The

crown land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

s, crown estate, royal domain or (in French) ''domaine royal'' (from

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...

) of France were the lands, fiefs and rights directly possessed by the

kings of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the first ...

. While the term eventually came to refer to a territorial unit, the royal domain originally referred to the network of "castles, villages and estates, forests, towns, religious houses and bishoprics, and the rights of justice, tolls and taxes" effectively held by the king or under his domination. In terms of territory, before the reign of Henry IV, the ''domaine royal'' did not encompass the entirety of the territory of the kingdom of France and for much of the Middle Ages significant portions of the kingdom were the direct possessions of other feudal lords. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, the first

Capetians The Capetian dynasty (; french: Capétiens), also known as the House of France, is a dynasty of Frankish origin, and a branch of the Robertians. It is among the largest and oldest royal houses in Europe and the world, and consists of Hugh Cape ...

—while being the kings of France—were among the least powerful of the great feudal lords of France in terms of territory possessed. Patiently, through the use of feudal law (and, in particular, the confiscation of fiefs from rebellious vassals), conquest, annexation, skillful marriages with heiresses of large fiefs, and even by purchase, the kings of France were able to increase the royal domain. By the time of

Philip IV Philip IV may refer to: * Philip IV of Macedon (died 297 BC) * Philip IV of France (1268–1314), Avignon Papacy * Philip IV of Burgundy or Philip I of Castile (1478–1506) * Philip IV, Count of Nassau-Weilburg (1542–1602) * Philip IV of Spain ...

, the meaning of "royal domain" began to shift from a mere collection of lands and rights to a fixed territorial unit, and by the sixteenth century the "royal domain" began to coincide with the entire kingdom. However, the medieval system of appanage (a concession of a fief with its land rights by the sovereign to his younger sons, which reverts to the crown upon the extinction of the male line of the original holder) alienated large territories from the royal domain and sometimes created dangerous rivals (especially the Duchy of Burgundy from the 14th to the 15th centuries). During the Wars of Religion, the alienation of lands and fiefs from the royal domain was frequently criticized. The Edict of Moulins (1566) declared that the royal domain (defined in the second article as all the land controlled by the crown for more than ten years) could not be alienated, except in two cases: by interlocking, in the case of financial emergency, with a perpetual option to repurchase the land; and to form an appanage, which must return to the crown in its original state on the extinction of the male line. Traditionally, the king was expected to survive from the revenues generated from the royal domain, but fiscal necessity, especially in times of war, led the kings to enact "exceptional" taxes, like the ''

taille The ''taille'' () was a direct land tax on the French peasantry and non-nobles in ''Ancien Régime'' France. The tax was imposed on each household and was based on how much land it held, and was directly paid to the state. History Originally ...

'', upon the whole of the kingdom (the ''taille'' became permanent in 1439).

Chronology of the formation of the royal domain

House of Capet

Reign of Hugh Capet

At the beginning of Hugh Capet's reign, the crown estate was extremely small and consisted essentially of scattered possessions in the Île-de-France and

Orléanais The Duchy of Orléanais () is a former province of France, which was created during the Renaissance by merging four former counties and towns. However after the French Revolution, the province was dissolved in 1791 and succeeded by five ''départm ...

regions ( Senlis, Poissy, Orléans), with several other isolated pockets, such as Attigny. These lands were largely the inheritance of the Robertians, the direct ancestors of the

. * 988: Montreuil-sur-Mer, the first port held by the Capetians, is acquired through the marriage of the crown prince Robert (future Robert II the Pious) with Rozala, the widow of the Arnulf II, Count of Flanders.

Reign of Robert II

*1016: acquisition of the Duchy of Burgundy. The king was the nephew of Duke Henry of Burgundy, who died without heirs. * Robert gains the counties of Paris,

Dreux Dreux () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise, a tributary of the Eure, about 35 km north of Chartres. Dreux station has rail connections to Argentan, Paris and Granvi ...

and Melun, and negotiates the ultimate acquisition (1055) of a part of

Sens Sens () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km from Paris. Sens is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the second city of the d ...

Reign of Henry I

* 1034: the king gives the Duchy of Burgundy to his brother Robert (the duchy would remain with his descendants until 1361; see House of Burgundy) * 1055: annexation of the County of Sens.

Reign of Philip I

* 1068: acquisition of Gâtinais and Château-Landon from Fulk IV, Count of Anjou * 1077: annexation of the French Vexin * 1081: acquisition of Moret-sur-Loing * 1101: acquisition of the Viscounty of

Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...

and the '' seigneury'' of Dun-sur-Auron from

Odo Arpin of Bourges Odo Arpin of Bourges (also Arpinus, Harpinus, or Harpin) ( 1060 – c. 1130) was a medieval viscount, crusader and monk. He inherited the lordship of Dun and became viscount of Bourges between 1092 and 1095 after marrying Matilda of Sully, whose s ...

Reign of Louis VI

* the king spends much of his reign pacifying and consolidating the royal domain by battling certain feudal lords (lords of Montlhéry, of Coucy, of Puiset, of Crécy...) * from Fulk, Viscount of Gâtinais, Louis bought Moret, Le Châtelet-en-Brie,

Boësses Boësses () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. Population See also *Communes of the Loiret department The following is the list of the 325 communes of the Loiret department of France. The communes cooperate in t ...

, Yèvre-le-Châtel and Chambon. *Other additions to the royal domain include: Montlhéry and Châteaufort, Chevreuse,

Corbeil Corbeil may refer to: Places * Corbeil, Ontario, Canada * Corbeil, Marne, a commune in the Marne département in north-eastern France * Corbeil-Cerf, a commune in the département of Oise in northern France * Corbeil-Essonnes, a commune in the so ...

, Meung-sur-Loire, Châteaurenard and

Saint-Brisson Saint-Brisson () is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France. Points of interest * Herbularium du Morvan See also *Communes of the Nièvre department *Parc naturel régional du Morvan Morvan Regional Natural Park (French: ''Parc ...

Reign of
Louis VII Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...

* 1137: marriage of Louis with Eleanor of Aquitaine,

Duchess of Aquitaine The Duke of Aquitaine ( oc, Duc d'Aquitània, french: Duc d'Aquitaine, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Aquitaine, medieval region of Aquitaine (not to be confused with modern-day Aquitaine) under the supremacy of List of Frankish kings, Frankish, ...

and

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...

and Countess of Poitou. By this marriage, Louis hopes to attach most of South-West France to the royal domain. * 1137: Louis gives

to his brother Robert. * 1151: separation of Louis VII and of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who in 1152 weds

Henry Plantagenet Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

, Count of Anjou,

Count of Maine This is a list of counts and dukes of Maine. The capital of Maine was Le Mans. In the thirteenth century it was annexed by France to the royal domain. Dukes of Maine (''duces Cenomannici'') * Charivius ( fl. 723) – appears as ''dux'' in a docu ...

and

Duke of Normandy In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western Kingdom of France, France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple, Charles III in ...

, who becomes in 1154,

King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

. Eleanor's lands come to Henry in her dowry. * 1160: gives Norman Vexin to his daughter

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

as a dowry. Margaret is later forced to surrender her dowry.

Reign of Philip II Augustus

Territorial Conquests of Philip II of France

* 1184: granted Montargis. * 1185: by the Treaty of Boves, gains Amiens and Montdidier, Roye,

Choisy-au-Bac Choisy-au-Bac () is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department in northern France. See also * Communes of the Oise department References

Communes of Oise {{Oise-geo-stub ...

, and Thourotte and rights to the inheritance of Vermandois and Valois. * 1187: seizes

Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...

from the bishop. * confiscates Meulan, Gisors, and other castles. * 1191: at the death of

Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders Philip I (1143 – 1 August 1191), commonly known as Philip of Alsace, was count of Flanders from 1168 to 1191. During his rule Flanders prospered economically. He took part in two crusades and died of disease in the Holy Land. Count of Flanders ...

, the County of Artois and its dependencies, the inheritance of the queen Isabelle of Hainaut, are given to prince Louis. These areas would not become integrated into the royal domain until 1223 when Louis becomes king. * 1191: the County of Vermandois is acquired by the king, after the death of Elisabeth of Vermandois, the inheritor of the County. Confirmed in 1213, by Eléonore of Vermandois sister of Elisabeth. Philip also gains Valois. * 1200: the Norman Vexin is annexed * 1200 the County of Évreux and Issoudun are annexed, in exchange for the king's recognition of John of England as king of England. * 1204: confiscation of the Duchy of Normandy, the Touraine, Anjou, Saintonge and, temporarily, of the Poitou from John of England. * 1208: La Ferté-Macé confiscated from Guillaume IV of Ferté-Macé * 1220: the County of Alençon is reunited to the royal domain in the absence of a male heir to Count Robert IV (the county is sold by the vicomtesse of Châtellerault).

Reign of Louis VIII

* 1223: Philip Hurepel, half-brother of the king, received in appanage the Counties of

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

( Boulogne-sur-Mer), and of Clermont ( Clermont-en-Beauvaisis), as well as the fiefs of Domfront, Mortain and Aumale. * Poitou, Saintonge, Angoumois, Périgord and a part of the Bordelais were confiscated from the king of England. * following the

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...

(1209–1229) against the Cathars and the Count of Toulouse, the king annexed the

County of Toulouse The County of Toulouse ( oc, Comtat de Tolosa) was a territory in southern France consisting of the city of Toulouse and its environs, ruled by the Count of Toulouse from the late 9th century until the late 13th century. The territory is the ...

the heiress of which, Joan of Toulouse, married

Alphonse, Count of Poitou Alphonse or Alfonso (11 November 122021 August 1271) was the count of Poitou from 1225 and count of Toulouse (as such called Alphonse II) from 1249. As count of Toulouse, he also governed the Marquisate of Provence. Birth and early life Born at ...

, son of the king, in 1237. * 1225: in his will, Louis grants the appanages of Artois and his mother's inheritance to his second son Robert; Poitou and Auvergne to his third son Alphonse; and Anjou and Maine to his fourth son John (due to John's death, these possessions would go to Louis' seventh son

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

Reign of Louis IX

* 1229: Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse cedes to the king the ''sénéchaussées'' of

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

– Beaucaire and of

Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hos ...

– Carcassonne ( Treaty of Paris (1229)) * 1237: the king confirms the appanage grant of the County of Artois for his brother Robert I of Artois. * 1241: the king confirms the appanage grant of Poitou for his brother

Alfonso, Count of Poitou Alphonse or Alfonso (11 November 122021 August 1271) was the count of Poitou from 1225 and count of Toulouse (as such called Alphonse II) from 1249. As count of Toulouse, he also governed the Marquisate of Provence. Birth and early life Born at P ...

. * 1249: Alfonso, Count of Poitou, by right of his wife succeeds Raymond VII of Toulouse. * 1255: the County of Beaumont-le-Roger is bought back from

Raoul of Meulan __NOTOC__ Raoul is a French variant of the male given name Ralph or Rudolph, and a cognate of Raul. Raoul may also refer to: Given name * Raoul Berger, American legal scholar * Raoul Bova, Italian actor * Radulphus Brito (Raoul le Breton, d ...

. * 1258: the king renounces the

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; ca, Rosselló ; oc, Rosselhon ) is a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the reg ...

and Catalonia; in exchange the king of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

renounces Provence and Languedoc ( Treaty of Corbeil (1258)) * 1259: seigneuries of Domfront and of Tinchebray acquired. * 1259: the king gives to the king of England Henry III the Duchy of Aquitaine, and promises him Saintonge,

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, an ...

and Agenais in the case of the death without heir of the Count of Toulouse Alfonso of Poitiers ( Treaty of Paris (1259)) * 1268 the king gives the County of Alençon and

Perche Perche () (French: ''le Perche'') is a former province of France, known historically for its forests and, for the past two centuries, for the Percheron draft horse breed. Until the French Revolution, Perche was bounded by four ancient territorie ...

to his son Peter. * the king grants as appanage the County of Valois to his son John Tristan and Clermont-en-Beauvaisis to his son Robert.

Reign of Philip III

* 1271: reversion of the County of Toulouse, Poitou and Auvergne, the Comtat Venaissin, appanages of

, to the royal domain * 1274: purchase of the County of Nemours * 1274: the king cedes half of the Comtat Venaissin to pope Gregory X * 1283:

and the County of Alençon are inherited from the king's brother Pierre I of Alençon. * 1284: purchase of the

County of Chartres Originally, the Duchy of Chartres (''duché de Chartres'') was the ''comté'' de Chartres, a County. The title of comte de Chartres thus became duc de Chartres. This duchy–peerage was given by Louis XIV of France to his nephew, Philippe II ...

. * the king makes appanage grants of Valois to his second son

and Beaumont-en-Oise to his third son Louis.

Reigns of Philip IV, the Fair and his sons

* 1284: marriage of Philip the Fair, the future king of France, with Queen Joan I of Navarre, Countess of Champagne. The County of Champagne is reunited to the royal domain (made official in 1361) * 1285–1295: purchase of the County of Guînes from Count Arnould III who needed money to pay a ransom. * 1286: purchase of the

from

Jeanne of Blois-Châtillon Joan of Châtillon (''Jeanne de Blois''; 1253? – 19 or 29 January 1291) was Countess of Blois from 1280 to 1291, and Lady of Avesnes. She was the daughter of John I, Count of Blois and Alix of Brittany, Dame de Pontarcy. Joan received the Coun ...

, widow of her uncle

Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

* 1292: Ostrevant * 1295: the king gives up a part of the County of Guines. * as they reverted to the crown, Philip IV makes appanage grants of

Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is firs ...

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

and

to his brother

and Évreux to his brother Louis. By his marriage, Charles also acquires Maine and Anjou. To his sons, Philip gives the appanages of

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

, and La Marche and

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a communes of France, commune, the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Charente Departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern Franc ...

.Hallam, 250. * 1308: purchase of the County of Angoulême, of Fougères and of Lusignan from Yolande of Lusignan * 1313: Confiscation of

– which is however a land belonging to the Empire – from Marie de Mortagne. * 1322: the County of Bigorre is incorporated into the royal domain at the crowning of the king Charles IV, who held it from his mother Joan I of Navarre

House of Valois

Reign of Philip VI of Valois

* the appanages of the new king ( Valois, Anjous, Maine,

and

) are reunited to the royal domain. * 1336: conquest of the County of Ponthieu, given to the king of England in 1360. * 1343–1349: the Dauphiné is sold to the kingdom of France by the Dauphin of Viennois * 1349: purchase for the kingdom of France of the seigneurie of

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

from James III of Majorca, the dispossessed king of Majorca, for 120 000 écus.

Reign of John II

* 1350–1360: after the death of Raoul II of Brienne, Count of Guînes, and connétable of France (decapitated for treason), the County of Guînes is confiscated. It will be ceded to the English by the Treaty of Brétigny. * 1360: by the Treaty of Brétigny, Aquitaine (1/3 of the kingdom) is given to the king of England, to obtain the release of the French king, prisoner since the Battle of Poitiers (1356). * 1360: John, Duke of Berry receives the Duchy of Berry as appanage. He is also made Count of Poitiers (1357–1416), Count of Mâcon (c. 1360–1372), Count of Angoulême and Saintonge (bef. 1372–1374) and

Count of Étampes Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

(1399–1416). At his death, these lands return to the royal domain. He is also given the Duchy of Auvergne. * 1361: the king gives Touraine in appanage to his son

. * 1361: the king successfully claims the Duchy of Burgundy as the heir by proximity of blood.

Reign of Charles V

* Thanks to Du Guesclin, the king recovers the Duchy of Aquitaine. * 27 May 1364: the city of

Montivilliers Montivilliers ( or ) is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A large light industrial and farming town by the banks of the river Lézarde in the Pays de Caux, situated just north ...

is detached from the County of Longueville and attached to the royal domain. * 1364: Philip the Bold receives in appanage the Duchy of Burgundy * 1371: purchase of the County of Auxerre * 1377:

returns to the royal domain

Reign of Charles VI

*1392: the appanage of Orléans is given to Louis I de Valois, Duke of Orléans, brother of the king. He also becomes Count of Valois (1386?),

Duke of Touraine {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 Duke of Touraine was a title in the Peerage of France, relating to Touraine. It was first created in 1360 for Philip the Bold, youngest son of King John II of France. He returned the duchy to the Crown in 1363 on b ...

(1386),

Count of Blois Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

(1397; the county is sold by Guy II, Count of Blois at the death of his only son),

(1404), Périgord,

and Soissons. *1416: the appanage of the Duchy of Berry comes back to the royal domain after the death of

Jean, Duke of Berry John of Berry or John the Magnificent ( French: ''Jean de Berry'', ; 30 November 1340 – 15 June 1416) was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. He was Regent of France during the minority of his nephew 1380-1388 ...

, the uncle of the king. *1416: the king recreates the appanage of Berry for his son Jean who dies in 1417. *1417: the king gives the appanage of Berry to his son

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious (french: le Victorieux) or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII inherited the throne of F ...

Reign of Charles VII

* 1424: Duchy of Touraine granted to

Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, Duke of Touraine (c. 1369 – 17 August 1424), was a Scottish nobleman and warlord. He is sometimes given the epithet "Tyneman" ( Old Scots: Loser), but this may be a reference to his great-uncle Sir ...

, killed later that year at Verneuil. * 1434: Amboise is confiscated from Louis of Amboise (who had plotted against Georges de la Trémoille, a favorite of the king) and reunited with the crown. * 1453: at the death of Mathieu of Foix, the County of Comminges is incorporated into the royal domain

Reign of Louis XI

* 1461–1472: the king gives the Duchy of Berry in appanage to his brother Charles of France. Dissatisfied, Charles joins with other feudal nobles in the League of the Public Weal. At the Treaty of Conflans in 1465, Charles of France exchanges Berry for the Duchy of Normandy (1465–1469). In 1469, Charles is forced to exchange Normandy for the Duchy of Guyenne (1486–1472). * 1462: the king alienates the County of Comminges from the royal domain, giving it to Jean de Lescun. * 1477: the County of Ponthieu is definitively reattached to the royal domain. * 1478: the County of Boulogne is acquired by exchange. * 1481: Charles IV, Duke of Anjou,

, Guise, Mortain and Gien, who succeeded his uncle René I of Anjou as Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence and Forcalquier, dies, bequeathing his lands to his cousin Louis XI of France. * 1482: by the Treaty of Arras, the Duchy of Burgundy and

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

are reattached to the domain. * 1482: acquisition of the viscounty of

Châtellerault Châtellerault (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Châteulrô/Chateleràud''; oc, Chastelairaud) is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. It is located in the northeast of the former province Poitou, and the re ...

Reign of Charles VIII

* 1483: the seigneuries of Châtel-sur-Moselle and Bainville are taken from the Duchy of Bar. * 1491: the marriage of the king to Duchess

Anne of Brittany Anne of Brittany (; 25/26 January 1477 – 9 January 1514) was reigning Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and Queen of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She is the only woman to have been queen consort of France ...

begins the personal union of the Duchy of Brittany and the kingdom.

Reign of Louis XII

* 1498: the crowning of the new king brings his appanages Valois (alienated in 1386?) and Orléans (alienated in 1392) back to the royal domain, and the county of Blois is integrated into the royal domain for the first time. * 1498: the second marriage of the king with the Duchess

continues the personal union of Brittany to the kingdom which had been interrupted when Anne, as widow, asserted the independence of Brittany. * 1498: at the death of Odet of Aydie, the County of Comminges (alienated in 1462) returns to the crown. * 1499: the king gives the Duchy of Berry to his former wife Joan of France. * 1504–1512: the Duchy of Nemours reverts to the royal domain. In 1507, it is given to Gaston of Foix, but reverts at his death in 1512.

Reign of
Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe ...

* 1515: Nemours is given to Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici. The duchy passes in 1524 to Francis' mother, Louise of Savoy and will remain with the house of Savoy until 1659. *1531: possessions of the disgraced Charles III, Duke of Bourbon are confiscated: Bourbonnais, Auvergne, Counties of Montpensier, of Clermont, of Mercœur and Forez From the reign of Francis I, the concept of "royal domain" begins to coincide with the French kingdom in general; the appanage of the House of Bourbon however remains alienated. * 1532: union of the Duchy of Brittany to France, the inheritance of Claude of France daughter of

. The Dauphin becomes the Duke of Brittany but dies before he ascends to the throne of France.

Reign of Henry II

*1547: for the first time the title Duke of Brittany and King of France is held by the same male primogeniture descendant. This marks the final step in the personal union of Brittany with France. *1548:

Duchy of Châtellerault A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between " ...

conferred upon James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran. *1558: French reconquest and incorporation of

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

into the Crown lands under the leadership of Henry II, which ended 150 years of English rule.

House of Bourbon

Reign of Henry IV

* 1589: Henry III of Navarre becomes king Henry IV of France, succeeding his cousin Henry III after his assassination. On accession to the thrones of Navarre and France, Henry ruled over a vast territory including appanages suzerain to the king of France, such as the County of Soissons, the duchies of

, Vendôme, Beaumont, the Viscounty of

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

, the County of Périgord, the

County of Rodez The County of Rodez was a fief of the County of Toulouse formed out of part of the old County of Rouergue in what is today Aveyron, France. Its capital was Rodez. At its height, it was a centre of troubadour culture. On the death of Hugh of Roue ...

, the Duchy of Albret, the viscounties of Lomagne, Marsan, Gabardan, and Tursan, as well as the counties of Fézensac,

Quatre-Vallées Quatre-Vallées (i.e. "Four Valleys") ( Gascon: ''Quate-Vaths'') was a small province of France located in the southwest of France. It was made up of four constituent parts: Aure valley (Gascon: ''Aura''), Barousse valley (Gascon: ''Varossa''), ...

, Gaure, Armagnac, Foix, and

Bigorre Bigorre ({{IPA-fr, biɡɔʁ; Gascon: ''Bigòrra'') is a region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of t ...

. * 1589: The

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre (; , , , ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona (), was a Basque kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, alongside the Atlantic Ocean between present-day Spain and France. The medieval state took ...

( Basse-Navarre and the principality of Béarn) remains independent but in personal union with France.

Reign of Louis XIII

* 1620: The king leads an army over Béarn and issues an edict at Pau, incorporating the Kingdom of Navarre and Béarn to the crown of France. From then on, while some prerogatives and the name were kept, the Kingdom of Navarre (Basse Navarre) with Béarn was no longer sovereign.

References

*''This article is based on a translation of the equivalent article from the French Wikipedia, retrieved on 13 September 2008.'' * Elizabeth M. Hallam. ''Capetian France: 987–1328''. London: Longman, 1980. {{DEFAULTSORT:Crown Lands Of France Ancien Régime French monarchy Geography of France Land registration Monarchy and money