit of discover for his feudal authority, which he painstakingly achieved. Consequently, the respect of other nobles in the kingdom for Louis increased and with his authority.Evidence of the Kings increased power can be seen in the invasion of France by Emperor Henry V in 1124. Nobles from all over the territory obeyed Louis VIs summons to stalemate against the Emperor e. g. those from Soissons, St Denise, the Count of Flanders, the Count of Anjou, and the Duke of Aquitaine. Louiss grandson, Philip II Augustus would continue this arrange of exercising royal control over his demesne. Philip invested a great deal in drawing up thorough and precise agreements with vassals old and new.By the metre Philip II Augustus was in power, the territory on a lower floor Capetian control had self-aggrandizing significantly. This was due in part to the labours first carried out by Louis VI in first consolidating the royal demesne before enlarging it. Both kings knew the comfort in treating their subjects on the buttonly, as dishonesty or greed was sure to call forth a feudal rebellion and destroy any possibility of a feudal sovereign. The relationship between the detonating device and the church building also vie a part in promoting Capetian authority. The church lent prevail to the king in return for protection.The idea of a feudal monarch in Latin Chri stendom appealed to the clergy who favoured order and obedience which would allow Christian liveliness to flourish. The church even supported the claim that the king possessed a healing touch which he passes on to his son. This claim gave rise to the idea that the position of king was ordained by God and should be reliable as his will. This made way for another advance in lot royal power by helping to make the crown hereditary. The kings son was permitted to be crowned during his fathers spirit in order to pre help the healing touch.The church gave the monarch a higher degree of moral credibility and in return the church gained more prestige. One therefore increased the standing of the other in medieval France. Louis VIs chief minister and ecclesiastical consultant was archimandrite Suger of St Denise. He held his prestigious office from 1122 to his death in 1155, during which time he recorded a history of his king, The Life of Louis the Fat. As a result of this great power h e held in France, he was in truth much involved in cut politics and virtually ran the Kingdom while King Louis VI was away on crusade. This aspect of Sugers career would explain his proximity and involvement in the monarchs progress in gaining a more prominent role in European affairs, and as a result of this proximity, why he was in a position to chronicle Louiss life. He seems to play a significant role in promoting Capetian authority in how he portrays Louis as a most pious and worthy king to serve under. He states in the introduction of his biography that with my pen I reveal his devotion to the churchs worship of God and implores his contemporaries and readers not to forget Louis VIs marvellous zeal for the good of the kingdom. Perhaps Suger may be slightly guilty of exaggerating Louiss piety in an effort to promote his image as a moral leader and help consolidate his power. The enlargement of the royal demesne was the essential aim of the king and his adviser and Sugers acc ount seems to support this view. Suger may have also precious to record the events in the life of Louis VI that involved the French perform in order to emphasise the strong bond between the crown and the clergy. The King was forced to blend in against Thomas de Marle who was claiming land unlawfully.True to form, Louis acts quickly to prevent loss of royal authority by handling the matter personally. Suger reports that the clergy move with him the King to excommunicate de Marle and strip him of all honours for his crimes. This is described by The Abbot as yielding to the prayers of the great council, to whom Louis VI was always very powerfully attached. The duomo Basilica of Saint Denis was also known as the royal Abbey of France as many Kings had been educated and buried there. The old abbey church of St.Denis was partially dilapidated by the early twelfth century, having been built in the belated eighth century by Charlemagne, and required renovation as an all important(pred icate) symbol of French Capetian royal power. Suger was overseer of the rebuilding of the abbey. Though Sugers involvement in its reconstruction was of more religious significance, the forecast was nevertheless just as much a political and architectural an event. The new building marked the first base of Gothic architecture which would circularize with the expansion of the House of Capets royal demesne as they came adjacent to becoming a feudal monarch.The familys connection to Charlemagne also increased the perception of their glory and power. Their glorified ascendancy was highlighted by the restoration of the Cathedral the great emperor had first commissioned. The church aided the promoting of royal authority through and throughout the twelfth century as more vassals and land came under Capetian control. After establishing him-self as a respected feudal lord within the kingdom, Louis VIs court became the place other lords dark to settle their disputes.This was an automatic a ssertion of Louiss power in the kingdom. The nobles entry to Louiss courts judgement necessitated the recognition of the King as ones feudal lord. Advantageous spousal relationship was also a method acting employed to acquire territory for the crown and increase its power. Though it was not always a successful method, it is evidence that attachments with the Capetian house were not undesirable by rulers of the other mini-states. It also suggests that the consolidation of power into a feudal monarchy was not widely resisted.In 1137 Louis VI married his son, Louis VII to the lady friend of the Duke of Aquitaine and thus acquired the extensive territory in western France through married bonds. However, Aquitaine was lost to Henry II of England when Louis VIIs marriage uncivilised apart. Philip II was slightly more successful than his father in regards to political marriage. He wished to marry the daughter of Canute VI of Denmark, Isabella of Hainault, in 1193, in the hopes that th e alliance would give him the man power he needed to remove the side of meat from the Kingdom of France. He was unsuccessful in this endeavour.He soon wished to have the marriage annulled but it was not permitted by Pope Innocent III. Philip obtained the district of Artois through this marriage. This acquisition marked the beginning of the north-centralern expansion of the royal territory. Philip II soon found himself in a position to continue expanding north by claiming various districts of inheritance. These included Amiens in 1185 and St Quentin in the beginning of the thirteenth century. The continual expansion of the royal demesne to the north was not just to acquire land but to acquire particular land in the district of Flanders.Flanders would be a significant gain to a potential feudal monarch as it was one of the wealthiest parts of northern Europe. Its cities would care a considerable amount of money into the pockets of its feudal lord. The growing willingness of French nobles to submit to the Capetian kings throughout the twelfth century indicates that the idea of a feudal monarchy was neither unpopular nor unwanted. Louis VIs demesne was seen as a prime example of order and a strong body, fit of wielding power over the rest of France and other European empires.Louis VI turn out his worthiness to govern France as both king and feudal overlord. Philip II Augustus built on his grandfathers reputation and had accumulated a considerable amount of land and prestige for the crown by the beginning of the thirteenth century. The church also aided Capetian propaganda by emphasising the dynastys most prestigious member, Charlemagne. The restoration of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Denis was emblematic of the Capetian celebrity that would have been well known in France. Suger and Louis VI the fat sought to utilize the connection for the advancement of Capetian power.This suggests that the monarch and the clergy were quite intertwined in the political ev ents of France in the twelfth century, each establishment the power and the role of the other in the Kingdoms progress of authority in Europe. 1 . Marc Bloch, Fuedal Society, Volume 1,. (English translation, 1962) p. 60 2 . R. H. C Davis, A History of medieval Europe from Constantine to Saint Louis, (London, 1957) p. 327 3 . ibidem 4 . Ibid. P 329 5 . Fordham University (http//www. fordham. edu/halsall/sbook1m. sp) accessed 29 October 2011 6 . Davis, A History of mediaeval Europe, p. 325 7 . Jean Dunbabin, France in the Making (London, 1983) p. 256 8 . Davis, A History of Medieval Europe, p 325 9 . capital of Minnesota Halsall, Medieval SourcebookAbbot Suger On What Was Done In His Administration (New York, 1996) p. 2 10 . Halsall, Medieval SourcebookAbbot Suger (New York, 1996) p. 2 11 . Abbot Suger, The Life of Louis the Fat, (translated Paul Halsall) (New York, 1999) p. 1 12 . Ibid. 13 . Suger, The Life of Louis the Fat, (trans.Paul Halsall) (New York, 1999) 14 . Halsall, Medieval SourcebookAbbot Suger, p. 2 15 . Davis, A History of Medieval Europe, p. 341 16 . Ibid. p. 333 17 . Davis, A History of Medieval Europe, p 339 18 . C. N. L Brooke, Europe in the central Middle Ages, 962-1154, (Essex, 1987) p. 266 19 . Davis, A History of Medieval Europe, p 339 20 . Fordham University (http//www. fordham. edu/halsall/sbook1m. asp) accessed 29 October 2011 21 . R. W Sothern, The Making of the Middle Ages, (London, 1953 latest edn London 1993) p. 151