Hugh Capet becomes King of the Franks
After the death of the last Carolingian king, Louis V, the magnates of West Francia elected Duke Hugh Capet king; his dynasty, the Capetians, would rule France for eight centuries.
- Date
- May 987 – 3 July 987start: month known; end: exact date · duration: ≈ 2 months
- Place
- Noyontoday: Noyon, Oise, France · Western and Central Europe
- Participants
- Hugh Capet, West Francia, Kingdom of France
- Threads
- Early medieval Europe (500–1000)
- Also known as
- Accession of Hugh Capet; Воцарение Гуго Капета; Capetian dynasty; Капетинги
Louis V died in a hunting accident on 22 May 987. The rightful Carolingian heir was his uncle Charles of Lorraine, but he was a vassal of the German emperor, and Archbishop Adalbero of Reims, advised by Gerbert of Aurillac, argued at the assembly of magnates at Senlis that the crown was elective and should go to the most worthy. The assembly chose Hugh, Duke of the Franks, grandson of Robert I and great-nephew of Odo. He was anointed king on 3 July 987, according to most accounts at Noyon (some date the Noyon ceremony to 1 June and place a second one on 3 July); on 25 December he had his son Robert crowned as co-king.
Hugh’s real power barely reached beyond his lands between Paris and Orléans, and Charles of Lorraine fought him until his capture in 991. But the practice of crowning the heir during the father’s lifetime secured the succession, and the Capetians and their branches ruled France until 1848; historians date the Kingdom of France from 987.
Connections
Related events
- Viking siege of Parisbetween 24 November and 25 November 885 – October 886 · Western and Central EuropeThe rise of Hugh’s family began with Odo’s defence of Paris against the Vikings
Same participants
- Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte911 · Western and Central Europevia West Francia
- Battle of Bouvines27 July 1214 · Western and Central Europevia Kingdom of France
Same place
- Donation of PepinApril 754 – 756 · Western and Central Europe
Adjacent events in the thread
- Battle of the Gates of Trajan17 August 986 · Balkans and Anatolia
- Christianization of Icelandbetween 999 and 1000 · Western and Central Europe
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within 5 years of this event
Eastern Europe
- Vladimir’s choice of faith986–987
- Baptism of Rus’988
- Vladimir’s siege of Chersonesus (Korsun)between 988 and 989
- Building of the Church of the Tithes989–996
- The first Rus’ coinsbetween 988 and 1000 – 1015
Balkans and Anatolia
- Battle of the Gates of Trajan17 August 986
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Hugh Capet
- Wikipedia (English): Capetian dynasty
- Wikipedia (Russian): Гуго Капет
- Wikipedia (Russian): Капетинги
- Hallam E. M., West C. Capetian France, 987–1328. — 3rd ed. — London: Routledge, 2020.