The Capetians ‘of the direct line’ (AD 987-1328)

Descended from the third Frankish dynasty, Hugh Capet, duke of the Franks, was elected king of France over the last legitimate pretender of the Carolingian line, Charles, duke of Lower Lorraine. He was elected king of the Franks in 987. Fourteen Capetians ‘of the direct line’ were to become kings of France. Kings were elected to the throne, but the Capetians made the transfer of a title a hereditary right in 1179. In 1190, the term ‘king of the Franks’ was replaced by ‘king of France’.

The unrest that followed the collapse of the Carolingian Empire led to the establishment of new dynasties: the Capetians, the Norman dukes, the counts of Poitou, and the Germanic empire of the Salians, who reshaped Western Europe by dividing it up into regional feudal powers.

In a Europe that was once again fragmented, what was the role of the Capetians? What exchanges were made with the neighbouring powers? What were the relations with the Mediterranean that had been fostered during the previous centuries? 

The slow rise of the Capetians in the eleventh century and the extensive experimentation in Roman architecture.

In the middle of the eleventh century, France experienced a period of general growth.

In the area of religious architecture, the influence of the abbey of Cluny was at its height. The monasteries played a major role in the economy and became centres of artistic production. The churches perfected the Roman inventions and many pilgrimage churches were built for the cult of saints (the Sainte-Foy abbey-church in Conques). The revival of Roman sculpture took the form of historiated capitals and iconographic cycles on the portals. Illuminated manuscripts were produced in great quantity and these show that there were inter-regional influences. The Gascons, for example, were influenced by the layers of colour in the Mozarabic art of Spain.

More specifically, each region developed their own particular styles, depending on their liturgy and history. There was increased openness between the various peoples and a readiness to mix with non-Christians and embrace their ideas. The rediscovery of Classical art was especially made possible through contact with the Muslims in Spain, where the legacy of Plato, Cicero, Aristotle, and Pliny had largely remained intact. The schools integrated the secular scientific arts—geometry, astronomy, and mathematics, which were flourishing in the Islamic world—into traditional teaching.

The middle of the eleventh century was a decisive time in the history of the Mediterranean. It was at this point that the Western economy recovered. Between 950 and 1050, the Mediterranean regained its position as a major force in the Christian West. A Christian navy—there had been no navy for three centuries—re-emerged, leading to a renewal of commercial activity.

Under Philippe I (reigned 1060–1108), the Cluniac pope Urban II preached the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont in 1095. This led to the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 and the foundation of a Latin kingdom. Medieval Europe entered into direct contact with the Byzantine and Islamic worlds. French workshops were primarily influenced by European art, but there were occasional Eastern influences.

The renaissance of the twelfth century

The Capetians initially controlled only the duchy of France (Paris and Orleans), but owing to a shrewd and persistent policy of annexation under Philippe Augustus (reigned 1180–1223) their jurisdiction progressively extended to other regions.

There was a programme of urban renewal during this period: cities were fortified with ramparts (the rampart of Philippe Augustus in Paris). The feudal system flourished, filling the rural areas with fortified castles (Château de Loches, Château du Louvre).

The decorative arts were closely linked with liturgy. Apart from the enamels produced in Limoges, there was a less consistent but very rich production that has survived in the church treasures. The abbot Suger of Saint-Denis (from 1122 to 1151), adviser to Louis IV the Fat (reigned 1108–1137) and regent under Louis VII (reigned 1137–1152), glorified the Church by amassing a collection of treasures that served as a financial reserve. This is one of the most important collection of treasures in Christianity. It recalls Suger's magnificent porphyry vase, dating from 1147—he found an antique porphyry vase and commissioned local and Mosan goldsmiths to transform it into a liturgical chalice by mounting it in the shape of an eagle—, and the rock crystal ewer from Fatimid Egypt, which was mounted in gold in the eleventh century in Italy[1]. Completed in 1144, the abbey of Saint-Denis was the burial place of the kings of France. It laid the foundations of Gothic vocabulary in architecture and sculpture that developed in parallel with the theological and intellectual renaissance. This model was used throughout the thirteenth century.

The artists, pilgrims, troubadours, and merchants travelled abroad. The second half of the twelfth century and the beginning of the thirteenth century were major turning points in Western relations with the Mediterranean. A commercial link was established between the industrial centres of North France, Flanders, and England and the major Italian ports and their distant trading ports in the East. The markets in Flanders and Champagne were the driving force behind this economy. In these markets, there was trade in cloth from the north, which then flooded the Mediterranean. International commerce was especially facilitated by the Christian conquests in the Mediterranean: Spain, Sicily, and the Holy Land. The Christian merchants learnt their trade in the East. The East initiated the West in the use of instruments for navigation and astronomy—the astrolabe, nautical charts, and certainly the compass—, and introduced maritime and commercial vocabulary.

The Second Crusade (1146) provided new opportunities for contact with the Levant. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which was probably restored by French Crusaders, was inaugurated in 1149 and had a major influence on European religious architecture.

In France, men began wearing the long gowns that the Crusaders had seen in the East. Textiles and plants were imported from the East, and windmills—an Arab invention, probably first seen in Andalusia—were built in France. There were many acquisitions in the twelfth century, due to contacts with the Greco-Arab world, which was then very advanced in technical and scientific fields.

However, the troubadours and the chansons de geste (French ‘song of deeds’) created a negative image of Islam, and the first Latin translations of the Koran by Peter the Venerable in Cluny were used to discredit the religion.

The century of Saint Louis and the last of the Capetians

Under Saint Louis (reigned 1226–1270), many imposing Gothic cathedrals (Reims, Chartres) were built in France. Sculpture and stained-glass became the most important arts. The Parisian workshops produced the most luxurious creations. The magnificent Sainte Chapelle (built in 1248), built to house the relics of the Passion of Christ, is the finest example of Gothic architecture, sculpture that shows a return to Classical aesthetics, and highly accomplished stained-glass windows, which served as models throughout France.

In the second half of the thirteenth century, the Mediterranean regained the glory it had known in the days of the Roman Empire—with a difference: it became the centre of exchange, civilization, and the driving force behind the economy in a considerably larger, richer, and more populated world.

Under Philippe IV the Fair (reigned 1285–1314), the territory was further extended and the arts reflected a major social evolution: the emergence of an aristocratic patronage of the arts. The production of secular Parisian ivory work and illuminated manuscripts increased towards 1300. The Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux (a private prayer book commissioned by Jeanne d’Evreux, the queen of France), illuminated by Jean Pucelle in 1328, brought Italian inventions to Paris and typifies the high quality of the works produced by and for the laity.

Charles IV the Fair (reigned 1323–1328), the last of Philippe's (Philippe IV the Fair) three sons, was the last of the Capetians ‘of the direct line’.

E.D.-P.