2005 Hugh Capet

the-carolingian-links In 987, Hugh Of Vermandois, known by his nickname of Hugh Capet, put together a carefully prepared case to support his claim to the French throne.

Though Hugh Capet was descended from Charlemagne on both sides of his family both lineages were dependant on female ancestors.

He already possessed the power of a king, as he was able to dominate the last of the Carolingian kings. His father had been the Duke of l’Ile de France, the area around Paris, roughly bounded by the rivers Seine, Marne, Oise and Beuvronne.His family held much of the land within l’Isle but little beyond it’s boundaries.



full-hugh-capet He was able to show showed that on both sides of his family he acquired the Dagobert blood line. The church, in the same period, suddenly changed its attitude to Dagobert.

Having attempted for over two hundred years to write Dagobert out of history the Catholic Church eventually relented and made him a saint of the Roman church! Interestingly, New Advent, the catholic encyclopedia, which is normally fulsome on the subject of saints, has no entry for St Dagobert.

Hugh Capet’s link to the Dagobert line was however once again dependent on female links. he quite possibly only used this as a supporting argument as if he had depended on it too strongly, it could have led to someone who had an even better claim than his own. The descendant dIrect patrilineal descent of the Dagobert line in 987 was Jean I de Joinville.



Occitan/ 7/The Geneology of Aquitaine./1981 The Later Carolingians. Charles The Fat was replaced by Eudes, Charles the simple was replaced by Robert.On the death of Lothair and his son Louis V there was an obvious hereditary claimant, Charles of Lorraine. Archbishop Adalberon of Reims, however who had also be chancellor to Lothair and Louis called a meeting which he deemed to be an electoral assembly.

An extract of his speech to the assembly reads “Crown the Duke. He is most illustrious by his exploits, his nobility, his forces. The throne is not acquired by hereditary right; no one should be raised to it unless distinguished not only for nobility of birth, but for the goodness of his soul.”


the-election It would have been a complete surprise to those attending the meeting to hear that the role of King of the Franks was not hereditary but an elected position. The King of the Franks had been hereditary since the death of Clovis though the position was often bitterly contested by various members of the royal family.

At the meeting were bishops of the church and the magnates of the Frankish lands (north and west of the river Loire. One of the bishops was a future Pope and it is almost certain that both popes John XIV and XV would have been involved in the preparation for the meeting.


edited-hugh-capet Hugh Capet introduced new information to show he had a much stronger case than the links to the Carolingans and the Dagobert. Through the counts of Wormsgau there is a direct patrilineal link from Clovis to Hugh Capet! This is at least the equal of the Dagobert line and Hugh Capet believed no one else shared this lineage. He believed this meant that as long as the House of Capet could produce male heirs there could be no challenge to its supremacy!



robertian-origins_0

Thus the concept of right to rule by possession of certain blood lines was confirmed and Clovis was reestablish as the fount of “Holy Blood”.









kingdom-of-aquitaine_0 Hugh Capet’s difficulty then became that his temporal possessions did not match his impeccable lineage. He married Adelais Great granddaughter of the Ranulf, King of Aquitaine but failed to make ant substantive change. Aquitaine remained independent and Hugh’s personal possessions were limited to the immediate surroundings of the Ile de France and dependant on the support of the nobles to retain his position.

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Extract from The Prisoner of Foix--Chapter 43 -The EntranceNo need to buy a Kindle. Read it on your computer or tablet

John Stanley-26th April 1355

 

'Looks like we are going to see a bit of excitement, John. The Captain tried to get an agreement from the Prince that if there is surf running across the channel to Arcachon we will turn back to Bordeaux, but the Prince would hear none of it. Instead, he has offered to provide insurance for all three ships. If they are damaged or sunk, the owners will be compensated and every sailor who makes the passage will be given a bounty payment. What none of this seems to take into account is that if we sink in rough, fast-flowing waters we might all drown.'

John raised his eyebrows. 'But that is what we are going to do?'

'Yes, despite the fact that surf running accross the entrance is not uncommon and the deep water channel moves continually. In the end, the Prince attacked their captains on their weakest point, their professional pride! He threw down the gauntlet. He offered to take the Sally first through the channel, and to take control during the passage.' He raised his brow. 'We are going into the Bay of Arcachon, come what may! '

Extract from The Eagle of Carcassone -- Chapter 24-- A Real GoddessNo need to buy a Kindle. Read it on your computer or tablet

John Stanley - 22 July 1355

An hour later John walked with Ximene close to the river along the valley below St Feriole. It was the very essence of a summer’s day. The sun was fierce but in the shadow of the trees, it was cool and fragrant. The trees and shrubs along the riverbank hid their progress, from the Château, from St Feriole.

Eventually they reached a point where John thought it was safe to emerge from cover. To his satisfaction the stream extended into a pool with a sandy beach, shaded by trees. Where the stream entered the pool there was a flat grassy area, almost circular. Behind this, the bulk of two mountain ridges provided a splendid backdrop. He looked around once more ‘Not just a good training ground but a great training ground. If the Greek heroes knew about this they might be tempted to join me, to train with me’

Ximene laughed out loud. He turned to look at her. She had removed her outer clothes and was wearing a white chemise, cut short so that it barely reached her knees. Around her waist, she wore a plaited leather belt, obviously fashioned from the multitude of leather straps to be found in the tackle room.

She ran her hands down over her breasts. ‘When you were unconscious I heard you muttering about gods and goddesses, so  I have decided that from now on, for you, I will be the goddess.’

The Prisoner of FoixVol 1 of the series—The Treasure of Trencavel

Aquitaine, an English possession, is in crisis. It is under threat from neighbouring nations and internal dissension.

The Black Prince, King Edward III’s eldest son has been given the task of taking command in Aquitaine.

Suddenly there is an opportunity. Ximene Trencavel is the heiress to the lands of Occitan, to the east of Aquitaine: lands controlled by the Franks. Ximene wants independence, both for herself and for Occitan.

A union between Aquitaine and Occitan would be mutually beneficial. The Black Prince undertakes a secret journey to meet Ximene to negotiate a marriage contract. It is, however, a marriage neither of them really wants.

Meanwhile, the  Franks plot to murder Ximene to prevent ,not just the marriage, but any kind of union between England and Occitan.

The Eagle Of CarcassonneVol II of the series—The Treasure of Trencavel

The loose alliance between Ximene Trencavel and the Black Prince is under threat.

The Prince invades Occitan, to show his support for Ximene but it becomes an invasion which creates more problems than it solves.

The Prince has fallen hopelessly in love with Joan of Kent and Joan is now determined to marry him and become the next Queen of England.

Joan is therefore  determined to convince Ximene that she should not marry the Prince.

Part of her strategy is to encourage Ximene’s relationship with John Stanley—one of the Princes bodyguards—not an easy task as both John and Ximene have doubts about their compatibility.

However, John is grievously injured in a battle and Ximene commits herself to nurse him back to health.