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Valois Dynasty, the royal house of France from 1328 to 1589

begun under their predecessors, the Capetian dynasty

The House of Valois was a branch of the Capetian family, for it was descended from Charles of Valois, whose Capetian father, King Philip III, awarded him the county of Valois in 1285

first French king of the Valois dynasty

continued the efforts of the 13th-century Capetians toward the centralization of the administration in Paris.

The elder son of Charles of Valois, Philip was first cousin to the brothers Louis X, Philip V, and Charles IV, the last Capetian kings of the direct line. On the death of Charles IV in 1328, Philip, in the face of opposition from the partisans of the claim of Edward III of England, assumed the regency until the end of the pregnancy of Charles IV’s widow. When the widow produced a daughter, who therefore could not succeed to the throne, Philip became king and was crowned at Reims in May 1328.

Under the former dauphin, now Charles V (reigned 1364–80), the fortunes of war were dramatically reversed. Charles had a high conception of royalty and a good political sense. While he shared the house of Valois’s taste for luxury and festivity, he reverted to the Capetian tradition of prudent diplomacy.

Edward III did not press to conclude the renunciations; but he reserved his authority in Aquitaine by inserting in his coronation oath a clause prohibiting the alienation of rights attached to the crown

Charles the Bad once again revolted unsuccessfully, his dynastic claim to Burgundy running afoul of the king’s; the succession to Brittany was settled by arms