Valois << vah LWAH >> was the family name of a line of kings who ruled France from 1328 to 1589. The Valois line was a branch of the Capetian family, which had begun to rule France in 987. The Valois kings were followed by rulers from the Bourbon family, another branch of the Capetians. The Valois line presided over such events as the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) between France and England and most of the Renaissance and Reformation in France.
In 1328, the last king from the main branch of the Capetian family, Charles IV, died without a son. His closest male heir was his nephew Edward III of England. To prevent the succession of an English king, the French gave the crown to Charles’s cousin Philip of Valois, who became Philip VI. In putting Philip on the throne, the French applied a principle derived from an ancient law code called the Salic law. Under this principle, French rulers had to be male and could claim succession only through male ancestors. Edward III could claim succession only through his mother.
The last Valois king, Henry III, died in 1589 without an immediate male heir. As a result, the French used the Salic law to identify Henry IV, France’s first Bourbon king, as the country’s next monarch.
