Henry I was King of France from 1031 to his death. The royal demesne

Crown lands of France

The crown lands, crown estate, royal domain or domaine royal of France refers to the lands, fiefs and rights directly possessed by the kings of France...

 of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians

House of Capet

The House of Capet, or The Direct Capetian Dynasty, , also called The House of France , or simply the Capets, which ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328, was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians. As rulers of France, the dynasty...

. This is not entirely agreed upon, however, as other historians regard him as a strong but realistic king, who was forced to conduct a policy mindful of the limitations of the French monarchy.

Reign

A member of the House of Capet

House of Capet

The House of Capet, or The Direct Capetian Dynasty, , also called The House of France , or simply the Capets, which ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328, was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians. As rulers of France, the dynasty...

, Henry was born in Reims

Reims

Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....

, the son of King Robert II

Robert II of France

Robert II , called the Pious or the Wise , was King of France from 996 until his death. The second reigning member of the House of Capet, he was born in Orléans to Hugh Capet and Adelaide of Aquitaine....

 (972–1031) and Constance of Arles

Constance of Arles

Constance of Arles , also known as Constance of Provence, was the third wife and queen of King Robert II of France. She was the daughter of William I, count of Provence and Adelais of Anjou, daughter of Fulk II of Anjou...

 (986–1034). He was crowned King of France at the Cathedral in Reims on 14 May 1027, in the Capetian tradition, while his father still lived. He had little influence and power until he became sole ruler on his father's death.

The reign of Henry I, like those of his predecessors, was marked by territorial struggles. Initially, he joined his brother Robert

Robert I, Duke of Burgundy

Robert I Capet or Robert I of Burgundy, known as Robert the Old was duke of Burgundy between 1032 to his death...

, with the support of their mother, in a revolt against his father (1025). His mother, however, supported Robert as heir to the old king, on whose death Henry was left to deal with his rebel sibling. In 1032, he placated his brother by giving him the duchy of Burgundy

Duchy of Burgundy

The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...

 which his father had given him in 1016.

In an early strategic move, Henry came to the rescue of his very young nephew-in-law, the newly appointed Duke William of Normandy (who would go on to become William the Conqueror), to suppress a revolt by William's vassals. In 1047, Henry secured the dukedom for William in their decisive victory over the vassals at the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes

Battle of Val-ès-Dunes

The Battle of Val-ès-Dunes was fought in 1047 by the combined forces of William, Duke of Normandy and King Henry I of France against the forces of several rebel Norman barons, led by Gui of Burgundy , the son of Reginald I, Count of Burgundy....

 near Caen

Caen

Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....

.

A few years later, when William married Matilda

Matilda of Flanders

Matilda of Flanders was the wife of William the Conqueror and, as such, Queen consort of the Kingdom of England. She bore William nine/ten children, including two kings, William II and Henry I.-Marriage:...

, the daughter of the count of Flanders

Count of Flanders

The Count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders from the 9th century until the abolition of the position by the French revolutionaries in 1790....

, Henry feared William's potential power. In 1054, and again in 1057, Henry went to war to try to conquer Normandy from William, but on both occasions he was defeated. Despite his efforts, Henry I's twenty-nine-year reign saw feudal power in France reach its pinnacle.

Henry had three meetings with Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry III , called the Black or the Pious, was a member of the Salian Dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors...

—all at Ivois. In early 1043, he met him to discuss the marriage of the emperor with Agnes of Poitou, the daughter of Henry's vassal. In October 1048, the two Henries met again, but the subject of this meeting eludes us. The final meeting took place in May 1056. It concerned disputes over Lorraine. The debate over the duchy became so heated that the king of France challenged his German counterpart to single combat. The emperor, however, was not so much a warrior and he fled in the night; despite this, Henry did not get Lorraine.

King Henry I died on 4 August 1060 in Vitry-en-Brie, France, and was interred in Saint Denis Basilica

Saint Denis Basilica

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Denis is a large medieval abbey church in the commune of Saint-Denis, now a northern suburb of Paris. The abbey church was created a cathedral in 1966 and is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Denis, Pascal Michel Ghislain Delannoy...

. He was succeeded by his son, Philip I of France

Philip I of France

Philip I , called the Amorous, was King of France from 1060 to his death. His reign, like that of most of the early Direct Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time...

, who was 7 at the time of his death; for six years Henry I's Queen, Anne of Kiev

Anne of Kiev

Anne of Kiev was the queen consort of France as the wife of Henry I, and regent for her son Philip I.Her parents were Yaroslav I the Wise and princess Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden....

, ruled as regent.

He was also Duke of Burgundy

Duke of Burgundy

Duke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...

 from 1016 to 1032, when he abdicated the duchy to his brother Robert Capet

Robert I, Duke of Burgundy

Robert I Capet or Robert I of Burgundy, known as Robert the Old was duke of Burgundy between 1032 to his death...

.

Ancestry

Marriages and family

Henry I was betrothed to Matilda, the daughter of the Emperor Conrad II

Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor

Conrad II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1027 until his death.The son of a mid-level nobleman in Franconia, Count Henry of Speyer and Adelaide of Alsace, he inherited the titles of count of Speyer and of Worms as an infant when Henry died at age twenty...

 (1024–39), but she died prematurely in 1034. Henry I then married Matilda

Matilda of Frisia

Matilda of Frisia was the second wife and first Queen of Henry I, King of the Franks. She was the daughter of Liudulf, Margrave of Frisia and Gertrude. Her date of birth is unknown....

, daughter of Liudolf, Margrave

Margrave

A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...

 of Frisia, but she died in 1044, following a Caesarean section. Casting further afield in search of a third wife, Henry I married Anne of Kiev

Anne of Kiev

Anne of Kiev was the queen consort of France as the wife of Henry I, and regent for her son Philip I.Her parents were Yaroslav I the Wise and princess Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden....

 on 19 May 1051. They had four children:

1. Philip I
   Philip I of France
   Philip I , called the Amorous, was King of France from 1060 to his death. His reign, like that of most of the early Direct Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time...
   
    (23 May 1052 – 30 July 1108)
2. Emma (born 1054, date of death unknown)
3. Robert (c. 1055 – c. 1060)
4. Hugh the Great
   Hugh of Vermandois
   Hugh I , called Magnus or the Great, was a younger son of Henry I of France and Anne of Kiev and younger brother of Philip I. He was in his own right Count of Vermandois, but an ineffectual leader and soldier, great only in his boasting...
   
   (1057–1102)