Henry was 27 years old when he ascended the throne. He combined the activity and spirit of a young man with a sagacity and prudence far beyond his years ; and he had need of all his qualities ; for his mother Constance endea voured to dethrone him, having drawn to her party a num ber of the nobles and bishops, under the pretext of sup porting the rights of her son Robert. Henry resisted for some time, but at length was obliged to take refuge with Robert, Duke of Normandy, who received him most kind ly, and sent an army of Normans into France, while the king and royal party invaded it on another side. The queen was thus humbled, and Henry recovered his power, but at the expence of part of his dominions, which, out of grati tude, he made over to the Duke of Normandy.
Soon after Henry was restored, the Duke of Normandy made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem ; and, dying before his re turn, there was a dispute concerning the succession to his dominions. His natural son William had been recognised by the nobles, before the departure of Robert ; and his guardianship was entrusted to the King of France and the Duke of Bretagne. As soon as the death of Robert was known, the Norman nobles broke out into personal quar rels, which the Duke of Bretagne in vain endeavoured to appease. tinder these circumstances, the King of France had an excellent opportunity of displaying his gratitude for the favours which he had received from Robert ; but Ile seemed rather willing to deprive his infant son of his inhe ritance, by invading Normandy. Not finding, however, the conquest so easy as he expected, he reassumed the appear ance of friendship and generosity, united his forces with those of the young Duke, and the malcontents were totally routed in the battle of Val de Dunes, A. D. 1046.
In 1060, Henry I. was succeeded by his son Philip I.; and about six years afterwards, William, Duke of Nor mandy, successfully invaded England. Philip was only eight years old when his father died, and remained under the guardianship of Baldwin V., surnamed the Pious, Count of Flanders, a man of strict honour and integrity, till the year 1067, when Baldwin died, having, just before his death, concluded an offensive and defensive alliance between the crowns of Scotland and France.
Philip incurred the excommunication of Urban H. by his marrying Bertrand de Montfort, Duchess of Anjou, while her husband and his queen were both alive ; nor was the excommunication taken off till the death of the Pope and the Queen in 1097. Philip, however, though relieved from his domestic troubles, was exposed to the rapacious power of his nobles, who insulted him constantly, and cut off entirely the communication between Paris and Orleans. In order to remedy these evils, Philip associated with him his son Louis. This prince was active, vigorous, generous, affable, and free from most youthful vices. He soon per ceived the full extent and the exact nature of the dangers which surrounded him, and that nothing could be accom plished by force. He therefore kept continually in the field with a small body of troops about him, whom lie employed against such nobles as would not listen to the dictates of jus tice and equity ; he demolished their castles, and laid waste their ground ; and by these measures, and by compelling them to render restitution to those whom they had pillaged, he restored order to the state, preserved the monarchy from subversion, and gained the affections of the virtuous part of the nobility, and the reverence of the people.
In 1103, when he was 30 years old, he succeeded his fa ther. From his great size in the latter part of his life, he was called Louis the Gross. Soon after his coronation, he engaged in a war with Henry I. of England, the particulars of which will be found in our history of that kingdom. Af ter the peace between these monarchs, which took place A. D. 1123, Louis devoted himself to the regulation of the internal management of his kingdom. He re-established the commons, or third estate, which had long ceased to ex ercise its privileges ; he enfranchised the villains, or bonds men ; diminished the authority of the seignorial jurisdic tions, and sent commissaries into the provinces to receive complaints, redress wrongs, and encourage appeals to the royal judges. In the midst of these wise regulations, his excessive corpulency brought on a disorder which termi nated in his death, in the 60th year of his age, and 30th of his reign, A. D. 1137.
Louis VII., surnamed the Young, to distinguish him from his father, was 18 years of age when he ascended the throne. He was of a devout turn of mind, good•natured, and easy in his temper ; but jealous of his honour and of his rights. The chapter of Bourges having chosen an archbishop disagreeable to the court, he ordered them to choose another ; but the chapter was supported by Pope Innocent II., who insulted the king, by calling him a young man, whom it was necessary to instruct that he had no right to interfere in the affairs of the church. Louis, however, remained firm ; and his kingdom was placed under an in terdict. Thibaut, Count of Champagne, had declared him self for the archbishop confirmed by the Pope, and thus gave rise to a civil war. Louis made himself master of ta• Champagne, and set fire to the church of Vitry, into which the inhabitants of that town had fled for refuge. The effect of this was strongly impressed on the king's mind, not only on account of the number of lives which were lost; but also on the sacrilege which he had committed ; and he made a vow to visit the Holy Land, in order to expiate his crime. To this project he was further incited by Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux, who had been selected by Pope Eugenius III. to preach a crusade. In the market place of Vezelar in Burgundy, Louis was seen by the side of Bernard, second ing the exhortations of that monk for the nobles and pea santry to take the cross, both by his harangues and his ex ample. In vain did Sciger, abbot of St Denis, a man of sound sense, and wonderfully free from the mad enthusi asm of the age, endeavour to dissuade Louis ft orn this en terprise. He foretold the inconveniences that would re suit from it, and the danger to which the king would be exposed ; but Bernard, on the other hand, made bintaelf answerable for its success, and extolled it with an enthusi asm that passed for inspiration. Before his departure, how • ever, the king had the good sense to name Seigel' min:stet to the regent, whom he left in charge of the kingdom.