Rule the Day With This Quiz on French Monarchs

With the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814, France underwent another drastic change. The previous king, Louis XVI, had been executed 25 years earlier during the French Revolution, and Louis’ son (Louis XVII) died before he could take the throne. So it fell to the beheaded king’s brothers, Louis XVIII and Charles X, to restore the dynasty, a period known as the Bourbon Restoration.

In 1297, Pope Boniface VIII canonized Louis IX as a saint in the Catholic Church (he is the namesake of St. Louis, Missouri). As king, Louis IX made major improvements to France’s justice system and signed a peace treaty with Henry III of England. But canonization came mostly from Louis IX’s participation in the Crusades, something medieval popes considered a saintly cause.

Known as the first King of France, Clovis I established his capital in Paris in 508 CE. While the capital often moved depending on the ruler, the city remained the kingdom’s primary residence of power. France’s most powerful king, Louis XIV, tried to relocate the royal family to nearby Versailles, but his descendents were eventually dragged back to Paris during the French Revolution.

For decades, French Protestants, known as Huguenots, fought against the oppression of France’s Catholic majority. In 1598, French King Henry IV — known as Bon Roi (“Good King”) Henry — had seen enough. With the Edict of Nantes, he created civil and religious protections for Huguenots under French law, ending the decades-long conflict. Bon Roi, indeed.

Charlemagne was also known as Karl, Charles the Great, Charles I, King of the Franks, “father of Europe.” and finally, “Holy Roman Emperor.” In 800 CE, Pope Leo III named Charlemagne the first ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, which encompassed parts of modern France, Germany, and Italy.

The medieval Franks lent their name to the modern nation-state of France: “Francia” in Latin means “Land of the Franks.” In the early 6th century, King Clovis I united the warring Frankish tribes, forming the Merovingian dynasty — the first French kings. His name evolved over the centuries to “Louis,” a popular name for France’s future monarchs.

Louis XVI reigned during the most tumultuous period in French history. With the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, France entered a decade of revolution and counter-revolution that touched every facet of society, including the throne. Louis XVI, and his queen, Marie Antoinette, were executed when the monarchy was overthrown.

Several dynasties have claimed the French throne, from the very first Merovingians in the 5th century to the very last of the House Orleans in the mid-19th century — but Stuart isn’t among them. Starting with James I in 1603, the Stuarts oversaw a turbulent period of revolution in the United Kingdom.

In the 12th century, a man named Guigues IV Dauphin ruled a region in southeastern France known as Viennois. For the next two centuries, the name “dauphin” morphed into the title given to the rulers of Viennois. In 1364, King Charles V, who was previously the dauphin of Viennois, passed the title to his son, the future king Charles VI — and a tradition was born.

The Palace of Versailles was built between 1661 and 1715 by Louis XIV, nicknamed “the Sun King.” During his 72-year reign he was known for his opulent tastes, the hallmark of which was his lavish palace, located just outside of Paris. Today its sprawling gardens, ornate fountains, and gilded hallways make it one of Europe’s major historic landmarks.