1.
Order of Saint Michael
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As a chivalric order, its goal was to confirm the loyalty of its knights to the king. Originally, there were a number of knights, at first thirty-one. An office of Provost was established in 1476, the Order of St Michael was the highest Order in France until it was superseded by the Order of the Holy Spirit. Although officially abolished by the government authorities of the July Revolution in 1830 following the French Revolution and it is still recognised by the International Commission on Orders of Chivalry. As would be expected, the first knights were among the most powerful nobles in France, close relatives of the king, originally, the number of members was limited to thirty-five. The Order of St. Michael dedicated to the Archangel Michael conveyed to every member a gold badge of the image of the saint standing on a rock in combat with the serpent. The motto the order was immensi tremor oceani derived from the idea of Saint Michael looking out over the Atlantic from Mont Saint-Michel and it was suspended from an elaborate gold collar made of scallop shells linked with double knots. The original plan was for the knights to meet yearly on 29 September at Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, by letters patent dated 15 August 1555, the seat of the Order was transferred to the royal Château de Vincennes outside Paris. The Order of St. Michael was abolished by Louis XVI on 20 June 1790 and it was revived by Louis XVIII on 16 November 1816 but the king took little interest in the order and no new knights were added after 1816. The Order was again abolished by the French authorities in 1830, the Orders last member died in 1850. However,10 nominations of knights have been conferred 1929,1930, originally destined to the aristocracy, from 17th to 18th Centuries it became an order of civil merit, which distinguished many artists, architects, collectors, and people of lettres…. No formal list of members of the order exists, the names of members can be gleaned from reference to their receipt of the order, from secondary sources, or from periodic lists compiled showing companions from particular families or regions. François Caron, in 1672 by Louis XIV, constance Phaulkon, in 1687 by Louis XIV
Order of Saint Michael
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Order of Saint Michael Ordre de Saint-Michel
Order of Saint Michael
Order of Saint Michael
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Plaque marking the former site of the Chapel of Saint-Michel du Palais, home of the Order from 1496 to 1555
Order of Saint Michael
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Title page of the Order's statutes, drawn by Jean Fouquet
2.
King of France
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The monarchs of the Kingdom of France and its predecessors ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of the Franks in 486 till the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870. Sometimes included as kings of France are the kings of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled from 486 until 751, and of the Carolingians, who ruled until 987. The Capetian dynasty, the descendants of Hugh Capet, included the first rulers to adopt the title of king of France for the first time with Philip II. The Capetians ruled continuously from 987 to 1792 and again from 1814 to 1848, the branches of the dynasty which ruled after 1328, however, are generally given the specific branch names of Valois and Bourbon. During the brief period when the French Constitution of 1791 was in effect and after the July Revolution in 1830 and it was a constitutional innovation known as popular monarchy which linked the monarchs title to the French people rather than to the possession of the territory of France. With the House of Bonaparte Emperors of the French ruled in 19th century France and it was used on coins up to the eighteenth century. During the brief period when the French Constitution of 1791 was in effect and after the July Revolution in 1830 and it was a constitutional innovation known as popular monarchy which linked the monarchs title to the French people rather than to the possession of the territory of France. They used the title Emperor of the French and this article lists all rulers to have held the title King of the Franks, King of France, King of the French or Emperor of the French. For other Frankish monarchs, see List of Frankish kings, in addition to the monarchs listed below, the Kings of England and Great Britain from 1340–60, 1369-1420, and 1422–1801 also claimed the title of King of France. For a short time, this had some basis in fact – under the terms of the 1420 Treaty of Troyes, Charles VI had recognized his son-in-law Henry V of England as regent and heir. Henry V predeceased Charles VI and so Henry Vs son, Henry VI, most of Northern France was under English control until 1435, but by 1453, the English had been expelled from all of France save Calais, and Calais itself fell in 1558. Nevertheless, English and then British monarchs continued to claim the title for themselves until the creation of the United Kingdom in 1801. The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that ruled the Franks for nearly 300 years in a known as Francia in Latin. Their territory largely corresponded to ancient Gaul as well as the Roman provinces of Raetia, Germania Superior, the Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. In 751, a Carolingian, Pepin the Younger, dethroned the Merovingians and with the consent of the Papacy, the Robertians were Frankish noblemen owing fealty to the Carolingians, and ancestors of the subsequent Capetian dynasty. Odo, Count of Paris, was chosen by the western Franks to be their king following the removal of emperor Charles the Fat, the Bosonids were a noble family descended from Boso the Elder, their member, Rudolph, was elected King of the Franks in 923. After the death of Louis V, the son of Hugh the Great and grandson of Robert I, the Capetian Dynasty, the male-line descendants of Hugh Capet, ruled France continuously from 987 to 1792 and again from 1814 to 1848. They were direct descendants of the Robertian kings, the cadet branches of the dynasty which ruled after 1328, however, are generally given the specific branch names of Valois and Bourbon
King of France
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Clovis I (Clovis Ier)
King of France
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Royal Coat of arms
King of France
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Theuderic I (Thierry Ier)
King of France
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Theudebert I (Thibert Ier)
3.
Coronation of the French monarch
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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
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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
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Coronation of
Philip, son of King
Louis VII of France, as junior king
Coronation of the French monarch
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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.
4.
Reims
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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
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City hall (hôtel de ville)
Reims
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A month after Blériot's crossing of the English Channel in a biplane, the aviation week in Reims (August 1909) caught special attention.
Reims
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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.
5.
Charles VII of France
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Charles VII, called the Victorious or the Well-Served, was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1422 to his death. In the midst of the Hundred Years War, Charles VII inherited the throne of France under desperate circumstances, in addition, his father Charles VI had disinherited him in 1420 and recognized Henry V of England and his heirs as the legitimate successors to the French crown instead. At the same time, a war raged in France between the Armagnacs and the Burgundian party. However, his political and military position improved dramatically with the emergence of Joan of Arc as a leader in France. Joan of Arc and other charismatic figures led French troops to lift the siege of Orléans, as well as other cities on the Loire river. With the local English troops dispersed, the people of Reims switched allegiance and opened their gates and this long-awaited event boosted French morale as hostilities with England resumed. Following the battle of Castillon in 1453, the French had expelled the English from all their continental possessions except for the Pale of Calais, the last years of Charles VII were marked by conflicts with his turbulent son, the future Louis XI of France. Born at the Hôtel Saint-Pol, the residence in Paris. He was the child and fifth son of Charles VI of France. His four elder brothers, Charles, Charles, Louis and John had each held the title of Dauphin of France in turn, all died childless, leaving Charles with a rich inheritance of titles. By 1419, Charles had established his own court in Bourges and they also decided that a further meeting should take place the following 10 September. On that date, they met on the bridge at Montereau, the Duke assumed that the meeting would be entirely peaceful and diplomatic, thus he brought only a small escort with him. The Dauphins men reacted to the Dukes arrival by attacking and killing him, Charles level of involvement has remained uncertain to this day. Although he claimed to have been unaware of his mens intentions, the assassination marked the end of any attempt of a reconciliation between the two factions Armagnacs and Burgundians, thus playing into the hands of Henry V of England. Charles was later required by a treaty with Philip the Good, the son of John the Fearless, to pay penance for the murder, at the death of his father, Charles VI, the succession was cast into doubt. For those who did not recognize the treaty and believed the Dauphin Charles to be of legitimate birth, for those who did not recognize his legitimacy, the rightful heir was recognized as Charles, Duke of Orléans, cousin of the Dauphin, who was in English captivity. Only the supporters of Henry VI and the Dauphin Charles were able to enlist sufficient military force to press effectively for their candidates, the English, already in control of northern France, were able to enforce the claim of their king in the regions of France that they occupied. Northern France, including Paris, was ruled by an English regent, Henry Vs brother, John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford
Charles VII of France
–
Portrait of Charles VII, by
Jean Fouquet,
tempera on wood,
Louvre Museum, Paris, c. 1445–1450
Charles VII of France
–
Dauphin Charles with
Yolande of Aragon, Duchess of Anjou
Charles VII of France
–
Charles VII Royal d'or.
Charles VII of France
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Charles VII Ecu neuf, 1436.
6.
Charles VIII of France
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Charles VIII, called the Affable, French, lAffable, was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13 and his elder sister Anne of France acted as regent jointly with her husband Peter II, Duke of Bourbon until 1491 when the young king turned 21 years of age. During Annes regency, the great lords rebelled against royal centralisation efforts in a known as the Mad War. Preoccupied by the succession in the Kingdom of Hungary, Maximilian failed to press his claim. Upon his marriage, Charles became administrator of Brittany and established a union that enabled France to avoid total encirclement by Habsburg territories. The coalition formed against the French invasion of 1494-98 finally drove out Charles army, Charles died in 1498 after accidentally striking his head on the lintel of a door. Since he had no heir, he was succeeded by his cousin Louis XII of France from the Orléans cadet branch of the House of Valois. Charles was born at the Château dAmboise in France, the surviving son of King Louis XI by his second wife Charlotte of Savoy. Charles succeeded to the throne on 30 August 1483 at the age of 13 and he was regarded by his contemporaries as possessing a pleasant disposition, but also as foolish and unsuited for the business of the state. She would rule as regent, together with her husband Peter of Bourbon, Charles was betrothed on 22 July 1483 to the 3-year-old Margaret of Austria, daughter of the Archduke Maximilian of Austria and Mary, Duchess of Burgundy. The marriage was arranged by Louis XI, Maximilian, and the Estates of the Low Countries as part of the 1482 Peace of Arras between France and the Duchy of Burgundy. Margaret brought the Counties of Artois and Burgundy to France as her dowry, in 1488, however, Francis II, Duke of Brittany, died in a riding accident, leaving his 11-year-old daughter Anne as his heiress. The Regent Anne of France and her husband Peter refused to countenance such a marriage, however, since it would place Maximilian and his family, the Habsburgs, on two French borders. The French army invaded Brittany, taking advantage of the preoccupation of Frederick III and his son with the succession to Mathias Corvinus. Anne of Brittany was forced to renounce Maximilian and agree to be married to Charles VIII instead, in December 1491, in an elaborate ceremony at the Château de Langeais, Charles and Anne of Brittany were married. The 14-year-old Duchess Anne, not happy with the arranged marriage, however, Charless marriage brought him independence from his relatives and thereafter he managed affairs according to his own inclinations. Queen Anne lived at the Clos Lucé in Amboise, there still remained the matter of Charles first betrothed, the young Margaret of Austria. Although the cancellation of her betrothal meant that she by rights should have returned to her family, Charles did not initially do so
Charles VIII of France
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Charles VIII, Ecole Française, 16th century.
Musée Condé,
Chantilly.
Charles VIII of France
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Marriage to Anne of Brittany at the Château de Langeais.
Charles VIII of France
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Charles VIII.
Charles VIII of France
–
Anne of Brittany as Queen.
7.
Bourges
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Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the province of Berry. The name of the city derives either from the Bituriges, the name of the inhabitants, or from the Germanic Burg. The Celts called it Avaricon, Latin-speakers, Avaricum, following the siege of Avaricum in the winter of 52 BC, Julius Caesars forces destroyed the city and killed all but 800 of its inhabitants. Rome reconstructed Avaricum as a Roman city, with a gate, aqueducts, thermae. The massive walls surrounding the late Roman city, enclosing 40 hectares, were built in part with stone re-used from earlier public buildings, the third-century AD Saint Ursinus, also known as Saint Ursin, is considered the first bishop of the city. Bourges is the seat of an archbishopric, during the 8th century Bourges lay on the northern fringes of the Duchy of Aquitaine and was therefore the first town to come under Frankish attacks when the Franks crossed the Loire. The Frankish Charles Martel captured the town in 731, but Duke Odo the Great of Aquitaine immediately re-took it, the Gothic Cathedral of Saint Etienne, begun at the end of the twelfth century, ranks as a World Heritage Site. It is considered as one of the earliest examples of the High Gothic style of the thirteenth century, during the Middle Ages, Bourges served as the capital of the Viscounty of Bourges until 1101. In the fourteenth century it became the capital of the Duchy of Berry, the future king of France, Charles VII, sought refuge there in the 1420s during the Hundred Years War. His son, Louis XI, was there in 1423. In 1438, Charles VII decreed the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, during this period, Bourges was also a major capital of alchemy. The city has a tradition of art and history. Apart from the cathedral, other sites of importance include the 15th-century Palace of Jacques Cœur, Bourges sits at the river junction where the Auron flows into the Yèvre. The disused Canal de Berry follows alongside the course of the Auron through Bourges, the A71 motorway connects Bourges with Orléans and Clermont-Ferrand. Bourges Airport is a regional airport. Bourges principal football team are Bourges Football 18 and it is also home to the womens basketball club CJM Bourges Basket, which has won multiple titles in domestic and European basketball. Bourges XV is the rugby team in the region, currently playing in French National Division
Bourges
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Bourges Cathedral
Bourges
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Floorplan of the cathedral of Bourges
Bourges
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Half-timbered houses in Place Gordaine
8.
Berry (province)
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Berry is a region located in the center of France. It was a province of France until the provinces were replaced by départements on 4 March 1790, the Berry region now consists of the départements of Cher, Indre and parts of Creuse. The capital of Berry was Bourges, Berry is notable as the birthplace of several kings and other members of the French royal family. In the Middle Ages it was the centre of the Duchy of Berry and it is also known for an illuminated manuscript produced in the 14th–15th century called Les Très riches heures du Duc de Berry. by the monks of the local abbeys for pisciculture. Saint-Benoît-du-Sault Media related to Berry at Wikimedia Commons Pictures Accommodation Flag of Berry Columbia Encyclopedia article on Berry
Berry (province)
9.
Margaret Stewart (Dauphine of France)
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Margaret of Scotland was a Princess of Scotland and the Dauphine of France. She was the child of King James I of Scotland. She married the eldest son of the king of France, Louis, Dauphin of France and their marriage was unhappy, and she died childless at age 20, apparently of a fever. She was born in Perth, Scotland to James I of Scotland and Joan Beaufort, Margaret was the first of six daughters and twin sons born to her parents. Margaret was Charles VII of Frances diplomatic choice for daughter-in-law, the marriage was forced upon Charless thirteen-year-old son, Louis, which did not help their relationship. However, royal marriages in the 15th century were always political, there are no direct accounts from Louis or Margaret of their first impressions of each other, and it is mere speculation to say whether or not they actually had negative feelings for each other. Several historians think that Louis had an attitude to hate his wife. Margaret and Louis marriage shows both the nature of medieval royal diplomacy and the position of the French monarchy. The marriage took place 25 June 1436 in the afternoon in the chapel of the castle of Tours and was presided by the Archbishop of Reims, by the standards of the time, it was a very plain wedding. Louis, thirteen, looked more mature than his bride. Margaret looked like a beautiful “doll, ” perhaps because she was treated as such by her in-laws, Charles wore “grey riding pants” and “did not even bother to remove his spurs. ”The Scottish guests were quickly hustled out after the wedding reception. This was seen as something of a scandal by the Scots, King Charles’ attire and the speed with which the guests were hustled out was considered an insult to Scotland, which was an important ally in Frances war with the English. However, this spoke to the nature of the French court at this time. They simply could not afford an extravagant ceremony or to host their Scottish guests for any longer than they did, following the ceremony, “doctors advised against consummation” because of the relative immaturity of the bride and bridegroom. Margaret continued her studies and Louis went on tour with Charles to loyal areas of the kingdom, even at this time, Charles was taken aback by the intelligence and temper of his son. During this tour, Louis was named Dauphin by Charles, as is traditional for the eldest son of the king and she was also very interested in the French courts social and gallant life. She was a favourite of her father-in-law Charles VII of France, however, she felt herself alien amongst the French court and became depressed. She had a relationship with her husband, the future king of France
Margaret Stewart (Dauphine of France)
–
Margaret of Scotland
Margaret Stewart (Dauphine of France)
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Tomb of Margaret Stewart in the Saint-Laon church
10.
Charlotte of Savoy
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Charlotte of Savoy was queen of France as the second spouse of Louis XI. She served as regent during the absence in 1465, and was a member of the royal regency council during her sons minority in 1483. She was a daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy and Anne of Cyprus and her maternal grandparents were Janus of Cyprus and Charlotte de Bourbon-La Marche. Her maternal grandmother, for whom she was named, was a daughter of John I, Count of La Marche. She was one of 19 children,14 of whom survived infancy, on 11 March 1443, when Charlotte was just over a year old, she was betrothed to Frederick of Saxony, eldest son of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony. For reasons unknown, the betrothal was annulled, less than eight years later on 14 February 1451, Charlotte married Louis, Dauphin of France, eldest son of Charles VII of France and Marie of Anjou. The bride was nine years old and the groom twenty-seven, the marriage, which had taken place without the consent of the French king, was Louis second, his first spouse, Margaret of Scotland, had died childless in 1445. Upon her marriage, Charlotte became Dauphine of France, on 22 July 1461, Charlotte became Queen of France. The following year, she became ill and was close to death by August 1462. Although she recovered, her health was weakened, Louis XI did not keep much of a representational court life. Charlotte was interested in literature and praised for the taste and excellence of her personal library and she left a collection of about one hundred manuscripts, which would become the genesis of the Bibliothèque nationale of France. Charlotte served as regent in September 1465, Charlotte was widowed in 1483, when Louis XI was succeeded by their son Charles VIII, who was still a minor. In practice, her daughter Anne took control over France as regent during the minority of Charles, Charlotte died on 1 December 1483 in Amboise, just a few months after her spouses death. She is buried with him in the Notre-Dame de Cléry Basilica in Cléry-Saint-André in the arrondissement of Orléans, Charlotte became the mother of eight children, but only three survived infancy. Joan, who was briefly Queen of France as the first spouse of Louis XII Francis Charles VIII, Francis Upon the death of her daughter, Anne, Charlottes line became extinct, her granddaughter, Suzanne having died in 1521 without surviving issue
Charlotte of Savoy
–
Portrait of Charlotte of Savoy, a 19th-century engraving based on a sculpture c. 1472
11.
Anne of France
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Anne of France was a French princess and regent, the eldest daughter of Louis XI by Charlotte of Savoy. Anne was the sister of Charles VIII, for whom she acted as regent during his minority, during the regency she was one of the most powerful women of late fifteenth-century Europe and was referred to as Madame la Grande. Anne was born at the Chateau of Genappe in Brabant on 3 April 1461 and her brother, Charles would later succeed their father as Charles VIII of France. Her younger sister Joan became for a period, a queen consort of France as the first wife of Louis XII. Anne was originally betrothed to Nicholas, Duke of Lorraine and was created Viscountess of Thouars in 1468 in anticipation of the marriage. However, Nicholas broke the engagement to pursue Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, Anne was just twelve years old at the time. During the minority of Annes brother, Charles VIII of France, Peter, as regent of France, Anne was one of the most powerful women in the late fifteenth century, and she was referred to as Madame la Grande. Annes regency overcame many difficulties, including unrest amongst the magnates who had suffered under Louis XIs oppressions. Concessions, many of which sacrificed Louiss favourites, were made, Louis tried to obtain the regency, but the Estates General sided with her. She gave her support to Henry Tudor against his rival, King Richard III of England, when he sought her aid to oust Richard, who was deemed by many to have been a usurper. Anne supplied him with French troops for the 1485 invasion which culminated at the Battle of Bosworth on 22 August, when Charles ended the regency in 1491, both Anne and Peter fell victim to the wrath of the new queen, whose duchys independence had been compromised. Anne and Peter produced only one surviving child, Suzanne, born 10 May 1491, Suzanne succeeded Peter as suo jure Duchess of Bourbon on his death in 1503. Anne, however, had always been the dominant member in her marriage and remained the administrator of the Bourbon lands after his death. In addition to having had a strong, formidable personality, Anne was an intelligent, shrewd. Her father had termed her the least foolish woman in France, Anne was dark-haired with a high forehead, a widows peak, and finely-arched eyebrows. She was further described as having had clear brown eyes, direct in their gaze, a sharp, haughty nose, thin lips, thin hands, Anne was responsible for the housing and education for many of the aristocracys children including Diane de Poitiers and Louise of Savoy. She is credited with instructing these people with the new refined manners such as not using their fingers to wipe their noses. Louise of Savoy would act as regent several times when her son Francis was king, by being raised by Anne, she was able to learn about France and its governance from up close
Anne of France
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Portrait of Anne of France, from a triptych by Master of Moulins
Anne of France
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Depiction of Anne and St. John the Evangelist
Anne of France
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Triptych which depicts St. Anne presenting Anne and her daughter
Suzanne
12.
Joan of France, Duchess of Berry
–
Joan of France, was briefly Queen of France as wife of King Louis XII, in between the death of her brother, King Charles VIII, and the annulment of her marriage. After that, she retired to her domain, where she founded the monastic Order of the Sisters of the Annunciation of Mary. From this Order later sprang the religious congregation of the Apostolic Sisters of the Annunciation and she was canonized on 28 May 1950 and is known in the Roman Catholic Church as Saint Joan of Valois, O. Ann. M. Joan was born on 23 April 1464 in the castle of Pierre II de Brézé and she was the second daughter of King Louis XI of France and of his second wife Charlotte of Savoy, her surviving siblings were King Charles VIII of France and Anne of France. Shortly after her birth, the signed an agreement to marry her to his second cousin Louis, the Duke of Orléans, later King Louis XII of France. Jeanne was born sickly and deformed, in Women Saints – Lives of Faith and Courage, Kathleen Jones says that Jeanne had a hump on her back and walked with a limp, suggesting that she had curvature of the spine. Often away on duties, King Louis entrusted his daughters, Joan and Anne, to the Baron François de Linières and his wife. The couple, who were childless, lavished affection on Joan, taking charge of her education, they had her taught both poetry and mathematics, painting, embroidery and how to play the lute. The couple were also faithful Catholics and instilled in the members of their household a solid grounding in the faith, at a young age, her father asked her to name the confessor she wanted. She gave him the name she knew, that of Friar Jean de La Fontaine. The king approved her choice and appointed the friar to this post, despite the distance between them, he would travel regularly to hear the princesss confession. Joan began to develop a strong pleasure in prayer, and would pass long periods in the castle chapel, the baron supported her in this and had a path paved between the castle and the chapel built for easier walking in poor weather. Under the friars guidance she was admitted into the Third Order of St. Francis, in 1471 King Louis XI ordered the practice of praying the Hail Mary throughout the kingdom for peace. Joan had an attachment to this particular prayer. She would later write that it was in same year that she had received a prophecy from the Virgin Mary that some day she would found a religious community in honor of Our Lady. In 1473 King Louis had signed contracts for his daughters. On 8 September 1476, at the age of 12, Joan was married to the young Louis, Louis of Orléans was compelled to be married to his handicapped and supposedly sterile cousin Joan. By doing so, Louis XI hoped to extinguish the Orléans cadet branch of the House of Valois, Louis was displeased at the forced marriage, and his treatment of his new wife reflected this
Joan of France, Duchess of Berry
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Saint Joan of Valois, O.Ann.M.
Joan of France, Duchess of Berry
–
A contemporary portrait of Joan of France.
13.
Dynasty
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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
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Charles I of England and his son, the future
James II
14.
House of Valois
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The House of Valois was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. They succeeded the House of Capet to the French throne, and were the house of France from 1328 to 1589. Junior members of the family founded cadet branches in Orléans, Anjou, Burgundy, the Valois descended from Charles, Count of Valois, the second surviving son of King Philip III of France. Their title to the throne was based on a precedent in 1316, the Capetian dynasty seemed secure both during and after the reign of Philip IV from 1285 to 1313. Philip had left three surviving sons and a daughter, each son became king in turn but died young without male heirs, leaving only daughters who could not inherit the throne. When Charles IV died in 1328, the French succession became more problematic, in 1328 three candidates had plausible claims to the throne, Philip, Count of Valois, son of Charles of Valois, who was the closest heir in male line and a grandson of Philip III. Because his father was the brother of the late Philip IV, he was therefore a nephew of Philip IV, further, Charles IV had chosen him as the regent before his death. Philip, Count of Évreux, another nephew of Philip IV and he strengthened his position by marrying Joan of France, daughter of Louis X. Edward III of England, son of Isabella of France, daughter and only surviving child of Philip IV. Edward claimed to be the heir as a grandson of Philip IV, in England, Isabella of France claimed the throne on behalf of her son. Like the French, the English law of succession did not allow the succession of females, the French rejected Isabellas claims, arguing that since she herself, as a woman, could not succeed, then she could not transmit any such right to her son. Thus the French magnates chose Philip of Valois, who became Philip VI of France, the throne of Navarre went its separate way, to Joan of France, daughter of Louis X, who became Joan II of Navarre. Because diplomacy and negotiation had failed, Edward III would have to back his claims with force to obtain the French throne, for a few years, England and France maintained an uneasy peace. Eventually, an escalation of conflict between the two led to the confiscation of the duchy of Aquitaine. Instead of paying homage to the French king, as his ancestors had done and these events helped launch the Hundred Years War between England and France. The Hundred Years War could be considered a war of succession between the houses of Valois and Plantagenet. The early reign of Philip VI was a one for France. The new king fought the Flemings on behalf of his vassal, the count of Flanders, Edward IIIs aggression against Scotland, a French ally, prompted Philip VI to confiscate Guyenne. In the past the English kings would have to submit to the King of France, but Edward, having descended from the French kings, claimed the throne for himself
House of Valois
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Arms of the King of France since 1376
15.
Marie of Anjou
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Marie of Anjou was Queen of France as the spouse of King Charles VII from 1422 to 1461. She served as regent and presided over the council of several times during the absence of the king. Marie was the eldest daughter of Louis II of Anjou, titular King of Naples, titular King of Sicily, Marie was betrothed to her second cousin Charles, fifth son of Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria, in 1413. The wedding took place in April 1422 at Bourges, the wedding made her Queen of France, but as far as it is known, she was never crowned. Her spouses victory in the Hundred Years War owed a great deal to the support he received from Maries family, notably from her mother Yolande of Aragon. Queen Marie presided over the Council of state several times in the absence of the king, during which she had power of attorney as regent and she made several pilgrimages, such as Puy with the king in 1424, and Mount St Michel by herself in 1447. Robert Blondel composed the allegorical Treatise of the Twelve Perils of Hell for queen Marie in 1455, in 1461, Charles VII died and was succeeded by their son Louis XI, making Marie queen dowager. She was granted the Chateau of Amboise and the income from Brabant by her son, during the winter of 1462-63, Marie of Anjou made a pilgrimage to St Jacques de Compostela. She died at the age of 59 on 29 November 1463 at the Cistercian Abbaye de Chateliers-en-Poitou on her return and she is buried in the basilica of Saint-Denis alongside her spouse. Marie was the mother of fourteen children
Marie of Anjou
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Marie of Anjou
16.
French language
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French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
French language
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The
"arrêt" signs (French for "stop") are used in
Canada while the international stop, which is also a valid French word, is used in France as well as other French-speaking countries and regions.
French language
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Regions where French is the main language
French language
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Town sign in
Standard Arabic and French at the entrance of
Rechmaya in
Lebanon.
French language
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An obsolete 100
Lebanese pound note with the French language inscriptions "Banque du Liban" and "Cent livres".
17.
List of French monarchs
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The monarchs of the Kingdom of France and its predecessors ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of the Franks in 486 till the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870. Sometimes included as kings of France are the kings of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled from 486 until 751, and of the Carolingians, who ruled until 987. The Capetian dynasty, the descendants of Hugh Capet, included the first rulers to adopt the title of king of France for the first time with Philip II. The Capetians ruled continuously from 987 to 1792 and again from 1814 to 1848, the branches of the dynasty which ruled after 1328, however, are generally given the specific branch names of Valois and Bourbon. During the brief period when the French Constitution of 1791 was in effect and after the July Revolution in 1830 and it was a constitutional innovation known as popular monarchy which linked the monarchs title to the French people rather than to the possession of the territory of France. With the House of Bonaparte Emperors of the French ruled in 19th century France and it was used on coins up to the eighteenth century. During the brief period when the French Constitution of 1791 was in effect and after the July Revolution in 1830 and it was a constitutional innovation known as popular monarchy which linked the monarchs title to the French people rather than to the possession of the territory of France. They used the title Emperor of the French and this article lists all rulers to have held the title King of the Franks, King of France, King of the French or Emperor of the French. For other Frankish monarchs, see List of Frankish kings, in addition to the monarchs listed below, the Kings of England and Great Britain from 1340–60, 1369-1420, and 1422–1801 also claimed the title of King of France. For a short time, this had some basis in fact – under the terms of the 1420 Treaty of Troyes, Charles VI had recognized his son-in-law Henry V of England as regent and heir. Henry V predeceased Charles VI and so Henry Vs son, Henry VI, most of Northern France was under English control until 1435, but by 1453, the English had been expelled from all of France save Calais, and Calais itself fell in 1558. Nevertheless, English and then British monarchs continued to claim the title for themselves until the creation of the United Kingdom in 1801. The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that ruled the Franks for nearly 300 years in a known as Francia in Latin. Their territory largely corresponded to ancient Gaul as well as the Roman provinces of Raetia, Germania Superior, the Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. In 751, a Carolingian, Pepin the Younger, dethroned the Merovingians and with the consent of the Papacy, the Robertians were Frankish noblemen owing fealty to the Carolingians, and ancestors of the subsequent Capetian dynasty. Odo, Count of Paris, was chosen by the western Franks to be their king following the removal of emperor Charles the Fat, the Bosonids were a noble family descended from Boso the Elder, their member, Rudolph, was elected King of the Franks in 923. After the death of Louis V, the son of Hugh the Great and grandson of Robert I, the Capetian Dynasty, the male-line descendants of Hugh Capet, ruled France continuously from 987 to 1792 and again from 1814 to 1848. They were direct descendants of the Robertian kings, the cadet branches of the dynasty which ruled after 1328, however, are generally given the specific branch names of Valois and Bourbon
List of French monarchs
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Clovis I (Clovis Ier)
List of French monarchs
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Royal Coat of arms
List of French monarchs
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Theuderic I (Thierry Ier)
List of French monarchs
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Theudebert I (Thibert Ier)
18.
Louis, Duke of Savoy
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Louis I was Duke of Savoy from 1440 until his death in 1465. He was born at Geneva the son of Antipope Felix V and Mary of Burgundy, on 1 November 1433, at Chambéry, he married Princess Anne of Cyprus, an heiress of the Kingdom of Cyprus and the defunct Kingdom of Jerusalem. The family lived in Allaman Castle, Vaud/Switzerland and as Count de Vaud, Savoy tried to conquer the Duchy of Milan, then under the Repubblica Ambrosiana, in 1453 he received the Shroud of Turin from Margaret de Charny. It was held by the House of Savoy until 1946, at the end of the Kingdom of Italy, Louis died at Lyon in 1465, while returning from France. Louis, Count of Geneva, King of Cyprus, marguerite, married firstly in December 1458 Giovanni IV Paleologo, Marquis of Montferrat and secondly Pierre II de Luxembourg, Count of St. Pol, of Brienne, de Ligny, Marle, and Soissons. Janus, Count of Faucigny and Geneva, married Helene of Luxembourg, daughter of Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, charlotte, married King Louis XI of France. Agnes, married François dOrléans, Duke of Longueville and their son is Louis I dOrléans, duc de Longueville. Maria, married Louis of Luxembourg, Count of St. Pol, of Brienne, de Ligny, bona, married Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan. Giacomo, Count of Romont, Lord of Vaud, François, Archbishop of Auch and Bishop of Geneva
Louis, Duke of Savoy
–
Duke Louis I of Savoy
19.
Duchy of Burgundy
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Upon the extinction of the line with the death of Duke Philip I in 1361, the duchy fell back to King John II of France and the royal House of Valois. The Burgundian duchy rose to a complex of a European scale after in 1363 King John II of France ceded the duchy to his younger son Philip of Valois. By his marriage with Countess Margaret of Flanders, he laid the foundation for a Burgundian realm further north in the Low Countries collectively known as the Burgundian Netherlands. The Burgundian sphere, in its own right, was one of the largest ducal territories that existed at the time of the emergence of Early Modern Europe. Including the thriving regions of Flanders and Brabant, it was a centre of trade. After about one hundred years of Valois-Burgundy rule, however, the last duke Charles the Bold rushed to the Burgundian Wars and was killed in the 1477 Battle of Nancy. With the abdication of the Habsburg emperor Charles V in 1556, the Burgundians settled in the area around Dijon, Chalon-sur-Saône, Mâcon, Autun and Châtillon-sur-Seine, and gave the name to the region. The Kingdom of the Burgundians was annexed by the Merovingian Kings of the Franks Childebert I in 534 following their defeat by the Franks and it was recreated, however, on several occasions when Frankish territories were redivided between the sons on the death of a Frankish king. As part of the Kingdom of the Franks, Burgundy maintained a semi-autonomous existence, with the Burgundians maintaining their own law code, however, southern Burgundy was pillaged by the Saracen invasion of the 8th century. When Charles Martel drove the invaders out, he divided Burgundy into four commands, Arles-Burgundy, Vienne-Burgundy, Alamanic Burgundy and he appointed his brother Childebrand governor of Frankish Burgundy. Under the Carolingians, Burgundian separatism lessened and Burgundy became a geographical term. As a vital military defender of the West Frankish border, Guerin was sometimes known by the Latin term for leader – Dux or Duke, by the time of Richard the Justiciar, the Duchy of Burgundy was beginning to emerge. Richard was officially recognised by the king as a duke, he stood as individual count of each county he held. As Duke of Burgundy, he was able to wield an increasing amount of power over his territory, to the collective body of his territory there came to be applied the term ducatus. Included in the ducatus of Richard were the regions of Autunais, Beaunois, Avalois, Lassois, Dijonais, Memontois, Attuyer, Oscheret, under Richard, these territories were given law and order, protected from the Normans, and served as a haven for persecuted monks. It was from his territories in Burgundy that he drew the resources needed to fight those who challenged his right to rule, under Hugh the Black came the beginning of what would be a long and troubled saga for Burgundy. His neighbours were the Robertian family, who held the title of Duke of Francia and this family, wanting to improve their standing in France and against the Carolingian kings, attempted to subject the duchy to the suzerainty of their own duchy. They failed, eventually, when they appeared close to success, they were forced to scrap the scheme, two brothers of Hugh Capet, the first Capetian King of France, took up the rule of Burgundy as duke
Duchy of Burgundy
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Flag
20.
Philip the Good
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Philip the Good was Duke of Burgundy as Philip III from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a line of the Valois dynasty. During his reign, Burgundy reached the apex of its prosperity and prestige, Philip is known in history for his administrative reforms, his patronage of Flemish artists such as Jan van Eyck and Franco-Flemish composers such as Gilles Binchois, and the capture of Joan of Arc. In political affairs, he alternated between alliances with the English and the French in an attempt to improve his dynastys position. As ruler of Flanders, Brabant, Limburg, Artois, Hainaut, Holland, Zeeland, Friesland and Namur, born in 1396 in Dijon, Philip was the son of John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria-Straubing. His father succeeded Philips grandfather Philip the Bold as Duke of Burgundy in 1404 and they were married in June 1409. Bonne of Artois lived only a year after Philip married her, Philip was married for a third time to Isabella of Portugal, a daughter of John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, in Bruges on 7 January 1430. Corneille and Anthony were his favorite bastard sons and successively bore the title Grand bâtard de Bourgogne, Philip became duke of Burgundy and count of Flanders, Artois and Franche-Comté upon the assassination of his father in 1419. Philip accused Charles, the Dauphin of France and Philips brother-in-law, of planning the murder of his father, because of this, he continued to prosecute the civil war between the Burgundians and Armagnacs. In 1420, Philip allied himself with Henry V of England under the Treaty of Troyes, in 1423, the marriage of Philips sister Anne to John, Duke of Bedford, regent for Henry VI of England, strengthened the English alliance. In 1430, Philips troops captured Joan of Arc at Compiègne and later handed her over to the English, Philip signed the treaty for a variety of reasons, one of which may have been a desire to be recognised as the preeminent duke in France. He then attacked Calais, a possession of the English, Philip supported the revolt of the French nobles the following year and offered shelter to the Dauphin Louis, who had rebelled against his father Charles VII. In 1456, Philip also managed to ensure his illegitimate son David was elected Bishop of Utrecht and it is not surprising that in 1435 Philip began to style himself the Grand Duke of the West. In 1463, Philip gave up some of his territory to King Louis XI of France and that year he also created an Estates-General for the Netherlands based on the French model. The first meeting of the Estates-General was to obtain a loan for a war against France, in 1465 and 1467, Philip crushed two rebellions in Liège. Philip died in Bruges in 1467, Philips court can only be described as extravagant. He declined membership in the English Order of the Garter in 1422, instead, he created his own Order of the Golden Fleece, based on the Knights of the Round Table and the myth of Jason, in 1430. Philip had no fixed capital and moved the court between various palaces, the urban ones being Brussels, Bruges, and Lille
Philip the Good
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Philip the Good, wearing the
collar of
firesteels of the
Order of the Golden Fleece he instituted, copy of a
Rogier van der Weyden of c.1450
Philip the Good
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Engraving of Philip the Good
Philip the Good
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Statue of Philip the Good, in the Ducal Palace at
Dijon
Philip the Good
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Rogier van der Weyden miniature 1447-8. Philip dresses his best, in an extravagant
chaperon, to be presented with a History of Hainault by the author, flanked by his son
Charles and his chancellor
Nicolas Rolin.
21.
Duke of Burgundy
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Under the Ancien Régime, the Duke of Burgundy was the premier lay peer of the kingdom of France. Beginning with Robert II of France, the title was held by the Capetians and it was granted to Roberts younger son, Robert, who founded the House of Burgundy. When the senior line of the House of Burgundy became extinct, John granted the duchy as an appanage for his younger son, Philip the Bold. The Valois Dukes of Burgundy became dangerous rivals to the line of the House of Valois. When the male line of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy became extinct, today, the title is used by the House of Bourbon as a revived courtesy title. His descendants and their relatives by marriage ruled the duchy until its annexation over a century later by the French crown, their suzerain. Richard the Justiciar Rudolph, then King of France Hugh the Black Gilbert Otto Eudes Henry the Great Otto William In 1004, Burgundy was annexed by the king, Otto William continued to rule what would come to be called the Free County of Burgundy. His descendants formed another House of Ivrea, Robert Henry Robert, son of Robert II of France, received the Duchy as a peace settlement, having disputed the succession to the throne of France with his brother Henry. John II of France, the second Valois king, successfully claimed the Duchy after the death of Philip, John then passed the duchy to his youngest son Philip as an apanage. In 1477, the territory of the Duchy of Burgundy was annexed by France, in the same year, Mary married Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, giving the Habsburgs control of the remainder of the Burgundian Inheritance. They often used the term Burgundy to refer to it, until the late 18th century, at the same time, various members of the French royal family, most notably Louis, Dauphin of France, the father of Louis XV of France, also used the title. Duchess of Burgundy Kingdom of Burgundy King of Burgundy Duchy of Burgundy County of Burgundy Count of Burgundy Dukes of Burgundy family tree Calmette, the Golden Age of Burgundy, the Magnificent Dukes and Their Courts. Les Origines du Duché de Bourgogne
Duke of Burgundy
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Robert I the Old (Robert I er le Vieux)
Duke of Burgundy
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Cross of Burgundy Flag
Duke of Burgundy
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Odo I Borel the Red (Eudes I er Borel le Roux)
Duke of Burgundy
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Hugh II (Hugues II)
22.
Charles the Bold
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Charles the Bold, baptised Charles Martin, was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. He was the last Duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois and is also known as Charles the Rash. His early death at the Battle of Nancy at the hands of Swiss mercenaries fighting for René II, Charles the Bold was born in Dijon, the son of Philip the Good and Isabella of Portugal. Before the death of his father in 1467, he bore the title of Count of Charolais, afterwards, he assumed all of his fathers titles, including that of Grand Duke of the West. He was also made a Knight of the Golden Fleece just twenty days after his birth, invested by Charles I, Count of Nevers, Charles was brought up under the direction of Jean dAuxy and early showed great application alike to academic studies and warlike exercises. His fathers court was the most extravagant in Europe at the time, in 1440, at the age of seven, Charles was married to Catherine, daughter of King Charles VII of France and sister of the Dauphin. She was five years older than her husband, and she died in 1446 at the age of 18, in 1454, at the age of 21, Charles married a second time. He wanted to marry a daughter of his distant cousin Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and his father chose Isabella of Bourbon, who was three years younger than he was. Isabella was the daughter of Philip the Goods sister Agnes and a distant cousin of Charles VII of France. Their daughter Mary of Burgundy was Charles only surviving child, she inherited all the Burgundian domains before her marriage to Maximilian of Hapsburg, the son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III. Charles was on terms with his brother-in-law Louis, the Dauphin of France. For his third wife, Charles was offered the hand of Louis XIs daughter Anne, the wife he ultimately chose, however, was his second cousin Margaret of York. Upon the death of his father in 1467, Charles was no longer bound by the terms of the Treaty of Arras, and he decided to ally himself with Burgundys old ally England. Louis did his best to prevent or delay the marriage with Margaret, but in the summer of 1468, it was celebrated sumptuously at Bruges, the couple had no children, but Margaret devoted herself to her stepdaughter Mary. After Marys death many years later, she kept Marys two infant children as long as she was allowed. On 12 April 1465, Philip relinquished control of the government of his domains to Charles, who spent the next summer prosecuting the War of the Public Weal against Louis XI. Charles was left master of the field at the Battle of Montlhéry on 13 July 1465, during the negotiations for the treaty, his wife Isabella died suddenly at Les Quesnoy on 25 September, making a political marriage suddenly possible. As part of the treaty, Louis promised him the hand of his infant daughter Anne, with the territories of Champagne and Ponthieu as a dowry, in the meanwhile, Charles obtained the surrender of Ponthieu
Charles the Bold
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Rogier van der Weyden painted Charles the Bold as a young man in about 1460, wearing the
Order of the Golden Fleece
Charles the Bold
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Double Briquet, struck under Charles the Bold in
Bruges, 1475
Charles the Bold
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Charles as a boy stands next to his father, Philip the Good.
Rogier van der Weyden 's frontispiece to the Chroniques de Hainaut, c. 1447–8 (
Royal Library of Belgium)
Charles the Bold
–
Engraving of Charles the Bold
23.
Burgundian Wars
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The Burgundian Wars were a conflict between the Dukes of Burgundy and the Old Swiss Confederacy and its allies. Open war broke out in 1474, and in the years the Duke of Burgundy. The dukes of Burgundy had succeeded, over a period of about 100 years and their possessions included, besides their original territories of the Franche-Comté and the Duchy of Burgundy, the economically strong regions of Flanders and Brabant as well as Luxembourg. The dukes of Burgundy generally pursued an aggressive expansionist politics, especially in Alsace and Lorraine, having already been in conflict with the French king, Charles advances along the Rhine brought him in conflict with the Habsburgs and especially emperor Frederick III. Charles expansionist strategy suffered a first setback in his politics when his attack on the Archbishopric of Cologne failed after the unsuccessful Siege of Neuss, in a second phase, Sigismund sought to achieve a peace agreement with the Swiss confederates, which eventually was concluded in Konstanz in 1474. He wanted to buy back his Alsace possessions from Charles, which the latter refused, the next year, Bernese forces conquered and ravaged Vaud, which belonged to the Duchy of Savoy, who was allied with Charles the Bold. Having rallied his army, he was dealt a blow by the confederates in the Battle of Morat. Charles the Bold raised a new army, but fell in the Battle of Nancy in 1477, with the death of Charles the Bold, the dynasty of the dukes of Burgundy died out. The duchy proper reverted to the crown of France under king Louis XI, the country cantons resented this and the Dreizehn Orte disputes almost led to war. They were settled by the Stanser Verkommnis of 1481, battles of the Burgundian Wars Cologne Diocesan Feud Vaughan, Richard, Charles the Bold, The Last Valois Duke of Burgundy, London, Longman Group, ISBN 0-582-50251-9. Franche-Comté in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
Burgundian Wars
–
The
Siege of Neuss (1474–75), from Geschichte Peter Hagenbachs und der Burgunderkriege (1477) by Konrad Pfettisheim (de)
Burgundian Wars
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Charles the Bold, a contemporary portrait by
Rogier van der Weyden
24.
Treaty of Picquigny
–
The Treaty of Picquigny was a peace treaty negotiated on 29 August 1475 between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France. It followed from an invasion of France by Edward IV of England in alliance with Burgundy and it left Louis XI of France free to deal with the threat posed by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. Edward IV had invaded France in alliance with Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, the plan was to march through Burgundian territory to Reims. However Charles failed to provide the support he had promised, Edward also received little support from his other ally Francis II, Duke of Brittany. Louis then sent Edward word that he was willing to offer more than Edwards allies could and he induced Edward to negotiate a settlement. The two negotiated by meeting on a bridge with a wooden grill-barrier between the sides, at Picquigny, just outside Amiens. The negotiations led to an agreement signed on 29 August 1475, the two kings agreed to a seven-year truce and free-trade between the two countries. Louis XI was to pay Edward IV75,000 crowns upfront, essentially a bribe to return to England and he would then receive a yearly pension thereafter of 50,000 crowns. Also the King of France was to ransom the deposed Queen Margaret of Anjou and it also included pensions to many of Edwards lords. Other provisions of the treaty were that if either king experienced a rebellion, Edwards daughter Elizabeth of York was to marry the Dauphin Charles when she came of age. The English claim to the French throne was to be subject to arbitration along with disagreements between the monarchs. A committee should meet annually to discuss the issues and their conclusions should be binding and it was to comprise the archbishops of Canterbury and Lyons, Edwards brother George, the Duke of Clarence, and Louis, Count of Dunois. In addition to the king, his leading advisors also received pensions from the French, Thomas Rotherham the chancellor had 1,000 crowns a year. John Morton had 600 crowns, and Sir John Howard and Sir Thomas Montgomery 1,200 each, william Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, who had been the chief advocate for the treaty, was to receive 2,000 crowns a year. The details of the negotiations are related by the chronicler Philippe de Commines and he refused to participate in the negotiations. However, he joined the celebrations in Amiens after it was concluded, Commines also relays a series of sarcastic comments made by the French king about Edwards notorious womanising, as well as his fear of the English because of the events of the Hundred Years War. The apparent bribery in the treaty led to some disaffection on both sides, a number of commentators, both English and French, considered it dishonourable. Louis de Bretaylle, English envoy to Spain, confided that this one shady deal took away the honour of all Edwards previous military victories
Treaty of Picquigny
–
Edward IV of England
Treaty of Picquigny
–
Louis XI of France
25.
Edward IV of England
–
Edward IV was the King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was the first Yorkist King of England, before becoming king, he was 4th Duke of York, 7th Earl of March, 5th Earl of Cambridge and 9th Earl of Ulster. He was also the 65th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, Edward of York was born at Rouen in France, the second son of Richard, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville. He was the eldest of the four sons who survived to adulthood and he bore the title Earl of March before his fathers death and his accession to the throne. Edwards father Richard, Duke of York, had been heir to King Henry VI until the birth of Henrys son Edward in 1453, Richard carried on a factional struggle with the kings Beaufort relatives. He established a dominant position after his victory at the First Battle of St Albans in 1455, in which his chief rival Edmund Beaufort, however, Henrys Queen, Margaret of Anjou, rebuilt a powerful faction to oppose the Yorkists over the following years. The Yorkist leaders fled from England after the collapse of their army in the confrontation at Ludford Bridge, the Duke of York took refuge in Ireland, while Edward went with the Nevilles to Calais where Warwick was governor. In 1460 Edward landed in Kent with Salisbury, Warwick and Salisburys brother William Neville, Lord Fauconberg, raised an army and this left Edward, now Duke of York, at the head of the Yorkist faction. He defeated a Lancastrian army at Mortimers Cross in Herefordshire on 2–3 February 1461 and he then united his forces with those of Warwick, whom Margarets army had defeated at the Second Battle of St Albans, during which Henry VI had been rescued by his supporters. Edwards father had restricted his ambitions to becoming Henrys heir, and he then advanced against the Lancastrians, having his life saved on the battlefield by the Welsh Knight Sir David Ap Mathew. He defeated the Lancastrian army in the exceptionally bloody Battle of Towton in Yorkshire on 29 March 1461, Edward had effectively broken the military strength of the Lancastrians, and he returned to London for his coronation. King Edward IV named Sir David Ap Mathew Standard Bearer of England, Lancastrian resistance continued in the north, but posed no serious threat to the new regime and was finally extinguished by Warwicks brother John Neville in the Battle of Hexham in 1464. Henry VI had escaped into the Pennines, where he spent a year in hiding, Queen Margaret fled abroad with the young Prince Edward and many of their leading supporters. Even at the age of nineteen, Edward exhibited remarkable military acumen and he also had a notable physique and was described as handsome and affable. His height is estimated at 6 feet 4.5 inches, making him the tallest among all English, Scottish, most of Englands leading families had remained loyal to Henry VI or remained uncommitted in the recent conflict. The new regime, therefore, relied heavily on the support of the Nevilles, however, the king increasingly became estranged from their leader the Earl of Warwick, due primarily to his marriage. Warwick, acting on Edwards behalf, made arrangements with King Louis XI of France for Edward to marry either Louis daughter Anne or his sister-in-law Bona of Savoy. He was humiliated and enraged to discover that, while he was negotiating, Edward had secretly married Elizabeth Woodville, Edwards marriage to Elizabeth Woodville has been criticised as an impulsive action that did not add anything to the security of England or the York dynasty
Edward IV of England
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Edward IV
Edward IV of England
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Coat of arms of King Edward IV, from one of his manuscripts
Edward IV of England
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Edward IV c.1520, posthumous portrait from original c. 1470–75
26.
Battle of Nancy
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Renés forces won the battle, and Charles mutilated body was found three days later. Charles was besieging the city of Nancy, capital of Lorraine, by late December René had gathered some 10-12,000 men from Lorraine and the Lower Union. A Swiss army of 10,000 men arrived to help out, René began his advance on Nancy early in January 1477, moving cautiously through the snow-covered landscape until they reached Nancy early on the morning of 5 January. Charles, as usual, deployed his troops to a battle plan despite the short notice he received of the approach of Renés forces. If Charles suffered from a lack of scouting, the same could not be said for the Allied army, despite the driving snow cutting visibility to a few yards, the Allied scouts soon recognized that a frontal assault on the Burgundian position would be disastrous. The small rearguard of 800 handgunners acted as reserve, after a march lasting some two hours, the center force emerged from the wooded slopes slightly to the rear of the Burgundian position and formed up in a wedge formation. The early notes of the Swiss horns sounded thrice, and the Swiss charged downhill into the Burgundian positions, the artillery attempted to retrain on the center force but could not elevate enough to be effective, the single volley discharged killed but two men. Although the right wing Burgundian cavalry held off the Swiss rivals, the Vanguard threw back the Burgundian left wing and put the artillery to flight. It is thought that during the fight Charles said, I struggle against a spider who is everywhere at once, determined to the last, Charles and his staff tried in vain to rally the broken army, but without success. His small band was carried with the flight until eventually surrounded by a party of Swiss, a halberdier quickly swung at the Dukes head and landed a deadly blow directly on his helmet. He was seen to fall but the battle flowed on around him and it was three days until the Dukes disfigured body was finally found and positively identified amongst the detritus of the slaughter. René II built the church of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours on the site of the battle, and he furthermore built the basilique of Saint-Nicolas-de-Port to recognize the help of St. Nicholas in the battle. The city adopted the motto of non inultus premor and the device of a thistle as its coat of arms to commemorate the defeat of Charles the Bold. René II also erected a cross to mark the spot where the body of Charles was found, the nearby étang Saint-Jean was drained in the 19th century, freeing the area of what is now Place de la Croix-de-Bourgogne in Nancy. The original cross was moved to the Lorraine museum, the current monument is a design by Victor Prouvé. Pierre de Blarru, canon of Saint-Dié, composed a vast poem called la Nancéide, in 5,044 Latin verses, in La Malgrange, a tower was erected in 1877 to commemorate the attack of René II. Battle of Grandson Battle of Morat Duchy of Burgundy Old Swiss Confederacy Battles of the Old Swiss Confederacy
Battle of Nancy
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"Rene takes the town of Nancy", by Pierre Jacobi
Battle of Nancy
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Finding of
Charles the Bold 's corpse, after the battle (Charles Houry, 1862).
Battle of Nancy
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Charles the Bold found after the Battle of Nancy (1865),
Auguste Feyen-Perrin
Battle of Nancy
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Monument to the Battle of Nancy, Place de la Croix-de-Bourgogne, Nancy.
27.
Burgundy
–
Burgundy is a historical territory and a former administrative region of east-central France, entities that trace their name from the Burgundians, a Germanic people. Historically, Burgundy has referred to political entities, including kingdoms. The first known inhabitants of the area that became Burgundy were Celts, during the 4th century, the Burgundians, a Germanic people, who may have originated in Bornholm, settled in the western Alps. They founded the Kingdom of the Burgundians, which was conquered in the 6th century by another Germanic tribe, under Frankish dominion, the Kingdom of Burgundy continued for several centuries. Later, the region was divided between the Duchy of Burgundy and the Free County of Burgundy, burgundys modern existence is rooted in the dissolution of the Frankish Empire. In the 880s, there were four Burgundies, which were the Kingdom of Upper and Lower Burgundy, the duchy, during the Middle Ages, Burgundy was the seat of some of the most important Western churches and monasteries, among them Cluny, Cîteaux, and Vézelay. During the Hundred Years War, King John II of France gave the duchy to his youngest son, the duchy soon became a major rival to the crown. The court in Dijon outshone the French court both economically and culturally, in 1477, at the battle of Nancy during the Burgundian Wars, the last duke Charles the Bold was killed in battle, and the Duchy itself was annexed by France and became a province. However the northern part of the empire was taken by the Austrian Habsburgs, with the French Revolution in the end of the 18th century, the administrative units of the provinces disappeared, but were reconstituted as regions during the Fifth Republic in the 1970s. The modern-day administrative region comprises most of the former duchy, as of he region of Burgundy is both larger than the old Duchy of Burgundy and smaller than the area ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy, from the modern Netherlands to the border of Auvergne. Today, Burgundy is made up of the old provinces, Burgundy, Côte-dOr, Saône-et-Loire and this corresponds to the old duchy of Burgundy. However, the old county of Burgundy is not included inside the Burgundy region, also, a small part of the duchy of Burgundy is now inside the Champagne-Ardenne region. Nivernais, now the department of Nièvre, the climate of this region is essentially oceanic, with a continental influence. The regional council of Burgundy is the legislative assembly, the council has been chaired by the Socialist François Patriat since 2004. The councils seat is in the capital city Dijon, at 17 boulevard de la Trémouille, Burgundy is one of Frances main wine producing areas. The region is divided into the Côte-dOr, where the most expensive and prized Burgundies are found, and Beaujolais, Chablis, with regard to cuisine, the region is famous for the Burgundian dishes coq au vin, beef bourguignon, and époisses de Bourgogne cheese. Earlier, the part of Burgundy was heavily industrial, with coal mines near Montceau-les-Mines and iron foundries. These industries declined in the half of the twentieth century
Burgundy
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Arboretum de Pézanin
Burgundy
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Flag
Burgundy
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Dijon, Place du Bareuzai
Burgundy
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Le Creusot
28.
Picardy
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Picardy is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is now part of the new region of Hauts-de-France and it is located in the northern part of France. The historical province of Picardy stretched from north of Noyon to Calais, via the whole of the Somme department, the province of Artois separated Picardy from French Flanders. From the 5th century the area was part of the Frankish Empire, and in the period it encompassed the six countships of Boulogne, Montreuil, Ponthieu, Amiénois, Vermandois. According to the 843 Treaty of Verdun the region part of West Francia. The name Picardy was not used until the 12th or 13th century, during this time, the name applied to all lands where the Picard language was spoken, which included all the territories from Paris to the Netherlands. In the Latin Quarter of Paris, people identified a Picard Nation of students at Sorbonne University, during the Hundred Years War, Picardy was the centre of the Jacquerie peasant revolt in 1358. From 1419 onwards, the Picardy counties were gradually acquired by the Burgundian duke Philip the Good, in 1477, King Louis XI of France led an army and occupied key towns in Picardy. By the end of 1477, Louis would control all of Picardy, in the 16th century, the government of Picardy was created. This became a new region of France, separate from what was historically defined as Picardy. The new Picardy included the Somme département, the half of the Aisne département. In 1557, Picardy was invaded by Habsburg forces under the command of Emmanuel Philibert, after a seventeen-day siege, St. Quentin would be ransacked, while Noyon would be burned by the Habsburg army. In the 17th century, a disease similar to English sweat originated from the region. It was called Suette des picards or Picardy sweat, the sugar industry has continued to play a prominent role in the economy of the region. One of the most significant historical events to occur in Picardy was the series of battles fought along the Somme during World War I. From September 1914 to August 1918, four major battles, including the Battle of the Somme, were fought by British, French, and German forces in the fields of Northern Picardy. In 2009, the Regional Committee for local government reform proposed to reduce the number of French regions, Picardy would have disappeared, and each department would have joined a nearby region. The Oise would have incorporated in the Île-de-France, the Somme would have been incorporated in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Picardy
–
This painting by
Pierre Puvis de Chavannes recalls the "Golden Age" in the history of the province of Picardy. The Walters Art Museum.
Picardy
–
Flag
Picardy
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Landscape in Picardy
Picardy
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Distinctive brick building style demonstrated on a monument in the
Somme, Picardy
29.
Hundred Years War
–
Each side drew many allies into the war. It was one of the most notable conflicts of the Middle Ages, the war marked both the height of chivalry and its subsequent decline, and the development of strong national identities in both countries. After the Norman Conquest, the kings of England were vassals of the kings of France for their possessions in France, the French kings had endeavored, over the centuries, to reduce these possessions, to the effect that only Gascony was left to the English. Through his mother, Isabella of France, Edward III of England was the grandson of Philip IV of France and nephew of Charles IV of France, in 1316, a principle was established denying women succession to the French throne. When Charles IV died in 1328, Isabella, unable to claim the French throne for herself, the French rejected the claim, maintaining that Isabella could not transmit a right that she did not possess. Several overwhelming English victories in the war—especially at Crecy, Poitiers, however, the greater resources of the French monarchy precluded a complete conquest. Historians commonly divide the war into three separated by truces, the Edwardian Era War, the Caroline War, and the Lancastrian War. Later historians adopted the term Hundred Years War as a historiography periodization to encompass all of these events, the war owes its historical significance to multiple factors. By its end, feudal armies had been replaced by professional troops. Although primarily a conflict, the war gave impetus to ideas of French. The wider introduction of weapons and tactics supplanted the feudal armies where heavy cavalry had dominated, the war precipitated the creation of the first standing armies in Western Europe since the time of the Western Roman Empire and thus helping to change their role in warfare. With respect to the belligerents, in France, civil wars, deadly epidemics, famines, English political forces over time came to oppose the costly venture. The dissatisfaction of English nobles, resulting from the loss of their continental landholdings, the root causes of the conflict can be found in the demographic, economic and political crises of 14th century Europe. The outbreak of war was motivated by a rise in tension between the Kings of France and England about Guyenne, Flanders and Scotland. The dynastic question, which due to an interruption of the direct male line of the Capetians, was the official pretext. The question of succession to the French throne was raised after the death of Louis X in 1316. Louis X left only a daughter, and his posthumous son John I lived only a few days, Philip, Count of Poitiers, brother of Louis X, asserted that women were ineligible to succeed to the French throne. Through his political sagacity he won over his adversaries and succeeded to the French throne as Philip V of France, by the same law that he procured, his daughters were denied the succession, which passed to his younger brother, Charles IV, in 1322
Hundred Years War
–
Clockwise, from top left:
John of Bohemia at the
Battle of Crécy, English and Franco-Castilian fleets at the
Battle of La Rochelle,
Henry V and the English army at the
Battle of Agincourt,
Joan of Arc rallies French forces at the
Siege of Orléans
Hundred Years War
–
Homage of
Edward I of England (kneeling) to
Philip IV of France (seated), 1286. As
Duke of Aquitaine, Edward was also a vassal to the French King.
Hundred Years War
–
Battle of Sluys from a
manuscript of
Froissart's Chronicles, Bruge, c.1470
Hundred Years War
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Battle of Crécy, 1346
30.
Yolande of Aragon
–
She was a daughter of John I of Aragon and his wife Yolande of Bar. Yolande played a role in the struggles between France and England, influencing events such as the financing of Joan of Arcs army in 1429 that helped tip the balance in favour of the French. She was also known as Yolanda de Aragón and Violant dAragó, tradition holds that she commissioned the famous Rohan Hours. Yolande was born in Zaragoza, Aragon, on 11 August 1384, the eldest daughter of King John I of Aragon by his wife, Yolande of Bar. She had three brothers and two sisters, as well as five older half-siblings from her fathers first marriage to Martha of Armagnac, Yolande later played an important role in the politics of England, France, and Aragon during the first half of the 15th century. In 1389, Louis II was crowned King of Naples and his mother Marie of Blois opened negotiations for a marriage between her son and Yolande to prevent Aragon from obstructing his rule there. When Yolande was eleven, she signed a document to disavow any promises made by ambassadors about her marrying Louis II, in 1395, Richard II of England also opened negotiations for Yolandes hand. To prevent this marriage, Charles VI of France offered his own daughter Isabella to King Richard, after the death of Yolandes father, Marie of Blois convinced Yolandes uncle Martin I of Aragon to have Yolande wed Louis II. Yolande signed a protest, but was forced to retract it later, the couple married in Arles on December 2,1400. Despite Yolandes earlier objections and the illnesses of her husband. As the surviving daughter of King John I of Aragon, she claimed the throne of Aragon after the deaths of her elder sister Joanna, Countess of Foix, and her uncle, King Martin I. However, unclear though they were, the laws of succession for Aragon, the Anjou candidate for the throne of Aragon was Yolandes eldest son Louis III of Anjou, Duke of Calabria, whose claim was forfeited in the Pact of Caspe. Yolande and her sons regarded themselves as the heirs with the stronger claim, as a result of this additional inheritance, Yolande was called the Queen of Four Kingdoms - the four apparently Sicily, Jerusalem, Cyprus and Aragon. Another interpretation specifies Naples separate from Sicily, plus Jerusalem and Aragon, the number could be raised to seven if the two component kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon and Sardinia were included. However, the reality was that Yolande and her family controlled territories in the kingdoms only at short intervals. Their true realm was the Anjou fiefdoms across France, they held uncontestably the provinces of Provence and Anjou, Yolandes son René I of Anjou became ruler of Lorraine through his marriage to Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine. In the emerging second phase of the Hundred Years War, Yolande chose to support the French against the English, in the same year, Yolande met with Queen Isabeau of France to finalize a marriage contract between her daughter Marie and Isabeaus third surviving son Charles. After his two brothers died, she supported the claim of the Dauphin Charles who, relying upon Yolandes resources and help
Yolande of Aragon
–
Yolande of Aragon
Yolande of Aragon
–
Yolande, Dowager Duchess of Anjou, with Dauphin Charles, the future
Charles VII of France
31.
Bourges Cathedral
–
Bourges Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church located in Bourges, France. It is dedicated to Saint Stephen, and is the seat of the Archbishop of Bourges, the present Cathedral was built as a replacement for a mid-11th-century structure, traces of which survive in the crypt. The date when construction began is unknown, although a document of 1195 recording expenditure on rebuilding works suggests that construction was underway by that date. The main phase of construction is therefore roughly contemporaneous with Chartres Cathedral, as with most Early- and High-Gothic cathedrals, the identity of the architect or master-mason is unknown. The choir was in use by 1214 and the nave was finished by 1255, the building was finally consecrated in 1324. Most of the west façade was finished by 1270, though work on the towers proceeded more slowly, partly due to the rock strata beneath the site. Structural problems with the South tower led to the building of the adjoining buttress tower in the mid-14th century, the North tower was completed around the end of the 15th century but collapsed in 1506, destroying the Northern portion of the façade in the process. The North tower and its portal were subsequently rebuilt in a contemporary style. Generally the cathedral suffered far less than some of its peers during the French Wars of Religion and its location meant it was also relatively safe from the ravages of both World Wars. The cathedral was added to the list of the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1992, Bourges Cathedral covers a surface of 5,900 square meters. The cathedrals nave is 15 m wide by 37m high, its arcade is 20m high, the aisle is 21.3 m. The use of flying buttresses was employed to help the structure of the building, however, since this was a fairly new technique, one can easily see the walls were still made quite thick to take the force. Sexpartite vaults are used to span the nave, the double aisles continue without interruption beyond the position of the screen to form a double ambulatory around the choir. This design, with its distinctive cross section, was subsequently copied at Toledo Cathedral. The flying buttresses surrounding the cathedral are relatively slender and efficient, particularly compared to the contemporary and their steep angle helps to channel the thrust from the nave vaults and the wind loading on the roof to the outer buttress piers more effectively. The west façade is on a grand scale when compared to earlier cathedrals. The four side aisles and central nave each have their own portal reflecting the scale of the spaces beyond, the north portals were destroyed when the tower collapsed but surviving fragments indicate that their sculptural programmes were dedicated to the life and death of the Virgin. Unifying all five portals is a screen of gabled niches which stretches the whole width of the façade
Bourges Cathedral
–
Bourges Cathedral
Bourges Cathedral
–
Inside of the Cathedral
Bourges Cathedral
–
Cathedral during the day
Bourges Cathedral
–
Floorplan of the cathedral
32.
Battle of Cravant
–
The battle ended in a victory for the English and their Burgundian allies. After the Treaty of Troyes in 1420, the English king was permitted to all the country north of the Loire. In 1422, with Henry V suddenly dead and an infant King Henry VI of England, in the early summer of 1423, the French Dauphin Charles assembled an army at Bourges intending to invade Burgundian territory. This French army contained a number of Scots under John Stewart of Darnley. This army besieged the town of Cravant, the garrison of Cravant requested help from the Dowager Duchess of Burgundy, who raised troops and in turn sought support from Burgundys English allies, which was forthcoming. The two allied armies, one English, one Burgundian, rendezvoused at Auxerre on 29 July, the allied commanders held a council of war in Auxerre Cathedral on the evening of 29 July. This led to the drafting an order of battle, covering a mixture of tactical, the army was clearly intending to fight a dismounted action, with horses taken to the rear, and archers were to prepare anti-cavalry stakes. That night the army was ordered to pray for victory, the march was to begin at 10 oclock the following morning. The combined English and Burgundian forces were led by Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury, the Anglo-Burgundian army mustered about 4,000 men, including 1500 men-at-arms,2000 English archers, some Burgundian crossbowmen and pioneers and 40 veuglaires, manned by the citizens of Auxerre. The French army was commanded by Sir John Stewart of Darnley with the Comte de Vendôme as second in command, the majority of the force were probably Scots. A sizeable French force was present with smaller forces of Aragonese, the Dauphinist army was larger than the Anglo-Burgundian force perhaps by two to three times. The allied army marched throughout 30 July and that evening,6 kilometres short of Cravant, the following day, having assessed the enemy position as too strong, they crossed the river Yonne and attempted to reach Cravant by another route. Approaching the town from across the river, the saw that the French army had changed position and was now waiting for them on the other bank. For three hours the forces watched each other, neither willing to attempt a river crossing. Eventually, the Scots archers began shooting into the allied ranks, the allied artillery replied, supported by their own archers and crossbowmen. Meanwhile, another force under Willoughby attacked the Scots across the narrow bridge, the French began to withdraw, but the Scots refused to flee and fought on, to be cut down by the hundreds. Perhaps 3,000 of them fell at the bridgehead or along the riverbanks, and over 2,000 prisoners were taken, including Darnley, the Dauphins forces retreated to the Loire. On 2 August, the English and Burgundian armies withdrew separately from Cravant, the Burgundians marching to Dijon, the success at Cravant was the first for a joint English and Burgundian army
Battle of Cravant
–
Battle of Cravant
33.
Jean Fouquet
–
Jean Fouquet was a preeminent French painter of the 15th century, a master of both panel painting and manuscript illumination, and the apparent inventor of the portrait miniature. He was the first French artist to travel to Italy and experience first-hand the early Italian Renaissance, little is known of his life, but it is certain that he was in Italy before 1447, when he executed a portrait of Pope Eugene IV, who died that year. He worked for the French court, including Charles VII, the treasurer Étienne Chevalier, near the end of his career, he became court painter to Louis XI. His work can be associated with the French courts attempt to solidify French national identity in the wake of its struggle with England in the Hundred Years War. One example is when Fouquet depicts Charles VII as one of the three magi and this is one of the very few portraits of the king. According to some sources, the other two magi are the Dauphin Louis, future Louis XI, and his brother, far more numerous are his illuminated books and miniatures. The Musée Condé in Chantilly contains forty miniatures from the Hours of Étienne Chevalier, Fouquet also illuminated a copy of the Grandes Chroniques de France, for an unknown patron, thought to be either Charles VII or someone else at the royal court. Also from Fouquets hand are eleven of the fourteen miniatures illustrating a translation of Josephus at the Bibliothèque Nationale, the Melun Diptych One of Fouquets most important paintings is the Melun Diptych, formerly in Melun cathedral. The left wing of the diptych depicts Étienne Chevalier with his patron saint St. Stephen, the right wing shows a pale Virgin and Child surrounded by red and blue angels and is now at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp. Since at least the seventeenth century, the Virgin has been recognized as a portrait of Agnès Sorel, the Louvre has his oil portraits of Charles VII, of Count Wilczek, and of Guillaume Jouvenel des Ursins, and a portrait drawing in crayon. Melun Diptych Book of Hours of Simon de Varie Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Foucquet, world Digital Library presentation of Antiquités judaïques or Jewish Antiquities. Illuminated parchment manuscripts recount the history of the Jewish people from Creation to the outbreak of the Jewish revolt against the Romans in A. D.66
Jean Fouquet
–
Charles VII as one of the
three magi.
Jean Fouquet
–
Jean Fouquet, self-portrait (1450). The earliest
portrait miniature, and possibly the earliest formal
self-portrait.
Jean Fouquet
–
Entry of
Charles V in
Paris on 2 August 1358,
Grandes Chroniques de France (1455-1460)
Jean Fouquet
–
Marriage of
Charles IV and
Marie of Luxembourg
34.
Adoration of the Magi
–
It is related in the Bible by Matthew 2,11, On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another path. The scene was used to represent the Nativity, one of the most indispensable episodes in cycles of the Life of the Virgin as well as the Life of Christ. In the church calendar, the event is commemorated in Western Christianity as the Feast of the Epiphany, the Orthodox Church commemorates the Adoration of the Magi on the Feast of the Nativity. The term is anglicized from the Vulgate Latin section title for this passage, in the earliest depictions, the Magi are shown wearing Persian dress of trousers and Phrygian caps, usually in profile, advancing in step with their gifts held out before them. The earliest are from catacomb paintings and sarcophagus reliefs of the 4th century, crowns are first seen in the 10th century, mostly in the West, where their dress had by that time lost any Oriental flavour in most cases. Later Byzantine images often show small pill-box like hats, whose significance is disputed, melchior represents Europe and middle age. From the 14th century onwards, large retinues are often shown, the gifts are contained in spectacular pieces of work. The subject matter is found in stained glass. Many hundreds of artists have treated the subject, a partial list of those with articles follows. See also, Category, Adoration of the Magi in art, Adoration of the Magi, Fra Angelico and Filippo Lippi, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C. Hieronymus Bosch, Museo del Prado, Madrid Adoration of the Magi of 1475, Botticelli, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C
Adoration of the Magi
–
Adoration of the Magi,
Hans Memling
Adoration of the Magi
–
Adoration of the Magi after Hieronymus Bosch
Adoration of the Magi
–
Adoration of the Magi by
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 17th century
Adoration of the Magi
–
4th century Sarcophagus, Vatican
35.
Charles VI of France
–
Charles VI, called the Beloved and the Mad, was King of France from 1380 to his death. He was a member of the House of Valois, Charles VI was only 11 when he inherited the throne in the midst of the Hundred Years War. The government was entrusted to his four uncles, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, John, Duke of Berry, Louis I, Duke of Anjou, and Louis II, Duke of Bourbon. Although the royal age of majority was fixed at 14, the dukes maintained their grip on Charles until he took power at the age of 21, as royal funds drained, new taxes had to be raised, which caused several revolts. In 1388 Charles VI dismissed his uncles and brought back to power his fathers former advisers, political and economic conditions in the kingdom improved significantly, and Charles earned the epithet the Beloved. But in August 1392 en route to Brittany with his army in the forest of Le Mans, Charles suddenly went mad and slew four knights and almost killed his brother, from then on, Charles bouts of insanity became more frequent and of longer duration. During these attacks, he had delusions, believing he was made of glass or denying he had a wife and he could also attack servants or run until exhaustion, wailing that he was threatened by his enemies. Between crises, there were intervals of months during which Charles was relatively sane, however, unable to concentrate or make decisions, political power was taken away from him by the princes of the blood, which would cause much chaos and conflict in France. A fierce struggle for power developed between Louis of Orléans, the brother, and John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy. When John instigated the murder of Louis in November 1407, the conflict degenerated into a war between the Armagnacs and the Burgundians. John offered large parts of France to King Henry V of England, when Charles VI died, he was succeeded by his son Charles VII, who found the Valois cause in a desperate situation. Charles was born in Paris, in the residence of the Hôtel Saint-Pol, on 3 December 1368, the son of the king of France Charles V, of the House of Valois. As heir to the French throne, his brothers having died before he was born. At his fathers death on 16 September 1380, he inherited the throne of France and his coronation took place on 4 November 1380, at Reims Cathedral. Although the royal age of majority was 14, Charles did not terminate the regency and he married Isabeau of Bavaria on 17 July 1385, when he was 17 and she was 14. Isabeau had 12 children, most of whom died young, isabeaus first child, named Charles, was born in 1386, and was Dauphin of Viennois, but survived only 3 months. Her second child, Joan, was born on 14 June 1388 and her third child, Isabella, was born in 1389. She was married to Richard II, King of England in 1396, at the age of 6, Richard died in 1400 and they had no children
Charles VI of France
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Charles VI of France by the painter known as the
Master of Boucicaut (1412).
Charles VI of France
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The coronation of Charles VI
Charles VI of France
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Charles seized by madness in the forest of Le Mans
Charles VI of France
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A coin of Charles VI, a "double d'or", minted in
La Rochelle in 1420
36.
Philip the Bold
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Philip the Bold was Duke of Burgundy and jure uxoris Count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy. The fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and his wife, Bonne of Luxembourg and his vast collection of territories made him the undisputed premier peer of the kingdom of France and made his successors formidable rivals of the kings of France. Born in Pontoise in 1342, Philip gained his cognomen the Bold at the age of 14 and he remained in the custody of the English with his father until the terms of their ransom were agreed to in the Treaty of Brétigny of 1360. His father had been the ruler of the duchy since the death of Duke Philip I in 1361, Philip would rule the duchy as Philip II until his death. He was actually the stepbrother of Philip I of Burgundy, whose mother Joan was married to King John II of France, Philip the Bolds father, Margaret became the widow of Philips stepbrother Duke Philip I of Burgundy while still a child of about 11. As her fathers heiress, Margaret would bring rich possessions to Philip the Bold. From 1379 to 1382, Philip helped his father-in-law Louis II put down revolts in Flanders, particularly in Ghent, the revolts were finally ended in 1385, following the death of Louis II, with the Peace of Tournai. As jure uxoris Count of Flanders, he would keep in mind the interests of the Flemish cities. Philip was very active at the court of France, particularly after the death in 1380 of his brother King Charles V, among Philips acts while regent was the suppression of a tax revolt in 1382 known as the Harelle. The regency lasted until 1388, always with Philip assuming the dominant role, Louis of Bourbon was largely an unimportant figure due to his personality and his status. In 1392, events conspired to allow Philip to seize power once more in France, Charles VIs friend and advisor Olivier de Clisson had recently been the target of an assassination attempt by agents of John V, Duke of Brittany. The would-be assassin, Pierre de Craon, had taken refuge in Brittany, Charles, outraged at these events, determined to punish Craon, and on 1 July 1392 led an expedition against Brittany. While traveling to Brittany, the king, already overwrought by the progress, was shocked by a madman who spent half-an-hour following the procession to warn the king that he had been betrayed. When a page dropped a lance, the king reacted by killing several of his knights and had to be wrestled to the ground, Philip, who was present, immediately assumed command and appointed himself regent, dismissing Charles advisors. He was the ruler of France until 1402. His seizure of power, however, had consequences for the unity of the House of Valois. This struggle only served to enhance the reputation of Philip, since he appeared to be a sober and honest reformer in comparison to the profligate and irresponsible Louis. Although Charles VI confirmed his brother as regent in 1402 in a moment of sanity, Louiss misrule allowed Philip to regain control of France as regent in 1404
Philip the Bold
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Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold
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Flanders, double groat or 'jangelaar', struck in Gent under Philip the Bold (1384-1404) with the arms of Burgundy and Flanders.
Philip the Bold
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Engraving of Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold
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Tomb of Philip the Bold at the Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy at
Dijon
37.
North Sea
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The North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between Great Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the ocean through the English Channel in the south and it is more than 970 kilometres long and 580 kilometres wide, with an area of around 570,000 square kilometres. The North Sea has long been the site of important European shipping lanes as well as a major fishery, the North Sea was the centre of the Vikings rise. Subsequently, the Hanseatic League, the Netherlands, and the British each sought to dominate the North Sea and thus the access to the markets, as Germanys only outlet to the ocean, the North Sea continued to be strategically important through both World Wars. The coast of the North Sea presents a diversity of geological and geographical features, in the north, deep fjords and sheer cliffs mark the Norwegian and Scottish coastlines, whereas in the south it consists primarily of sandy beaches and wide mudflats. Due to the population, heavy industrialization, and intense use of the sea and area surrounding it. In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean, in the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively. In the north it is bordered by the Shetland Islands, and connects with the Norwegian Sea, the North Sea is more than 970 kilometres long and 580 kilometres wide, with an area of 570,000 square kilometres and a volume of 54,000 cubic kilometres. Around the edges of the North Sea are sizeable islands and archipelagos, including Shetland, Orkney, the North Sea receives freshwater from a number of European continental watersheds, as well as the British Isles. A large part of the European drainage basin empties into the North Sea including water from the Baltic Sea, the largest and most important rivers flowing into the North Sea are the Elbe and the Rhine – Meuse watershed. Around 185 million people live in the catchment area of the rivers discharging into the North Sea encompassing some highly industrialized areas, for the most part, the sea lies on the European continental shelf with a mean depth of 90 metres. The only exception is the Norwegian trench, which extends parallel to the Norwegian shoreline from Oslo to a north of Bergen. It is between 20 and 30 kilometres wide and has a depth of 725 metres. The Dogger Bank, a vast moraine, or accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris and this feature has produced the finest fishing location of the North Sea. The Long Forties and the Broad Fourteens are large areas with uniform depth in fathoms. These great banks and others make the North Sea particularly hazardous to navigate, the Devils Hole lies 200 miles east of Dundee, Scotland. The feature is a series of trenches between 20 and 30 kilometres long,1 and 2 kilometres wide and up to 230 metres deep. Other areas which are less deep are Cleaver Bank, Fisher Bank, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the North Sea as follows, On the Southwest
North Sea
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North Sea
North Sea
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The German North Sea coast
North Sea
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The
Afsluitdijk (Closure-dike) is a major dam in the Netherlands
North Sea
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Zuid-Beveland,
North Sea flood of 1953
38.
Jura Mountains
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The Jura Mountains French, Massif du Jura, are a sub-alpine mountain range located north of the Western Alps, mainly following the course of the France–Switzerland border. The Jura separates the Rhine and Rhône basins, forming part of the watershed of each, the name Jura is derived from juria, a Latinized form of a Celtic stem jor- forest. The mountain range gives its name to the French department of Jura, the Swiss Canton of Jura, the Jurassic period of the timescale. The Jura Mountains are a province of the larger Central European uplands. In France, the Jura covers most of the Franche-Comté region, the range reaches its highest point at Le Crêt de la Neige in the department of Ain and finds its southern terminus in the northwestern part of the department of Savoie. The north end of the Jura extends into the tip of the Alsace region. Roughly 1,600 square kilometres of the range in France is protected by the Jura Mountains Regional Natural Park. The Swiss Jura is one of the three geographical regions of Switzerland, the other being the Swiss plateau and the Swiss Alps. In Switzerland, the covers the western border with France in the cantons of Basel-Landschaft, Solothurn, Jura, Bern, Neuchâtel. Much of the Swiss Jura region has no association with Early Modern Switzerland and was incorporated as part of the Swiss Confederacy only in the 19th century. In the 20th century, a movement of Jurassic separatism developed which resulted in the creation of the canton of Jura in 1979, the Swiss Jura has been industrialized since the 18th century and became a major centre of the watchmaking industry. The area has several cities at very high altitudes, such as La Chaux-de-Fonds, Le Locle, the Jura range proper is continued as the Table Jura in the cantons of Basel-Landschaft and Aargau, and further to Schaffhausen and into southern Germany towards the Swabian and Franconian plateaus. The range is built up vertically while decreasing in size laterally and this deformation accommodates the compression from alpine folding as the main Alpine orogenic front moves roughly northwards. The deformation becomes less pervasive away from the younger, more active Alpine mountain building, the geologic folds comprise three major bands of building that date from three epochs, the Lias, the Dogger and the Malm geologic periods. Each era of folding reveals effects of shallow marine environments as evidenced by beds with carbonate sequences, containing abundant bioclasts. Structurally, the Jura consists of a sequence of geologic folds, the highest peak in the Jura range is Le Crêt de la Neige at 1,720 metres. Vosges and Jura coal mining basins The Jura range offer a variety of tourist activities including hiking, cycling, downhill skiing, there are many signposted trails including the Jura ridgeway, a 310 km hiking route. Tourist attractions include natural features such as the Creux du Van, lookout peaks such as the Chasseral, caves such as the Grottes de lOrbe, and gorges such as Taubenloch
Jura Mountains
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Looking towards
Lélex from near the
Crêt de la Neige
Jura Mountains
Jura Mountains
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Creux du Van, Switzerland
Jura Mountains
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Lac de Joux, the largest lake in the range, in Swiss Jura
39.
Somme River
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The Somme is a river in Picardy, northern France. The name Somme comes from a Celtic word meaning tranquility, the department Somme was named after this river. The river is 245 km long, from its source in the ground of the former Forest of Arrouaise at Fonsommes near Saint-Quentin, to the Bay of the Somme. It lies in the geological syncline which also forms the Solent and this gives it a fairly constant and gentle gradient where several fluvial terraces have been identified. The Invasion Fleet of William the Conqueror assembled in the Bay of the Somme at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, the river featured in the 1346 withdrawal of Edward IIIs army, which forded the river at the battle of Blanchetaque during the campaign which culminated in the Battle of Crécy. Crossing the river also featured prominently in the campaign led to the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. The river is famous for the World War I Battle of the Somme from July to November 1916. Aisne, Saint-Quentin Somme, Ham, Péronne, Corbie, Amiens, Abbeville, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, Le Crotoy The river is characterized by a gentle gradient. The valley is more or less steep-sided but its bottom is flat with fens and these characteristics of steady flow and flooded valley bottom arise from the rivers being fed by the ground water in the chalk basin in which it lies. At earlier, colder times, from the Günz to the Würm the river has cut down into the Cretaceous geology to a level below the water table. The valley bottom has now therefore, filled with water which and this picture, of the source of the Somme in 1986, shows it when the water table had fallen below the surface of the chalk in which the aquifer lies. Here, the flow of water had been sufficient to keep fen from forming and this satellite photograph shows the fenny valley crossing the chalk to the sea on the left. The sinuous length at the centre of the picture lies downstream from Péronne, one of the fens, the Marais de lÎle is a nature reserve in the town of St. Quentin. The traditional market gardens of Amiens, the Hortillonages are on this sort of land, once exploited for peat cutting, the fen is now used for fishing and shooting The construction of the Canal de la Somme began in 1770 and reached completion in 1843. It is 156 km long, beginning at St. Simon, from St. Simon to Froissy, the canal is alongside the river. Thence to the sea, the river is partly river and partly navigation, from Abbeville, it is diverted through the silted, former estuary, to Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, where the maritime canal, once called the canal du Duc dAngoulême enters the English Channel. The St Quentin Canal, famous for the 1918 battle, links the Somme to northern France and Belgium, the Canal du Nord also links the Somme to the Oise, at Noyon, thence to Paris. In 2001, the Somme valley was affected by high floods
Somme River
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The Somme.
Somme River
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The source of the Somme at
Fonsommes.
Somme River
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The mouth of the Somme in the English Channel
Somme River
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The estuary is now much smaller than it once was but still extensive.
40.
Moselle River
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The Moselle is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg, and Germany. It is a tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Moselle through the Sauer, the Moselle twists and turns its way between Trier and Koblenz along one of Germanys most beautiful river valleys. It flows through a region that has influenced by mankind since it was first cultivated by the Romans. Today, its hillsides are covered by terraced vineyards where some of the best Rieslings grow, Traben-Trarbach with its art nouveau architecture and Bernkastel-Kues with its traditional market square are two of the many popular tourist attractions on the Moselle river. The name Moselle is derived from the Celtic name form, Moseal, via the Latin Mosella, a form of Mosa, the Latin description of the Meuse. So the Mosella was the Little Meuse, the Moselle is first recorded by Tacitus in Book 13 of his Annals and in Book 4 of his Histories. The Roman poet, Decimius Magnus Ausonius, made it a theme as early as the 4th century. In his poem dated A. D. Ausonius describes flourishing and rich landscapes along the river and in the valley of the Moselle, the river subsequently gave its name to two French republican départements, Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle. The source of the Moselle is at 715 metres above sea level on the Col de Bussang on the slopes of the Ballon dAlsace in the Vosges. After 544 kilometres it discharges into the Rhine at the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz at a height of 59 metres above NHN. The length of the river in France is 314 kilometres, for 39 kilometres it forms the border between Germany and Luxembourg, and 208 kilometres are solely within Germany, the Moselle flows through the Lorraine region, west of the Vosges. Further downstream, in Germany, the Moselle valley forms the division between the Eifel and Hunsrück mountain regions. The average flow rate of the Moselle at its mouth is 328 m³/s, making it the second largest tributary of the Rhine by volume after the Aare and bigger than the Main and Neckar. The section of the Moselle from the Franco-German-Luxembourg tripoint to its confluence with the Saar near Konz shortly before Trier is in Germany known as the Upper Moselle. The section from Trier to Pünderich is the Middle Moselle, the section between Pünderich and its mouth in Koblenz as the Lower Moselle or Terraced Moselle. Characteristic of the Middle and Lower Moselle are its wide meanders cut deeply into the highlands of the Rhenish Massif, also typical are its vineyard terraces. From the tripoint the Moselle marks the entire Saarland-Luxembourg, the catchment area of the Moselle is 28,286 km² in area
Moselle River
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Typical landscape of Moselle vineyards near
Schweich
Moselle River
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Moselle river near
Cochem, Germany
Moselle River
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Beilstein on the Moselle
Moselle River
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Fankel barrage
41.
Joan of Arc
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Joan of Arc, nicknamed The Maid of Orléans, is considered a heroine of France for her role during the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years War and was canonized as a Roman Catholic saint. Joan of Arc was born to Jacques dArc and Isabelle Romée, the uncrowned King Charles VII sent Joan to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief mission. She gained prominence after the siege was lifted nine days later. Several additional swift victories led to Charles VIIs coronation at Reims and this long-awaited event boosted French morale and paved the way for the final French victory. On 23 May 1430, she was captured at Compiègne by the Burgundian faction and she was later handed over to the English and put on trial by the pro-English Bishop of Beauvais Pierre Cauchon on a variety of charges. After Cauchon declared her guilty she was burned at the stake on 30 May 1431, in 1456, an inquisitorial court authorized by Pope Callixtus III examined the trial, debunked the charges against her, pronounced her innocent, and declared her a martyr. In the 16th century she became a symbol of the Catholic League and she was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920. Cultural depictions of her have continued in films, theater, television, video games, music, the Hundred Years War had begun in 1337 as an inheritance dispute over the French throne, interspersed with occasional periods of relative peace. Nearly all the fighting had taken place in France, and the English armys use of chevauchée tactics had devastated the economy, the French population had not recovered to its size previous to the Black Death of the mid-14th century, and its merchants were isolated from foreign markets. Prior to the appearance of Joan of Arc, the English had nearly achieved their goal of a monarchy under English control. In the words of DeVries, The kingdom of France was not even a shadow of its thirteenth-century prototype, the French king at the time of Joans birth, Charles VI, suffered from bouts of insanity and was often unable to rule. The kings brother Louis, Duke of Orléans, and the kings cousin John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, quarreled over the regency of France and the guardianship of the royal children. This dispute included accusations that Louis was having an affair with the queen, Isabeau of Bavaria. The conflict climaxed with the assassination of the Duke of Orléans in 1407 on the orders of the Duke of Burgundy, the young Charles of Orléans succeeded his father as duke and was placed in the custody of his father-in-law, the Count of Armagnac. Their faction became known as the Armagnac faction, and the party led by the Duke of Burgundy was called the Burgundian faction. In 1418 Paris was taken by the Burgundians, who massacred the Count of Armagnac, the future French king, Charles VII, assumed the title of Dauphin—the heir to the throne—at the age of fourteen, after all four of his older brothers had died in succession. His first significant official act was to conclude a treaty with the Duke of Burgundy in 1419. This ended in disaster when Armagnac partisans assassinated John the Fearless during a meeting under Charless guarantee of protection, the new duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, blamed Charles for the murder and entered into an alliance with the English
Joan of Arc
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Painting, c. 1485. An artist's interpretation, since the only known direct portrait has not survived. (Centre Historique des Archives Nationales, Paris, AE II 2490)
Joan of Arc
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Joan's birthplace in
Domrémy is now a museum. The village church where she attended Mass is on the right behind the trees.
Joan of Arc
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15th-century depiction of the Siege of Orléans, 1429
Joan of Arc
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Ruin of the great hall at
Château de Chinon where she met the future King Charles VII. The castle's only remaining intact tower, now known as the 'Joan of Arc Tower', has been turned into a museum dedicated to her.
42.
Loches
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Loches is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. It is situated 29 miles southeast of Tours by railway, on the bank of the Indre River. Loches grew up around a monastery founded about 500 by St. Ours, antoine Guenand, Lord of La Celle-Guenand was appointed Captain-Governor of Loches in 1441. It contains the tomb of Agnès Sorel, the royal lodge, built by Charles VII of France and once used as the subprefecture, contains the oratory of Anne of Brittany. It was here on 11 May 1429 that Joan of Arc arrived, fresh from her victory at Orleans. Loches has a hall and several houses of the Renaissance period. On the right bank of the Indre, opposite the town, is the village of Beaulieu-lès-Loches, liquor, distilling and tanning are carried on together with trade in farm produce, wine, wood and livestock. Loches was the birthplace of, Fulk III, Count of Anjou Alfred de Vigny, poet, playwright, ernest Christophe, sculptor, François Rudes student and a friend of Baudelaire. Jacques Villeret, actor Loches is twinned with, Wermelskirchen, Germany St Andrews, Fife, Scotland Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department INSEE commune file Tourism office website
Loches
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St. Antoine Tower, and the
Château de Loches in the background
Loches
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St. Antoine Tower
43.
Battle of Jargeau
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The Battle of Jargeau took place on 11–12 June 1429. It was Joan of Arcs first offensive battle, shortly after relieving the siege at Orléans, French forces recaptured the neighbouring district along the Loire river. This campaign was the first sustained French offensive in a generation in the Hundred Years War. By the end of 1428, during the years of the Hundred Years War. Many strategic points along the Loire had also seized, and Orléans. Were the English able to complete control of the Loire valley, the southern part of France. This operation proved successful as the siege was lifted by 9 May, the bridge at Orléans had been destroyed shortly before the siege lifted. The French had lost control of all river crossings. Three swift and numerically small battles at Jargeau, Meung-sur-Loire, and Beaugency demonstrated renewed French confidence and laid the groundwork for subsequent French offenses on Rheims and Paris. The Loire campaign killed, captured, or disgraced a majority of the top tier of English commanders, the French Loire Campaign of 1429 consisted of five actions,1. Following the lifting of the siege of Orléans, the French forces spent the month or so recruiting and growing in strength for the next phase of military operations. In early June, at a meeting of French military leaders in the presence of the Dauphin, the army was assembled at Orléans where Joan rejoined them on 9 June. That same day the army departed for Jargeau, the first stop on the Loire Valley Campaign, meanwhile, on 8 June, Sir John Fastolf finally left Paris with a reinforcing army of several thousand, headed for the Loire River valley. Jargeau was a town on the southern bank of the Loire river in central France. Conquered by the English a few years earlier as a point for a planned invasion of southern France. A ditch just on the outside of the walls enhanced the defenses. Outside the walls, suburbs had grown, there was a single fortified bridge, of strategic significance during the latter part of the war, crossing the Loire River to the north bank. The city was defended by approximately 700 troops armed with gunpowder weaponry, Joan of Arc and Duke John II of Alençon controlled a force that included captains Jean dOrléans, Gilles de Rais, Jean Poton de Xaintrailles, and La Hire
Battle of Jargeau
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Battle of Jargeau, miniature from
Vigiles du roi Charles VII
44.
Battle of Patay
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The Battle of Patay was the culminating engagement of the Loire Campaign of the Hundred Years War between the French and English in north-central France. It was a victory for the French and decimated the corps of veteran English longbowmen. This victory was to the French what Agincourt was to the English, after the English abandoned the Siege of Orléans on 8 May 1429, the survivors of the besieging forces withdrew to nearby garrisons along the Loire. On 12 June they took Jargeau by storm, then captured the bridge at Meung-sur-Loire and marched on, without attacking the nearby castle, to lay siege to Beaugency on 15 June. Talbot urged an attack to relieve Beaugency, but was opposed by the more cautious Fastolf. Talbot then agreed to Fastolfs proposal to retreat towards Paris, learning of this movement, the French set off in pursuit, and intercepted the English army near the village of Patay. Becoming aware of the French approach, Talbot sent a force of archers to ambush them from a patch of woods along the road and this ambush was discovered by scouts when a stag ran into the concealed longbowmen and they let out an excited shout. Talbot attempted to redeploy his men, setting up 500 longbowmen in a location which would block the main road, Fastolfs unit attempted to join up with the English vanguard but the latter fled, forcing Fastolf to follow suit. The rest of the battle was a prolonged mopping-up operation against the fleeing English units, with little organized resistance. In the rout and mop-up the English lost approximately 2,200 men out of a force of about 5,000, many of them the dreaded longbowmen, Fastolf, the only English commander who remained on horseback, managed to escape. Talbot, Scales and Sir Thomas Rempston were captured, Talbot later accused Fastolf of deserting his comrades in the face of the enemy, a charge which he pursued vigorously once he had negotiated his release from captivity. Fastolf hotly denied the charge and was cleared of the charge by a special chapter of the Order of the Garter. The Hundred Years War, England and France at War c, conquest, The English Kingdom of France in the Hundred Years War. The Real Falstaff, Sir John Fastolf and the Hundred Years War, Joan of Arc, A Military Leader. Richey, Stephen W. Joan of Arc, The Warrior Saint, medieval warfare Patay Joan of Arc bibliography Joan of Arc And The Loire Valley Campaign from history of Joan of Arc Dynamic maps of Joan of Arcs campaigns from Southern Methodist University
Battle of Patay
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The French and English clashing. The English, however, did not fight on horseback
45.
Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France
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Margaret of Scotland was a Princess of Scotland and the Dauphine of France. She was the child of King James I of Scotland. She married the eldest son of the king of France, Louis, Dauphin of France and their marriage was unhappy, and she died childless at age 20, apparently of a fever. She was born in Perth, Scotland to James I of Scotland and Joan Beaufort, Margaret was the first of six daughters and twin sons born to her parents. Margaret was Charles VII of Frances diplomatic choice for daughter-in-law, the marriage was forced upon Charless thirteen-year-old son, Louis, which did not help their relationship. However, royal marriages in the 15th century were always political, there are no direct accounts from Louis or Margaret of their first impressions of each other, and it is mere speculation to say whether or not they actually had negative feelings for each other. Several historians think that Louis had an attitude to hate his wife. Margaret and Louis marriage shows both the nature of medieval royal diplomacy and the position of the French monarchy. The marriage took place 25 June 1436 in the afternoon in the chapel of the castle of Tours and was presided by the Archbishop of Reims, by the standards of the time, it was a very plain wedding. Louis, thirteen, looked more mature than his bride. Margaret looked like a beautiful “doll, ” perhaps because she was treated as such by her in-laws, Charles wore “grey riding pants” and “did not even bother to remove his spurs. ”The Scottish guests were quickly hustled out after the wedding reception. This was seen as something of a scandal by the Scots, King Charles’ attire and the speed with which the guests were hustled out was considered an insult to Scotland, which was an important ally in Frances war with the English. However, this spoke to the nature of the French court at this time. They simply could not afford an extravagant ceremony or to host their Scottish guests for any longer than they did, following the ceremony, “doctors advised against consummation” because of the relative immaturity of the bride and bridegroom. Margaret continued her studies and Louis went on tour with Charles to loyal areas of the kingdom, even at this time, Charles was taken aback by the intelligence and temper of his son. During this tour, Louis was named Dauphin by Charles, as is traditional for the eldest son of the king and she was also very interested in the French courts social and gallant life. She was a favourite of her father-in-law Charles VII of France, however, she felt herself alien amongst the French court and became depressed. She had a relationship with her husband, the future king of France
Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France
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Margaret of Scotland
Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France
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Tomb of Margaret Stewart in the Saint-Laon church
46.
James I of Scotland
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James I, King of Scotland from 1406, was the son of King Robert III and Annabella Drummond. He was the last of three sons, although parliament exonerated Albany, fears for Jamess safety grew during the winter of 1405–1406 and plans were made to send him to France. He remained there until mid-March, when he boarded a vessel bound for France, two weeks later, on 4 April the ailing Robert III died, and the 12-year-old uncrowned King of Scots began his 18-year detention. The Scottish Kings cousin, Murdoch Stewart, Albanys son, a captive in England since 1402, was traded for Henry Percy, eight more years passed before James was ransomed, by which time Murdoch had succeeded his father to the dukedom and the governorship of Scotland. James married Joan Beaufort, daughter of the Earl of Somerset in February 1424 shortly before his release in April when they journeyed to Scotland. This was not altogether a popular re-entry to Scottish affairs, since James had fought on behalf of Henry V, noble families would now not only have to pay increased taxes to cover the £40,000 ransom repayments but would also have to provide hostages as security. Despite this, James held qualities that were admired, the contemporary Scotichronicon by Walter Bower described James as excelling at sport and appreciative of literature and music. Unlike his father and grandfather he did not take mistresses, but had children by his consort. The King had a desire to impose law and order on his subjects. In 1428 James detained Alexander, Lord of the Isles, while attending a parliament in Inverness, Archibald, 5th Earl of Douglas, was arrested in 1431, followed by George, Earl of March, in 1434. The plight of the hostages held in England was ignored. In August 1436, James failed humiliatingly in his siege of the English-held Roxburgh Castle, James was murdered at Perth on the night of 20/21 February 1437 in a failed coup by his uncle and former ally Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl. Queen Joan, although wounded, managed to evade the attackers and was reunited with her son James II in Edinburgh Castle. James was probably born in late July 1394 at Dunfermline Abbey,27 years after the marriage of his parents Robert III and it was also at Dunfermline under his mothers care that James would have spent most of his early childhood. Prince James, now heir to the throne, was the only impediment to the transfer of the line to the Albany Stewarts. In 1402 Albany and his close Black Douglas ally Archibald, 4th Earl of Douglas were absolved of any involvement in Rothesays death clearing the way for Albanys re-appointed as the kings lieutenant, Albany rewarded Douglas for his support by allowing him to resume hostilities in England. These included Douglas himself, Albanys son Murdoch, and the earls of Moray, Angus and that same year, as well as the death of Rothesay, Alexander Leslie, Earl of Ross and Malcolm Drummond, lord of Mar had also died. The void created by these events was inevitably filled by men who had not previously been conspicuously politically active
James I of Scotland
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16th century portrait of James.
James I of Scotland
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James I as appearing on the
Scott Monument
James I of Scotland
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Windsor Castle where James I was held prisoner
James I of Scotland
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Entrance and only remaining part of
Scone Abbey
47.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims
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The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by St. Sixtus, the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese around 750, the archbishop received the title primate of Gallia Belgica in 1089. In 1023, Archbishop Ebles acquired the Countship of Reims, making him a prince-bishop, it became a duchy, the archdiocese comprises the arrondissement of Reims and the département of Ardennes while the province comprises the région of Champagne-Ardenne. The suffragan dioceses in the province of Reims are Amiens, Beauvais, Noyon, and Senlis, Châlons, Langres, Soissons, Laon, and Saint-Quentin. The archepiscopal see is located in the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims, in 2014 it was estimated that there was one priest for every 4,760 Catholics in the diocese. Pope John Paul II appointed Thierry Romain Camille Jordan as Archbishop of Reims in 1999, on June 28,2013, Pope Francis appointed Father Bruno Feillet as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Reims. Reims was taken by the Vandals in 406, according to Flodoard, on Holy Saturday,497, Clovis was baptized and anointed by Archbishop Remigius of Reims in the cathedral of Reims. In 719 the city took up arms against Charles Martel, who besieged the city, took it by assault, the First Council of Reims took place in 625, under the presidency of Archbishop Sonnatius. It produced at least twenty-five canons, in 816, Pope Stephen IV crowned Louis the Pious as Emperor at Reims. On 28 January 893, Charles III the Simple was crowned King of West Francia at Reims, King Robert I was consecrated and crowned Rex Francorum at Saint-Remi in Reims on 29 June 922 by Archbishop Hervée. Hugh Capet was crowned at Reims on Christmas Day 988, by Archbishop Adalberon, in 990 the city was attacked by Charles of Lorraine, the rival of Hugues Capet, who seized the city and devastated the area. In 1049, from 3 to 5 October, a Council of the Church took place at Reims under the presidency of Pope Leo IX, with twenty bishops and some fifty abbots in attendance. The Pope was in Reims for the dedication of the church of the monastery of Saint-Rémi, in 1657, the Chapter of the Cathedral of Reims contained nine dignities and sixty-four Canons. The dignities included, the Major Archdeacon, the Minor Archdeacon, the Provost, the Dean, the Cantor, the Treasurer, the Vicedominus, the Scholasticus, and the Poenitentiarius. The two archdeacons were already in existence in 877, when they are mentioned at the head of the Capitulations issued by Archbishop Hincmar and they were both appointees of the Archbishop. Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae, quotquot innotuerunt a beato Petro apostolo, ratisbon, Typis et Sumptibus Georgii Josephi Manz. Pouillés de la province de Reims, recueils des historiens de la France, Pouilles. Hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi V. Patavii, Messagero di S. Antonio, hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi VI
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims
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The Cathedral of Reims, by
Domenico Quaglio
48.
Dauphin of France
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The Dauphin of France —strictly The Dauphin of Viennois —was the title given to the heir apparent to the throne of France from 1350 to 1791 and 1824 to 1830. The word is French for dolphin, as a reference to the depiction of the animal on their coat of arms, guigues IV, Count of Vienne, had a dolphin on his coat of arms and was nicknamed le Dauphin. The wife of the Dauphin was known as la Dauphine, the first French prince called le Dauphin was Charles the Wise, later to become Charles V of France. The title was equivalent to the English Prince of Wales, the Scottish Duke of Rothesay, the Portuguese Prince of Brazil. The official style of a Dauphin of France, prior to 1461, was par la grâce de Dieu, dauphin de Viennois, comte de Valentinois et de Diois. A Dauphin of France united the coat of arms of the Dauphiné, which featured Dolphins, with the French fleurs-de-lis, and might, where appropriate, further unite that with other arms. Because of this, the Dauphiné suffered from anarchy in the 14th and 15th centuries, for example, he married Charlotte of Savoy against his fathers wishes. Savoy was an ally of the Dauphiné, and Louis wished to reaffirm that alliance to stamp out rebels. Louis was driven out of the Dauphiné by Charles VIIs soldiers in 1456, after his succession as Louis XI of France in 1461, Louis united the Dauphiné with France, bringing it under royal control. The sons of the King of France hold the style and rank of Son of France, while male-line grandsons hold the style, the sons and grandsons of the Dauphin ranked higher than their cousins, being treated as the kings children and grandchildren respectively. The title was abolished by the Constitution of 1791, which made France a constitutional monarchy, under the constitution the heir to the throne was restyled Prince Royal, taking effect from the inception of the Legislative Assembly on 1 October 1791. The title was restored in potentia under the Bourbon Restoration of Louis XVIII, with the accession of his brother Charles X, Charles son and heir Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême automatically became Dauphin. With the removal of the Bourbons the title fell into disuse, in Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck encounters two odd characters who turn out to be professional con men. One of them claims that he should be treated with deference, since he is really an impoverished English duke, in Baronness Emma Orczys Eldorado, the Scarlet Pimpernel rescues the Dauphin from prison and helps spirit him from France. Alphonse Daudet wrote a story called The Death of the Dauphin. It is also mentioned in Cormac McCarthys Blood Meridian
Dauphin of France
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Charles, 1st Dauphin of France
Dauphin of France
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Coat of arms of the Dauphin of France.
Dauphin of France
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Charles, 3rd Dauphin of France
Dauphin of France
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Louis, 6th Dauphin of France
49.
Charles I, Duke of Bourbon
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Charles de Bourbon was the oldest son of John I, Duke of Bourbon and Marie, Duchess of Auvergne. In 1425, Charles renewed his earlier betrothal by marrying Agnes of Burgundy, Charles entered a relationship with Jeanne de Bournan, together they had Louis de Bourbon, Count of Roussillon. Louis founded the House of Bourbon-Roussillon, Louis is known for his many services to the State. As a reward for his loyalty and dedication to Louis XI during the League of the Public Weal conflict, Louis XI gave him in marriage his legitimized daughter Jeanne de Valois. Charles served with distinction in the Royal army during the Hundred Years War, while maintaining a truce with his brother-in-law and otherwise enemy, Philip III. Both dukes were reconciled and signed an alliance by 1440 and he was present at the coronation of Charles VII where he fulfilled the function of a peer and conferred knighthood. Despite this service, he took part in the Praguerie in 1439–1440, when the revolt collapsed, he was forced to beg for mercy from the King, and was stripped of some of his lands. He died on his estates in 1456, unmarried Louis de Bourbon, one of the first Knights of the Order of Saint-Michel, appointed by letters patent of Louis XI in 1469. Renaud de Bourbon, abbot of Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, Archbishop of Narbonne from 1473 to 1482, pernoud, Régine, Marie-Véronique Clin, Prof. Jeremy duQuesnay Adams, and Bonnie Wheeler, Joan of Arc, Vaughan, Richard, Philip the Good
Charles I, Duke of Bourbon
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Stone statue of Charles I, Duke of Bourbon in the abbey church of
Souvigny
50.
Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs
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The Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs was fought between the Old Swiss Confederacy and French mercenaries, on the banks of the river Birs. The battle took place on 26 August 1444 and was part of the Old Zürich War, the site of the battle was near Münchenstein, Switzerland, just above 1 km outside the city walls of Basel, today within Basels St-Alban district. In 1443, the seven cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy invaded the canton of Zürich, Zürich had made an alliance with Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, who now appealed to Charles VII of France to send an army to relieve the siege. As the French forces entered Swiss territory at Basel, the Swiss commanders stationed at Farnsburg decided to send a troop of 1,300. These moved to Liestal on the night of 25 August, where they were joined by a force of 200. In the early morning, they managed to surprise and rout French vanguard troops at Pratteln and Muttenz. Enthused by this success, and in spite of orders to the contrary, the Swiss troops crossed the Birs to meet the bulk of the French army of some 30,000 men. Immediately the Swiss forces formed three pike squares of five hundred men each, and they fought well when Armagnac cavalry charged again and again and were repulsed, the fighting lasted for several hours and was of an intensity evoking awed commentary from witnesses. Eventually, the Swiss pike squares weakened, so the commander ordered his men to retreat into a hospital of St. Jakob. A reinforcement force from Basel was repulsed, and the Armagnac troops set their own artillery to bombarding the hospital, the Swiss pikemen suffered heavy casualties. Even though the battle itself was a defeat for the Swiss, and a major blow to Bern. The actions of the Swiss was praised as heroic by contemporary observers, the Dauphin formally made peace with the Swiss Confederacy and with Basel in a treaty signed at Ensisheim on 28 October, and withdrew his troops from the Alsace in the spring of 1445. Charles VII of France had implemented the reformist decrees of the Council of Basel in 1438, in terms of military tactics, the battle exposed the weakness of pike formations against artillery, marking the beginning of the era of gunpowder warfare. A first monument at the site of the battle was erected in 1824, memorial ceremonies at the site were held from 1824, from 1860 to 1894 on a yearly basis, and afterwards every five years. The death of knight Burkhard VII, battles of the Old Swiss Confederacy Werner Meyer, Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland,2012. ISBN 0-85045-334-8 Peter Keller, Vom Siegen ermüdet, Weltwoche 16/2012
Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs
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illustration of the battle in the
Tschachtlanchronik of 1470.
.svg)
