Valois

The House of Valois was a Capetian branch, descended from Charles, Count of Valois, son of Philip III. When the direct line died with Charles IV in 1328, Charles of Valois's son became Philip VI under a rule excluding women and heirs through women, barring Edward III.

Edward's claim opened the Hundred Years' War in 1337. The Valois suffered defeats at Crécy in 1346 and Poitiers in 1356, where John II was captured. The Treaty of Troyes in 1420 nearly disinherited the dynasty, but Charles VII, inspired by Joan of Arc, expelled the English by 1453.

Louis XI defeated Charles the Bold of the Burgundian branch in 1477; Charles VIII and his successors launched the Italian Wars from 1494. Francis I and Henry II ruled in an age of Habsburg rivalry, followed by the French Wars of Religion. Henry III's assassination in 1589 ended the line, passing the throne to Bourbon Henry IV.