The title "King of the Franks" was in use until the reign of Philip II. During the short time when the French Constitution of 1791 was in effect (1791–1792) and after the July Revolution in 1830, the style "King of the French" was used instead of "King of France (and Navarre)".
In addition to the Kingdom of France, there were also two French Empires. The First French Empire was from 1804–1815. It was founded and ruled by Napoleon I. The Second French Empire was from 1852–1870. It was founded and ruled by his nephew Napoleon III Then 3rd 4th and 5th republic formed
The name of France comes from the Germanic tribe known as the Franks. The Merovingian kings began as chieftains. The oldest known was Chlodio. Clovis I was the first of these to rise to true kingship. After his death, his kingdom was split between his sons into Soissons (Neustria), Paris, Orléans (Burgundy), and Metz (Austrasia). Several Merovingian monarchs brought back together the Frankish kingdoms and took the title of "King of the Franks". But upon their deaths, according to Frankish custom, the kingdom would often be split once again between their sons.
The last Merovingian kings, known as the lazy kings (rois fainéants), did not hold any real political power. The Mayor of the Palace governed instead. When Theuderic IV died in 737, Mayor of the Palace Charles Martel left the throne vacant and continued to rule until his own death in 741. His sons Pepin and Carloman briefly brought back the Merovingian dynasty by raising Childeric III to the throne in 743. In 751, Pepin deposed Childerich and took the throne.
Three of the twelve kings during the 147-year Carolingian Dynasty – Odo, his brother Robert I and Robert's son in law Raoul/Rudolph – were not from the Carolingian Dynasty but from the rival Robertian Dynasty. The Robertian Dynasty became the Capetian Dynasty with when Hugh Capet took the throne in 987.
The Capetian Dynasty, the male-line descendants of Hugh Capet, ruled France from 987 to 1792 and again from 1814 to 1848. The branches of the dynasty which ruled after 1328 are generally called Valois and Bourbon.
"Not listed above are Hugh Magnus, eldest son of Robert II, and Philip of France, eldest son of Louis VI. Both were co-Kings with their fathers but died before them. Because neither Hugh nor Philip were sole or senior king in their own lifetimes, they are usually not listed as Kings of France."
"From 21 January 1793 to 8 June 1795, Louis XVI's son Louis-Charles was titled King of France as Louis XVII. In reality, he was imprisoned in the Temple during this time. His power was held by the leaders of the Republic. On Louis XVII's death, his uncle Louis-Stanislas claimed the throne, as Louis XVIII. He was only "de facto" King of France in 1814."
"The First French Republic lasted from 1792 to 1804, when its First Consul, Napoleon Bonaparte, declared himself Emperor of the French."
"The elder son of Charles X, the Dauphin Louis-Antoine, is sometimes said to have legally been the King of France as Louis XIX. This is in the 20 minutes between Charles X's formal signature of abdication and the Dauphin's own signature."<br>
"Henri d'Artois, Charles X's grandson, is said by monarchists to be the King of France, as Henry V from 2 August 1830 to 9 August 1830. He was never recognized by the French State. He is generally not in lists of official French monarchs."
There was a brief period (20 March 1815 to 8 July 1815) called the Hundred Days in which Louis XVIII was king somewhat before the time, but fled because of Napoleon I's return from Elba
"The Second French Republic lasted from 1848 to 1852, when its president, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, was declared Emperor of the French."
The chronology of Head of State of France continues with the Presidents of France. There were short term periods by the Chief of State of the French State (1940–1944), the Chairman of the Provisional Government of the French Republic (1944–1946) and the President of the French Senate (1969 and 1974) during the Fifth Republic.
Battle
A battle is a fight between two or more groups where each group is trying to defeat (beat) the others. Battles are most often fought during wars, military campaigns, or two or more people fighting. If two armies fight many battles over period of time it is called a war. The ground on which a battle is fought is called a battlefield.
Battles can very important, for example the 1389 Battle of Kosovo, which was a draw in military terms, changed the history of the Balkans, Europe, and the entire world. The outcome changed Ottoman politics and had influence in the region for well over 500 years.
Device
Device could mean:
Devise could also mean:
Or see the placename Devizes
Edward IV of England
Edward IV of England was a king of England. He was born on April 28, 1442. He was King of England from March 4, 1461 until his death on April 9, 1483.
Edward was the eldest of the four sons of Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York. The Duke of York was a very powerful man, and had a claim to the throne of England. He became more popular than the existing king, Henry VI of England, who was thought to be weak. When the duke tried to take the throne from Henry VI, the Wars of the Roses broke out. By the time Edward was eighteen, he and his brother Edmund, Earl of Rutland, who was seventeen, were old enough to take part in the fighting, and Edward turned out to be a very good soldier. He was helped by Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, a clever nobleman who fought for the Duke of York. At the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, Edward's father, and his brother Edmund, were both killed. As his father's heir, he now claimed the throne. In March 1461, he entered London with his army and was crowned king, although he was only nineteen. King Henry VI was put into prison.
For a while, Edward ruled the country well, with help from the Earl of Warwick. Then Edward met a woman called Elizabeth Woodville, whom he wanted to marry. The Earl of Warwick did not know about their romance, and he wanted King Edward to marry a foreign princess in order to make an alliance with another country, which would have made his position stronger. Elizabeth and Edward got married secretly in about 1464, and they had ten children in the nineteen years of their marriage.
When the Earl of Warwick learned of Edward's marriage, he was angry. He grew even more angry as time went on, because Elizabeth's family became powerful and the king no longer respected Warwick as he had done in the beginning. In 1459 he rebelled against the king, with help from another of Edward's younger brothers, George, Duke of Clarence; George was married to the Earl of Warwick's elder daughter, Isabel. The rebels went to France and made an alliance with Queen Margaret, who was the wife of King Henry VI. The Earl of Warwick managed to defeat King Edward in battle in 1471, and freed King Henry VI from prison. Henry was now king again, and Edward had to escape to Burgundy, while his wife and children went into hiding.
The Duke of Burgundy was married to Edward's sister Margaret, so he was willing to help raise more troops. When Edward returned to England, he defeated the Earl of Warwick in battle and killed him. Shortly afterwards, Queen Margaret and her son arrived in England. They were also defeated in battle by King Edward, and his throne was safe. To make sure of this, Edward arranged for King Henry VI to be killed.
While Edward was away in Burgundy, his wife Elizabeth had given birth to a son, Edward, who was given the title of Prince of Wales. He would be the next king. Edward ruled with help from his two brothers. George, who had once rebelled against him, was now loyal, and the youngest brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, had always been loyal. There were still quarrels between them and the powerful Woodville family. George and Richard also quarrelled with each other, and in the end King Edward had to put George in prison, where he died.