In 1328 the Capetians ran out of direct male heirs. Unlike some other nations, France adhered to the ancient code of the SalianFranks, known as Salic law, which forbade any succession to the throne by or through a female. Therefore the peers of the kingdom elected a new king, Philippe of Valois, a nephew of Philip the Fair, marking the beginning of the Valois Dynasty.
The rebellion of his brother Robert, supported by Eudes, count of Chartres and Troyes, was put down with the aid of the duke of Normandy, and Robert was pacified by the grant of the duchy of Burgundy (which continued in his family until 1361).
A period in which the Capetians reduced the great feudatories north of the Loire and began the transformation of the vague ecclesiastical, judicial, and military rights derived from Carolingian tradition into royal powers.
The court of the king, usually known as the curia regis, consisting as it did of magnates, royal vassals, and court officials (mainly chosen from the baronage), was essentially feudal in spirit and tradition.
The Capetian dynasty was founded by HughCapet, elected king of France in 987 over the last legitimate pretender of the Carolingian line, Charles, duke of Lower Lorraine.
The Capetians initially controlled only the duchy of France (Paris and Orleans), but owing to a shrewd and persistent policy of annexation their jurisdiction progressively extended to other regions : Artois, Vermandois, and Auvergne were incorporated into the kingdom under Philip Augustus (1180-1223)
Capetian dominions further expanded to include the county of Toulouse under PhilipIII the Bold (1270-1285), and later Champagne, Angoumois, and the county of Lyons under PhilipIV the Fair (1285-1314).
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