1.
French denier
–
The denier or penny was a medieval coin which takes its name from the Frankish coin first issued in the late seventh century, in English it is sometimes referred to as a silver penny. Its appearance represents the end of coinage, which, at the start of Frankish rule, had either been Byzantine or pseudo-imperial. Silver would be the basis for Frankish coinage from then on, around AD755, amid the Carolingian Reforms, Pepin the Short introduced a new currency system which was eventually adjusted so that 12 pence equaled one shilling and 20 shillings equaled one pound. Later, three deniers equaled one liard, only the denier was an actual coin, the rest were money of account. This system and the denier itself served as the model for many of Europes currencies, including the British pound, Italian lira, Spanish dinero, in Ancien Régime France, the denier was used as a notional measure of interest rates on loans. Thus, a rate of 4% would be expressed as denier 25, a rate of 5% as denier 20, and so forth
French denier
–
Denier of
Charlemagne. AD 768-814. 21mm, 1.19 g, Toulouse mint.
French denier
–
Denier of
Pepin I of Aquitaine 817-838.
French denier
–
Denier of the
Republic of Genoa (1139-1339).
2.
Chinon
–
Chinon is a commune located in the Indre-et-Loire department in the Region Centre, France. The regional area is called the Touraine, which is known as the garden of France and it is well known for its wine, castle, and historic town. Chinon played an important and strategic role during the Middle Ages, Chinon is in the Loire valley, registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. The historic town of Chinon is on the banks of the Vienne river about 10 kilometres from where it joins the Loire, settlement in Chinon dates from prehistoric times, with a pronounced importance for both French and English history in the Middle Ages. The site was fortified early on, and by the 5th century a Gallo-Roman castrum had been established there, towards the mid 5th century, a disciple of St Martin, St Mexme, established first a hermitage, and then a monastery to the east of the town. This religious foundation bearing his name flourished in the period, being rebuilt. The eventual complex contained a large and highly decorated church and a square of canons residences, closure and partial demolition during and after the Revolution of 1789 have damaged this once very important church. The imposing second façade still stands, with its nave dating from the year 1000 A. D and its important remains have been restored as historical monument and a cultural centre. During the Middle Ages, Chinon further developed, especially under Henry II, the castle was rebuilt and extended, becoming his administrative center and a favourite residence. It was where court was held during the Angevin Empire. On Henrys death at the castle in 1189, Chinon first passed to his eldest surviving son from his marriage with Eleanor of Aquitaine, on Richards death in 1199, it then passed to the youngest of their children, John Lackland. King John would lose the castle in a siege in 1205 to the French king Philip II Augustus, the castle in Chinon served as a prison for a time when Philip IV the Fair ordered the Knights Templar arrested in 1307. Jacques de Molay, Grand Master, and a few other dignitaries of the Order of the Temple were incarcerated there prior to trial and eventual execution, the province remained faithful to him and he made lengthy stays with his court there. In 1429, the 17 year old Joan of Arc came to Chinon to meet, the meetings in Chinon with the future Charles VII of France and his acceptance of her was the turning point of the war, helping to establish both firmer national boundaries and sentiment. The region is the scene of these fantastic, critical and observant adventures, from the sixteenth century, Chinon was no longer a royal residence, and in 1631 it became part of the estates of the Duke of Richelieu, who neglected the fortress. Apart from townhouses and convents that were built, the city changed little up to the Revolution, in the 1820s, however, the fortifications were pulled down and the banks of the Vienne River were opened up to the outside. In the late 19th and 20th centuries, Chinon grew to the east, towards the railway station, the historic centre was registered as a conservation area in 1968, and since that time has been undergoing restoration in order to preserve its historic, natural and architectural identity. Chinon is located in the heart of the Val de Loire,47 km southwest of Tours and 305 km south west of Paris
Chinon
–
The Château de Chinon, and the
Vienne river
Chinon
–
Grand carroi
Chinon
–
Collégiale Saint-Mexme
Chinon
–
Collégiale Saint-Mexme, jugement dernier du 15e siècle
3.
West Francia
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West Francia extended further south than modern France, but it did not extend as far east. In Brittany and Catalonia the authority of the West Frankish king was barely felt, West Frankish kings were elected by the secular and ecclesiastic magnates, and for the half-century between 888 and 936 they chose alternatingly from the Carolingian and Robertian houses. By this time the power of king became weaker and more nominal, the Robertians, after becoming counts of Paris and dukes of France became kings themselves and established the Capetian dynasty. In August 843, after three years of war following the death of Louis the Pious on June 20,840. The youngest, Charles the Bald, received the western Francia, the contemporary West Frankish Annales Bertiniani describes Charles arriving at Verdun, where the distribution of portions took place. After describing the portions of his brothers, Lothair the Emperor and Louis the German, the Annales Fuldenses of East Francia describe Charles as holding the western part after the kingdom was divided in three. Charles the Bald was at war with Pippin II from the start of his reign in 840, accordingly, in June 845, after several military defeats, Charles signed the Treaty of Benoît-sur-Loire and recognised his nephews rule. This agreement lasted until March 25,848, when the Aquitainian barons recognised Charles as their king, thereafter Charless armies had the upper hand and by 849 had secured most of Aquitaine. In May, Charles had himself crowned King of the Franks, the coronation was officiated by Archbishop Wenilo of Sens, and included the first instance of royal unction in West Francia. The idea of anointing Charles may be owed to Archbishop Hincmar of Reims, by the time of the Synod of Quierzy, Hincmar was claiming that Charles was anointed to the entire West Frankish kingdom. With the Treaty of Mersen in 870 the western part of Lotharingia was added to West Francia, in 875 Charles the Bald was crowned Emperor of Rome. The last record in the Annales Bertiniani dates to 882, the next set of original annals from the West Frankish kingdom are those of Flodoard, who began his account with the year 919. After the death of Charless grandson, Carloman II, on December 12,884 and he was probably crowned King in Gaul on 20 May 885 at Grand. His reign was the time after the death of Louis the Pious that all of Francia would be re-united under one ruler. In his capacity as king of West Francia, he seems to have granted the title and perhaps regalia to the semi-independent ruler of Brittany. His handling of the Viking siege of Paris in 885–86 greatly reduced his prestige, in November 887 his nephew, Arnulf of Carinthia revolted and assumed the title as King of the East Franks. Charles retired and soon died on January 13,888, in Aquitaine, Duke Ranulf II may have had himself recognised as king, but he only lived another two years. Although Aquitaine did not become a kingdom, it was largely outside the control of the West Frankish kings
West Francia
–
Map of the division of Francia enacted at Verdun in 843. From
Ridpath's Universal History (1895)
4.
Coronation of the French monarch
–
The accession of the King of France was legitimized by coronation ceremony performed with the Crown of Charlemagne at Notre-Dame de Reims. The most important part of the French coronation ceremony was not the coronation itself, the Carolingian king Pepin the Short was the first anointed monarch in Europe, which occurred in Soissons to legitimize the accession of the new dynasty. A second coronation of Pepin by Pope Stephen II took place at the Basilica of St Denis in 754, the first coronation performed by a Pope. Since this Roman glass vial containing the balm due to be mixed with chrism, was brought by the dove of the Holy Spirit. All succeeding Kings of France were anointed with this same oil—mixed with chrism prior to their coronation, French queens were crowned either together with their husband at Rheims or alone at Sainte-Chapelle or Abbey of St. Denis. The king is crowned by the Archbishop of Reims who is assisted by four bishops of his ecclesiastical province. The established order of six bishops is, The Archbishop of Reims anoints, the Bishop of Laon carries the holy ampulla. The Bishop of Langres carries the scepter, the Bishop of Beauvais carries and shows the coat of arms or royal mantle. The Bishop of Chalons carries the royal ring, the Bishop of Noyon carries the belt. To these are added the Abbot of the Abbey of Saint-Remi, guardian of the ampulla. Peers are cited for the first time in 1203 and 1226, however, their first recorded participation in the coronation is made on the occasion of the coronation of Philip V of France on 9 January 1317. These are the six aforementioned ecclesiastical peers and the six lay peers, in order of protocol, the six lay peers are, The Duke of Burgundy carries the royal crown, girds the kings sword, and gives him the order of chivalry. The Duke of Normandy carries the first square banner, the Duke of Aquitaine carries the second square banner. The Count of Toulouse carries the spurs, the Count of Flanders carries the royal sword. The Count of Champagne carries the banner of war, the spiritual peerages were perpetual, and were never extinguished during the existence of the Kingdom of France. But as early as 1204, the roster of the lay peerages had been incomplete, Normandy had been absorbed into the French crown, Toulouse in 1271, Champagne in 1284. Aquitaine was several times forfeited and restored, Burgundy became extinct in 1361 and again in 1477, hence, more often than not, princes of the royal blood and high-ranking members of the nobility acted as representatives of the ancient lay peerages. Spiritual peers were also represented if their see is vacant or they are unable to attend
Coronation of the French monarch
–
Coronation of
Louis VIII of France and
Blanche of Castile at
Reims in 1223; a
miniature from the
Grandes Chroniques de France, circa 1450.
Coronation of the French monarch
–
Coronation of
Philip, son of King
Louis VII of France, as junior king
Coronation of the French monarch
–
Coronation of Emperor
Napoleon I of France at
Notre-Dame de Paris. Napoleon crowned himself as "Emperor of the French" during this ceremony, then crowned his consort
Josephine as Empress.
5.
Laon
–
Laon is the capital city of the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France, northern France. As of 2012 its population was of 25,317, the holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. In the time of Julius Caesar there was a Gallic village named Bibrax where the Remis had to meet the onset of the confederated Belgae. Whatever may have been the locality of that battlefield, Laon was fortified by the Romans. At that time it was known as Alaudanum or Lugdunum Clavatum, archbishop Remigius of Reims, who baptised Clovis, was born in the Laonnais, and it was he who, at the end of the fifth century, instituted the bishopric of Laon. Thenceforward Laon was one of the towns of the kingdom of the Franks. Charles the Bald had enriched its church with the gift of very numerous domains, in about 847 the Irish philosopher John Scotus Eriugena appeared at the court of Charles the Bald, and was appointed head of the palace school. Eriugena spent the rest of his days in France, probably at Paris, early in the twelfth century the communes of France set about emancipating themselves, and the history of the commune of Laon is one of the richest and most varied. Anselm of Laons school for theology and exegesis rapidly became the most famous in Europe, the consequence was a revolt, in which the episcopal palace was burnt and the bishop and several of his partisans were put to death on 25 April 1112. The fire spread to the cathedral, and reduced it to ashes, uneasy at the result of their victory, the rioters went into hiding outside the town, which was anew pillaged by the people of the neighbourhood, eager to avenge the death of their bishop. The king alternately intervened in favour of the bishop and of the inhabitants till 1239, after that date the liberties of Laon were no more contested till 1331, when the commune was abolished. During the Hundred Years War it was attacked and taken by the Burgundians, under the League, Laon took the part of the Leaguers, and was taken by Henry IV. At the Revolution Laon permanently lost its rank as a bishopric, during the campaign of 1814, Napoleon tried in vain to dislodge Blücher and Bülow from it in the Battle of Laon. In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, an engineer blew up the magazine of the citadel at the moment when the German troops were entering the town. Many lives were lost, and the cathedral and the old palace were damaged. It surrendered to a German force on 9 September 1870, in the fall of 1914, during World War I, German forces captured the town and held it until the Allied offensive in the summer of 1918. It is 55 km from Reims,131 km from Amiens, the city contains numerous medieval buildings, including the cathedral Notre-Dame of Laon, dating mostly from the 12th and 13th centuries. The chapter-house and the cloister contain specimens of early 13th century architecture, the old episcopal palace, contiguous to the cathedral, is now used as a court-house
Laon
–
Laon and its cathedral from SW
Laon
–
Cathedral of
Notre-Dame of Laon
Laon
–
Rue Châtelaine
Laon
–
The funicular, view from the upper town.
6.
Rudolph of France
–
Rudolph or Rudolf was the elected King of France from 923 until his death in 936. Prior to his election as king, he was Duke of Burgundy and he was the son of Richard, Duke of Burgundy and Adelaide of Auxerre inheriting the Duchy of Burgundy from his father. He married Emma of France, daughter of king Robert I of France and he is frequently confused with his uncle Rudolph I of Burgundy. Rudolph was elected king of West Francia in 923 by an assembly of Frankish nobles and he was crowned by Walter, Archbishop of Sens at St. Médard in Soissons on Sunday,13 July 923. On assuming the crown he passed the Duchy of Burgundy to his younger brother Hugh the Black, in contemporary Latin documents, his name is usually Rodulfus, from the Germanic roots hruod, glory, and wulf, wolf. Rodulf and Rudolf are variants of this name, the French form is Rodolphe, by contrast, the king is normally known as Raoul in modern French, a name which derives from Radulfus, from Germanic rad, counsel, and wulf. Although this name is of different origin, it was used interchangeably by contemporaries with Rodulfus. The king himself, however, always, used Rodulfus, as on his personal seal, nonetheless, he is sometimes called Ralph or Radulf in English. The deposed Charles the Simple was still alive and claimed the throne and this was solved when Rudolphs brother-in-law, Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, who was married to Emmas sister, tricked Charles, a fellow Carolingian, into meeting and then took him prisoner. Rudolphs first act was to lead an army against the king of East Francia Henry the Fowler, after trying to annex Lotharingia Henry met Rudolph with a considerably-sized army and made peace again. However, in 925 Henry attacked Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine and took over Lotharingia permanently, in 924 Vikings made a fresh series of raids into West Francia. From the Loire Valley they threatened Hugh the Great, brother of Queen Emma, soon they attacked Burgundy, domain of Rudolphs brother and were repulsed, moving on to Melun, where they threatened the royal lands. Joined only by his vassals and Herbert, he recruited troops in Burgundy. After Vikings left, the Normans, whom Charles the Simple had settled in Duchy of Normandy in 911, also in that year, Rudolph conversed with Louis the Blind, king of Provence, over the Magyars, the newest barbarian migrants to Europe, then menacing Louis. In 930 Magyars invaded the region around Rheims, but left before the king could engage them, in 935 Magyars invaded Burgundy and Rudolph brought a large army against them, causing their retreat without a battle. West Francia was temporarily safe from both Vikings and Magyars at Rudolphss death, the complaints from Rudolph led Herbert II to bring Charles before William Longsword, Count of Rouen, for homage and then to Rheims to press Charles claim on Pope John X. In 928 Herbert II finally got possession of Laon, but the next year Charles died at Péronne, in 929 Rudolph attempted to reduce the power of Ebalus, Duke of Aquitaine. He withdrew from him access to Berry, and in 932 granted the title of prince of Gothia to the count of Toulouse, Raymond Pons and he also transferred the title Count of Auvergne to Raymond
Rudolph of France
–
Denier of Rudolph
Rudolph of France
–
Pepin (751–768)
Charlemagne (768–814)
Carloman I (768–771)
Louis the Pious (814–840)
Charles the Bald (840–877)
Louis the Stammerer (877–879)
Louis III (879–882)
Carloman II (879–884)
Charles the Fat (884–888)
Charles the Simple (898–922)
Louis IV (936–954)
Lothaire (954–986)
Louis V (986–987)
7.
Lothair of France
–
Lothair, sometimes called Lothair III or Lothair IV, was the Carolingian king of West Francia from 10 September 954 until his death in 986. Lothair was born in Laon near the end of 941, as the eldest son of king Louis IV and Gerberga of Saxony. He succeeded his father on 10 September 954 at the age of thirteen and was crowned at the Abbey of Saint-Remi by Artald of Reims, Archbishop of Reims on 12 November 954. Queen Gerberga made an arrangement with her brother-in-law Hugh the Great, Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris, in exchange for supporting Lothairs rule Hugh was given rule over Duchy of Aquitaine and much of Kingdom of Burgundy as more or less a regent. Lothair inherited a kingdom, where the great magnates took lands, rights. Magnates like Hugh the Great and Herbert II, Count of Vermandois were always a veiled threat, in 955 Lothair and Hugh the Great together took Poitiers by siege. With Hugh the Greats death in 956 Lothair, only fifteen, came under the guardianship of his maternal uncle Bruno, archbishop of Cologne, with Brunos advice, Lothair mediated between Hughs sons - Hugh Capet and Otto, Duke of Burgundy. The King gave Paris and the title of dux francorum to Hugh Capet, the guardianship of Archbishop Bruno of Cologne lasted until 965 and oriented Lothair towards policy of submission towards the East Francia, which was evolving into German Holy Roman Empire. Despite his youth, Lothair wanted to rule alone and reinforced his authority over his vassals and this desire of political independence led to a deterioration in relations between the King and his maternal relatives and a struggle with the new Holy Roman Empire. Despite this, Lothair wanted to maintain ties with Emperor Otto I by marrying Princess Emma of Italy in early 966, in 962 Baldwin III, Count of Flanders, son, co-ruler, and heir of Arnulf I, Count of Flanders died and Arnulf bequeathed Flanders to Lothair. On Arnulfs death in 965, Lothair invaded Flanders and took many cities and he temporarily remained in control of Arras and Douai. Lothair attempted to increase his influence in the Lotharingia, once held by his family, a great battle, which remained undecided, took place in Mons. Although Lothair secretly encouraged this war, he did not intervene directly to help his brother, Charles took advantage of the situation and established himself in Lotharingia. In 977, Charles accused Queen Emma of adultery with Bishop Adalberon of Laon, the Synod of Sainte-Macre, led by Archbishop Adalberon of Reims, took place in Fismes to discuss the matter. Due to a lack of evidence, both the Queen and Bishop were absolved, but Charles, who maintained the rumors, was expelled from the kingdom by Lothair. The House of Ardennes and the Lotharingian party, who were favorable to an agreement with Otto II, rewarding Charles, who had questioned the honor of the wife of the King of the Franks, was a way to offend the King himself. In August 978 Lothair mounted an expedition into Lorraine accompanied by Hugh Capet and upon their crossing the Meuse river took Aachen, Lothair then sacked the imperial Palace of Aachen for three days, and reversed the direction of the bronze eagle of Charlemagne to face east instead of west. In retaliation Otto II, accompanied by Charles, invaded West Francia in October 978 and ravaged Reims, Soissons and Laon
Lothair of France
–
Twelfth-century
bust of Lothair, from the Musée Saint Rémi at Reims
Lothair of France
–
Richard II of Normandy (right), with the Abbot of
Mont Saint-Michel (middle) and Lothair (left).
Lothair of France
–
Pepin (751–768)
Charlemagne (768–814)
Carloman I (768–771)
Louis the Pious (814–840)
Charles the Bald (840–877)
Louis the Stammerer (877–879)
Louis III (879–882)
Carloman II (879–884)
Charles the Fat (884–888)
Charles the Simple (898–922)
Louis IV (936–954) Lothaire (954–986)
Louis V (986–987)
8.
Reims
–
Reims, a city in the Grand Est region of France, lies 129 km east-northeast of Paris. The 2013 census recorded 182,592 inhabitants in the city of Reims proper and its river, the Vesle, is a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by the Gauls, it became a city during the period of the Roman Empire. Reims played a prominent ceremonial role in French monarchical history as the site of the crowning of the kings of France. The Cathedral of Reims housed the Holy Ampulla containing the Saint Chrême and it was used for the anointing, the most important part of the coronation of French kings. Reims functions as a subprefecture of the department of Marne, in the region of Grand Est. Although Reims is by far the largest commune in both its region and department, Châlons-en-Champagne is the capital and prefecture of both. Before the Roman conquest of northern Gaul, Reims, founded circa 80 BC as *Durocorteron, at its height in Roman times the city had a population in the range of 30,000 -50,000 or perhaps up to 100,000. Christianity had become established in the city by 260, at which period Saint Sixtus of Reims founded the bishopric of Reims, for centuries the events at the crowning of Clovis I became a symbol used by the monarchy to claim the divine right to rule. Meetings of Pope Stephen II with Pepin the Short, and of Pope Leo III with Charlemagne, took place at Reims, Louis IV gave the city and countship of Reims to the archbishop Artaldus in 940. Louis VII gave the title of duke and peer to William of Champagne, archbishop from 1176 to 1202, by the 10th century Reims had become a centre of intellectual culture. Archbishop Adalberon, seconded by the monk Gerbert, founded schools which taught the liberal arts. Louis XI cruelly suppressed a revolt at Reims, caused in 1461 by the salt tax, during the French Wars of Religion the city sided with the Catholic League, but submitted to Henri IV after the battle of Ivry. In August 1909 Reims hosted the first international meet, the Grande Semaine dAviation de la Champagne. Major aviation personages such as Glenn Curtiss, Louis Blériot and Louis Paulhan participated, hostilities in World War I greatly damaged the city. German bombardment and a subsequent fire in 1914 did severe damage to the cathedral, from the end of World War I to the present day an international effort to restore the cathedral from the ruins has continued. The Palace of Tau, St Jacques Church and the Abbey of St Remi also were protected and restored, the collection of preserved buildings and Roman ruins remains monumentally impressive. During World War II the city suffered additional damage, but in Reims, at 2,41 on the morning of 7 May 1945, General Eisenhower and the Allies received the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht
Reims
–
City hall (hôtel de ville)
Reims
–
A month after Blériot's crossing of the English Channel in a biplane, the aviation week in Reims (August 1909) caught special attention.
Reims
–
German surrender of 7 May 1945 in Reims. (Top) – German officers sign
unconditional surrender in Reims. (Bottom) – Allied force leaders at the signing.
Reims
–
Interior of St Jacques, 1907.
9.
Abbey of Saint-Remi
–
The Abbey of Saint-Remi is an abbey in Reims, France, founded in the sixth century. The present basilica was the church, it was consecrated by Pope Leo IX in 1049. The eleventh-century nave and transepts, in the Romanesque style, are the oldest, by the ninth century the abbey possessed about seven hundred domains and was perhaps the most richly endowed in France. It seems probable that secular priests were the first guardians of the relics, from 780 to 945 the archbishops of Reims served as its abbots. At the abbey Charlemagne received Pope Leo III, in 1005 the abbot Aviard undertook to rebuild the church of St-Remy, and for twenty years the work went on uninterruptedly before vaulting collapsed, no doubt from insufficient buttressing. Abbot Theodoric erected the magnificent surviving basilica which Pope Leo IX dedicated in 1049, the abbey library and its schools were of such high repute that Pope Alexander III wrote a commendatory letter to the Abbot Peter, which survives. The years of around 1170 to 1180 brought further rebuilding, this time to the choir, the purpose of replacing the short eastern section of the Romanesque church was to create a grander and more spacious interior for the shrine of St Remy. The shrine was detached from its previous location, next to the altar, the archbishops of Reims and several princes, Carloman, brother of Charlemagne, Henri dOrléans, and kings Louis IV of France and Lothair were buried in the monastery. The Abbey of Saint-Remi, together with the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims and Palace of Tau. Louis IV of France Gerberga of Saxony Lothair of France Wilson, the Gothic Cathedral, Thames & Hudson
Abbey of Saint-Remi
–
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Abbey of Saint-Remi
–
St. Remi, Interior.
Abbey of Saint-Remi
–
Nave
10.
Gerberga of Saxony
–
Gerberga of Saxony was Regent of France during the minority of her son in 954–959. She was a member of the Ottonian dynasty and a descendant of Charlemagne and her first husband was Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine. Her second husband was Louis IV of France, contemporary sources describe her as a highly educated, intelligent and forceful political player. She was the oldest daughter of Henry the Fowler, King of Germany and her older brother was Otto I of Germany. In 928, Gerberga married her first husband, Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine and they had four children, Alberade of Lorraine b. about 929. Married Renaud, a Viking chieftain who became the Count of Roucy Henry, giselbert was defeated by Otto I in 939 at the Battle of Andernach and, while trying to escape, drowned in the Rhine. When Gilbert died, Gerberga was about 26 years old and she married secondly Louis IV of France in 939. At this time, his son and heir with Gerberga, Lothair of France, was only thirteen, Gerberga took action to ensure that Lothar could succeed his father. She reached an agreement with her brother-in-law Hugh the Great, who had been an adversary to Lothairs father, after the death of Hugh the Great in 956, Gerberga and her sister Hadwig were the heads of the two most powerful dynasties in West Francia. Along with their brother, Bruno, who was archbishop of Cologne and duke of Lotharingia, Gerberga and Hadwig ruled the kingdom, until Lothair came of age. In 959, after Lothair had come of age, Gerberga became abbess of the Benedictine monastery of Notre Dame in Soissons, in 961 she was involved in choosing the new archbishop of Reims, Odalric. In 965 she was present at the court in Cologne, when her son Lothair married Emma of Italy. There is some debate about when Gerberga died and she is last documented in May 968. Since necrology records indicate that she died on 5 May, her date of death is given as 968 or 969. She is buried in the Abbey of Saint-Remi in Reims, Champagne, bouchard, Constance Brittain, Those of My Blood, Constructing Noble Families in Medieval Francia. Studien zur Familienpolitik und zur Genealogie des sächsischen Kaiserhauses, D. Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln Neue Folge Band I.1 A. 256–257, Gerberga von Sachsen
Gerberga of Saxony
–
Image of Gerberga taken from a miniature depicting the genealogy of the
Ottonian dynasty in the Chronica St. Pantaleonis, 2nd half of 12th century (Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel, Cod. Guelf. 74.3 Aug., pag. 226)
11.
Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine
–
Charles was the Duke of Lower Lorraine from 977 until his death. Born at Reims in the summer of 953, Charles was the son of Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony and he was a sixth generation descendant of Charlemagne. When his father was captured by the Normans and held, both his sons were demanded as ransom for his release, queen Gerberga would only send Charles, who was then handed over and his father was released into the custody of Hugh Capet. In or before 976, he accused Lothairs wife, Emma, daughter of Lothair II of Italy, of infidelity with Adalberon, Bishop of Laon. The council of Sainte-Macre at Fismes exonerated the queen and the bishop, Otto promised to crown Charles as soon as Lothair was out of the way and Charles paid him homage, receiving back Lower Lorraine. In August 978, Lothair invaded Germany and captured the capital of Aachen. In October, Otto and Charles in turn invaded France, devastating the land around Rheims, Soissons, in the latter city, the chief seat of the kings of France, Charles was crowned by Theodoric I, Bishop of Metz. Lothair fled to Paris and was there besieged, but a relief army of Hugh Capets forced Otto and Charles to lift the siege on 30 November. Lothair and Capet, the tables turned once more, chased the German king and his back to Aachen. Around 979, Charles transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel to the Saint Gaugericus chapel in Brussels and this is generally accepted as the time when the city was founded. Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island, as he had been a vassal also of Lothair, Charles acts on behalf of Otto were considered treason and he was thereafter excluded from the throne. On Lothairs death, the magnates elected his son Louis V and on the latters death, thus, the House of Capet came to the throne over the disgraced and ignored Charles. Charles unexceptional marriage and his lack of wealth are two of the reasons he was denied the throne, Charles made war on Hugh, even taking Rheims and Laon. However, on Maundy Thursday 991, he was captured, through the perfidy of the Bishop Adalberon, and was imprisoned by Hugh in Orléans and he was succeeded as Duke of Lower Lorraine by his son Otto. In 1666, the sepulchre of Charles was discovered in the Basilica of Saint Servatius in Maastricht and his body appears to have been interred there only in 1001, but that is not the date of his death, as some scholars assumed. Though Charles ruled Lower Lorraine, the Dukes of Lorraine counted him as Charles I of Lorraine, in 970 Charles married Adelaide of Troyes. Together he and Adelaide had, Otto, succeeded as Duke of Lower Lotharingia Gerberga of Lower Lorraine, the Cambridge Medieval History, Volume III
Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine
–
Charles and his brother
Lothair of France
Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine
–
Tomb of Charles in the
Basilica of Saint Servatius in
Maastricht
Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine
–
Lithograph printed in circa 1850 with the caption Founder of
Brussels, ca 976
Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine
–
Carloman, son
12.
Dynasty
–
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
Dynasty
–
Charles I of England and his son, the future
James II
13.
Carolingian
–
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name Carolingian derives from the Latinised name of Charles Martel, the Carolingian dynasty reached its peak in 800 with the crowning of Charlemagne as the first Emperor of Romans in over three centuries. His death in 814 began a period of fragmentation of the Carolingian empire and decline that would eventually lead to the evolution of the Kingdom of France. This picture, however, is not commonly accepted today, the greatest Carolingian monarch was Charlemagne, who was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III at Rome in 800. His empire, ostensibly a continuation of the Western Roman Empire, is referred to historiographically as the Carolingian Empire, the Carolingian rulers did not give up the traditional Frankish practice of dividing inheritances among heirs, though the concept of the indivisibility of the Empire was also accepted. The Carolingians had the practice of making their sons kings in the various regions of the Empire. The Carolingians were displaced in most of the regna of the Empire by 888 and they ruled in East Francia until 911 and held the throne of West Francia intermittently until 987. One chronicler of Sens dates the end of Carolingian rule with the coronation of Robert II of France as junior co-ruler with his father, Hugh Capet, the dynasty became extinct in the male line with the death of Eudes, Count of Vermandois. His sister Adelaide, the last Carolingian, died in 1122, the Carolingian dynasty has five distinct branches, The Lombard branch, or Vermandois branch, or Herbertians, descended from Pepin of Italy, son of Charlemagne. Though he did not outlive his father, his son Bernard was allowed to retain Italy, Bernard rebelled against his uncle Louis the Pious, and lost both his kingdom and his life. Deprived of the title, the members of this branch settled in France. The counts of Vermandois perpetuated the Carolingian line until the 12th century, the Counts of Chiny and the lords of Mellier, Neufchâteau and Falkenstein are branches of the Herbertians. With the descendants of the counts of Chiny, there would have been Herbertian Carolingians to the early 14th century, the Lotharingian branch, descended from Emperor Lothair, eldest son of Louis the Pious. At his death Middle Francia was divided equally between his three surviving sons, into Italy, Lotharingia and Lower Burgundy, the sons of Emperor Lothair did not have sons of their own, so Middle Francia was divided between the western and eastern branches of the family in 875. The Aquitainian branch, descended from Pepin of Aquitaine, son of Louis the Pious, since he did not outlive his father, his sons were deprived of Aquitaine in favor of his younger brother Charles the Bald. The German branch, descended from Louis the German, King of East Francia, since he had three sons, his lands were divided into Duchy of Bavaria, Duchy of Saxony and Duchy of Swabia. His youngest son Charles the Fat briefly reunited both East and West Francia — the entirety of the Carolingian empire — but it again after his death. With the failure of the lines of the German branch, Arnulf of Carinthia
Carolingian
–
A Carolingian family tree, from the Chronicon Universale of
Ekkehard of Aura, 12th century
Carolingian
–
Carolingian denier of
Lothair I, struck in
Dorestad (
Middle Francia) after 850.
Carolingian
–
Carloman, son
Carolingian
–
Pepin, son
14.
Charles the Simple
–
Charles III, called the Simple or the Straightforward, was the King of West Francia from 898 until 922 and the King of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–23. He was a member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the third and posthumous son of king Louis the Stammerer by his second wife Adelaide of Paris. As a child, Charles was prevented from succeeding to the throne at the time of the death in 884 of his half-brother, instead, Frankish nobles of the realm asked his cousin, Emperor Charles the Fat to assume the crown. The nobility then elected Odo, the hero of the Siege of Paris as the new king, in 893 Charles was crowned by a faction opposed to the rule of Odo at the Reims Cathedral, becoming monarch of West Francia only after the death of Odo in 898. In 911 a group of Vikings led by Rollo besieged Paris, after a victory near Chartres on 26 August, Charles decided to negotiate with Rollo, resulting in the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte which created the Duchy of Normandy. Rollo also agreed to be baptised and to marry Charles daughter Gisela, Charles had tried to win Lotharingian support for years, for instance, by marrying in April 907 a Lotharingian woman named Frederuna, and in 909 his niece Cunigunda married Wigeric of Lotharingia. Charles defended Lotharingia against two attacks by Conrad I, in 925 Lotharingia was once again seized by East Francia. Queen Frederuna died on 10 February 917 leaving six daughters and no sons, on 7 October 919 Charles married Eadgifu, the daughter of Edward the Elder, King of England, who bore him a son, the future King Louis IV of France. By this time Charles excessive favouritism towards a certain Hagano had turned the aristocracy against him and he endowed Hagano with monasteries that were already the benefices of other barons, alienating them. In Lotharingia he earned the enmity of the new duke Gilbert, opposition to Charles in Lotharingia was not universal, however, he retained support of Wigeric. The nobles, completely exasperated with Charles policies and especially his favoritism of count Hagano, after negotiations by Archbishop Herveus of Reims the king was released. In 922 the Frankish nobles revolted again led by Robert of Neustria, Robert, who was Odos brother, was elected king by the rebels and crowned, while Charles had to flee to Lotharingia. On 2 July 922, Charles lost his most faithful supporter, Herveus of Reims, Charles returned with a Norman army in 923 but was defeated on 15 June near Soissons by Robert, who died in the battle. Charles was captured and imprisoned in a castle at Péronne under the guard of Herbert II of Vermandois, Roberts son-in-law Rudolph of Burgundy was then elected to succeed him as king. Charles died in prison on 7 October 929 and was buried at the abbey of Saint-Fursy. His son by Eadgifu would eventually be crowned in 936 as Louis IV of France, in the initial aftermath of Charless defeat, Queen Eadgifu and children had fled to England. On 6 December 884 King Carloman II of West Francia died without a heir and his half-brother. Because of this, their cousin Charles the Fat, already Holy Roman Emperor, since the beginning, the new monarch was forced to deal with constant Viking raids, with little success
Charles the Simple
–
14th century depiction of the imprisonment of Charles III
Charles the Simple
–
Denier of Charles III
Charles the Simple
–
Carloman, son
Charles the Simple
–
Pepin, son
15.
Eadgifu of Wessex
–
Eadgifu or Edgifu, also known as Edgiva or Ogive was a daughter of Edward the Elder, King of Wessex and England, and his second wife Ælfflæd. Eadgifu was one of three West Saxon sisters married to Continental kings, the others were Eadgyth, who married Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor and Eadhild, who married Hugh the Great. Eadgifu became the wife of King Charles III of France. Eadgifu was mother to Louis IV of France, in 922 Charles III was deposed and the next year taken prisoner by Count Herbert II of Vermandois, an ally of the then current king. To protect her sons safety Eadgifu took him to England in 923 to the court of her half-brother, because of this, Louis IV of France became known as Louis dOutremer of France. He stayed there until 936, when he was called back to France to be crowned King and she retired to a convent in Laon. In 951, Heribert the Old, Count of Omois, abducted and married her, a History of England Under the Anglo-Saxon Kings. Schwennicke, Detlev Europäische Stammtafeln, Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band III Teilband 1, Tafel 49 Williams, Ann, Smyth, Alfred P. Kirby, a Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain, England, Scotland, and Wales. Eadgifu 3 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
Eadgifu of Wessex
–
Eadgifu of Wessex, with her son
Louis IV
16.
Edward the Elder
–
Edward the Elder was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father and he captured the eastern Midlands and East Anglia from the Danes in 917 and became ruler of Mercia in 918 upon the death of Æthelflæd, his sister. All but two of his charters give his title as Anglorum Saxonum rex, a title first used by his father, Alfred. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle the Kings of Scotland and Strathclyde and the rulers of Northumbria chose as father and lord in 920, Edwards cognomen the Elder was first used in Wulfstans Life of St Æthelwold to distinguish him from the later King Edward the Martyr. Mercia was the dominant kingdom in southern England in the eighth century, thereafter the two kingdoms became allies, which was to be an important factor in English resistance to the Vikings. In 865 the Danish Viking Great Heathen Army landed in East Anglia, the East Anglians were forced to buy peace and the following year the Vikings invaded Northumbria, where they appointed a puppet king in 867. They then moved on Mercia, where spent the winter of 867–868. The following year, the Danes conquered East Anglia, and in 874 they expelled King Burgred, in 877 the Vikings partitioned Mercia, taking the eastern regions for themselves and allowing Ceolwulf to keep the western ones. The situation was transformed the following year when Alfred won a victory over the Danes at the Battle of Edington. He was thus able to prevent the Vikings from taking Wessex and western Mercia, although they still occupied Northumbria, East Anglia, Alfred the Great married his Mercian queen Ealhswith in 868. Her father was Æthelred Mucel, Ealdorman of the Gaini, and her mother, Alfred and Ealhswith had five children who survived childhood. Their first child was Æthelflæd, who married Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, Edward was next, and the second daughter, Æthelgifu, became abbess of Shaftesbury. The third daughter, Ælfthryth, married Baldwin, Count of Flanders, and this would usually suggest that he was intended for the church, but it is unlikely in Æthelweards case as he had sons. There were also a number of children who died young. Æthelflæd was probably born about a year after her parents marriage, yorke argues that he was therefore probably nearer in age to Ælfthryth than Æthelflæd. However, he led troops in battle in 893, and he must have been of age in that year as his oldest son Æthelstan was born about 894. They were taught the courtly qualities of gentleness and humility, and Asser wrote that they were obedient to their father and this is the only known case of an Anglo-Saxon prince and princess receiving the same upbringing. As a son of a king, Edward was an ætheling, however, even though he had the advantage of being the eldest son of the reigning king, his accession was not assured, as he had cousins who had a strong claim to the throne
Edward the Elder
–
Portrait miniature from a 13th century genealogical scroll depicting Edward
Edward the Elder
–
Silver brooch imitating a coin of Edward the Elder, c. 920, found in Rome, Italy.
British Museum.
Edward the Elder
–
Coin of Edward the Elder
17.
Kingdom of Wessex
–
Wessex was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from 519 until England was unified by Æthelstan in the early 10th century. The Anglo-Saxons believed that Wessex was founded by Cerdic and Cynric, the two main sources for the history of Wessex are the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List, which sometimes conflict. Wessex became a Christian kingdom after Cenwalh was baptised and was expanded under his rule, cædwalla later conquered Sussex, Kent and the Isle of Wight. His successor, Ine, issued one of the oldest surviving English law codes, the throne subsequently passed to a series of kings with unknown genealogies. During the 8th century, as the hegemony of Mercia grew and it was during this period that the system of shires was established. Under Egbert, Surrey, Sussex, Kent, Essex, and Mercia and he also obtained the overlordship of the Northumbrian king. However, Mercian independence was restored in 830, during the reign of his successor, Æthelwulf, a Danish army arrived in the Thames estuary, but was decisively defeated. When Æthelwulfs son, Æthelbald, usurped the throne, the kingdom was divided to avoid war, Æthelwulf was succeeded in turn by his four sons, the youngest being Alfred the Great. Wessex was invaded by the Danes in 871, and Alfred was compelled to pay them to leave and they returned in 876, but were forced to withdraw. In 878 they forced Alfred to flee to the Somerset Levels, during his reign Alfred issued a new law code, gathered scholars to his court and was able to devote funds to building ships, organising an army and establishing a system of burhs. Alfreds son, Edward, captured the eastern Midlands and East Anglia from the Danes and became ruler of Mercia in 918 upon the death of his sister, Edwards son, Æthelstan, conquered Northumbria in 927, and England became a unified kingdom for the first time. Cnut the Great, who conquered England in 1016, created the wealthy and powerful earldom of Wessex, modern archaeologists use the term Wessex culture for a Middle Bronze Age culture in this area. Although agriculture and hunting were pursued during this period, there is little archaeological evidence of human settlements. During the Roman occupation numerous country villas with attached farms were established across Wessex, the Romans, or rather the Romano-British, built another major road that integrated Wessex, running eastwards from Exeter through Dorchester to Winchester and Silchester and on to London. The early 4th century CE was a time in Roman Britain. However, following a previous incursion in 360 that was stopped by Roman forces and they devastated many parts of Britain and laid siege to London. The Romans responded promptly, and Count Theodosius had recovered the land up to the Wall by 368, the Romans temporarily ceased to rule Britain on the death of Magnus Maximus in 388. Stilicho attempted to restore Roman authority in the late 390s, two subsequent Roman rulers of Britain, appointed by the remaining troops, were murdered
Kingdom of Wessex
–
Imaginary depiction of Cerdic from
John Speed 's 1611 "Saxon Heptarchy"
Kingdom of Wessex
–
Wyvern
Kingdom of Wessex
–
Penny of King Edward
18.
Anglo-Saxons
–
The Anglo-Saxons are a people who have inhabited Great Britain from the 5th century. Historically, the Anglo-Saxon period denotes the period in Britain between about 450 and 1066, after their settlement and up until the Norman conquest. The early Anglo-Saxon period includes the creation of an English nation, with many of the aspects that survive today, including government of shires. During this period, Christianity was re-established and there was a flowering of literature, charters and law were also established. The term Anglo-Saxon is popularly used for the language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons in England, in scholarly use, it is more commonly called Old English. The history of the Anglo-Saxons is the history of a cultural identity and it developed from divergent groups in association with the peoples adoption of Christianity, and was integral to the establishment of various kingdoms. Threatened by extended Danish invasions and occupation of eastern England, this identity was re-established, the visible Anglo-Saxon culture can be seen in the material culture of buildings, dress styles, illuminated texts and grave goods. Behind the symbolic nature of these emblems, there are strong elements of tribal. The elite declared themselves as kings who developed burhs, and identified their roles and peoples in Biblical terms, above all, as Helena Hamerow has observed, local and extended kin groups remained. the essential unit of production throughout the Anglo-Saxon period. Use of the term Anglo-Saxon assumes that the words Angles, Saxons or Anglo-Saxon have the meaning in all the sources. Assigning ethnic labels such as Anglo-Saxon is fraught with difficulties and this term began to be used only in the 8th century to distinguish the Germanic groups in Britain from those on the continent. The Old English ethnonym Angul-Seaxan comes from the Latin Angli-Saxones and became the name of the peoples Bede calls Anglorum, Anglo-Saxon is a term that was rarely used by Anglo-Saxons themselves, it is not an autonym. It is likely they identified as ængli, Seaxe or, more probably, also, the use of Anglo-Saxon disguises the extent to which people identified as Anglo-Scandinavian after the Viking age or the conquest of 1016, or as Anglo-Norman after the Norman conquest. The earliest historical references using this term are from outside Britain, referring to piratical Germanic raiders, Saxones who attacked the shores of Britain, procopius states that Britain was settled by three races, the Angiloi, Frisones, and Britons. The term Angli Saxones seems to have first been used in writing of the 8th century. The name therefore seemed to mean English Saxons, the Christian church seems to have used the word Angli, for example in the story of Pope Gregory I and his remark, Non Angli sed angeli. The terms ænglisc and Angelcynn were also used by West Saxon King Alfred to refer to the people, at other times he uses the term rex Anglorum, which presumably meant both Anglo-Saxons and Danes. Alfred the Great used Anglosaxonum Rex, the term Engla cyningc is used by Æthelred
Anglo-Saxons
–
Page with
Chi Rho monogram from the Gospel of Matthew in the
Lindisfarne Gospels c. 700, possibly created by
Eadfrith of Lindisfarne in memory of
Cuthbert
Anglo-Saxons
–
The migrations according to Bede who wrote some 300 years after the event, however there is evidence that the original settlers came from many of these continental locations
Anglo-Saxons
–
Æthelstan presenting a
gospel book to (the long-dead) St
Cuthbert (934); Corpus Christi College Cambridge MS 183, fol. 1v
Anglo-Saxons
–
The
Oseberg ship prow,
Viking Ship Museum, Oslo, Norway.
19.
Edmund the Martyr
–
Edmund the Martyr was king of East Anglia from about 855 until his death. Almost nothing is known about Edmund and he is thought to have been of East Anglian origin and was first mentioned in an annal of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, written some years after his death. The kingdom of East Anglia was devastated by the Vikings, who destroyed any evidence of his reign. Later writers produced fictitious accounts of his life, asserting that he was born in 841, the son of Æthelweard, an obscure East Anglian king, whom it was said Edmund succeeded when he was fourteen. Later versions of Edmunds life relate that he was crowned on 25 December 855 at Burna, which at that time functioned as the capital. In 869, the Great Heathen Army advanced on East Anglia and killed Edmund. According to one legend, his head was thrown into the forest. Commentators have noted how Edmunds death bears resemblance to the fate suffered by St Sebastian, St Denis, a coinage commemorating Edmund was minted from around the time East Anglia was absorbed by the kingdom of Wessex and a popular cult emerged. In about 986, Abbo of Fleury wrote of his life, the saints remains were temporarily moved from Bury St Edmunds to London for safekeeping in 1010. His shrine at Bury was visited by kings, including Canute, who was responsible for rebuilding the abbey. During the Middle Ages, when Edmund was regarded as the saint of England, Bury and its magnificent abbey grew wealthy. Edmund is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle annal for 870, by tradition, Edmund is thought to have been born in 841 and to have acceded to the East Anglian throne in around 855. Nothing is known of his life or reign, as no contemporary East Anglian documents from this period have survived, later medieval chroniclers have provided dubious accounts of his life, in the absence of any real details. The most credible theory for Edmund’s parentage suggests Ealhhere, brother-in-law to King Æthelstan of Kent, as Edmund’s father, Edmund cannot be placed within any ruling dynasty. Numismatic evidence suggests he succeeded Æthelweard and it is known that a variety of different coins were minted by Edmunds moneyers during his reign. The letters AN, standing for Anglia, only appear on the coins of Edmund and Æthelstan of East Anglia, later specimens read + EADMUND REX and so it is possible for his coins to be divided chronologically. Otherwise, no chronology for his coins has been confirmed and it relates that Her rad se here ofer Mierce innan East Engle and wiñt setl namon. And þy wint Eadmund cying him wiþ feaht. and þa Deniscan sige naman þone cyning ofslogon. by tradition the leaders who slew the king were Ivar the Boneless and his brother Ubba
Edmund the Martyr
–
A medieval illumination depicting the death of Edmund the Martyr on 20 November 869 by the Vikings.
Edmund the Martyr
–
A St Edmund memorial penny.
Edmund the Martyr
–
Edmund being crowned by angels, from a 13th-century manuscript.
Edmund the Martyr
–
A depiction of St Edmund's shrine. The shrine was destroyed in 1539.
20.
Kingdom of East Anglia
–
The kingdom formed in the 6th century in the wake of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. It was ruled by the Wuffingas in the 7th and 8th centuries, but fell to Mercia in 794 and it was conquered by Edward the Elder and incorporated into the Kingdom of England in 918. The Kingdom of East Anglia was organized in the first or second quarter of the 6th century with Wehha listed as the first king of the East Angles, until 749 the kings of East Anglia were Wuffingas, named after the semi-historical Wuffa. During the early century, under Rædwald of East Anglia. Rædwald, the first of the East Anglian kings to be baptised as a Christian, is considered by experts to be the person who was buried within the ship burial at Sutton Hoo. During the decades that followed his death in around 624, East Anglia became increasingly dominated by the kingdom of Mercia. Several of Rædwalds successors were killed in battle, such as Sigeberht, under Sigeberhts rule and the guidance of his bishop, Felix of Burgundy, Christianity was firmly established in East Anglia. After Æthelberht II was killed by the Mercians in 794, and until 825, East Anglia ceased to be an independent kingdom and it survived until 869, when the Vikings defeated the East Anglians in battle and their king, Edmund the Martyr, was killed. After 879, the Vikings settled permanently in East Anglia, in 903 the exiled Æthelwold ætheling induced the East Anglian Danes to wage a disastrous war on his cousin Edward the Elder. By 917, after a succession of Danish defeats, East Anglia had submitted to Edward and was incorporated into the kingdom of England, East Anglia was settled by the Anglo-Saxons as early as around 450, earlier than many other regions. According to Bede, the East Angles were descended from natives of Angeln, the first reference to the East Angles is from around 704–713, in the Whitby Life of St Gregory. The East Angles formed one of the seven known to post-mediaeval historians as the Heptarchy. Some modern historians have questioned whether seven independent kingdoms ever really existed contemporaneously, the North Folk and South Folk may have existed before the arrival of the first East Anglian kings. The most powerful of the Wuffingas kings was Rædwald, the son of Tytil, whose father was Wuffa, in 616, he had been strong enough to defeat and kill the Northumbrian king Æthelfrith at the Battle of the River Idle and enthrone Edwin of Northumbria. He was probably the individual honoured by the ship burial at Sutton Hoo. However, as those items previously thought to have come from Sweden are now believed to have made in England. During the seventh century, Anglo-Saxon Christianity was successfully established, the extent to which paganism was displaced in East Anglia is exemplified by a lack of any East Anglian settlements that are named after the old gods. Rædwald was the first East Anglian king to be baptised, in 604 and he maintained a Christian altar, but at the same time continued to worship pagan gods
Kingdom of East Anglia
–
The golden belt buckle from the Sutton Hoo ship-burial
Kingdom of East Anglia
Kingdom of East Anglia
–
The
Heptarchy, according to Bartholomew's A literary & historical atlas of Europe (1914)
Kingdom of East Anglia
–
A physical map of Eastern England
21.
Marches of Neustria
–
Originally, one March was created against the Bretons and one against the Norsemen, often called the Breton March and Norman March respectively. In 911, Robert I of France became margrave of both Marches and took the title demarchus and his family, the later Capetians, ruled the whole of Neustria until 987, when Hugh Capet was elected king of the Franks. The subsidiary counts of Neustria had exceeded the margrave in power by that time, after the Capetian Miracle, no further margraves were appointed. The original march of Brittany was created and militarized under the Merovingians in the late 7th or early 8th century. Although its exact extent is unknown and its boundaries do not coincide with the later Breton March, it included the Rennais and Nantais territories, administration centered in Le Mans and the territory eventually went by the name of ducatus Cenomannicus or Duchy of Maine. One of the most famous margraves was Roland, who died at the Battle of Roncesvalles in 778, the Carolingian king of the Franks, Charles the Bald, re-created the Breton March in 861 and appointed Robert the Strong margrave. Hugh the Abbot succeeded to Roberts office and title, in 885, Charles the Fat succeeded to power in West Francia and after Hughs death in 886, Charles gave the title to Robert the Strongs son, Odo. After Charles death in 888, Odo became king of the Franks, Odo died in 898 and was succeeded as king by Charles the Simple who confirmed Roberts titles and possessions. Adalard the Seneschal served as warden of the Norman March from 861 to 865 and his march extended over the county of Le Mans and he was immediately opposed by the Rorgonids, who controlled the city. They intrigued against him and his relatives, also powerful nobles in the region, until Charles revoked his grants to them and placed the Rorgonids at the head of the March. Under a peace, Charles transferred the Norman March to Gauzfrid, Count of Maine, in 885, Charles the Fat came to power in West Francia and named Henry of Franconia margrave of the Norman March. In 886, Henry also died and Charles the Fat replaced him with Berengar II, Berengar died in 896, and it is not known who succeeded him. In 911, Charles the Simple made peace with the Viking leader Rollo in the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, Robert I, the margrave of the Breton March, was also granted the Norman March and the two entities became permanently united. Robert took the title of demarchus, a title which Rollo later also took. Robert I was margrave until his death in 922, and was succeeded by Hugh the Great who was margrave until 956, and was followed in turn by Hugh Capet, Rouen was the basis of the future Duchy of Normandy. The Normans gradually expanded their territory and incorporated much of Neustria into it. When Hugh Capet became king of the Franks in 987, the history of the came to an end. Province and Empire, Brittany and the Carolingians, onomastique et Parenté dans lOccident médiéval
Marches of Neustria
–
Fortresses of the Breton March
22.
Lotharingia
–
It was named after King Lothair II who received this territory after the kingdom of Middle Francia of his father Lothair I was divided among his sons in 855. Neither Lotharingia nor Middle Francia had any natural coherence, but each was conceived after territorial division of a larger realm. Conflict between East and West Francia over Lotharingia was based on the fact that these were the old Frankish homelands of Austrasia, the latter term, formed with the Germanic suffix -ing, indicating ancestral or familial relationships, gave rise to the Latin term Lotharingia in the tenth century. Later French terms like Lorraine and Lothier are derived from this Latin term, in 817 emperor Louis the Pious made plans for division of the Carolingian Empire among his three sons after his death. Unforeseen in 817 was a further heir besides Louiss three grown sons, a fourth son, Charles the Bald was born to Louiss second wife Judith of Bavaria in 823. When Louis tried in 833 to re-divide the empire for the benefit of Charles, he met with opposition of his sons, Lothair, Pepin. A decade of war and fluctuating alliances followed, punctuated by brief periods of peace. Pepin died in 838, and Louis the Pious in 840, the remaining three brothers made peace and divided Empire with the 843 Treaty of Verdun. Lothair, as the eldest, kept the title and received a long strip of territories stretching from the North Sea to southern Italy. Middle Francia thus included all the land between Aachen and Rome and it has sometimes called by historians the Lotharingian axis. In 855, when Lothair I was dying in Prüm Abbey, to the eldest son, Louis II went Italy, with the imperial title. To the youngest, Charles, still a minor, went Provence, to the middle son, Lothair II, went the remaining territories to the north of Provence, a kingdom which lacked ethnic or linguistic unity. Lothair II ruled from Aachen and did not venture outside his kingdom, when he died in 869 Lothair II left no legitimate children, but one illegitimate son - Hugh, Duke of Alsace. Thus Lotharingia, as a kingdom, ceased to exist for some years. In 876 Charles the Bald invaded eastern Lotharingia with the intent to capture it, in 879 Louiss son, king Louis the Younger was invited by a faction of the West Frankish nobility to succeed king Louis the Stammerer, Charless son, on the throne of West Francia. After a brief war, Louis the Stammerers young sons, Carloman II and Louis III, the border between the two kingdoms was established at Saint-Quentin in 880 by the Treaty of Ribemont. In November 887 Arnulf of Carinthia called a council of East Frankish nobility to depose emperor Charles the Fat, who by 884 had succeeded to thrones of all the kingdoms of the Empire. The Lotharingian aristocracy, in attempt to assert its right to elect a sovereign, joined the other East Frankish nobles in deposing Charles the Fat in 887 and elected Arnulf as their king
Lotharingia
–
Threefold division of the Frankish empire by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, showing West Francia (pink), Middle Francia (green), and East Francia (yellow).
Lotharingia
–
Lotharingia's division in 959 Blue: Alsace, ceded to Swabia in 925 Orange: Upper Lorraine after 928 Green: Lower Lorraine after 977
Lotharingia
–
Territorial divisions from the Treaty of Verdun (843) to the Treaty of Meerssen (870).
23.
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
–
Otto I, traditionally known as Otto I the Great, was German king from 936 and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda, Otto inherited the Duchy of Saxony and the kingship of the Germans upon his fathers death in 936. He continued his fathers work of unifying all German tribes into a single kingdom, through strategic marriages and personal appointments, Otto installed members of his family in the kingdoms most important duchies. This reduced the various dukes, who had previously been co-equals with the king, Otto transformed the Roman Catholic Church in Germany to strengthen royal authority and subjected its clergy to his personal control. After putting down a brief civil war among the duchies, Otto defeated the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955. The victory against the pagan Magyars earned Otto a reputation as a savior of Christendom, by 961, Otto had conquered the Kingdom of Italy and extended his realms borders to the north, east, and south. The patronage of Otto and his immediate successors facilitated a so-called Ottonian Renaissance of arts, following the example of Charlemagnes coronation as Emperor of the Romans in 800, Otto was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962 by Pope John XII in Rome. Ottos later years were marked by conflicts with the papacy and struggles to stabilize his rule over Italy, reigning from Rome, Otto sought to improve relations with the Byzantine Empire, which opposed his claim to emperorship and his realms further expansion to the south. To resolve this conflict, the Byzantine princess Theophanu married his son Otto II in April 972, Otto finally returned to Germany in August 972 and died at Memleben in May 973. Otto II succeeded him as Holy Roman Emperor, Otto was born on 23 November 912, the oldest son of the Duke of Saxony, Henry the Fowler and his second wife Matilda, the daughter of Dietrich of Ringelheim, a Saxon count in Westphalia. Otto had four siblings, Hedwig, Gerberga, Henry. On 23 December 918, Conrad I, King of East Francia and Duke of Franconia, although Conrad and Henry had been at odds with one another since 912, Henry had not openly opposed the king since 915. Furthermore, Conrads repeated battles with German dukes, most recently with Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria, after several months of hesitation, Eberhard and the other Frankish and Saxon nobles elected Henry as king at the Imperial Diet of Fritzlar in May 919. For the first time, a Saxon instead of a Frank reigned over the kingdom, Burchard II of Swabia soon swore fealty to the new king, but Arnulf of Bavaria did not recognize Henrys position. According to the Annales Iuvavenses, Arnulf was elected king by the Bavarians in opposition to Henry, in 921, Henry besieged Arnulfs residence at Ratisbon and forced him into submission. Arnulf had to accept Henrys sovereignty, Bavaria retained some autonomy, Otto first gained experience as a military commander when the German kingdom fought against Slavic tribes on its eastern border. While campaigning against the Slavs in 929, Ottos illegitimate son William, with Henrys dominion over the entire kingdom secured by 929, the king probably began to prepare his succession over the kingdom. No written evidence for his arrangements is extant, but during this time Otto is first called king in a document of the Abbey of Reichenau, while Henry consolidated power within Germany, he also prepared for an alliance with Anglo-Saxon England by finding a bride for Otto
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
–
Replica of the Magdeburger Reiter, equestrian monument traditionally regarded as portrait of Otto I (
Magdeburg, original c. 1240)
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
–
Side view of the
Throne of Charlemagne at
Aachen Cathedral, where Otto was crowned King of Germany in 936.
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
–
Central Europe, 919–1125. The
Kingdom of Germany included the duchies of
Saxony (yellow),
Franconia (blue),
Bavaria (green),
Swabia (orange) and
Lorraine (pink left). Various dukes rebelled against Otto's rule in 937 and again in 939.
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
–
Statues of Otto I, right, and Adelaide in
Meissen Cathedral. Otto and Adelaide were married after his annexation of Italy.
24.
East Francia
–
East Francia or the Kingdom of the East Franks was a successor state of Charlemagnes empire and precursor of the Holy Roman Empire. Until 911 it was ruled by Carolingian dynasty and it was created after the 840-43 civil war between Charlemagnes grandchildren which ended with the Treaty of Verdun which divided the former empire into three kingdoms. In August 843, after three years of war following the death of emperor Louis the Pious on 20 June 840. The division of lands was based on the Meuse, Scheldt. The contemporary East Frankish Annales Fuldenses describes the kingdom being divided in three and Louis acceding to the eastern part, while West and Middle Francia contained the traditional Frankish heartlands, the East consisted mostly of lands only annexed to the Frankish empire in the eighth century. These included the duchies of Alemannia, Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia, as well as the northern and eastern marches with the Danes, in 869 Lotharingia was divided between West and East Francia under the Treaty of Meersen. The short lived Middle Francia turned out to be the theatre of Franco-German wars up until the 20th century, all the Frankish lands were briefly reunited by Charles the Fat, but in 888 he was deposed by nobles and in East Francia Arnulf of Carinthia was elected king. The increasing weakness of royal power in East Francia meant that dukes of Bavaria, Swabia, Franconia, Saxony, Kings increasingly had to deal with regional rebellions. Because Conrad I was one of the dukes, he found it hard to establish his authority over them. Duke Henry of Saxony was in rebellion against Conrad I until 915 and struggle against Arnulf, on his deathbed Conrad I chose Henry of Saxony as the most capable successor. This kingship changed from Franks to Saxons, who had suffered greatly during the conquests of Charlemagne, by his death in July 936 Henry had prevented collapse of royal power as was happening in West Francia and left a much stronger kingdom to his successor Otto I. After Otto I was crowned as the Emperor in Rome in 962 the era of the Holy Roman Empire began, the term orientalis Francia originally referred to Franconia and orientales Franci to its inhabitants, the ethnic Franks living east of the Rhine. The use of the term in a sense, to refer to the eastern kingdom, was an innovation of Louis the Germans court. Since eastern Francia could be identified with old Austrasia, the Frankish heartland, under his grandson, Arnulf, the terminology was largely dropped and the kingdom, when it was referred to by name, was simply Francia. When it was necessary, as in the Treaty of Bonn with the West Franks, Henry I refers to himself as rex Francorum orientalium, king of the East Franks, in the treaty. By the 12th century, the historian Otto of Freising, in using the Carolingian terminology had to explain that the kingdom of the Franks was now called the kingdom of the Germans. The regalia of the Carolingian empire had divided by Louis the Pious on his deathbed between his two faithful sons, Charles the Bald and Lothair. Louis the German, then in rebellion, received nothing of the jewels or liturgical books associated with Carolingian kingship
East Francia
–
The parting of Carolingian Empire by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. From Histoire Et Géographie - Atlas Général Vidal-Lablache, 1898.
25.
William I Longsword
–
William Longsword, was the second ruler of Normandy, from 927 until his assassination in 942. He is sometimes anachronistically dubbed Duke of Normandy, even though the duke did not come into common usage until the 11th century. Longsword was known at the time by the title Count of Rouen, flodoard—always detailed about titles—consistently referred to both Rollo and his son William as principes of the Norse. William Longsword was born overseas to the Viking Rollo and his Christian wife Poppa of Bayeux, dudo of Saint-Quentin in his panegyric of the Norman dukes describes Poppa as the daughter of a Count Beranger, the dominant prince of that region. In the 11th century Annales Rouennaises, she is called the daughter of Guy, Count of Senlis, despite the uncertainty of her parentage she was undoubtedly a member of the Frankish aristocracy. According to the Longswords planctus, he was baptized a Christian probably at the time as his father. Longsword succeeded Rollo in 927 and, early in his reign, faced a rebellion from Normans who felt he had become too Gallicised, according to Orderic Vitalis, the leader was Riouf of Evreux, who was besieging Longsword in Rouen. Sallying forth, Longsword won a battle, proving his authority to be Duke. At the time of this 933 rebellion Longsword sent his pregnant wife by custom, Sprota, in 933 Longsword recognized Raoul as King of Western Francia, who was struggling to assert his authority in Northern France. In turn Raoul gave him lordship over much of the lands of the Bretons including Avranches, the Cotentin Peninsula, alan fleeing to England and Beranger seeking reconciliation. In 935, Longsword married Luitgarde, daughter of Count Herbert II of Vermandois whose dowry gave him the lands of Longueville, Coudres, Longsword also contracted a marriage between his sister Adela and William, Count of Poitou with the approval of Hugh the Great. In addition to supporting King Raoul, he was now an ally of his father-in-law, Herbert II. In January 936 King Raoul died and the 16 year old Louis IV, the Bretons returned to recover the lands taken by the Normans, resulting in fighting in the expanded Norman lands. Arnulf captured the castle of Montreuil-sur-Mer expelling Herluin, Herluin and Longsword cooperated to retake the castle. Longsword was excommunicated for his actions in attacking and destroying several estates belonging to Arnulf, Longsword pledged his loyalty to King Louis IV when they met in 940 and, in return, he was confirmed in lands that had been given to his father, Rollo. In 941 a peace treaty was signed between the Bretons and Normans, brokered in Rouen by King Louis IV which limited the Norman expansion into Breton lands. The following year, on 17 December 942 at Picquigny on an island on the Somme, Longswords son, Richard becoming the next Duke of Normandy. Longsword had no children with his wife Luitgarde and he fathered his son, Richard the Fearless, with Sprota who was a Breton captive and his concubine
William I Longsword
–
The funerary monument of William Longsword in the cathedral of Rouen, France. The monument is from the 14th century.
26.
Duke of Normandy
–
In the Middle Ages, the Duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in northwestern France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles III in 911, in 924 and again in 933, Normandy was expanded by royal grant. Rollos male-line descendants continued to rule it down to 1135, in 1202 the French king Philip II declared Normandy forfeit and by 1204 his army had conquered it. It remained a French royal province thereafter, still called the Duchy of Normandy, there is no record of Rollo holding or using any title. His son and grandson, William I and Richard I, used the titles count, prior to 1066, the most common title of the ruler of Normandy was Count of Normandy or Count of the Normans. The title Count of Rouen was never used in any official document, defying Norman pretensions to the ducal title, Adhemar of Chabannes was still referring to the Norman ruler as Count of Rouen as late as the 1020s. The late 11th-century Norman historian William of Poitiers used the title Count of Rouen for the Norman rulers down to Richard II, the first recorded use of the title duke is in a act in favour of the Abbey of Fécamp in 1006 by Richard II. Earlier, the writer Richer of Reims had called Richard I a dux pyratorum, during the reign of Richard II, the French kings chancery began also called the Norman ruler Duke of the Normans for the first time. As late as the reign of William II, the ruler of Normandy could style himself prince and duke, count of Normandy as if unsure what his title should be. The literal Latin equivalent of Duke of Normandy, dux Normanniae, was in use by 1066, Richard I experimented with the title marquis as early as 966, when it was also used in a diploma of King Lothair. Richard II occasionally used it, but he seems to have preferred the title duke and it is his preference for the ducal title in his own charters that has led historians to believe that it was the chosen title of the Norman rulers. Certainly it was not granted to them by the French king, in the twelfth century, the Abbey of Fécamp spread the legend that it had been granted to Richard II by Pope Benedict VIII. The French chancery did not regularly employ it until after 1204, the actual reason for the adoption of a higher title than that of count was that the rulers of Normandy began to grant the comital title to members of their own family. The creation of Norman counts subject to the ruler of Normandy necessitated the taking a higher title. The same process was at work in other principalities of France in the century, as the comital title came into wider use. The Normans nevertheless kept the title of count for the ducal family, from 1066, when William II conquered England, becoming King William I, the title Duke of Normandy was often held by the King of England. In 1087, William died and the passed to his eldest son, Robert Curthose, while his second surviving son, William Rufus. In 1096, Robert mortgaged Normandy to William, who was succeeded by brother, Henry I
Duke of Normandy
–
Statue of Rollo in
Falaise, Calvados
Duke of Normandy
–
William I (William the Conqueror)
Duke of Normandy
–
"La Reine, Notre Duc": title of a Diamond Jubilee exhibition at the Jersey Arts Centre
27.
Ottonian
–
The Ottonian dynasty was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs, named after its first Emperor Otto I, but also known as the Saxon dynasty after the familys origin in the German stem duchy of Saxony. The family itself is sometimes known as the Liudolfings, after its earliest known member Count Liudolf. The Ottonian rulers were successors of the Carolingian dynasty in East Francia, in the 9th century, the Saxon count Liudolf held large estates on the Leine river west of the Harz mountain range and in the adjacent Eichsfeld territory of Thuringia. His ancestors probably acted as ministeriales in the Saxon stem duchy, Liudolf married Oda, a member of the Frankish House of Billung. About 852 the couple together with Bishop Altfrid of Hildesheim founded Brunshausen Abbey, Liudolf already held the high social position of a Saxon dux, documented by the marriage of his daughter Liutgard with Louis the Younger, son of the Carolingian king Louis the German in 869. Liudolfs sons Bruno and Otto the Illustrious ruled over parts of Saxon Eastphalia, moreover. He married Hedwiga, a daughter of the Babenberg duke Henry of Franconia, upon Ottos death in 912, his son Henry the Fowler succeeded him as Duke of Saxony. Henry had married Matilda of Ringelheim, a descendant of the legendary Saxon ruler Widukind, while East Francia under the rule of the last Carolingian kings was ravaged by Hungarian invasions, he rose to a primus inter pares among the German dukes. In 933 he led a German army to victory over the Hungarian forces at the Battle of Riade, by succession regulation, he transferred the power to his second son Otto I, who acceded to an undivided heritage. Otto I, Duke of Saxony upon the death of his father in 936, was elected king within a few weeks. He continued the work of unifying all of the German tribes into a single kingdom, through strategic marriages and personal appointments, he installed members of his own family to the kingdoms most important duchies. This, however, did not prevent his relatives from entering into civil war, Otto was able to suppress their uprisings, in consequence, the various dukes, who had previously been co-equals with the king, were reduced into royal subjects under the kings authority. His decisive victory over the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955 ended the Hungarian invasions of Europe, the defeat of the pagan Magyars earned King Otto the reputation as the savior of Christendom and the epithet the Great. He transformed the Church in Germany into a kind of church and major royal power base to which he donated charity. By 961, Otto had conquered the Kingdom of Italy, which was an inheritance that none wanted, and extended his kingdoms borders to the north, east. In control of much of central and southern Europe, the patronage of Otto and his immediate successors caused a cultural renaissance of the arts. He even reached a settlement with the Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes by marrying his son, in 968 he established the Archbishopric of Magdeburg at his long-time residence. Co-ruler with his father since 961 and crowned emperor in 967, by excluding the Bavarian line of Ottonians from the line of succession, he strengthened Imperial authority and secured his own sons succession to the Imperial throne
Ottonian
–
Depiction of the Ottonian family tree in a 13th-century manuscript of the
Chronica sancti Pantaleonis.
Ottonian
–
Gandersheim Abbey Church
Ottonian
–
Former collegiate church of St. Servatius in
Quedlinburg, founded in 936 by King Otto I, at the request of his mother Queen Matilda, in honour of her late husband, Otto's father, King Henry the Fowler, and as his memorial
Ottonian
–
Detail of Henry II's tomb,
Bamberg Cathedral
28.
Boulogne-sur-Mer
–
Boulogne-sur-Mer, often called Boulogne, is a city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais, Boulogne lies on the Côte dOpale, a tourist coast on the English Channel, and is the most-visited location in its region after the Lille conurbation. Boulogne is its departments second-largest city after Calais, and the 60th largest in France and it is also the countrys largest fishing port, specialising in herring. Boulogne was the major Roman port for trade and communication with Britain, the citys 12th-century belfry is recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, while another popular attraction is the marine conservation centre Nausicaa. The French name Boulogne derives from the Latin Bononia, which was also the Roman name for Bologna in Italy, both places—and Vindobona —are thought to have derived from native Celtic placenames, with bona possibly meaning foundation, citadel, or granary. The French epithet sur-Mer distinguishes the city from Boulogne-Billancourt on the edge of Paris, in turn, the Boulogne in Boulogne-Billancourt originates from a church there dedicated to Notre-Dame de Boulogne, Our Lady of Boulogne. Boulogne-sur-Mer is in Northern France, at the edge of the Channel, Boulogne is a relatively important city of the North, exercising an influence on the Boulonnais territory. The coast consists of important tourist natural sites, like the capes Gris Nez and Blanc Nez, the hinterland is mainly rural and agricultural. Boulogne is close to the A16 motorway, metropolitan bus services are operated by Marinéo. The company Flixbus propose a bus line connecting Paris to Boulogne, there are coach services to Calais and Dunkerque. The city has railway stations, which the most important is Boulogne-Ville station, boulogne-Tintelleries station is used for regional transit. It is located near the university and the city centre, the former Boulogne-Maritime and Boulogne-Aéroglisseurs stations served as a boat connection for the railway. Boulogne currently has no cross channel ferry services since the closure of the route to Dover by LD Lines in 2010. The city is divided into parts, City centre, groups historic and administrative buildings. Fortified town, old-town where are a lot of monuments and also the city hall. It is surrounded by 13th-century ramparts very appreciated today by walkers, gambetta-Sainte-Beuve, tourist area situated in the northwest of the city, on the edge of the beach and the recreational harbour. Capécure, economic and industrial area, situated in the west of the city, saint-Pierre, former neighborhood of the fishermen, destroyed during the World War II and reconstructed after. Chemin Vert, zone borned in the 1950s, knowing today poverty and it is the neighborhood of Franck Ribéry
Boulogne-sur-Mer
–
A general view from the Brecquerecque Quarter: The lighthouse, the bell tower and the
English Channel
Boulogne-sur-Mer
–
The
Column of the Grande Armée commemorates Napoleon's gathering of 200,000 soldiers near Boulogne for a proposed invasion of England
Boulogne-sur-Mer
–
A "
special pass " issued for travel within Boulogne by the
British Red Cross in May 1917, during
World War I
Boulogne-sur-Mer
–
The Belfry is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
29.
Athelstan of England
–
Æthelstan or Athelstan was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife, modern historians regard him as the first King of England and one of the greatest Anglo-Saxon kings. He never married, and was succeeded by his half-brother, Edmund, when Edward died in July 924, Æthelstan was accepted by the Mercians as king. His half-brother Ælfweard may have been recognised as king in Wessex, Æthelstan still encountered resistance in Wessex for several months, and was not crowned until September 925. In 927 he conquered the last remaining Viking kingdom, York, in 934 he invaded Scotland and forced Constantine II to submit to him, but Æthelstans rule was resented by the Scots and Vikings, and in 937 they invaded England. Æthelstan defeated them at the Battle of Brunanburh, a victory which gave him great prestige both in the British Isles and on the Continent, after his death in 939 the Vikings seized back control of York, and it was not finally reconquered until 954. Æthelstan centralised government, he increased control over the production of charters and these meetings were also attended by rulers from outside his territory, especially Welsh kings, who thus acknowledged his overlordship. More legal texts survive from his reign than from any other 10th-century English king and they show his concern about widespread robberies, and the threat they posed to social order. His legal reforms built on those of his grandfather, Alfred the Great, Æthelstan was one of the most pious West Saxon kings, and was known for collecting relics and founding churches. His household was the centre of English learning during his reign, no other West Saxon king played as important a role in European politics as Æthelstan, and he arranged the marriages of several of his sisters to continental rulers. By the ninth century the kingdoms of the early Anglo-Saxon period had been consolidated into four, Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria. In the eighth century, Mercia had been the most powerful kingdom in southern England, in the middle of the century, England came under increasing attack from Viking raids, culminating in invasion by the Great Heathen Army in 865. By 878, the Vikings had overrun East Anglia, Northumbria, and Mercia, the West Saxons fought back under Alfred the Great, and achieved a decisive victory at the Battle of Edington. Alfred and the Viking leader Guthrum agreed on a division that gave Alfred western Mercia, in the 890s, renewed Viking attacks were successfully fought off by Alfred, assisted by his son Edward and Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians. Æthelred ruled English Mercia under Alfred and was married to his daughter Æthelflæd, Alfred died in 899 and was succeeded by Edward. Æthelwold, the son of Æthelred, King Alfreds older brother and predecessor as king, made a bid for power, but was killed at the Battle of the Holme in 902. Little is known of warfare between the English and the Danes over the few years, but in 909, Edward sent a West Saxon. The following year the Northumbrian Danes attacked Mercia, but suffered a defeat at the Battle of Tettenhall
Athelstan of England
–
Æthelstan presenting a book to
St Cuthbert. Illustration in a gospel book presented by Æthelstan to the saint's shrine in
Chester-le-Street, the earliest surviving portrait of an English king. He wore a crown of the same design on his "crowned bust" coins.
Athelstan of England
–
Statue in Tamworth of
Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, with her nephew Æthelstan
Athelstan of England
–
A sixteenth-century painting in
Beverley Minster of Æthelstan with Saint
John of Beverley
Athelstan of England
–
Coin of Æthelstan Rex, small
cross pattée type, London mint, moneyer Biorneard
30.
Saint Remigius
–
Saint Remigius, Remy or Remi, was Bishop of Reims and Apostle of the Franks. On 25 December 496 he baptised Clovis I, King of the Franks and this baptism, leading to the conversion of the entire Frankish people to Catholic Christianity, was a momentous success for the Church and a seminal event in European history. Remigius was born, traditionally, at Cerny-en-Laonnois, near Laon, Picardy and he is said to have been son of Emilius, count of Laon and of Celina, daughter of the Bishop of Soissons, which Clovis had conquered in 486. He studied at Reims and soon became so noted for his learning and sanctity, and his high status and he was both Lord Chancellor of France and Référendaire of France. King Clovis granted Remigius stretches of territory, in which Remigius established and endowed many churches, in 530 he consecrated Medardus, Bishop of Noyon. The chroniclers of Gallia Christiana record that numerous donations were made to Remigius by the Frankish nobles, though Remigius never attended any of the church councils, in 517 he held a synod at Reims, at which after a heated discussion he converted a bishop of Arian views. The reply of Remigius, still extant, is able and convincing, few authentic works of Remigius remain, his Declamations were elaborately admired by Sidonius Apollinaris, in a finely turned letter to Remigius, but are now lost. Four letters survive, one containing his defence in the matter of Claudius, the Testament of St. Remigius is apocryphal. A brief and strictly legendary Vita was formerly ascribed to Venantius Fortunatus, another, according to Jacobus de Voragine, was written by Ignatius, bishop of Reims. A Commentary on the Pauline Epistles is not his work, St Remigius relics were kept in the Cathedral of Reims, whence Hincmar had them translated to Épernay during the Viking invasions and thence, in 1099 to the Abbey of Saint-Rémy. His feast is celebrated on October 1, apparently when the sepulcher containing the body of St. If one recalls that when St. Remigius’ corpse during his funeral, Remigius combined to suggest to those present that these two vials were the miraculously filled vials of the legend. It should be remembered as well that it was not uncommon for chalices, patens, Hincmar adroitly combined the discovery of the two vials the Legend of the Moribund Pagan and the historical memory that St. Remigius had baptized Clovis, into the Legend of the Sainte Ampoule. Hincmar used the new legend to strengthen his claim that his own archepiscopal see of Reims should be recognized as the chosen site for all subsequent anointings of French kings. The fate of the vial is uncertain. List of Catholic saints Vase of Soissons Saint Abran, hermit of Brittany Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend, October 1, St. Remigius
Saint Remigius
–
Saint Remigius baptizes
Clovis I, by the
Master of Saint Gilles, c. 1500 (
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.)
Saint Remigius
–
Statue of Saint Remigius at the
Saint Remigius Church, Simpelveld, Netherlands
Saint Remigius
–
Baptism of Clovis by
Paul Dubois, 1896, at the side of the
Abbey of Saint-Remi, in Reims
Saint Remigius
–
Late Carolingian ivory binding, c. 870, with miracles from the life of St Remi. Top: The dying pagan asks Saint Remi for baptism, Centre: the
Hand of God fills the two vials, Bottom: the dove of the
Holy spirit delivering the
Sainte Ampoule at the Baptism of Clovis. The plaque manages to cover two versions of the story.
31.
Clovis I
–
He is considered to have been the founder of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled the Frankish kingdom for the next two centuries. Clovis was the son of Childeric I, a Merovingian king of the Salian Franks, and Basina, in 481, at the age of fifteen, Clovis succeeded his father. Clovis is important in the historiography of France as the first king of what would become France and his name is Germanic, composed of the elements hlod and wig, and is the origin of the later French given name Louis, borne by 18 kings of France. Dutch, the most closely related language to Frankish, reborrowed the name as Lodewijk from German in the 12th century. Clovis was baptized on Christmas Day in 508, numerous small Frankish kingdoms existed during the 5th century. After the collapse of Roman power in the last days of 406 the Salian Franks had expanded to the south of the military highway Boulogne-Cologne. The powerbase of Clovis father was the area around Tournai, in the current province of Hainault, upon the death of his father, Merovech in 457 Childeric I, Clovis father, became king of the subgroup of the Salian Franks based around Tournai. In 463 he fought in conjunction with Aegidius, the magister militum of northern Gaul, Childeric died in 481 and was buried in Tournai, Clovis succeeded him as king, aged just 15. Under Clovis, the Salian Franks came to dominate their neighbours, historians believe that Childeric and Clovis were both commanders of the Roman military in the Province of Belgica Secunda and were subordinate to the magister militum. Clovis then had the Frankish king Chararic imprisoned and executed, a few years later, he killed Ragnachar, the Frankish king of Cambrai, along with his brothers. Another victory followed in 491 over a group of Thuringians to the east. By this time Clovis had conquered all the Frankish kingdoms to the west of the River Maas and he secured an alliance with the Ostrogoths through the marriage of his sister Audofleda to their king, Theodoric the Great. With the help of the Ripuarian Franks he narrowly defeated the Alamanni in the Battle of Tolbiac in 496 and he made Paris his capital and established an abbey dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul on the south bank of the Seine. In 500 Clovis fought a battle with the Burgundian kingdom at Dijon but was unable to subdue them, the battle added most of Aquitaine to Clovis kingdom and resulted in the death of the Visigothic king Alaric II. According to Gregory of Tours, following the Battle of Vouillé, since Clovis name does not appear in the consular lists, it is likely he was granted a suffect consulship. Clovis became the first king of all Franks in 508, after he had conquered Cologne and this contrasted with Catholicism, whose followers believe that God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three persons of one being. By the time of the ascension of Clovis, Gothic Arians dominated Christian Gaul and this included his wife, Clotilde, a Burgundian princess who was a Catholic in spite of the Arianism that surrounded her at court. Clotilde evangelized Clovis to convert to Catholicism, which he initially resisted, Clotilde had wanted her son to be baptized, but Clovis refused to allow it, so Clotilde had the child baptized without Cloviss knowledge
Clovis I
–
Clovis roi des Francs by
François-Louis Dejuinne (1786–1844)
Clovis I
–
Clovis I leading the Franks to victory in the
Battle of Tolbiac, in
Ary Scheffer 's 19th-century painting
Clovis I
–
Frankish territories at the time of Clovis' death
Clovis I
–
Tomb of Clovis I at the
Basilica of St Denis in
Saint Denis
32.
Charles the Bald
–
Charles the Bald was the King of West Francia, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor. After a series of wars during the reign of his father, Louis the Pious. He was a grandson of Charlemagne and the youngest son of Louis the Pious by his second wife and he was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder brothers were already adults and had been assigned their own regna, or subkingdoms, by their father. The attempts made by Louis the Pious to assign Charles a subkingdom, first Alemannia, at a diet in Aachen in 837, Louis the Pious bade the nobles do homage to Charles as his heir. Pepin of Aquitaine died in 838, whereupon Charles at last received that kingdom, which angered Pepins heirs, the death of the emperor in 840 led to the outbreak of war between his sons. In the following year, the two confirmed their alliance by the celebrated Oaths of Strasbourg. The war was brought to an end by the Treaty of Verdun in August 843, Louis received the eastern part of the Carolingian Empire, known then as East Francia and later as Germany. Lothair retained the title and the Kingdom of Italy. He also received the regions from Flanders through the Rhineland. The first years of Charless reign, up to the death of Lothair I in 855, were comparatively peaceful, during these years the three brothers continued the system of confraternal government, meeting repeatedly with one another, at Koblenz, at Meerssen, and at Attigny. In 858, Louis the German, invited by disaffected nobles eager to oust Charles, Charles was so unpopular that he was unable to summon an army, and he fled to Burgundy. He was saved only by the support of the bishops, who refused to crown Louis the German king, and by the fidelity of the Welfs, in 860, he in his turn tried to seize the kingdom of his nephew, Charles of Provence, but was repulsed. On the death of his nephew Lothair II in 869, Charles tried to seize Lothairs dominions, besides these family disputes, Charles had to struggle against repeated rebellions in Aquitaine and against the Bretons. Led by their chiefs Nomenoë and Erispoë, who defeated the king at the Battle of Ballon and the Battle of Jengland, the Bretons were successful in obtaining a de facto independence. Charles also fought against the Vikings, who devastated the country of the north, the valleys of the Seine and Loire, at the Vikings successful siege and sack of Paris in 845 and several times thereafter Charles was forced to purchase their retreat at a heavy price. By the same edict, he ordered fortified bridges to be put up at all rivers to block the Viking incursions, two of these bridges at Paris saved the city during its siege of 885–886. In 875, after the death of the Emperor Louis II, Charles the Bald, supported by Pope John VIII, traveled to Italy, receiving the crown at Pavia. Louis the German, also a candidate for the succession of Louis II, revenged himself by invading and devastating Charles dominions, and Charles had to return hastily to West Francia
Charles the Bald
–
Charles the Bald in old age; picture from his Psalter
Charles the Bald
–
Denier of Charles the Bald struck at Paris
Charles the Bald
–
Denier (type Temple and cross) of Charles the Bald, minted at
Reims between 840-864 (pre-
Edict of Pistres).
Charles the Bald
–
Seal of Charles the Bald
33.
Vulgate
–
The Vulgate is a late fourth-century Latin translation of the Bible that became, during the 16th century, the Catholic Churchs officially promulgated Latin version of the Bible. The translation was largely the work of St. Jerome, who, in 382 AD, was commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Vetus Latina collection of biblical texts in Latin then in use by the Church. Once published, it was adopted and eventually eclipsed the Vetus Latina and, by the 13th century, was known as the versio vulgata or, more simply. The Catholic Church affirmed it as its official Latin Bible at the Council of Trent, the Vulgate has a compound text that is not entirely the work of Jerome. Its components include, Jeromes independent translation from the Hebrew, the books of the Hebrew Bible, usually not including his translation of the Psalms. Translation from the Greek of Theodotion by Jerome, The three additions to the Book of Daniel, Song of the Three Children, Story of Susanna, and The Idol Bel and the Dragon. The Song of the Three Children was retained within the narrative of Daniel, translation from the Septuagint by Jerome, the Rest of Esther. Jerome gathered all these additions together at the end of the Book of Esther, translation from the Hexaplar Septuagint by Jerome, his Gallican version of the Book of Psalms. Jeromes Hexaplaric revisions of other books of Old Testament continued to circulate in Italy for several centuries, free translation by Jerome from a secondary Aramaic version, Tobias and Judith. Revision by Jerome of the Old Latin, corrected with reference to the oldest Greek manuscripts available, Old Latin, more or less revised by a person or persons unknown, Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah,3 Esdras, Acts, Epistles, and the Apocalypse. Old Latin, wholly unrevised, Epistle to the Laodiceans, Prayer of Manasses,4 Esdras, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. Jerome did not embark on the work with the intention of creating a new version of the whole Bible, how much of the rest of the New Testament he then revised is difficult to judge today, but little of his work survived in the Vulgate text. Jerome first embarked on a revision of the Psalms, translated from the revised Septuagint Greek column of the Hexapla and he also appears to have undertaken further new translations into Latin from the Hexaplar Septuagint column for other books. But from 390 to 405, Jerome translated anew from the Hebrew all 39 books in the Hebrew Bible, including a further version of the Psalms. This new translation of the Psalms was labelled by him as iuxta Hebraeos, the Vulgate is usually credited as being the first translation of the Old Testament into Latin directly from the Hebrew Tanakh, rather than the Greek Septuagint. Moreover, Augustine in that passage demonstrates his own preference for the Greek thus eliminating any possibility that Saint Jerome translated the OT from Greek. In these letters, Jerome described those books or portions of books in the Septuagint that were not found in the Hebrew as being non-canonical, Jeromes views did not, however, prevail, and all complete manuscripts and editions of the Vulgate include some or all of these books. Their style is markedly distinguishable from Jeromes
Vulgate
–
Saint Jerome in his study, by
Domenico Ghirlandaio
Vulgate
–
A page from
Codex Amiatinus
Vulgate
–
Vulgata Sixtina
34.
Old French
–
Old French was the Gallo-Romance dialect continuum spoken from the 9th century to the 14th century. In the 14th century, these came to be collectively known as the langues doïl. The mid-14th century is taken as the period to Middle French. The areal of Old French in contemporary terms corresponded to the parts of the Kingdom of France, Upper Burgundy. As part of the emerging Gallo-Romance dialect continuum, the langues doïl were contrasted with the langue doc, in these examples, we notice a clear consequence of bilingualism, that sometimes even changed the first syllable of the Latin words. Pope estimated that perhaps still 15% of the vocabulary of modern French derives from Germanic sources, at the third Council of Tours in 813, priests were ordered to preach in the vernacular language, since the common people could no longer understand formal Latin. The second-oldest document in Old French is the Eulalia sequence, which is important for reconstruction of Old French pronunciation due to its consistent spelling. The Capetians langue doïl, the forerunner of modern standard French, did not begin to become the common speech of all of France, however, until after the French Revolution. In the Late Middle Ages, the Old French dialects diverged into a number of distinct langues doïl, during the Early Modern period, French now becomes established as the official language of the Kingdom of France throughout the realm, also including the langue doc-speaking territories in the south. Old French gives way to Middle French in the mid-14th century, the earliest extant French literary texts date from the ninth century, but very few texts before the 11th century have survived. The first literary works written in Old French were saints lives, the Canticle of Saint Eulalie, written in the second half of the 9th century, is generally accepted as the first such text. The first of these is the area of the chansons de geste. More than one hundred chansons de geste have survived in three hundred manuscripts. The oldest and most celebrated of the chansons de geste is The Song of Roland, a fourth grouping, not listed by Bertrand, is the Crusade cycle, dealing with the First Crusade and its immediate aftermath. Jean Bodels other two categories—the Matter of Rome and the Matter of Britain—concern the French romance or roman, around a hundred verse romances survive from the period 1150–1220. From around 1200 on, the tendency was increasingly to write the romances in prose, the most important romance of the 13th century is the Romance of the Rose which breaks considerably from the conventions of the chivalric adventure story. The Occitan or Provençal poets were called troubadours, from the word trobar to find, lyric poets in Old French are called trouvères. By the late 13th century, the tradition in France had begun to develop in ways that differed significantly from the troubadour poets
Old French
–
Map of France in 1180, at the height of the
feudal system. The
possessions of the French king are in light blue, vassals to the French king in green,
Angevin possessions in red. Shown in white is the
Holy Roman Empire to the east, the western fringes of which, including
Upper Burgundy and
Lorraine were also part of the Old French areal.
35.
Old English
–
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is the earliest historical form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers probably in the mid 5th century, Old English developed from a set of Anglo-Frisian or North Sea Germanic dialects originally spoken by Germanic tribes traditionally known as the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. As the Anglo-Saxons became dominant in England, their language replaced the languages of Roman Britain, Common Brittonic, a Celtic language, Old English had four main dialects, associated with particular Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Mercian, Northumbrian, Kentish and West Saxon. It was West Saxon that formed the basis for the standard of the later Old English period, although the dominant forms of Middle. The speech of eastern and northern parts of England was subject to strong Old Norse influence due to Scandinavian rule, Old English is one of the West Germanic languages, and its closest relatives are Old Frisian and Old Saxon. Like other old Germanic languages, it is different from Modern English. Old English grammar is similar to that of modern German, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs have many inflectional endings and forms. The oldest Old English inscriptions were using a runic system. Old English was not static, and its usage covered a period of 700 years, from the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in the 5th century to the late 11th century, some time after the Norman invasion. While indicating that the establishment of dates is a process, Albert Baugh dates Old English from 450 to 1150, a period of full inflections. Perhaps around 85 per cent of Old English words are no longer in use, Old English is a West Germanic language, developing out of Ingvaeonic dialects from the 5th century. It came to be spoken over most of the territory of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which became the Kingdom of England and this included most of present-day England, as well as part of what is now southeastern Scotland, which for several centuries belonged to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. Other parts of the island – Wales and most of Scotland – continued to use Celtic languages, Norse was also widely spoken in the parts of England which fell under Danish law. Anglo-Saxon literacy developed after Christianisation in the late 7th century, the oldest surviving text of Old English literature is Cædmons Hymn, composed between 658 and 680. There is a corpus of runic inscriptions from the 5th to 7th centuries. The Old English Latin alphabet was introduced around the 9th century, with the unification of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms by Alfred the Great in the later 9th century, the language of government and literature became standardised around the West Saxon dialect. In Old English, typical of the development of literature, poetry arose before prose, a later literary standard, dating from the later 10th century, arose under the influence of Bishop Æthelwold of Winchester, and was followed by such writers as the prolific Ælfric of Eynsham. This form of the language is known as the Winchester standard and it is considered to represent the classical form of Old English
Old English
–
A detail of the first page of the
Beowulf manuscript, showing the words "ofer hron rade", i.e. "over the whale's road (=sea)". It is an example of an Old English stylistic device, the
kenning.
Old English
–
North Germanic
Old English
–
"Her swutelað seo gecwydrædnes ðe" Old English inscription over the arch of the south porticus in the 10th-century
St Mary's parish church, Breamore, Hampshire
Old English
–
The first page of the
Beowulf manuscript with its opening Hƿæt ƿē Gārde/na ingēar dagum þēod cyninga / þrym ge frunon... "Listen! We of the Spear-Danes from days of yore have heard of the glory of the folk-kings..."
36.
Arnulf I, Count of Flanders
–
Arnulf of Flanders, called the Great, was the first Count of Flanders, who ruled the County of Flanders, an area that is now northwestern Belgium and southwestern Netherlands. Arnulf was the son of margrave Baldwin II of Flanders and Ælfthryth of Wessex, through his mother he was a descendant of the Anglo-Saxon kings of England, and through his father, a descendant of Charlemagne. Presumably Arnulf was named after Saint Arnulf of Metz, a progenitor of the Carolingian dynasty, at the death of their father in 918, Arnulf became Count of Flanders while his brother Adeloft or Adelolf succeeded to the County of Boulogne. However, in 933 Adeloft died, and Arnulf took the countship of Boulogne for himself, Arnulf I greatly expanded Flemish rule to the south, taking all or part of Artois, Ponthieu, Amiens, and Ostrevent. He exploited the conflicts between Charles the Simple and Robert I of France, and later those between Louis IV and his barons, in his southern expansion Arnulf inevitably had conflict with the Normans, who were trying to secure their northern frontier. This led to the 942 murder of the Duke of Normandy, William Longsword, the Viking threat was receding during the later years of Arnulfs life, and he turned his attentions to the reform of the Flemish government. The name of Arnulfs first wife is unknown but he had at least one daughter by her, Name unknown and their son Arnulf succeeded his father as Count of Cambrai. In 934 he married Adele of Vermandois, daughter of Herbert II of Vermandois and their children were, Hildegarde, born c. 934, died 990, she married Dirk II, Count of Holland and it is uncertain whether she is his daughter by his first or second wife. Liutgard, born in 935, died in 962, married Wichmann IV, Baldwin III of Flanders, married Mathilde of Saxony, daughter of Hermann Billung. Elftrude, married Siegfried, Count of Guînes, Arnulf made his eldest son and heir Baldwin III of Flanders co-ruler in 958, but Baldwin died untimely in 962, so Arnulf was succeeded by Baldwins infant son, Arnulf II of Flanders
Arnulf I, Count of Flanders
–
Arnulf I, Count of Flanders
37.
Verberie
–
Verberie is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It lies 7 miles southwest of Compiègne on the road to Senlis and Paris. The railway station is on the line from Compiegne to Crépy-en-Valois and it has an average income of €20,442. The inhabitants are known as Sautriauts, during the First World War it was the scene of fighting on the 1 September 1914, and in 1918. On 1 October 856 Judith, the daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles the Bald, married Æthelwulf, king of Wessex and it was the birthplace of author and feminist Juliette Adam. Communes of the Oise department Château dAramont INSEE commune file
Verberie
–
Verberie
Verberie
–
Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul church
Verberie
–
Saint-Germain Manor
Verberie
–
Town hall
38.
Corbie
–
Corbie is a commune of the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The small town is situated 15 km up river from Amiens and it lies in the valley of the River Somme, at the confluence of the River Ancre. The town is bisected by the Canal de la Somme and this Satellite photograph shows it in its context. The town is to the left and the fenny Somme valley winds down to it from the right, the chalk of the Upper Cretaceous plateau shows pale in the fields. The River Ancre flows down from the north-east, the A29 is shown under construction snaking across the chalk in the southern part of the picture. The fainter, straight line just to its north is the road N29 and it passes through Villers-Bretonneux, the village just south of Corbie. The town of Corbie grew up round Corbie Abbey, founded in 657 or 660 by the queen regent Bathilde and its scriptorium came to be one of the centres of work of manuscript illumination when the art was still fairly new in western Europe. In this early, Merovingian, period the work of Corbie was innovative in that it showed pictures of people, for example and it was also the place of creation, in about 780, of the influential Caroline minuscule script. The contents of its library are known from catalogues of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, in 1638, Cardinal Richelieu ordered the transfer of the librarys books to the library at Saint-Germain-des-Prés, which was dispersed at the end of the eighteenth century. In 1234, Floris IV, Count of Holland died at a tournament held here, in 1475, the town was taken by Louis XI. The Spanish took it on 15 August 1636 but were ousted in November by Richelieu, in 1918, Corbie was on the margin of the battlefield of Villers-Bretonneux at which the First Battle of the Somme of the Spring Offensive came to a climax. Abbey of St. Peter Town Hall Church of la Neuville, at the north-west end of the town Adalard of Corbie, in 822, he founded Corvey Abbey on the territory of Höxter in Westphalia. Adela of France, Countess of Flanders, countess of Corbie, married Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, their son, Baldwin of Mons became Baldwin VI, Saint Colette, reformer of the Franciscan Order Eugène Lefebvre, aviation pioneer, born at Corbie 4 October 1878. He was the first pilot to be killed at the controls of his aeroplane,7 September 1909 Höxter, Germany Pickering, Great Britain Communes of the Somme department INSEE Nordenfalk, western European Illuminated Manuscripts 8th to 16th centuries
Corbie
–
Town hall
Corbie
–
Queen Bathilde, Jardin du LUXEMBOURG, PARIS
Corbie
–
Map by CASSINI, circa 1780
Corbie
–
Monument by Albert ROZE
39.
Loire Valley
–
The Loire Valley, spanning 280 kilometres, is located in the middle stretch of the Loire River in central France, primarily within the administrative region named Centre-Val de Loire. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about 800 square kilometres and it is referred to as the Cradle of the French and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards, and artichoke, and asparagus fields, which line the banks of the river. Notable for its towns, architecture, and wines, the valley has been inhabited since the Middle Palaeolithic period. In 2000, UNESCO added the part of the Loire River valley to its list of World Heritage Sites. The valley includes historic towns such as Amboise, Angers, Blois, Chinon, Orléans, Saumur, the climate is favorable most of the year, the river often acting as a line of demarcation in Frances weather between the northern climate and the southern. The river has a significant effect on the mesoclimate of the region, the climate can be cool with springtime frost while wine harvest months may have rain. Summers are hot, however, influences from the Atlantic moderate the temperature with breezes, Loire wines tend to exhibit a characteristic fruitiness with fresh, crisp flavors. On December 2,2000, UNESCO added the part of the river valley. When the French kings began constructing their huge châteaux here, the nobility, not wanting or even daring to be far from the seat of power and their presence in the lush, fertile valley began attracting the very best landscape designers. In addition to its many châteaux, the cultural monuments illustrate to a degree the ideals of the Renaissance. Many of the châteaux were designed to be built on the top of hills, many of the châteaux had extremely detailed and expensive churches on the grounds, or within the actual château itself. Loire Valley world heritage site Loire Valley Chateau du Rivau Chinon Fortress Western France Tourist Board
Loire Valley
–
Château d'Azay-le-Rideau
Loire Valley
–
Vineyard in the Loire Valley
Loire Valley
–
Château de Valençay
40.
Sunyer, Count of Barcelona
–
Sunyer was count of Barcelona, Girona and Ausona from 911 to 947. He was the son of Wilfred the Hairy and younger brother of the previous Count of Barcelona and he worked jointly with his brother in the government of the Counties held by their father after his death in 897. He did not reign independently until his brothers death in 911. However, on the death of his uncle, Count Radulf I of Besalú, in 913 or 920, in exchange for the total renunciation of all claims on the County of Barcelona, Sunyer gave up his claim on Besalú. Sunyer was apparently married by 917, and later appears with wife Richilda and they had four sons and a daughter, Ermengol, Miró, Borrell, Adelaide, and Wifred. Sunyer made important efforts with domestic politics, protected the church and strengthened its institutions by giving it more land and he also continued to encourage the repopulation of the county of Ausona. He abandoned the defensive stance adopted by his predecessors and took up the fight actively against the Moorish states to the south, battles were fought at Lleida and Tarragona. At the same time he managed to retain diplomatic relations with Córdoba, in 912, Muhammad al-Tawil, the Wāli of Huesca and Lleida, attacked and destroyed the Barcelonian army under Sunyer in the Tàrrega valley. However Sunyers counterattack in 914 successfully pushed back and resulted in the death of al-Tawil. He subsequently repopulated the county of Penedès, which had been the scene of conflicts between the Frankish and Muslim empires, as far as Olèrdola. From 936 to 937 he led an expedition against the Muslims, as a result of this successful campaign many of the enemy forces were killed, including the Qadi of Valencia. The Moors temporarily abandoned Tarragona, while Tortosa was forced to pay a tribute to the Count, in 947 Sunyer retired to monastic life and ceded the government of his realms to his sons, Borrell II and Miró I. He died in the Monastery of La Grassa in 950
Sunyer, Count of Barcelona
–
Sunyer, Count of Barcelona
41.
Marca Hispanica
–
In its broader meaning, Marca Hispanica sometimes refers to a group of early Iberian and trans-Pyrenean lordships or counts coming under Frankish rule. As time passed, these lordships merged or gained independence from Frankish imperial rule, the area broadly corresponds to eastern regions between the Pyrenees and the Ebro River. The local population of the March was diverse, the Pyrenean valleys started to switch loyalties after 785 with the construction and garrisoning by counts loyal to the Carolingians of new outposts and fortresses on bordering areas. The territory changed with the fortunes of the Empires and the ambitions of those, whether the Counts or Walis. Eventually the rulers and people of the March became autonomous and claimed independence, out of the welter of counties in the region emerged the principality Catalonia divided into a myriad of counties with the county of Barcelona as their main power centre. Counties that at times formed part of the March included, Ribagorza, Urgell, Cerdanya, Perelada, Empúries, Besalú, Ausona, Barcelona, Girona and, Conflent, Roussillon, Vallespir. The nominal boundaries of Gothia and the Hispanic Marches vary in time, the Muslim invasions reached the Pyrenees in the Iberian Peninsula. In 719 the forces of Al-Samh ibn Malik surged up the east coast, overwhelming the remaining Visigoth province of Septimania, control was secured by offering the local population generous terms, inter-marriage between ruling families or treaties. Further expansion was halted by defeat in the Battle of Toulouse, wālis were installed in Girona and Barcelona. The Muslim forces however continued to raid their Gallic neighbours to the north, the peace treaty was sealed with the marriage of the Duke’s daughter to Munuza. However, Munuza was defeated by a Umayyad military expedition and another period of Muslim expansion commenced, Aquitaine pledged formal allegiance to the Frankish leaders several times, but remained actually independent. In 737 Charles led an expedition to the Lower Rhone and Septimania, possibly seeing that the Umayyad thrust was threatening his grip on Burgundy, both Aquitaine and Septimania were still out of central Frankish control after Charless death, but Pepin the Short was determined to subdue southern Gaul. In 759, after conquering Septimania from the Umayyad, the Carolingian king focused all his might in crushing Aquitanian resistance to central Frankish power, after a ruthless war of 8 years, Aquitainian independence came to an end. Toulouse was now under the grip of the new Carolingian king Charlemagne and access to Andalusian Hispania was open for him, the Franks created the Marca Hispanica by conquering former north-eastern territory of the Visigothic kingdom of Hispania, which had been conquered by the Muslims. The first county to be conquered was Roussillon in around 760, in 785 the county of Girona to the south of the Pyrenees was taken. Ribagorza and Pallars were linked to Toulouse and were added to this county around 790, Urgell and Cerdanya were added in 798. The first records of the county of Empúries are from 812, after a series of struggles the County of Barcelona was taken by Frankish forces in 801. A number of castles were established in Aragón between 798 and 802, after subduing the Basques to the north of the Pyrenees, Frankish overlordship expanded to the upper Ebro and Pamplona, when Alphonse II of Asturias came also under Charlemagnes influence
Marca Hispanica
–
By the second half of the ninth century, three political subdivisions (marches) existed in the eastern Pyrenees: Toulouse (green), Gothia (blue), and Hispania (pink). At times they were placed under one authority and at other times not.
42.
Otto I
–
Otto I, traditionally known as Otto I the Great, was German king from 936 and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda, Otto inherited the Duchy of Saxony and the kingship of the Germans upon his fathers death in 936. He continued his fathers work of unifying all German tribes into a single kingdom, through strategic marriages and personal appointments, Otto installed members of his family in the kingdoms most important duchies. This reduced the various dukes, who had previously been co-equals with the king, Otto transformed the Roman Catholic Church in Germany to strengthen royal authority and subjected its clergy to his personal control. After putting down a brief civil war among the duchies, Otto defeated the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955. The victory against the pagan Magyars earned Otto a reputation as a savior of Christendom, by 961, Otto had conquered the Kingdom of Italy and extended his realms borders to the north, east, and south. The patronage of Otto and his immediate successors facilitated a so-called Ottonian Renaissance of arts, following the example of Charlemagnes coronation as Emperor of the Romans in 800, Otto was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962 by Pope John XII in Rome. Ottos later years were marked by conflicts with the papacy and struggles to stabilize his rule over Italy, reigning from Rome, Otto sought to improve relations with the Byzantine Empire, which opposed his claim to emperorship and his realms further expansion to the south. To resolve this conflict, the Byzantine princess Theophanu married his son Otto II in April 972, Otto finally returned to Germany in August 972 and died at Memleben in May 973. Otto II succeeded him as Holy Roman Emperor, Otto was born on 23 November 912, the oldest son of the Duke of Saxony, Henry the Fowler and his second wife Matilda, the daughter of Dietrich of Ringelheim, a Saxon count in Westphalia. Otto had four siblings, Hedwig, Gerberga, Henry. On 23 December 918, Conrad I, King of East Francia and Duke of Franconia, although Conrad and Henry had been at odds with one another since 912, Henry had not openly opposed the king since 915. Furthermore, Conrads repeated battles with German dukes, most recently with Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria, after several months of hesitation, Eberhard and the other Frankish and Saxon nobles elected Henry as king at the Imperial Diet of Fritzlar in May 919. For the first time, a Saxon instead of a Frank reigned over the kingdom, Burchard II of Swabia soon swore fealty to the new king, but Arnulf of Bavaria did not recognize Henrys position. According to the Annales Iuvavenses, Arnulf was elected king by the Bavarians in opposition to Henry, in 921, Henry besieged Arnulfs residence at Ratisbon and forced him into submission. Arnulf had to accept Henrys sovereignty, Bavaria retained some autonomy, Otto first gained experience as a military commander when the German kingdom fought against Slavic tribes on its eastern border. While campaigning against the Slavs in 929, Ottos illegitimate son William, with Henrys dominion over the entire kingdom secured by 929, the king probably began to prepare his succession over the kingdom. No written evidence for his arrangements is extant, but during this time Otto is first called king in a document of the Abbey of Reichenau, while Henry consolidated power within Germany, he also prepared for an alliance with Anglo-Saxon England by finding a bride for Otto
Otto I
–
Replica of the Magdeburger Reiter, equestrian monument traditionally regarded as portrait of Otto I (
Magdeburg, original c. 1240)
Otto I
–
Side view of the
Throne of Charlemagne at
Aachen Cathedral, where Otto was crowned King of Germany in 936.
Otto I
–
Central Europe, 919–1125. The
Kingdom of Germany included the duchies of
Saxony (yellow),
Franconia (blue),
Bavaria (green),
Swabia (orange) and
Lorraine (pink left). Various dukes rebelled against Otto's rule in 937 and again in 939.
Otto I
–
Statues of Otto I, right, and Adelaide in
Meissen Cathedral. Otto and Adelaide were married after his annexation of Italy.
43.
Verdun
–
Verdun is a small city in the Meuse department in Grand Est in northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department, Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc. Verdun was founded by the Gauls and it has been the seat of the bishop of Verdun since the 4th century, with interruptions. The 843 Treaty of Verdun divided Charlemagnes empire into three parts, the city has been famous for dragées or sugared almonds from 1200 onwards, they were distributed at the baptism of French princes. Verdun was part of the kingdom of Lotharingia, and in 1374 it became a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. The Bishopric of Verdun formed together with Tull and Metz the Three Bishoprics, from 1624 to 1636, a large bastioned citadel was constructed on the site of the Abbey of Saint Vanne. In 1670, Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban visited Verdun and drew up a scheme to fortify the whole city. Although much of his plan was built in the following decades, despite the extensive fortifications, Verdun was captured by the Prussians in 1792 during the War of the First Coalition, but abandoned by them after the Battle of Valmy. During the Napoleonic War, the citadel was used to hold British prisoners of war, in the Franco-Prussian War, Verdun was the last French fortress to surrender in 1870. Shortly afterwards, a new system of fortification was begun and this consisted of a mutually supporting ring of 22 polygonal forts up to 8 kilometres from the city, and an inner ring of 6 forts. The Battle of Verdun was fought on August 20,1792 between French Revolutionary forces and a Prussian army and this therefore opened the path to Paris. Norwich Duff visited Verdun in 1819, shortly after the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars and he writes, Verdun is prettily situated in a valley surrounded by hills. The River Meuse runs through the town and forms several canals and ditches round the town which is fortified and, I believe, the citadel and are a good deal out of repair and were at work on them. Though there is little to see at Verdun, every part of it felt interesting from the number of our countrymen confined here during the war, Verdun is famous for its sweetmeats, sugar plums, confits etc. which are said to be the best in France. They made us show our passports it being a fortified town, Verdun was the site of a major battle, and the longest-lasting, of the First World War. One of the costliest battles in history, Verdun exemplified the policy of a war of attrition pursued by both sides, which led to an enormous loss of life and very large casualty lists. Following the failure of the Schlieffen Plan in 1914 and the solidifying of the Western Front, once the French army had bled to death, Britain could be brought down by Germanys submarine blockade and superior military strength. Recent scholarship by Holger Afflerbach and others, however, has questioned the veracity of the Christmas memo, no copy has ever surfaced and the only account of it appeared in Falkenhayns post-war memoir
Verdun
–
Verdun and the Meuse river
Verdun
–
Bird's-eye view of Verdun in 1638
Verdun
–
Early map of Verdun, circa 1695
Verdun
–
Citadel of Verdun during World War I
44.
Aachen
–
Aachen or Bad Aachen, traditionally known in English and French as Aix-la-Chapelle, is a spa and border city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was the residence of Charlemagne, and, from 936 to 1531. Aachen is the westernmost city in Germany, located near the borders with Belgium, RWTH Aachen University is located in the city. Aachens industries include science, engineering and information technology, in 2009, Aachen was ranked eighth among cities in Germany for innovation. The location has been inhabited by humans since the Neolithic era, about 5,000 years ago, latin Aquae figures in Aachens Roman name Aquae granni, which meant waters of Grannus, referring to the Celtic god of healing who was worshipped at the springs. Aachens name in French and German evolved in parallel, Aachens local dialect is called Öcher Platt and belongs to the Ripuarian language. Bronze Age settlement is evidenced by the remains of barrows found, for example, during the Iron Age, the area was settled by Celtic peoples who were perhaps drawn by the marshy Aachen basins hot sulphur springs where they worshipped Grannus, god of light and healing. Later, the 25-hectare Roman spa resort town of Aquae Granni was, according to legend, founded by Grenus, under Hadrian, a kind of forum, surrounded by colonnades, connected the two spa complexes. There was also a residential area, part of it inhabited by a flourishing Jewish community. The Romans built bathhouses near Burtscheid, a temple precinct called Vernenum was built near the modern Kornelimünster/Walheim. Today, remains have been found of three bathhouses, including two fountains in the Elisenbrunnen and the Burtscheid bathhouse, Roman civil administration in Aachen broke down between the end of the 4th and beginning of the 5th centuries. Rome withdrew its troops from the area, but the town remained populated, by 470, the town came to be ruled by the Ripuarian Franks and subordinated to their capital, Cologne. Einhard mentions that in 765–6 Pepin spent both Christmas and Easter at Aquis villa, which must have been equipped to support the royal household for several months. In the year of his coronation as king of the Franks,768, Charlemagne spent most winters in Aachen between 792 and his death in 814. Aachen became the focus of his court and the centre of his empire. In 936, Otto I was crowned king of East Francia in the church built by Charlemagne. During the reign of Otto II, the nobles revolted and the West Franks, under Lothair, Aachen was attacked again by Odo of Champagne, who attacked the imperial palace while Conrad II was absent. Odo relinquished it quickly and was killed soon afterwards, the palace and town of Aachen had fortifying walls built by order of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa between 1172 and 1176
Aachen
–
Panoramic view of Aachen, including Kaiser Karls Gymnasium (foreground), townhall (back center) and
cathedral (back right)
Aachen
Aachen
–
Aachen's Neues Kurhaus
Aachen
–
Construction of Aix-la-Chapelle, by
Jean Fouquet
45.
Rhine
–
The largest city on the river Rhine is Cologne, Germany, with a population of more than 1,050,000 people. It is the second-longest river in Central and Western Europe, at about 1,230 km, with an average discharge of about 2,900 m3/s. The Rhine and the Danube formed most of the inland frontier of the Roman Empire and, since those days. The many castles and fortifications along the Rhine testify to its importance as a waterway in the Holy Roman Empire, in the modern era, it has become a symbol of German nationalism. The variant of the name of the Rhine in modern languages are all derived from the Gaulish name Rēnos, spanish is with French in adopting the Germanic vocalism Rin-, while Italian, Occitan and Portuguese retain the Latin Ren-. The Gaulish name Rēnos belongs to a class of river names built from the PIE root *rei- to move, flow, run, the grammatical gender of the Celtic name is masculine, and the name remains masculine in German, Dutch and French. The Old English river name was variously inflected as masculine or feminine, the length of the Rhine is conventionally measured in Rhine-kilometers, a scale introduced in 1939 which runs from the Old Rhine Bridge at Constance to Hoek van Holland. The river length is shortened from the rivers natural course due to a number of canalisation projects completed in the 19th and 20th century. The total length of the Rhine, to the inclusion of Lake Constance and its course is conventionally divided as follows, The Rhine carries its name without distinctive accessories only from the confluence of the Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein near Tamins-Reichenau. Above this point is the catchment of the headwaters of the Rhine. It belongs almost exclusively to the Swiss Canton of Graubünden, ranging from Gotthard Massif in the west via one valley lying in Ticino, traditionally, Lake Toma near the Oberalp Pass in the Gotthard region is seen as the source of the Vorderrhein and the Rhine as a whole. The Hinterrhein rises in the Rheinwald valley below Mount Rheinwaldhorn, the Vorderrhein, or Anterior Rhine, springs from Lai da Tuma, near the Oberalp Pass and passes the impressive Ruinaulta formed by the largest visible rock slide in the alps, the Flims Rockslide. A multiday trekking route is signposted along the young Rhine called Senda Sursilvana, the Hinterrhein/Rein Posteriur, or Posterior Rhine, starts from the Paradies Glacier, near the Rheinwaldhorn. One of its tributaries, the Reno di Lei, drains the Valle di Lei on politically Italian territory, after three main valleys separated by the two gorges, Roflaschlucht and Viamala, it reaches Reichenau. The Vorderrhein arises from numerous source streams in the upper Surselva, one source is Lai da Tuma with the Rein da Tuma, which is usually indicated as source of the Rhine, flowing through it. Into it flow tributaries from the south, some longer, some equal in length, such as the Reno di Medel, the Rein da Maighels, and the Rein da Curnera. The Cadlimo Valley in the Canton of Ticino is drained by the Reno di Medel, all streams in the source area are partially, sometimes completely, captured and sent to storage reservoirs for the local hydro-electric power plants. In its lower course the Vorderrhein flows through a gorge named Ruinaulta through the Flims Rockslide, the whole stretch of the Vorderrhein to the Rhine confluence near Reichenau-Tamins is accompanied by a long-distance hiking trail called Senda Sursilvana
Rhine
–
Lorelei rock in
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhine
–
Map of the Rhine basin
Rhine
–
The Rein da Tuma is captured in the center of the picture and led into the
Curnera Reservoir
Rhine
–
The outflow from
Lake Toma is traditionally seen as the source of the Rhine
46.
Attigny, Ardennes
–
Attigny is a French commune in the Ardennes department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Attignatiens, the commune has been awarded one flower by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom. Attigny is located some 16 km east by south-east of Rethel and 14 km west by south-west of Le Chesne, access to the commune is by the D987 road from Charbogne in the north passing through the village and continuing south to Coulommes-et-Marqueny. The D983 road comes from Givry in the west passing through the village, the D25 road comes from Saulces-Champenoises in the south-west merging with the D983 west of the village then continuing north-east to Rilly-sur-Aisne. There is also a railway with a station just north of the village, there is the hamlet of La Couture east of the village. The town has a residential area with the rest of the commune farmland. The Aisne river runs through the commune as it flows west to join the Seine at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. The Canal des Ardennes is close to and parallel to the Aisne, the Ruisseau de Saint-Lambert flows into the Aisne from the north. In the High Middle Ages Attigny had some importance as it had had a residence since Clovis II who built a palace there in 647. It was also the Carolingian imperial residence and Charlemagne is said to have attended many Christmas, charles the Bald stayed many times at the palace. The first Council of Attigny was convened at Attigny in 765 by Pepin the Short which was an assembly of the Frankish nation that was continued as a synodal council). The Council made a decree, pro causa religionis et salute animarum which was signed by twenty-seven bishops and it involved a form of alliance in the event of death. Each of the bishops and abbots who signed this document committed, on the death of a member of the alliance, to sing 100 psalms and the priests to celebrate 100 Masses. Each of the bishops himself was to celebrate thirty masses and if he was prevented by illness or some other cause, similarly, the abbots who were not bishops should appoint a bishop to say these thirty masses. Finally the monks who were priests were to celebrate 100 Masses, in 785, Charlemagne held a council at Attigny where Saxon Duke Widukind, main enemy of Charlemagne during his wars against the Saxons, and Aboin received baptism from Charlemagne. He was deprived of his abbeys and imprisoned at Senlis, in the council of 875 Hincmar, Bishop of Laon appealed to the pope for his uncle, Hincmar, Archbishop of Reims. In 880 the Battle of Attigny was fought between a Carolingian coalition against an army of Boso - self-proclaimed King of Provence, the Carolingians abandoned the residence before 931 and the palace disappeared after the 10th century. Attigny was also a domain and remained so when it ceased to be a royal residence of the Carolingians
Attigny, Ardennes
–
The
Canal des Ardennes at Attigny
Attigny, Ardennes
–
Louis the Pious doing penance at Attigny in 822
Attigny, Ardennes
–
Wayside Cross near the bridge
Attigny, Ardennes
–
Reconciliation plaque
47.
Picquigny
–
Picquigny is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Picquigny is situated at the junction of the N235, the D141 and D3 roads, on the banks of the Somme River, a railway station also serves the town. Already established as a Gallic settlement before the Romans arrived, a Gallo-Roman cemetery gallo-romain was discovered in 1895 in the known as Les Vignes. Known through the ages by various names, in 942 as Pinquigniacum, Pinconii castrum in 1066 and Pinchiniacum in 1110, then as Pinkeni, Pinkinei and Pecquigny. On 17 December 942, Arnulf I, Count of Flanders and William I and they met on a small island in the Somme, having both left their armies behind. After the meeting, William left but was assassinated by Arnulf’s supporters. As early as the 14th century, the town had commune status, the French king had to pay King Edward IV an annual sum of fifty thousand crowns. In 1547, Henry II of France established a market, on every second Monday of the month, built around the beginning of the 11th century and rebuilt over the following centuries. It was severely damaged during World War I, the vestiges are still picturesque and imposing, nevertheless. Outside of the ramparts, there are other buildings, a prison. Originally the chapel to the château, is found behind the ruins of the old chateau, the roof was destroyed in a fire at the start of the 20th century. Communes of the Somme department INSEE Picquigny on the Quid website
Picquigny
–
The church
Picquigny
–
The ruins of the chateau
Picquigny
–
The kitchen fireplace
Picquigny
–
Louis Duthoit (1807-1874) - Château de Picquigny
48.
Duchy of Normandy
–
The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between King Charles III of West Francia and Rollo, leader of the Vikings. From 1066 until 1204 it was held by the kings of England, except for the rule of Robert Curthose. Normandy was declared forfeit by Philip II of France in 1202 and it remained disputed territory until the Treaty of Paris of 1259, when the English sovereigns ceded their claim, except for the Channel Islands. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans, the title of Duke of Normandy was then sporadically conferred in the kingdom of France as an honorific but non-feudal title, the last one having been Louis XVII of France from 1785 to 1789. The first Viking attack on the river Seine took place in 820, by 911, the area had been raided many times and there were even small Viking settlements on the lower Seine. The text of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte has not survived and it is only known through the historian Dudo of Saint-Quentin, who was writing a century after the event. The exact date of the treaty is unknown, but it was likely in the autumn of 911, by the agreement, Charles III, king of the West Franks, granted to the Viking leader Rollo some lands along the lower Seine that were apparently already under Danish control. Whether Rollo himself was a Dane or a Norwegian is not known, for his part, Rollo agreed to defend the territory from other Vikings and that he and his men would convert to Christianity. The territory ceded to Rollo comprised the pagi of the Caux, Évrecin, Roumois and this was territory formerly known as the county of Rouen, and which would become Upper Normandy. A royal diploma of 918 confirms the donation of 911, using the verb adnuo. There is no evidence that Rollo owed any service or oath to the king for his lands, nor there were any legal means for the king to take them back. Likewise, Rollo does not seem to have created a count or given comital authority. In 924, King Radulf extended Rollos county westward up to the river Vire, including the Bessin, in 933, King Radulf granted the Avranchin and Cotentin to Rollos son and successor, William Longsword. These areas had been previously under Breton rule, the northern Cotentin had been settled by Norwegians coming from the region of the Irish Sea. There was initially much hostility between these Norwegian settlers and their new Danish overlords and these expansions brought the boundaries of Normandy roughly in line with those of the ecclesiastical province of Rouen. There were two distinct patterns of Norse settlement in the duchy, in the Danish area in the Roumois and the Caux, settlers intermingled with the indigenous Gallo-Romance-speaking population. Rollo shared out the estates with his companions and gave agricultural land to his other followers. Danish settlers cleared their own land to farm it, and there was no segregation of populations, in the northern Cotentin on the other hand, the population was purely Norwegian
Duchy of Normandy
–
Statue of
Rollo, founder of the fiefdom of Normandy, standing in
Falaise, Calvados, birthplace of his descendant
William the Conqueror, the
Duke of Normandy who became
King of England.
Duchy of Normandy
–
Normandy's historical borders in the northwest of modern-day France and the Channel Islands
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