Capet

Capet, family name of the dynasty of kings that ruled France from 987 to 1328. In 987, on the death of Louis V, the last of the Carolingian kings of France, Hugh Capet, duke of France and count of Paris, was elected king by the nobility and the clergy. The feudal domain of the Capet family was Île de France, the area around Paris. The Capetian kings greatly strengthened the royal power in France by insisting on the principles of heredity, primogeniture, and indivisibility of crown lands. Shortly after Hugh became king, he had his son Robert crowned as Robert II (known as the Pious). Hugh appointed Robert his associate, and this practice of the father having his eldest son rule with him was followed until the late 12th century. The greatest of the Capetian kings were Philip II Augustus, Louis IX (St. Louis), and Philip IV. The dynasty secured direct overlordship of almost all France by the process of incorporating additional fiefs, large and small, with their own territories. In 1328, when Charles IV died without male heirs, the Capetians were succeeded by the Valois, a younger branch of the family, which ruled France until 1589.