: -. 



FRANCE. 



FRANCE. 





COLLATERAL BRANCH or VALOIS. 



(1328.) Philippe VI.,rf IWow.born A.D. 1293, grandson of Philippe 

 It J/arJi, by hi* third too Chat-lea of Valois. 



(1350.) Jean II., It Bon, son of Philippe He Vatoii, born A.D. 1319 



(134.) Charie* V., It Sage, wn of Jeau II. It Boa, born A.D. 1337. 



The reign* of them three king* are marked by tbe war* of the 

 English in Franco under Edward III. (who claim*! the throne of 

 France in the right of hi* mother), and hi* ion the Black Prince. The 

 French were defeated in the great battle* of Sluy* (naval) A.D. 1340, 

 Crocy, A.D. 1346, and Poitien 1356. But the premature infirmity ol 

 Edward III. and the death of hi* Ron, who had at one time received 

 the cession of a large territory in the Mmth- wmt of France, und<r the 

 title of the principality of Aquitaine [BORDEAUX], caused the downfall 

 of the English power, and tended ultimately to the extension of the 

 domain* of the French crown. 



(1380.) Charie* VI., It Bien Aime, ion of Charles It Sayt, born A.D. 

 Uofl 



(14S2.) Charie* VI L, le Victorietur, *on of Chorle* VI., born A.D. 



The reign* of these two kings were marked by another desperate 

 struggle with the Kngluh under Henry V. and his successor Henry VI. 

 At ooe time the succe** of the English was so decided that Henry V. 

 wa* recognised a* heir to the throne of France, to succeed on the 

 death of Charles VI. : but the perseverance and spirit of the French 

 ultimately triumphed, and of all their splendid domains in Franc* the 

 English monarch* retained only Calais. This was a period not only 

 of foreign invasion, but of civil dissensions and of the most frightful 

 ma*sacrvs and assassinations. The dukes of Bourgogne, who descended 

 from a younger son of Jean II., were acquiring a vast territory and 

 gnat power. 



Charie* VII. was the first to substitute a standing army for the 

 military service of the feudal vassals. 



(1461.) Loui* XI., the first entitled U Jtoi Trtt Chretien, son of 

 Charles VII., born A.I>. 1423. 



Loui*, a crafty and intriguing prince, did for France what Henry 

 MI. did fur England in breaking down the feudal system. Upon 

 the death of Charles le Temeraire, duke of Bourgogne, he seized a 

 portion of hi* inheritance. [BouRoouxK.] The domain of the crown 

 was now become very extensive, though parts of Picanlie in the 

 north, Bretagne in the west, several ]rU of Gascogne in the south, 

 Limousin, Pi-rigord, Auvergne, Bourbonnais, Orleanais, aud several 

 district* of tbe centre were not included. 



(1483.) Charles VIII., ion of Louis XI., born A.D. 1470. 



In him ended the direct succession of the house of Valois. 

 BRANCH OF VALOIS ORLEANS. 



(1498.) Louis XII., le Pin du Peuple, born 1462, descended from 

 a younger son of Charles V., le Sage. 



BBASCU or VALOIS AxoorLfixE. 



(1515.) Franco!* I., It fire dtt Lcttrei, descended from the game 

 rtock, born 1494. 



In the reign of this prince the arts, commerce, and literature began 

 to revive. The domains of the crown were augmented by several 

 addition*, as of Auvergne and Bourbounais in the centre, parts of 

 Picardie in the north, and parts of Gascogne in the south ; and 

 virtually of Bretagne in the west ; if indeed we may not rather ascribe 

 this last acquinitiou to the reign of Louis XII. 



(1547.) Henri II., sou of Francois I., born A.D. 1519. 

 In this reign the French reconquered Calais and its territory, the 

 last relic of the English possessions in France. [CALAIS.] 



>5.) rrancois R, eldest son of Henri II., born A.D. 1544 

 160.) Charie* IX., second son of Henri II., born A.D. 1550. 

 0574.) Henri III., third son of Henri II., born A.D. 1551. 

 The reign* of the last two prince* were distinguished by the reli- 

 giou. wars of the Catholics, at tbe head of whom were the dukes of 

 ul*e, of the family of Lorraine, and the Huguenots under the 

 s of Conda and admiral Coligny, afterwards under Henri of 

 .Navarre. 



The dreadful ma^cre of St Barthclemi was perpetrated by the 

 Catholic* who formed the celebrated Confederation of the League, at 



baad of which were tbe Cube*. The court, which had previously 

 supported the Catholic*, wiu driven by the fear of tin, powerful and 



Ti. * y , ^ ?" nllUnce with the I'rotestanU, and Henri III. 

 dby tbe hand of a Catholic assaasin A.D. 1589. In him ended 

 the direct ucccswon of tbe branch of Valoi* Angouldtne. 



BRAXCH or VALOI* BOURBOX. 



59.) Henri IV., U Grand, born A.D. 1568, descended from Robert, 



lil ' llardi""* yOUnger * n f 8t ^"^ luld bt Ut Philippe 



In the reign of Henri IV., the re^urce. of France wcro so far 



loped that the country Wan to assume that station in European 



T! oll^! ."T* "* 1 txU>ot ' Pollution, and social improve. 



A fairer prospect seemed to be opening to the 



ulers of that country. Tbe earlier kings had to struggle with the 



t{'l r H^r ' u * tu }?" . of "!; "d when, at the close of 



ct line of the Capetians, the predominance of the law over 



Uw armed violence of feudalism seemed to be gaining consistency and 



trength, the accession of the house of Valois brought on the struggle 

 between tbe kings of Franco and England for the right and possession 

 of the crown. The excesses of the disbanded soldiery, the struggle* 

 of the contending faction* (the Bourguiguons and the Armagnac*), 

 and the rising of the common* of Paris and of the peasantry or 

 ' jacquerie,' as they were termed, were added to the ravages of the 

 enemy ; and when, after more than a century, the contest term 

 in the almost entire expulsion of the English, the kings of 1 

 had to watch or struggle with rivals of almost equal strength in the 

 dukes of Bourgogue, and the other nobles whose power, the result of 

 the feudal system, still survived when the spirit of the system wa* 

 gone. The reviving strength of the crown and the kingdom under 

 Charles VIII., Louis XII., and Francis I., was repressed by the rising 

 power of Spain and the ascendancy of the imperial house of A>. 

 and exhausted by the unsuccessful attempts made to gain possession 

 of Italy. Then came the ascendancy of the house of Lorraine, and 

 the wars of religion which desolated France for thirty year*. At 

 length however the exhaustion of the Lorraine party, or 'the League,' 

 and the opportune conversion of Henri IV. to the Catholic faith, 

 restored peace. The French frontier was now advanced to the 

 Pyrenees, except on the side of lloussillou, which alone remained to 

 the Spaniards of their possessions in Laugucdoc, and the di- 

 such as the Nivernois aud Auvergne, over which any of the nobility 

 retained territorial sovereignty, were of little importance when 

 pared with the royal domain, now augmented by Beam, and the other 

 portions of Henri's patrimony. The generous disposition 

 manners of Henri acquired for him the love of his people; ai. 

 wisdom of Sully, his chief minister, pr<.:.i..te 1 t. ty and 



husbanded the resources of the country. Henri granted to the Pro- 

 testanU the enjoyment of many important rights and privileges by 

 the edict of Nantes, A.D. 1598, and was more desirous of impi 

 the condition of his people thau of extending his frontier by foreign 

 conquest. 



(ItilO.) Louis XIII., U Juste, son of Henri IV., le G.-anil, born 

 A.D. 1601. 



Cardinal Richelieu, the minister of this prince, had in v: 

 crush the nobility, to humble the Protestants, and to sot bou:- 

 the power of the house of Austria. His attempts to humUlti the. 

 Protestauts led to a renewal of tho religious wars : the Duke of 

 Rohan aud his brother, the prince of Soubise, were at the h 

 the Protestant party, but their talents were exerted without su 

 the court triumphed, aud the Protestants lost tho towns which they 

 held as securities : the edict of Nantes was not however revoked. 

 To abase tho house of Austria, Richelieu nupiiorted the 1 

 of Germany in the 'Thirty Years' War;' but tho French aj 

 obtained little distinction until the next reign. 



(1643.) Louis XIV., le Grand, sou of Louis XIII., U Jut'.e, born 

 A.D. 1688. 



The minority of this prince was marked by iLc dissensions ami 

 hostilities of the courtiers and powerful nobles, and by the splendid 

 success of the French armies under the Prince of CondiS and the 

 Marshal Turenuo. The dissensions of the nobles so weakened their 

 pciwer, that the king was enabled to assume and exercise a more 

 EJetpotifl power thau any of his predecessors had possessed. The 

 nobility were reduced to be mere dependents on the court; their 

 titles descended to all their children, and a noble held the pursuit ,.( 

 commerce, and even of the liberal professions to be a degradation : 

 the country was burdened by the expenses of a court which had 

 such a body of retainers, and the privileges aud exemptions from 

 taxation, which the nobility possessed, and other relics of the feudal 

 system were among the principal causes of the French revolution. 



The military successes of the French iu thin reign were splendid, 

 except near the close, when the arms of the coalition against France, 

 anderthe guidance of Marlborough and Eugene, gained the nscou 



oimlaries of France were however considerably enlarged in 

 this and the preceding reigns by the addition of Roussillon, Artois, 

 mrt of Flanders, Frauche-ComU', and Alsace : the boundaries of 

 Prance thus became nearly what they are at present The manu- 

 facture* and trade of France made considerable progress in this reigu 

 under the able management of Colbert. 



(1715.) Louis XV., le Bien Aimf, great-grandson of Louis XIV., 

 '< Grand, born A.D. 1710. 



The long ,reign of Louis XV. presents little worthy of notice, 

 except the changes in the public mind which we; - the 



overthrow of all the ancient institutions of the kingdom ; and the 

 ucrcafting dilapidation of the finances. These circumstances, with 

 .he gross sensuality of the kipg, aud the disputes of the Jesuits with 

 .he Jansenists, and of the clergy and the crown with the parliaments 

 or courts of justice, all tended more or less to prepare the way for 

 great change*. 



Iu this reign Corsica was added to France; tho last relics of the 

 endiil sovereignties, the duchies of Lorraine and liar, and tbe prin- 

 cipality of Dombea, were added to the domain of the crown. Le 

 ,'oinlt d* Avignon and Lo Comtat Vcuaisuiu remained iu the hands 

 of the Pope. 



(1774.) Louis XVI., grandson of Louis XV., le Bien Aimi-. bom 

 A.D. 1754. 

 Iu this reign the catastrophe of the revolution, which had been 



