The political shape of France in the high Middle Ages was determined by the events of the tenth century. No king after 877 exercised the power wielded by Charles the Bald; mints and fiscal estates fell out of royal control and Carolingian methods of government such as missi and capitularies were abandoned. The kingdom remained threatened by Viking attack until the 920s and the crown oscillated between two families, the Carolingians (Charles the Simple 898-929, Louis IV 936-54, Lothar 954-86, Louis V 986-7) and the Robertian counts of Paris, who produced Odo (888-98), Robert I (922-30) and the latter's son-in-law Ralph of Burgundy (9306). Although Louis IV and Lothar were energetic rulers they could not stop the Robertian Hugh the Great, 'duke of the Franks', from building up considerable authority over the counts of Neustria, and the coronation of his son Hugh Capet (987-96) established a lasting 'Capetian' dynasty.
In the tenth century the main beneficiaries of weakening royal power were the 'princes', dynamic personalities who accumulated power
By various means: favourable marriages, obtaining titles such as dux, amassing bundles of counties, establishing networks of fideles, assuming many of the financial and judicial functions of the bannum (Carolingian public authority) and exercising effective military leadership. Durable principalities included the duchy of Aquitaine, dominated by the counts of Poitou from c. 930; the duchy of Burgundy, built up by Richard the Justiciar (d. 921) but reduced by c. 960 to a rump ruled by a cadet branch of the Capetians; Flanders, whose counts capitalized on their military strength to build castles and exploit the vast economic potential of their county; and Toulouse, whose counts also ruled Gothia. Other principalities did not fit into such a clear-cut pattern. Some were weakened by a ruler's untimely death, such as the Vermandois block of counties in north-east France which collapsed after Herbert II's death in 943. The duchy of Brittany remained weak despite its distinctive identity and often fell under the overlordship of neighbouring rulers. Catalonia was a powerful unit under the counts of Barcelona but drifted out of the French orbit from c. 987, as did much of the duchy of Gascony. Normandy's origins as a Viking buffer state made it distinctive, but its dukes pursued familiar policies of reviving Carolingian-style administration, building up followings and cooperating with the Church.
In parts of Francia other types of polity existed, including largely independent bishoprics, such as Langres, Cahors, Reims and Laon, independent counties, such as the Rouergue, and areas which came under the weak rule of local counts and lords such as the Auvergne, Berry and Picardy.
In the eleventh century royal judicial and fiscal rights remained limited and the authority of kings such as Robert the Pious (996-1031) and Henry I (1031-60) was largely honorary. Although Carolingian lands around Laon and Reims were incorporated in the demesne, and the Church was a useful support, vassals such as the counts of Anjou and Blois became powerful figures and frequent rivals; Normandy proved an ally for a time but Duke William I's expansionist policies after 1047 provoked royal hostility.
The late tenth and early eleventh centuries also saw a number of socioeconomic changes, including a general recovery and a proliferation of castles. Often the latter resulted from the initiative of princes and counts, but some were built by lower aristocrats or 'new men' on allodial land and reflected a breakdown of the semipublic power of the counts. In many areas, such as Berry, the Auvergne and the Maconnais the castellans took over the public rights of the bannum and initiated a regime of oppression. This development was in part a reflection of the growing importance of mounted warriors (milites or knights), bound to their lords by feudal ties. Contrary to traditional views formal vassalage was not widespread or uniform among the aristocracy early on, but the wider use of the term fief in the eleventh century led to increased legal precision in relationships and ultimately enhanced the position of the king as feudal overlord.
T. S.Brown
World History
