The transformation of feudal France into the most powerful modern kingdom on the European continent is an excellent case in point. When the Carolingian king Louis V died in 987, there were no eligible family members available to succeed him. Recognizing that a king was necessary to legitimize the feudal structure as it then existed in France, the feudal nobility assembled to elect a king from their own ranks. The nobles turned to Hugh Capet (987–996), a knight who governed the Ile de France, a narrow strip of land about eighty miles in length extending from Paris south to Orleans. Hugh was a wise selection: While his landholdings were large enough to warrant granting their holder the title of king, Hugh himself was not strong enough to pose a threat to the noblemen.

But time and history would prove the choice a blunder on...