After Childéric III was dethroned by Pépin le Bref (translated as Pepin the Short) in AD 751, the Mérovingien dynasty ended, and the Carolingian dynasty took the crown of France. Pépin le Bref had no real claim to the throne, so he needed the support of the Catholic Church, which he won with Pope Zacharie. Childéric died in the Saint-Denis Abbey in 768.
715 – 768 Pépin I the Short. Son of Charles Martel
751-771 Carloman I, younger son of Pépin.
742 – 814 Charles I, King of the Franks then King of the Lombard by right of conquest and sacred Emperor of Occident by the Pope Leon III. He is best known as Charlemagne and Emperor. He considerably increased the size of his lands with the domination of the Saxons, the Lombards, and conquest against the Muslims in Spain. He was the oldest son of Pépin. Charlemagne had 11 recognised children and 5 illegitimate children
778 – 840 Louis I the Pious, son of Charlemagne from whom he inherited his titles, he reigned for more than 26 years.
823 – 877 Charles II the Bald, son of Louis I.
846 – 879 Louis II the Stammerer, son of Charles II.
864 – 882 Louis III and Carloman II ( 866-884 ), sons of Louis II, were both crowned Kings at the same time. When Louis III died without any children, Carloman II became the only king before he also died without any children.
839 – 888 Charles the Fat, called to the regency when the last son of Louis II was too young. Fat and mad, he was apparently struck and injured by a servant; he died without any children.
852 (???) – 898 Eudes, when Charles the Fat died without an heir, Eudes was elected King. He was not a Carolingian but a Robertien ( a powerful family of France ). He declared Charles III, son of Louis II the Stammerer, his heir.
879 – 929 Charles III the Simple, son of Louis II the Stammerer, he inherited the throne from the Robertien Eudes whose brother Robert dethroned him in 922. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Soissons against Robert in 923. Charles III was a Carolingian.
866 – 923 Robert I, brother of the Robertien Eudes, he took the throne from Charles III and died in 923 at the battle of Soissons. He was of the Robertiens dynasty.
890 – 936 Raoul, was a member of the Bosonide family. After the death of Robert I in battle, the nobles refused to give back the crown to Charles III and gave it to Raoul, Duke of Burgundy. He left no children. He was of the Bivinides dynasty.
921 – 954 Louis IV d’Outremer , son of Charles III, succeeded to the throne at the death of Raoul. Louis was called d’Outremer ( meaning from overseas ) since him and his mother took refuge in England when Raoul was crowned. He died of a wound due to a horse fall. He reinstated the Carolingians.
941 – 986 Lothaire, son of Louis IV.
967 – 987 Louis V the Lazy, son of Lothaire, ruled only for a year before he died of a hunting accident and was childless.
After the death of Louis V the Lazy in 987, there was no Carolingian susceptible to access the throne. The grandson of Robert I was elected to be the true heir. It is the end of Carolingian dynasty and the beginning of the Capetian.
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