Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The Education of the Early Capetians

1969; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 25; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1017/s0362152900011053

2166-5508

Joel T. Rosenthal,

Multicultural Socio-Legal Studies

Historians concerned with the eleventh and twelfth centuries have for long been intrigued by the problem of the ‘Capetian miracle.’ By this is meant the process whereby the Capetian dynasty maintained itself, despite many obstacles and weaknesses, and converted its feeble hold upon the tottering throne of France into the powerful kingship of Philip Augustus and the awe-inspiring monarchy of St. Louis. The early Capetians were not men of outstanding ability. No great warriors or legal innovators appeared in the family for several centuries. A list of the great secular figures of the eleventh and twelfth centuries would not contain any of their names. But against this dreary picture the warning given by Robert Fawtier must be remembered: ‘It is tempting but rash to conclude that they were men of no significance. For they accomplished a difficult task which was yet indispensable for the future of the monarchy. They lasted.’