born 0441; 938
died Oct. 14, 996, Paris, Fr.
King of France (987996), the founder of the Capetian dynasty.
The son of a Frankish duke, he inherited vast estates in the regions of Paris and Orléans, which made him one of the most powerful vassals in France and a serious threat to the Carolingian king, Lothar. By 985 Hugh was the ruler of France in all but name, and two years later he was elected king. He immediately crowned his own son to ensure the line of succession, a practice continued until the time of Louis VII . He mediated disputes among French nobles and survived a conspiracy to betray him to Otto III .