Kingdom of France

monarchical state that ruled France from 987 to 1792, and again from 1814 to 1848 (except during the Hundred Days in 1815)

141 dated entries naming Kingdom of France, drawn from 116 separate years between 870 CE and 1787 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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9th century

870August 8 – Treaty of Meerssen: King Louis the German forces his half-brother Charles the Bald to accept a peace treaty, which partitions the Middle Frankish Kingdom into two larger east and west divisions. Louis receives most of Austrasia (which evolves into the Kingdom of Germany), and Charles receives territory in Lower Burgundy (which evolves into the Kingdom of France). However, large parts of the Frisian coast are under Viking control.source

10th century

990June – The Pax Ecclesiae, an edict by the Catholic Church, is promulgated. Held at three synods in different parts of southern and central France (at Charroux, Narbonne and Puy), it attempts to outlaw acts of war against non-combatants and the clergy.source
996October 24 – Hugh I Capet, king of France (b. 941)source
996October 24 – King Hugh I Capet dies in Paris after a 9-year reign and is interred in the Basilica of St. Denis. He is succeeded by his 24-year-old son Robert II (the Pious) as king of France. Robert tries (during his reign) to increase his power, by pressing his claim of feudal lands that become vacant. This results in many territorial disputes.source
1000In the Kingdom of France, Robert II, the son of Hugh Capet, was the first King of the Capetian royal dynasty.source
1000The Château de Goulaine vineyard was founded in France.source

11th century

1007Hugh Magnus (Hugues le Grand), king of France (d. 1025)source
1008May 4 – Henry I, king of France (d. 1060)source
1038The name of Versailles, at this time a small village, appears for the first time in a medieval charter in France.source
1081Louis VI ("the Fat"), king of France (approximate date)source

12th century

1119August 20 – Battle of Brémule: King Henry I of England defeats King Louis VI ("the Fat") of France and his 400 knights in Normandy. A skirmish that begins with the French launching a fierce but disordered attack, and ends with the French turning tail. Louis agrees to make peace and formally recognizes William Adelin as duke of Normandy.source
1134Robert of Ketton and Herman of Carinthia travel throughout France, the Byzantine Empire, and the Crusader States.source
1136The Basilica of Saint-Denis is completed to designs by Abbot Suger in Paris, France.source
1145Construction begins on Notre-Dame de Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, France.source
1149April – King Louis VII and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine sail homeward in separate Sicilian ships. While the fleet rounds the Peloponnese (southern Greece) it is attacked by ships of the Byzantine navy. Louis gives orders to raise the French flag and is allowed to sail on. But the ships containing many of his followers and his possessions are captured and taken as a war-prize to Constantinople.source

13th century

1214June – Otto IV arrives in Flanders with a small army; four German nobles have joined him, but he is soon reinforced by troops of Renaud I, duke of Boulogne, Ferdinand, (jure uxoris) count of Flanders and the mercenaries under William Longespée. On July 26, Philip II arrives at the Flemish town of Tournai with his army (some 7,000 men), while the allied forces encamp 12 kilometers south at the Castle of Mortagne (France).source
1216June – The rebel English barons besiege Windsor Castle and Dover Castle; the latter is strategically important as the 'gateway to England', controlling the shortest route to France. Meanwhile, King John uses Corfe Castle in the southwest as his base of operations while he plans his campaign against the barons and the French invading army under Louis.source
1226April 5 – The Treaty of Melun is concluded between France (ruled by King Louis VIII) and Flanders, ruled jointly of by Jeanne, Countess of Flanders and Hainaut, with France agreeing to release her husband Count Ferrandsource
1226November 8 – At the age of 12, Louis IX becomes the new King of France when his father, King Louis VIII, dies of dysentery at the Château de Montpensier while on his way back home after victory in the Albigensian Crusade. The boy's mother, Queen Blanche of Castile, rules the kingdom as regent during his minority.source
1229The University of Toulouse is founded in France. Raymond VII is forced to finance the teaching of theology.source
1235A general inquisition begins in France.source
1251April – The first Shepherds' Crusade, a domestic French uprising in response to events in Egypt during the Seventh Crusade, occurs.source
1282Peter III of Aragon obtains the support of Nasrid Granada preparing for the incoming Aragonese Crusade, led by Philip "the Fair" of France.source

14th century

1338Philip VI of France besieges Guienne in Southwest France, and his navy attacks Portsmouth, England.source
1340January 26 – King Edward III of England declares himself King of France at Ghent, Flanders.source
1346July – Edward III orders the closing of English ports to stop information from reaching France.source
1347November 1 – The Black Death spreads to Aix-en-Provence in France.source
1357February 3 – The Estates General in France meets and passes Étienne Marcel's Great Ordinance in an attempt to impose limits on the monarchy, in particular in fiscal and monetary matters.source
1359May 25 – The French States-General repudiates the terms of the Second Treaty of London, signed earlier in the year between England and France.source
1364April 8 – Charles V becomes King of France.source
1367April 3 – Battle of Nájera: Pedro of Castile is restored as King of Castile (in modern-day Spain) after defeating his half-brother, King Enrique the Fratricidal. Pedro is aided in the battle by the English under Edward the Black Prince, and Henry by the French.source
1369March 14 – King Pedro of Castile loses the Battle of Montiel to French soldiers led by Bertrand du Guesclin and Castilians led by his half-brother, Enrique. Pedro takes refuge in a fortress and offers du Guesclin 200,000 gold coins and a promise of several towns in Castile, in return for betraying Enrique. Afterwards, du Guesclin informs Enrique of the offer.source
1370September 19 – The Siege of Limoges takes place in the course of the Hundred Years' War as the English Army, led by Edward the Black Prince, retakes the of Limoges from the French by storm with wide destruction, effectively ending the Limoges enamel industry.source
1372June 22 – The Kingdom of France and the Crown of Castile defeat the Kingdom of England in the Battle of La Rochelle, and France gains control of the English Channel for the first time since 1340.source
1376March 12 – The Treaty of Bruges, signed on June 27, 1375 between England and France to end hostilities in the Hundred Years' War for a year, is extended by agreement to June 24, 1377.source
1379In the Hundred Years' War, the French lose control of most of Brittany to the English.source
1383Construction of the Bastille fortress is completed in Paris, France.source
1387March 25– The Battle of Margate, a naval battle off the coast of England at Margate, ends with the England navy, commanded by the Earl of Arundel, victorious over a combined fleet of shipsf rom the Kingdom of France, the Crown of Castile and the County of Flanders.source
1389July 18 – The Hundred Years' War is temporarily halted as the Truce of Leulinghem goes into effect after having been signed in June by the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of France. The peace will last for 13 years.source
1391May 27 – Dominique de Flourence, Bishop of Saint-Pons-de-Thomières, helps conclude a peace agreement between the Kingdom of France and the Crown of Castile, based on his influence as France's legate to King Juan I of Castile.source
1394September 17 – King Charles VI of France orders the expulsion of all Jews from France.source
1396September 25 – Battle of Nicopolis: The Ottomans defeat a joint crusade by Hungary, France, the Holy Roman Empire, and Wallachia, led by King Sigismund of Hungary. This is the last large-scale crusade of the Middle Ages.source

15th century

1403March 12 – As King Martin I of Aragon helps to end the siege by the French of the papal palace in Avignon, Antipope Benedict XIII flees to the Crown of Aragon.source
1404June 14 – Welsh rebel leader Owain Glyndŵr enters an alliance with the French against the English. He has begun to hold parliamentary assemblies (first on May 10 at Dolgellau).source
1417August 12 – King Henry V of England begins using the English language in correspondence back to England from France, where he is leading a campaign, marking the beginning of this king's continuous usage of English in prose, and the beginning of the restoration of English as an official language for the first time since the Norman Conquest, some 350 years earlier.source
1424August 17 – Battle of Verneuil: An English force under John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford, defeats a larger French army under John II, Duke of Alençon, John Stewart, and Archibald, Earl of Douglas. Alençon is captured and Douglas killed.source
1427The Celestine Order is established in France.source
1429June 18 – Battle of Patay: French forces under Joan of Arc smash the English forces under Lord Talbot and Sir John Fastolf, forcing the withdrawal of the English from the Loire Valley.source
1431January 9 – Pretrial investigations for Joan of Arc begin at Rouen in France, which is under English occupation.source
1444May 22 – The Treaty of Tours, signed between England and France, secures a truce in the Hundred Years' War for five years.source
1450April 15 – The Battle of Formigny takes place as French troops under the Comte de Clermont defeat an English army under Sir Thomas Kyriel and Sir Matthew Gough, which was attempting to relieve Caensource
1450August 12 – Cherbourg, the last English territory in Normandy, surrenders to the French.source
1450July 6 – Caen surrenders to the French.source
1450June 5 – French troops under Guy de Richemont besiege Caen in English-occupied Normandy in France, attacking the fortress commanded by Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset.source
1475March 10 – The city of Perpignan is recaptured by the army of the Kingdom of France after having been captured by the Spanish king John II of Aragon.source
1488January 20 – In the Kingdom of France, Louis II, Duke of Orleans and François II, Duke of Brittany, are both declared rebels by the Parlement of Paris.source
1499February 9 – The Treaty of Blois is signed between the Kingdom of France and the Republic of Venice as a secret military alliance between the two nations to attack the Duchy of Milan.source
1500January 5 – Duke Ludovico Sforza recaptures Milan, but is soon driven out again by the French.source

16th century

1501October 13 – Maximilian of Austria and Louis XII of France sign the Treaty of Trente with Austria recognizing all French conquests in the northern territories of Italy.source
1503February 13 – Challenge of Barletta: Thirteen Italian knights defeat thirteen French knights, near Barletta.source
1504January 1 – French troops of King Louis XII surrender Gaeta to the Spanish, under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba.source
1504January 31 – Treaty of Lyon: France cedes Naples to Ferdinand II of Aragon, who becomes King of Naples as Ferdinand III.source
1511November 17 – The Treaty of Westminster creates an alliance between Henry VIII of England and Ferdinand II of Aragon against France. Mallett and Shaw, The Italian Wars, 103; Hutchinson, Young Henry, 159.source
1512April 11 – War of the League of Cambrai – Battle of Ravenna: French troops under Gaston of Foix, Duke of Nemours, assisted by the Duchy of Ferrara, defeat the Spanish and Papal States troops led by Ramón de Cardona. Gaston is killed in the pursuit as the Spanish retreat, and at least 3,000 of his troops are killed. More than 9,000 Spanish and Papal troops are killed, and 17,000 civilians in and around the city of Ravenna are massacred.source
1512February 18 – War of the League of Cambrai: The French carry out the Sack of Brescia.source
1512July 12 – The Treaty of Blois is signed in France between representatives of the Spanish Kingdom of Navarre and of the Kingdom of France guaranteeing French intervention to keep Navarre neutral and to prevent an attack by the "Holy League" alliance of Pope Julius II and Spain's King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Castile.source
1513August 16 – Battle of the Spurs (or Battle of Guinegate, part of the War of the League of Cambrai): English and allied troops under Henry VIII defeat French cavalry under Marshal La Palice.source
1513June 6 – Italian Wars: Battle of Novara – Swiss mercenaries supporting the Milanese defeat the French under Louis II de la Trémoille, forcing the French to abandon the Duchy of Milan and Italy.source
1514August 7 – King Henry VIII of England concludes an independent peace treaty with France in the War of the League of Cambrai, negotiated by Thomas Wolsey.source
1516Leonardo da Vinci accepts Francis I's invitation to France.source
1516December 4 – Treaty of Brussels: Peace is declared between the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire.source
1516November 29 – The "Treaty of Perpetual Peace" is signed in the city of Fribourg in Switzerland, between representatives of the Thirteen Cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy, and King Francis of the Kingdom of France, confirming the French victory in the 1515 Battle of Marignano. The Swiss Confederacy renounces all claims to the French protectorate of Milan in Italy, in for 700,000 gold crowns in compensation.source
1521June 30 – Battle of Esquiroz: French forces under André de Foix, fighting for the exiled King of Navarre Henri d'Albret, are defeated by the Spanish, and forced to abandon their attempt to recover Henri's kingdom.source
1521November 23 – Spanish–German–Papal forces under Prospero Colonna force French Marshal Odet de Lautrec to abandon Milan.source
1522April 27 – In the Battle of Bicocca, French and Swiss forces under Odet de Lautrec are defeated by the Spanish in their attempt to retake Milan, and are forced to withdraw into Venetian territory.source
1522May 29 – England formally declares war on France and Scotland.source
1524April 30 – Battle of the Sesia: Spanish forces under Charles de Lannoy defeat the French army in Italy, under William de Bonnivet. The French, now commanded by François de St. Pol, withdraw from the Italian Peninsula.source
1525The Bubonic plague spreads in southern France.source
1525February 24 – Battle of Pavia: German and Spanish forces under Charles de Lannoy and the Marquis of Pescara defeat the French army, and capture Francis I of France, after his horse is wounded by Cesare Hercolani. While Francis is imprisoned in Lombardy and then transferred to Madrid, the first attempts to form a Franco-Ottoman alliance with Suleiman the Magnificent against the Habsburg Empire are made.source
1526February 6 – Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, agrees to form a military alliance with France, after King François I sends a proposal by way of his envoy, Jean Frangipani.source
1528April 28 – Battle of Capo d'Orso: The French fleet, under mercenary captain Filippino Doria, crushes the Spanish squadron trying to run the blockade of Naples.source
1528September 12 – Italian Admiral Andrea Doria defeats his former allies, the French, and establishes the independence of Genoa.source
1529June 21 – War of the League of Cognac – Battle of Landriano: French forces in northern Italy are decisively defeated by Spain.source
1532August 13 – Union of Brittany and France: The Duchy of Brittany is absorbed into the Kingdom of France.source
1543February 11 – King Henry VIII of England allies with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, against France.source
1544April 11 – Battle of Ceresole: French forces under the Comte d'Enghien defeat forces of the Holy Roman Empire, under the Marques Del Vasto, near Turin.source
1544January 13 – At Västerås, the estates of Sweden swear loyalty to King Gustav Vasa and to his heirs, ending the traditional electoral monarchy in Sweden. Gustav subsequently signs an alliance with the Kingdom of France.source
1546June 7 – The Treaty of Ardres (also known as the Treaty of Camp) is signed, resulting in peace between the kingdoms of England and France and ending the Italian War of 1542–1546.source
1547August 13 – The Duchy of Brittany unites with the Kingdom of France.source
1548July 7 – A marriage treaty is signed between Scotland and France, whereby five-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, is betrothed to the future King Francis II of France.source
1549August 8– England and France declare war.source
1556The false Martin Guerre appears in the French village of Artigat.source
1556February 5 – Truce of Vaucelles: Fighting temporarily ends between France and Spain.source
1557June 7 – Mary I of England joins her husband Philip II of Spain, in his war against France.source
1558January 7 – French troops, led by François, Duke of Guise, take Calais, the last continental possession of the Kingdom of England, in the Siege of Calais.source
1558July 13 – Battle of Gravelines: Near the border between the Kingdom of France and the Spanish Netherlands, Spanish forces led by Lamoral, Count of Egmont, and assisted by the English Navy, inflict a major defeat on the French forces of Marshal Paul de Thermes.source
1560December 5 – Charles IX succeeds his brother Francis as King of France, after Francis dies of a severe ear infection at the age of 16. Francis's mother (Mary's mother-in-law), Catherine de' Medici, becomes regent of France.source
1560January 7 – In the Kingdom of Scotland, French troops commanded by Henri Cleutin and Captain Corbeyran de Cardaillac Sarlabous sail across the Firth of Forth from Leith, which they are occupying, and fight with the Lords of the Congregation at Pettycur Bay near Kinghorn.source
1561August 19 – Mary, Queen of Scots, is denied passage through England after returning from France. She arrives at Leith, Scotland later the same day.source
1561January 31 – The Ordinance of Orléans suspends the persecution of the Protestant Huguenots in Kingdom of France.source

17th century

1601January 17 – Treaty of Lyon: France gains Bresse, Bugey and Gex from Savoy, ceding Saluzzo in exchange.source
1603March 15 – French explorer Samuel de Champlain departs from the Channel port of Honfleur in the Calvados département in the Kingdom of France for his first voyage to the settlement of New France in what is now Canada.source
1604France begins settling Acadia, first successful French North American colony.source
1607The rule of Andorra passes jointly to the king of France, and the Bishop of Urgell.source
1614October 27 – The French Estates General begins its last session. The session, with 464 deputies representing the nobility, the lower and middle classes, and the clergy, closes on February 23, 1615. For the next 175 years, the Kingdom of France will be governed as an absolute monarchy until the calling of a new Estates General in 1789 at the start of the French Revolution.source
1615June 2 – The first Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France.source
1624June 10 – Treaty of Compiègne is signed between the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic.source
1631January 23 – Thirty Years' War: Sweden and France sign the Treaty of Bärwalde, a military alliance in which France provides funds for the Swedish army invading northern Germany.source
1636August 15 – The Spanish capture Corbie, France.source
1637January 5 – Pierre Corneille's tragicomedy Le Cid is first performed, in Paris, France.source
1638March 5 – Thirty Years' War: The Treaty of Hamburg is signed by France and Sweden, providing the latter with funds.source
1647March 14 – Thirty Years' War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden sign the Truce of Ulm.source
1659May 21 – The Kingdom of France, the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic sign the Concert of The Hague, agreeing a common stance on the Second Northern War.source
1669June 22 – Roux de Marsilly, accused of plotting the assassination of King Louis XIV, is publicly tortured in Paris, France.source
1672April 8 – France declares war on the Dutch Republic, invading the country on April 29.source
1678August 10 – The Treaties of Nijmegen end the Franco-Dutch War. The County of Burgundy is ceded to the Kingdom of France.source
1678September 17 – The Franco-Dutch War between the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic (and its allies) comes to an end after more than six years as the Treaties of Nijmegen bring about a ceasefire.source
1686January 17 – King Louis XIV of France reports the success of the Edict of Fontainebleau, issued on October 22 against the Protestant Huguenots, and reports that after less than three months, the vast majority of the Huguenot population had left the country.source
1691August 11 – Battle of La Prairie in Canada: An English and Iroquois force come north from Albany, New York to attack Montreal, but are repulsed with significant casualties by the French and their First Nations allies.source
1695August 13–15 – Nine Years' War: Brussels is bombarded by French troops.source
1695September 1 – Nine Years' War: France surrenders Namur, Spanish Netherlands to forces of the Grand Alliance, led by King William III of England, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, following the 2-month Siege of Namur.source
1699June 11 – England, France and the Dutch Republic agree on the terms of the Treaty of London (1700) (Second Partition Treaty) for Spain.source
1700March 24 – The Treaty of London is signed between France, England and the Dutch Republic.source

18th century

1707April 25 (April 14 Old Style) – War of the Spanish Succession – Battle of Almansa: The Bourbon army of Spain and France (with Irish mercenaries) under the French-born Englishman James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, soundly defeats the allied forces of Portugal, England, and the Dutch Republic led by the French-born Huguenot (in English service) Henri de Massue, Earl of Galway. Following this, Philip V of Spain promulgates the first Nueva Planta decrees, bringing the Kingdoms of Valencia and Aragon under the laws of the Crown of Castile.source
1715Coffee is first grown in the French colony of Saint-Domingue.source
1717The Charleville musket enters service in France.source
1717January 4 (December 24, 1716 Old Style) – The kingdoms of Great Britain, France and the Dutch Republic sign the Triple Alliance, in an attempt to maintain the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), Britain having signed a preliminary alliance with France on November 28 (November 17) 1716.source
1718December 17 – The Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Great Britain and Dutch Republic join the Kingdom of France in formally declaring war on Spain, launching the War of the Quadruple Alliance.source
1725September 16 – The Treaty of Hanover is signed between Great Britain, France and Prussia.source
1753October 31 – Virginia Lieutenant Governor Dinwiddie commissions 21-year-old militia Major George Washington to dissuade the French from occupying the Ohio Country.source
1755July 9 – French and Indian War – Braddock Expedition: British troops and colonial militiamen are ambushed and suffer a devastating defeat inflicted by French and Indian forces. During the battle, British General Edward Braddock is mortally wounded. Colonel George Washington survives.source
1756May 17 – The Seven Years' War formally begins, when Great Britain declares war on France.source
1759September 10 – Battle of Pondicherry: An inconclusive naval battle is fought off the coast of India, between the French Admiral d'Aché and the British under George Pocock. The French forces are badly damaged and sail home, never to return.source
1761The music for "Ah! vous dirai-je, maman" ("Ah, would I tell you Mom?") is first published in France by a Monsieur Bouin in his book Les Amusements d'une Heure et Demy; in 1806, English poet Jane Taylor publishes her poem, The Star, whose words fit the rhythm of the tune and become the children's song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.source
1764The French government withdraws wartime taxes.source
1768May 15 – After the Treaty of Versailles, the island of Corsica is ceded by Genoa to France.source
1769May 9 – France conquers Corsica, ending the Corsican War of Independence.source
1769October 23 – Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot demonstrates a steam-powered artillery tractor (see drawing) in France.source
1770December 7 – King Louis XV of France issues the "Edict of December", dismissing the rebellious magistrates of the Parlements of Paris and the other 13 provinces.source
1784Benjamin Franklin tries in vain to persuade the French to alter their clocks in winter to take advantage of the daylight.source
1787November 21 – Treaty of Versailles (1787) signed, forming an alliance between the Kingdom of France and the Lord Nguyễn Phúc Ánh, future Emperor of Vietnam.source