Frankish and French Kings

The Franks were a collection of Germanic tribes who settled in Roman territory in the 4th century. They were accepted as foederati (allies) by the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate. Unity of all the Franks was achieved by Clovis in the early 6th century. Clovis was a descendant of the semi-legendary king Merovech, for whom the Merovingian dynasty was named.

In 743 the Merovingians were formally replaced by Pépin the Short and the line of the Carolingians, the de facto rulers of the state for several generations, who were named for Pépin's father Charles Martel. Pépin's son was Charlemagne (Charles the Great) who became Emperor and controlled a vast region of Europe. Charlemagne's son was Louis the Pious; after his death the kingdom of the Franks was divided amongst his children. The western portion, eventually called the Kingdom of France, went to Charles the Bald. (See Kings of Germany and Holy Roman Emperors for other descendants of Charlemagne.)

As the Carolingian dynasty waned, France was ruled by the Counts of Paris starting with Odo in 888. His line led to Hugues Capet, who began the Capetian dynasty late in the 10th century. After the main Capetian line became extinct the throne was taken over by the Valois branch of the family, though claims by the English king Edward III led to the Hundred Years War in 1339. In 1589 the Valois dynasty was succeeded by the Bourbon kings, who ruled until being forcefully removed by the French Revolution, though they were later reinstated for a time.

France had two emperors in the 19th century: Napoleon and later his nephew Napoleon III.

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NameYearsOther Names
Carloman I768-771
Carloman II879-884
Charibert I561-567
Charibert II629-632
Charles I the Great768-814(Charlemagne)
Charles II the Bald840-877
Charles III the Simple898-922
Charles IV the Fair1322-1328
Charles IX1560-1574
Charles V the Wise1364-1380
Charles VI the Mad1380-1422
Charles VII the Victorious1422-1461
Charles VIII1483-1498
Charles X1824-1830
Charles the Fat884-887(Karl)
Childebert I511-558
Childebert II575-595
Childebert III the Just695-711
Childebert the Adopted656-661
Childeric I457-481
Childeric II662-675
Childeric III743-752
Chilperic I561-584
Chilperic II715-721
Chlodomer511-524
Chlothar I the Old511-561(Clotaire, Lothair, Lothaire)
Chlothar II the Great584-629(Clotaire, Lothair, Lothaire)
Chlothar III656-673(Clotaire, Lothair, Lothaire)
Clovis I481-511(Chlodovech, Louis)
Clovis II639-655(Chlodovech, Louis)
Clovis III675-676(Chlodovech, Louis)
Clovis IV691-695(Chlodovech, Louis)
Dagobert I629-639
Dagobert II676-679
Dagobert III711-715
François I1515-1547(Francis)
François II1559-1560(Francis)
Guntram561-592(Contran, Gontran, Guntramnus)
Henri I1031-1060(Henry)
Henri II1547-1559(Henry)
Henri III1574-1589(Henry)
Henri IV1589-1610(Henry)
Hugues Capet987-996(Hugh)
Jean I1316(John)
Jean II the Good1350-1364(John)
Lothair954-986(Lothaire)
Louis I the Pious813-840
Louis II the Stammerer877-879
Louis III879-882
Louis IV the Foreigner936-954
Louis IX1226-1270
Louis Philippe1830-1848
Louis V the Indolent986-987
Louis VI the Fat1108-1137
Louis VII1137-1180
Louis VIII the Lion1223-1226
Louis X1314-1316
Louis XI the Spider1461-1483
Louis XII of Orleans1498-1515
Louis XIII1610-1643
Louis XIV the Sun King1643-1715
Louis XV1715-1774
Louis XVI1774-1792
Louis XVIII1814-1824
Merovechc. 447-c. 457
Napoleon III1852-1870(Charles, Louis)
Napoleon I1804-1815
Odo Count of Paris888-898(Eudes)
Pépin the Short752-768(Pippin)
Philippe I1060-1108(Philip)
Philippe II Augustus1180-1223(Philip)
Philippe III the Bold1270-1285(Philip)
Philippe IV the Fair1285-1314(Philip)
Philippe V the Tall1316-1322(Philip)
Philippe VI1328-1350(Philip)
Robert I Count of Paris922-923
Robert II the Pious996-1031
Rudolf Duke of Burgundy923-936(Raoul, Rudolph)
Sigebert I561-575
Sigebert II613
Sigebert III634-656
Theudebald548-555(Thibaud)
Theudebert I533-548(Thibert)
Theudebert II595-612(Thibert)
Theuderic I511-534(Thierry)
Theuderic II595-613(Thierry)
Theuderic III673; 675-691(Thierry)
Theuderic IV721-737(Thierry)