French History Middle Ages

DATELINE 637 Dagobert I, last Mervingian king 732 Charles Martel stops Arab invasion 800 Charlemagne crowned Holy Roman Emperor 910 Foundation of the monastery of Cluny. 987 Hugue Capet starts the Capetian dynasty 1096 1st Crusade 1066 William of Normandy starts invading England 1120 St Denis Cathedral is rebuilt: birth of Gothic architecture. 11453 English out of France, end of Hundred Years' War

The Medieval city of Carcassone Charles Martel, the first leader of the Carolingian dynasty, initiated the expansion of the Franks' kingdom and stopped the Muslim advance from Spain in 732. Charlemagne (742-814) continued this expansion and conquered most of Germany and Italy to reunite most of the former Roman Empire. Shortly after Charlemagne's death, however, his kingdom was divided under the pressure of invaders such as the Normans (Vikings) and the Magyars (Hungarians). Hugues Capet Towards the end of the first millenium, France consisted of numerous feudal Lordships. The Carolingian dynasty died out in 987 when Hugues Capet was elected to the throne of France by the Lords, starting the Capetian Dynasty. The early Capetian kings had very limited power over the independent Lords. In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy invaded England. Eleanor of Aquitaine Despite the mariage of Eleanor of Aquitaine to Henry II of England, which yielded most of the western part of France to the British Crown, the Capetians continued to centralize the Lordships under their control. Philippe IV (the Fair), even pressured sucessors of Pope Boniface VIII to move the papal court to Avignon in 1309. After the death of the last Capetian king Charles IV, Edward III of England claimed the French Throne and started the Hundred Years War in 1337. Thanks to the courage of a French peasant girl, Joan of Arc, Charles VIII emerged victorious in the war and drove the English back to Calais.

FRENCH HISTORY	2 Mil -200 BC Prehistory	200 BC-481 Antiquity	481 AD-1453 Middle Ages	1453 - 1598 Renaissance
1598 - 1715 Grand Siecle	1715 - 1804 Revolution	1804 - 1870 Napoleon	1870 - 1919 19th Century	1919 - 1957 20th Century
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