France, A Kingdom Divided | The World 1000 Years Ago

France, one of the most important and iconic kingdoms of the middle ages, was a rather divided land in the early 11th century. Once the Carolingian kingdom of West Frankia, France was now ruled by the Capetian dynasty, founded by Hugh Capet and continued by his son Robert II. But the authority of the kings of France in the late Carolingian and early Capetian periods was not altogether strong, and the king had to compete and contend with other lords, dukes and counts who were, in theory, his vassals, but in reality fairly independent rulers with a great deal of autonomy. The idealised feudalism of textbooks and coffee table history was far from the reality of France 1000 years ago.
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Recommendations for further reading:
-Bautier, Robert Henri. Recherches sur l'histoire de la France Médiévale,
Des Mérovingiens aux Premiers Capétiens (Variorum, 1991).
-Bradbury, Jim. The Capetians: kings of France, 987-1328 (London: Hambledon Continuum, 2007) [personally my least favourite of the three English sources I've listed here since I dislike Bradbury's style and disagree with some of his conclusions, but still worth reading].
-Dunbabin, Jean. France in the Making, 843-1180 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).
-Hallam Smith, Elizabeth, Charles West. Capetian France, 987-1328 (London: Routledge, 2020).
All images used in this video are either my own, in the public domain, under fair use, or under creative commons (whence they shall be credited appropriately)
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Outro music: Laid Back Guitars by Kevin MacLeod, CC BY-SA 4.0
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#medievalhistory #medieval #middleages #history #educational #france #frenchhistory #paris #orleans #moyenage #feudal #feudalism #kingdom #burgundy #carolingians #capetians #socialhistory #peasant #duke #count #castle #knights

[@mwflanagan1]

Adam, you have a very effective way of communicating history, especially on topics that might not be of particular interest at the outset but are made so by your presentation. I really appreciate all your efforts. Thank you.

[@kennywong489]

This video explained so much better than many feudalism-debunking videos!

[@user-if4nx2jn8r]

Well-explained as always, it's always interesting to learn more about how governance and administration were actually handled in different times and places, as much of this isn't really known in the pop culture version of medieval history most people have in their minds. The complexity of French history can certainly be overwhelming, so I'm always glad to find good places to learn more about it and remind me of things I may have already learned.

[@davidmajer3652]

Great video, solid detail, organized in a relatable way for the non-expert.

[@davidtownsend6092]

Im a historian and focus on contingency and causality which I feel are often neglected by most of the "bigger" channels , but you do a really good job. I'll sub for sure always looking for good videos to show.
Also some are ok like extra history is good at it, tho a bit biased and often looking from modern eyes. You have a more crunchy and academic style that I think will appeal to the types of history nerd who specialize.

[@studiumhistoriae]

Crunchy and academic are exactly what I'm going for!

[@humzasiddiqi1572]

Awesome video!

[@bobnelsonfr]

Très bien...

[@trimegistus]

I just found your page and I am hooked..keep producing more content ❤🎉

[@Jimmylad.]

Interesting to see how decentralised the kingdom was definitely different to the modern conception of the state with a centre of power that is not disturbed but an instrument of universal law applied to all regions equally.
Feel like this is very significant and the medieval conception prevented state totalitarianism like that of the twentieth century.

[@recoil53]

Local totalitarianism isn't so great either. Local lords, who never had the legitimate authority, were imposing taxes of their own on peasants.
Unsaid in the video were the fact that local lords of various levels would often fight each other, at the expense of the peasants. This also created a lot of bandits.
Basically everybody who could impose violence had power over the population to some degree.

[@alexanderaugustus]

I have a book on the gradual centralisation of France between 1200-1500, France in the Later Middle Ages by David Potter, which probably is an interesting follow-up to this video, for anyone interested. You can still buy it online.

[@zeljkodjordjevic2960]

Do you plan on doing a video about medieval Serbia aka Raška or other medieval Balkan countries?

[@studiumhistoriae]

I hadn't thought about the Balkans, but I plan on making videos covering as wide a variety as possible in this series (my last one was on South India), so they should definitely be included. Now that you've brought it to my attention, I'll definitely add it to my list.

[@zeljkodjordjevic2960]

Thenks for response, I discovered you yesterday and I love the content, keep up the good work. 👍

[@stevoplex]

What about the Church and the great cathedrals?

[@MikeHunt-fo3ow]

theres alot of French people in France but i cant find any Neanderthals in the Netherlands

[@morewi]

Germany took over that land. That's why it's found in Germany today