Hugh Capet was the first King of the Franks of the House of Capet from his election in 987 until his death.
Background
Hugh was born c. 941 in Paris, France. He was the son of Hugh the Great, Duke of the Franks, and Hedwige of Saxony, daughter of the German king Henry the Fowler.
When his father died in 956 he succeeded to his numerous fiefs around Paris and Orleans, and thus becoming one of the most powerful of the feudatories of his cousin, the Frankish king Lothair, he was recognized somewhat reluctantly by that monarch as duke of the Franks.
The origin of Hugh's surname of Capet, which was also applied to his father, has been the subject of some discussion.
Career
Declaring that the Frankish crown was an elective and not an hereditary dignity, Adalberon secured the election of his friend, and crowned him, probably at Noyon, in July 987, The authority of the new king was quickly recognized in his kingdom, which covered the greater part of France north of the Loire with the exception of Brittany, and in a shadowy fashion he was acknowledged in Aquitaine; but he was compelled to purchase the allegiance of the great nobles by large grants of royal lands, and he was hardly more powerful as king than he had been as duke.
Such power as he had was based on his own feudal domain, the ÎleIle de France, which was smaller than many of the fiefs belonging to the lords.
During his nine-year reign Hugh did little more than maintain himself against Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine, the Carolingian claimant.
Nevertheless he was able to retain his hold on the throne, and insured the succession by associating his son Robert with him as king.
He was lay abbot of the abbeys of St. Martin at Tours and St. Denis, was interested in clerical reform, and was careful to maintain control over the archbishopric of Tours and the great bishoprics and abbeys of the ÎleIle de France.
This capture virtually ended the war, but one of its side issues was a quarrel between Hugh and Pope John XV, who was supported by the empire, then under the rule of the empresses Adelaide and Theophano as regents for the young emperor Otto III.
In June 991, at the instance of the king, the French bishops deposed Arnulf and elected Gerbert in his stead, a proceeding which was displeasing to the pope, who excommunicated the new archbishop and his partisans.
Moreover, Charles of Lorraine was not prepared to bow before his successful rival, and before Hugh had secured the coronation of his son Robert as his colleague and successor in December 987, he had found allies and attacked the king.
In 987 the king had appointed to the vacant archbishopric of Reims a certain Arnulf, who at once proved himself a traitor to Hugh and a friend to Charles of Lorraine.
Hugh Capet died on 24 October 996 in Paris and was interred in the Saint Denis Basilica. His son Robert continued to reign.
Achievements
Religion
Hugh was a devoted son of the church, to which, it is not too much to say, he owed his throne.
Connections
Hugh Capet married Adelaide, daughter of William Towhead, Count of Poitou. Their children are as follows:
Gisela, or Gisele, who married Hugh I, Count of Ponthieu
Hedwig, or Hathui, who married Reginar IV, Count of Hainaut
Robert II, who became king after the death of his father.