Background
He was born about 939, the son of Hugh the Great, Count of Paris and Duke of the Franks. He succeeded to his father's titles and powers in 956.When Louis V, the last Carolingian ruler of France, died in 987, Hugh was elected king with the support of the powerful churchmen, Adalberon and Gerbert, as well as the Duke of Normandy and the Count of Anjou. His suzerainty was readily recognized by the great barons of the kingdom, but they rendered neither homage nor service, and his authority was mainly theoretical. In an attempt to purchase their allegiance Hugh had given them large grants of royal lands, thus weakening his own position. 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 avoided submission to the emperor, and quarreled with the pope, but he was otherwise a devoted son of the Church. 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. He died in Paris, Oct. 24, 996.
