La royauté des premiers Capétiens : « Un mélange de misère et de grandeur » ?

Résumé 0

The monarchy of the early Capetians : “A mixture of misery and grandeur” ? The monarchy of the early Capetians is commonly regarded as weak. Reduced to the royal domain, their power was often less than that of princes. But this gloomy picture is being revised by French medievalists. Re-evaluation seems all the more justified if the Capetian monarchy is compared to that of the Eastern Frankish kingdom, the future Germany. The Ottonians were also limited to central areas and saw themselves confronted by powerful princes, such as the Dukes of Bavaria and Swabia. It was only Henri II who, after the year 1,000, achieved royal authority over the whole regnum. The Salians followed his example. But this policy was opposed by the nobility. The German monarchy lost its power of integration and went into crisis during the last years of Henri III. On the other hand, the policy of the early Capetians, who did not break the princes’ power, was promising. Against this background, the idea of a pitiful French monarchy is no longer as well-founded.