1.
French Parliament
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The French Parliament is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate and the National Assembly. Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at a location in Paris, the Palais du Luxembourg for the Senate. Each house has its own regulations and rules of procedure, however, they may occasionally meet as a single house, the French Congress, convened at the Palace of Versailles, to revise and amend the Constitution of France. Parliament meets for a single, nine-month session each year, under special circumstances the President can call an additional session. As a result, the government normally is from the political party as the Assembly. Rare periods during which the President is not from the political party as the Prime Minister are usually known as cohabitation. The President rather than the prime minister heads the Cabinet of Ministers, the government has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament. The government also can link its term to a text which it proposes, and unless a motion of censure is introduced and passed. However, this procedure has been limited by the 2008 constitutional amendment, Legislative initiative rests with the National Assembly. Members of Parliament enjoy parliamentary immunity, both assemblies have committees that write reports on a variety of topics. If necessary, they can establish parliamentary enquiry commissions with broad investigative power, however, the latter possibility is almost never exercised, since the majority can reject a proposition by the opposition to create an investigation commission. Since 2008, the opposition may impose the creation of a commission once a year. However, they still cant lead investigations if there is a judiciary case going on already, the word Parliament, in the modern meaning of the term, appeared in France in the 19th century, at the time of the constitutional monarchy of 1830–1848. It is never mentioned in any constitutional text until the Constitution of the 4th Republic in 1948, before that time reference was made to les Chambres or to each assembly, whatever its name, but never to a generic term as in Britain. Frank R. Baumgartner, Parliaments Capacity to Expand Political Controversy in France, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol.12,1, pp. 33–54 Marc Abélès, Un ethnologue à lAssemblée. An anthropological study of the French National Assembly, of its personnel, lawmakers, codes of behaviors, official website Site of the CHPP and of Parlement, Revue dhistoire politique
2.
Parliament
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In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative, elected body of government. Generally a modern parliament has three functions, representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government, historically, parliaments included various kinds of deliberative, consultative, and judicial assemblies. The term is derived from Anglo-Norman parlement, from the verb parler talk, the meaning evolved over time, originally any discussion, conversation, or negotiation, through various kinds of deliberative or judicial groups, often summoned by the monarch. By 1400, it had come to mean in Britain specifically the British supreme legislature, various parliaments are claimed to be the oldest in the world, under varying definitions. The Sicilian Parliament, whose first assembly was convened in 1097, the Icelandic Althing, year 930, but only including the main chiefs. Since ancient times, when societies were tribal, there were councils or a headman whose decisions were assessed by village elders, some scholars suggest that in ancient Mesopotamia there was a primitive democratic government where the kings were assessed by council. The same has been said about ancient India, where some form of deliberative assemblies existed, however, these claims are not accepted by most scholars, who see these forms of government as oligarchies. Ancient Athens was the cradle of democracy, the Athenian assembly was the most important institution, and every citizen could take part in the discussions. However, Athenian democracy was not representative, but rather direct, the Roman Senate controlled money, administration, and the details of foreign policy. Some Muslim scholars argue that the Islamic shura is analogous to the parliament, however, others highlight what they consider fundamental differences between the shura system and the parliamentary system. England has long had a tradition of a body of men who would assist, under the Anglo-Saxon kings, there was an advisory council, the Witenagemot. The name derives from the Old English ƿitena ȝemōt, or witena gemōt, the first recorded act of a witenagemot was the law code issued by King Æthelberht of Kent ca. 600, the earliest document which survives in sustained Old English prose, however, the Witan, along with the folkmoots, is an important ancestor of the modern English parliament. As part of the Norman Conquest of England, the new king, William I, did away with the Witenagemot, membership of the Curia was largely restricted to the tenants in chief, the few nobles who rented great estates directly from the king, along with ecclesiastics. William brought to England the feudal system of his native Normandy and this is the original body from which the Parliament, the higher courts of law, and the Privy Council and Cabinet descend. Of these, the legislature is formally the High Court of Parliament, only the executive government is no longer conducted in a royal court. Most historians date the emergence of a parliament with some degree of power to which the throne had to defer no later than the rule of Edward I, like previous kings, Edward called leading nobles and church leaders to discuss government matters, especially finance. A meeting in 1295 became known as the Model Parliament because it set the pattern for later Parliaments, in 1307, Edward I agreed not to collect certain taxes without the consent of the realm
3.
Provinces of France
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The Kingdom of France was organized into provinces until March 4,1790, when the establishment of the department system superseded provinces. The provinces of France were roughly equivalent to the counties of England. In some cases, several regions or departments share names with the historic provinces. The list below shows the provinces of France at the time of their dissolution during the French Revolution. Capital cities are shown in parentheses, bold indicates a city that was also the seat of a judicial and quasi-legislative body called either a parlement or a conseil souverain. In some cases, this body met in a different city than the capital, comtat Venaissin, a Papal fief 36. Imperial Free City of Mulhouse 37, montbéliard, a fief of Württemberg Partial display of historical provincial arms, Ancien Régime in France Gallery of French coats of arms Coat of arms Heraldry
4.
Nobles of the Robe
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Under the Old Regime of France, the Nobles of the Robe or Nobles of the Gown were French aristocrats whose rank came from holding certain judicial or administrative posts. As a rule, the positions did not of themselves give the holder a title of nobility, such as baron, count, or duke, the offices were often hereditary, and by 1789, most had inherited their positions. The most influential of them were the 1,100 members of the 13 parlements, together with the older nobility, the Nobles of the Robe made up the Second Estate in pre-revolutionary France. Because these nobles, especially the judges, had studied at a university they were called Nobles of the Robe after the robes or gowns scholars wore. Originally given out as rewards for services to the king, the offices became venal and this practice became official with the edict of la Paulette, the Paulette being the tax paid by the holder to keep the office hereditary. As hereditary offices, they were passed from father to son creating a class consciousness. Nobles of the Robe were often considered by Nobles of the Sword to be of inferior rank because their status was not derived from military service and/or land ownership. The elite Nobles of the Robe, such as the members of the parlements, originally, the offices within the Nobles of the Robe were relatively accessible due to their venal nature. In the 17th century, the office of councillor in the Parlement sold for 100,000 livres, by the mid-18th century, its value was reduced to half, due to the proliferation of offices. However, after the 17th century the descendants of those who had earned the rank as a reward for services to the monarchy fought to limit access to the class. The Nobles of the Robe protested heavily when the monarchy, in desperate need of money, a common family strategy was to designate a second or third son to enter the church while the elder sons pursued a career in the robe or the military. Access to nobility through a judiciary office hence became practically barred in the 18th century, but there existed other offices for sale, a secrétaire-conseiller du roi acquired first-degree nobility immediately, and hereditary nobility after 20 years. The office was not cheap, but it was a sinecure, with no preconditions, real nobility looked down on it as a savonette à vilain. Antoine Crozat, having become wealthy, but a mere son of peasants. In some parts of France, the new baron or vicomte must be registered by the Estates, Nobles of the Robe played key roles in the French Enlightenment. The most famous, Montesquieu, was one of the earliest Enlightenment figures, during the French Revolution, the Nobles of the Robe lost their place when the parlements and lower courts were abolished in 1790
5.
Chancellor of France
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In France, under the Ancien Régime, the officer of state responsible for the judiciary was the Lord Chancellor of France. The Lord Chancellor was responsible for seeing that royal decrees were enrolled and registered by the sundry parlements, the last Chancellor died in 1790, by which time the French Revolution was well underway, and the position was left vacant. The modern Minister of Justice is ceremonially known by both titles, see also Royal Administration of Merovingian and Carolingian Dynasties. 989 –991, Renaud de Vendôme, bishop of Paris 991 –998, Gerbert dAurillac, later Pope Sylvester II998 –1005, Roger de Blois 1005 –1015, Francon 1018, Arnoul, Chancellor for Henry VI position as king of France
6.
Louis XV of France
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Louis XV, known as Louis the Beloved, was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five, Cardinal Fleury was his chief minister from 1726 until the Cardinals death in 1743, at which time the young king took sole control of the kingdom. During his reign, Louis returned the Austrian Netherlands, territory won at the Battle of Fontenoy of 1745, Louis also ceded New France in North America to Spain and Great Britain at the conclusion of the Seven Years War in 1763. He incorporated the territories of Lorraine and Corsica into the kingdom of France and he was succeeded by his grandson Louis XVI in 1774. French culture and influence were at their height in the first half of the eighteenth century, however, many scholars believe that Louis XVs decisions damaged the power of France, weakened the treasury, discredited the absolute monarchy, and made it more vulnerable to distrust and destruction. Evidence for this view is provided by the French Revolution, which broke out 15 years after his death, norman Davies characterized Louis XVs reign as one of debilitating stagnation, characterized by lost wars, endless clashes between the Court and Parliament, and religious feuds. A few scholars defend Louis, arguing that his negative reputation was based on propaganda meant to justify the French Revolution. Jerome Blum described him as a perpetual adolescent called to do a mans job, Louis XV was born in the Palace of Versailles on 15 February 1710 during the reign of Louis XIV. His grandfather, Louis Le Grand Dauphin, had three sons with his wife Marie Anne Victoire of Bavaria, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Philippe, Duke of Anjou, and Charles, Duke of Berry. Louis XV was the son of the Duke of Burgundy and his wife Marie Adélaïde of Savoy, the eldest daughter of Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy. At birth, Louis XV received a title for younger sons of the French royal family. In April 1711, Louis Le Grand Dauphin suddenly died, making Louis XVs father, the Duke of Burgundy, at that time, Burgundy had two living sons, Louis, Duke of Brittany and his youngest son, the future Louis XV. A year later, Marie Adélaïde, Duchess of Burgundy, contracted smallpox and her husband, said to be heartbroken by her death, died the same week, also having contracted smallpox. Within a week of his death, it was clear that the two children had also been infected. The elder son was treated by bloodletting in an unsuccessful effort to save him. Fearing that the Dauphin would die, the Court had both the Dauphin and the Duke of Anjou baptised, the Dauphin died the same day,8 March 1712. His younger brother, the Duke of Anjou, was treated by his governess, Madame de Ventadour. The two year old Dauphin survived the smallpox, on 1 September 1715, Louis XIV died of gangrene, having reigned for 72 years
7.
French Revolution
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Through the Revolutionary Wars, it unleashed a wave of global conflicts that extended from the Caribbean to the Middle East. Historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in human history, the causes of the French Revolution are complex and are still debated among historians. Following the Seven Years War and the American Revolutionary War, the French government was deeply in debt, Years of bad harvests leading up to the Revolution also inflamed popular resentment of the privileges enjoyed by the clergy and the aristocracy. Demands for change were formulated in terms of Enlightenment ideals and contributed to the convocation of the Estates-General in May 1789, a central event of the first stage, in August 1789, was the abolition of feudalism and the old rules and privileges left over from the Ancien Régime. The next few years featured political struggles between various liberal assemblies and right-wing supporters of the intent on thwarting major reforms. The Republic was proclaimed in September 1792 after the French victory at Valmy, in a momentous event that led to international condemnation, Louis XVI was executed in January 1793. External threats closely shaped the course of the Revolution, internally, popular agitation radicalised the Revolution significantly, culminating in the rise of Maximilien Robespierre and the Jacobins. Large numbers of civilians were executed by revolutionary tribunals during the Terror, after the Thermidorian Reaction, an executive council known as the Directory assumed control of the French state in 1795. The rule of the Directory was characterised by suspended elections, debt repudiations, financial instability, persecutions against the Catholic clergy, dogged by charges of corruption, the Directory collapsed in a coup led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. The modern era has unfolded in the shadow of the French Revolution, almost all future revolutionary movements looked back to the Revolution as their predecessor. The values and institutions of the Revolution dominate French politics to this day, the French Revolution differed from other revolutions in being not merely national, for it aimed at benefiting all humanity. Globally, the Revolution accelerated the rise of republics and democracies and it became the focal point for the development of all modern political ideologies, leading to the spread of liberalism, radicalism, nationalism, socialism, feminism, and secularism, among many others. The Revolution also witnessed the birth of total war by organising the resources of France, historians have pointed to many events and factors within the Ancien Régime that led to the Revolution. Over the course of the 18th century, there emerged what the philosopher Jürgen Habermas called the idea of the sphere in France. A perfect example would be the Palace of Versailles which was meant to overwhelm the senses of the visitor and convince one of the greatness of the French state and Louis XIV. Starting in the early 18th century saw the appearance of the sphere which was critical in that both sides were active. In France, the emergence of the public sphere outside of the control of the saw the shift from Versailles to Paris as the cultural capital of France. In the 1750s, during the querelle des bouffons over the question of the quality of Italian vs, in 1782, Louis-Sébastien Mercier wrote, The word court no longer inspires awe amongst us as in the time of Louis XIV
8.
Kingdom of France
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The Kingdom of France was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Western Europe. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe and a great power since the Late Middle Ages and it was also an early colonial power, with possessions around the world. France originated as West Francia, the half of the Carolingian Empire. A branch of the Carolingian dynasty continued to rule until 987, the territory remained known as Francia and its ruler as rex Francorum well into the High Middle Ages. The first king calling himself Roi de France was Philip II, France continued to be ruled by the Capetians and their cadet lines—the Valois and Bourbon—until the monarchy was overthrown in 1792 during the French Revolution. France in the Middle Ages was a de-centralised, feudal monarchy, in Brittany and Catalonia the authority of the French king was barely felt. Lorraine and Provence were states of the Holy Roman Empire and not yet a part of France, during the Late Middle Ages, the Kings of England laid claim to the French throne, resulting in a series of conflicts known as the Hundred Years War. Subsequently, France sought to extend its influence into Italy, but was defeated by Spain in the ensuing Italian Wars, religiously France became divided between the Catholic majority and a Protestant minority, the Huguenots, which led to a series of civil wars, the Wars of Religion. France laid claim to large stretches of North America, known collectively as New France, Wars with Great Britain led to the loss of much of this territory by 1763. French intervention in the American Revolutionary War helped secure the independence of the new United States of America, the Kingdom of France adopted a written constitution in 1791, but the Kingdom was abolished a year later and replaced with the First French Republic. The monarchy was restored by the great powers in 1814. During the later years of the elderly Charlemagnes rule, the Vikings made advances along the northern and western perimeters of the Kingdom of the Franks, after Charlemagnes death in 814 his heirs were incapable of maintaining political unity and the empire began to crumble. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 divided the Carolingian Empire into three parts, with Charles the Bald ruling over West Francia, the nucleus of what would develop into the kingdom of France. Viking advances were allowed to increase, and their dreaded longboats were sailing up the Loire and Seine rivers and other waterways, wreaking havoc. During the reign of Charles the Simple, Normans under Rollo from Norway, were settled in an area on either side of the River Seine, downstream from Paris, that was to become Normandy. With its offshoots, the houses of Valois and Bourbon, it was to rule France for more than 800 years. Henry II inherited the Duchy of Normandy and the County of Anjou, and married Frances newly divorced ex-queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, after the French victory at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, the English monarchs maintained power only in southwestern Duchy of Guyenne. The death of Charles IV of France in 1328 without male heirs ended the main Capetian line, under Salic law the crown could not pass through a woman, so the throne passed to Philip VI, son of Charles of Valois
9.
Estates of the realm
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The estates of the realm were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom from the medieval period to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed and evolved over time, the best known system is the French Ancien Régime, a three-estate system used until the French Revolution. Monarchy was for the king and the queen and this system was made up of clergy, nobles, furthermore, the non-landowning poor could be left outside the estates, leaving them without political rights. In England, a system evolved that combined nobility and bishops into one lordly estate with commons as the second estate. This system produced the two houses of parliament, the House of Commons and the House of Lords, in southern Germany, a three-estate system of nobility, ritters, and burghers was used. Today the term Fourth Estate usually refers to forces outside the power structure. Historically, in Northern and Eastern Europe, the Fourth Estate meant rural commoners, during the Middle Ages individuals were born into their class and change in social position was difficult. The medieval Church was the institution where social mobility was most likely up to a certain level, typically, however, only nobility were appointed to the highest church positions, although low nobility could aspire to the highest church positions. Another possible way to rise in position was due to exceptional military or commercial success. Such families were rare and their rise to nobility required royal patronage at some point, medieval political speculation is imbued to the marrow with the idea of a structure of society based upon distinct orders, Johan Huizinga observes. There are, first of all, the estates of the realm, but there are also the trades, the state of matrimony and that of virginity, at court there are the four estates of the body and mouth, bread-masters, cup-bearers, carvers, and cooks. In the Church there are orders and monastic orders. Finally there are the different orders of chivalry and this static view of society was predicated on inherited positions. Commoners were universally considered the lowest order, a persons estate and position within it were usually inherited from the father and his occupation, similar to a caste within that system. In many regions and realms there also existed population groups born outside these specifically defined resident estates, legislative bodies or advisory bodies to a monarch were traditionally grouped along lines of these estates, with the monarch above all three estates. Meetings of the estates of the realm became early legislative and judicial parliaments, monarchs often sought to legitimize their power by requiring oaths of fealty from the estates. Today, in most countries, the estates have lost all their legal privileges, one of the earliest political pamphlets to address these ideas was called What Is the Third Estate. It was written by Abbé Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès in January 1789, the struggle over investiture and the reform movement also legitimized all secular authorities, partly on the grounds of their obligation to enforce discipline
10.
French nobility
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The French nobility was a privileged social class in France during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period to the revolution in 1790. The nobility was revived in 1805 with limited rights as an elite class from the First Empire to the fall of the July Monarchy in 1848. Hereditary titles, without privileges, continued to be granted until the Second Empire fell in 1870 and they survive among their descendants as a social convention and as part of the legal name of the corresponding individuals. In the political system of pre-Revolutionary France, the nobility made up the Second Estate of the Estates General, although membership in the noble class was mainly inherited, it was not a fully closed order. New individuals were appointed to the nobility by the monarchy, or they could purchase rights and titles, sources differ about the actual number of nobles in France, however, proportionally, it was among the smallest noble classes in Europe. For the year 1789, French historian François Bluche gives a figure of 140,000 nobles and states that about 5% of nobles could claim descent from feudal nobility before the 15th century, with a total population of 28 million, this would represent merely 0. 5%. Historian Gordon Wright gives a figure of 300,000 nobles, in terms of land holdings, at the time of the revolution, noble estates comprised about one-fifth of the land. The French nobility had specific legal and financial rights and prerogatives, the first official list of these prerogatives was established relatively late, under Louis XI after 1440, and included the right to hunt, to wear a sword and, in principle, to possess a seigneurie. Nobles were also granted an exemption from paying the taille, except for lands they might possess in some regions of France. Furthermore, certain ecclesiastic, civic, and military positions were reserved for nobles and these feudal privileges are often termed droits de féodalité dominante. With the exception of a few isolated cases, serfdom had ceased to exist in France by the 15th century, in early modern France, nobles nevertheless maintained a great number of seigneurial privileges over the free peasants that worked lands under their control. They could, for example, levy the tax, an annual tax on lands leased or held by vassals. Nobles could also charge banalités for the right to use the lords mills, ovens, alternatively, a noble could demand a portion of vassals harvests in return for permission to farm land he owned. In the 17th century this system was established in Frances North American possessions. However, the also had responsibilities. Nobles were required to honor, serve, and counsel their king and they were often required to render military service. The rank of noble was forfeitable, certain activities could cause dérogeance, most commercial and manual activities were strictly prohibited, although nobles could profit from their lands by operating mines and forges. The nobility in France was never a closed class
11.
Taille
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The taille was a direct land tax on the French peasantry and non-nobles in Ancien Régime France. The tax was imposed on each household and was based on how much land it held. Unlike modern income taxes, the amount of the taille was first set by the French king from year to year. Exempted from the tax were clergy and nobles, officers of the crown, military personnel, magistrates, university professors and students, the provinces were of three sorts, the pays délection, the pays détat and the pays dimposition. In the pays délection the assessment and collection of taxes were entrusted to elected officials, in the pays détat, the assessment of the tax was established by local councils and the tax was generally real, meaning that it was attached to non-noble lands. Finally, pays dimposition were recently conquered lands which had their own local historical institutions, in an attempt to reform the fiscal system, new administrative divisions were created in the 16th century. The Recettes générales, commonly known as généralités and overseen in the beginning by receveurs généraux or généraux conseillers, were initially only taxation districts, by the outbreak of the Revolution, there were 36 généralités, the last two were created as recently as 1784. Until the late 17th century, tax collectors were called receveurs royaux, the major tax collectors in that system were known as the fermiers généraux. Efficient tax collection was one of the causes for French administrative. The taille became a source of royal income, the most important direct tax of pre-Revolutionary France. Records show the taille increasing from 2.5 million livres in 1515 to six million after 1551, in 1589 the taille reached a record 21 million livres, the taille was only one of a number of taxes. Finally, the church benefited from a tax or tithe called the dîme. In 1749, under Louis XV, a new tax based on the dixième, the vingtième, was enacted to reduce the deficit. The financial needs of the Seven Years War led to a second, in 1754 the vingtième produced 11.7 million livres. The taille was used heavily by the French to fund their many wars like the Hundred Years War. It eventually became one of the most hated taxes of the Ancien Régime, tallage La Dîme - a land tax benefiting the church
12.
Gabelle
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The gabelle was a very unpopular tax on salt in France that was established during the mid-14th century and lasted, with brief lapses and revisions, until 1946. The term gabelle is derived from the Italian gabella, itself originating from the Arabic word qabala, in France, the gabelle was originally an indirect tax that was applied to agricultural and industrial commodities, such as bed sheets, wheat, spices, and wine. However, from the 14th century onward, the gabelle was limited, repealed in 1790 by the National Assembly in the midst of the French Revolution, the gabelle was later reinstated by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806. It was briefly terminated and reinstated again during the French Second Republic, in 1229, when the Albigensian Crusades were brought to a close by Louis IX and his mother, France gained control of the Rhone Estuary and nearby Mediterranean coast. This led to the establishment of the first French Mediterranean port city of Aigues-Mortes in 1246, literally translated to Dead Waters, and these saltworks would fund St. Louis’ ambitions of crusading in the Middle East. A profitable means of generating revenue for France’s wars, this control over salt. A temporary tax under St. Louis, in 1259, his brother Charles I further established royal control over salt and this salt administration would eventually encompass Peccais, Aigues-Mortes, and the region of Camargue and come to be known as the Pays de petites gabelles. On March 16,1341, Philip VI of Valois established the first permanent royal tax on salt in France known as the Pays de grandes gabelles. Known as the Sel de devoir, translated to salt duty, furthermore, they were unable to use this salt for making salted products, which was considered illegal and could lead to charges of faux saunage, or salt fraud. Failing to adhere to this could lead to imprisonment and, if repeated, each province had a Greniers à sel—a salt granary—where all salt produced from that region needed to be taken in order to be bought and sold. When first instituted, the gabelle was levied uniformly on all the provinces in France at a rate of 1. 66% on the sale price, however, for the greater part of its history, the prices varied and resulted in large disparities between the different provinces. The largest of the six regions, it had not only the highest salt prices, one-third of France’s population resided within this region, and paid two-thirds of all salt revenue, but only consumed one-fourth of all salt. The Pays de petites gabelles, this included the provinces of Lyonnais, Provence, Roussillon, Languedoc, and Dauphiné, southeast Burgundy. This region covered southeastern France, including the Mediterranean coastline and the lower Rhône valley, the gabelle there was about half of the rate as in the pays de grandes gabelles. One-fifth of all France’s population resided within this region and paid one-fourth of royal salt revenue, the Pays de quart-bouillon, these provinces included Avranches, Coutances, Bayeux, and Pont l’Evêque. One-fourth of all produced in this region went to the royal granaries. The Pays de salines, these provinces included Franche-Comté, Lorraine, unlike in the petites and grandes regions, the laws enforced here allowed private merchants to engage in retail and wholesale salt distribution rather than complete oversight by state officials. As a result, this region’s salt prices were affected by the gabelle
13.
Manorialism
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Manorialism was an essential element of feudal society. It was the principle of rural economy that originated in the Roman villa system of the Late Roman Empire. It was slowly replaced by the advent of a market economy. These obligations could be payable in several ways, in labor, in kind, or, on rare occasions, in examining the origins of the monastic cloister, Walter Horn found that as a manorial entity the Carolingian monastery. Manorialism died slowly and piecemeal, along with its most vivid feature in the landscape and it outlasted serfdom as it outlasted feudalism, primarily an economic organization, it could maintain a warrior, but it could equally well maintain a capitalist landlord. It could be self-sufficient, yield produce for the market, or it could yield a money rent, the last feudal dues in France were abolished at the French Revolution. In parts of eastern Germany, the Rittergut manors of Junkers remained until World War II, in Quebec, the last feudal rents were paid in 1970 under the modified provisions of the Seigniorial Dues Abolition Act of 1935. The term is most often used with reference to medieval Western Europe, antecedents of the system can be traced to the rural economy of the later Roman Empire. With a declining birthrate and population, labor was the key factor of production, the workers of the land were on their way to becoming serfs. The legal status of adscripti, bound to the soil, contrasted with barbarian foederati, the process of rural self-sufficiency was given an abrupt boost in the eighth century, when normal trade in the Mediterranean Sea was disrupted. The lord held a court, governed by public law. Not all territorial seigneurs were secular, bishops and abbots also held lands that entailed similar obligations, by extension, the word manor is sometimes used in England to mean any home area or territory in which authority is held, often in a police or criminal context. In the generic plan of a manor from Shepherds Historical Atlas. As concerns for privacy increased in the 18th century, manor houses were located a farther distance from the village. In an agrarian society, the conditions of land tenure underlie all social or economic factors, there were two legal systems of pre-manorial landholding. One, the most common, was the system of holding land allodially in full outright ownership, the other was a use of precaria or benefices, in which land was held conditionally. To these two systems, the Carolingian monarchs added a third, the aprisio, which linked manorialism with feudalism and he solved this problem by allotting desert tracts of uncultivated land belonging to the royal fisc under direct control of the emperor. These holdings aprisio entailed specific conditions, the earliest specific aprisio grant that has been identified was at Fontjoncouse, near Narbonne
14.
Absolute monarchy
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Absolute monarchy, or despotic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which one ruler has supreme authority that is not restricted by any written laws, legislature, or customs. These are often, but not always, hereditary monarchies, in contrast, in constitutional monarchies, the head of states authority derives from and is legally bounded or restricted by a constitution or legislature. Some monarchies have weak or symbolic legislatures and other bodies that the monarch can alter or dissolve at will. Countries where a monarch still maintains absolute power are Brunei, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the individual emirates composing the United Arab Emirates, Swaziland, in Ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh wielded absolute power over the country and was considered a living god by his people. In ancient Mesopotamia, many rulers of Assyria, Babylonia and Sumer were absolute monarchs as well, in ancient and medieval India, rulers of the Maurya, Satahavana, Gupta and Chalukya Empires, as well as other major and minor empires, were considered absolute monarchs. In the Khmer Empire, the kings were called Devaraja and Chakravartin, in Kingdom of Siam, the kings were esestablished Somburanaya-sittiraj. Throughout Chinese history, many emperors and one empress wielded absolute power through the Mandate of Heaven, in pre-Columbian America, the Inca Empire was ruled by a Sapa Inca, who was considered the son of Inti, the sun god and absolute ruler over the people and nation. Throughout much of European history, the right of kings was the theological justification for absolute monarchy. Many European monarchs, such as those of Russia, claimed supreme autocratic power by right. James VI of Scotland and his son Charles I of Scotland and England tried to import this principle, there is a considerable variety of opinion by historians on the extent of absolutism among European monarchs. Some, such as Perry Anderson, argue that quite a few monarchs achieved levels of absolutist control over their states, a widely held story about Louis XIV of France is that he proclaimed Létat, cest moi. What Louis did say was, The interests of the state come first, when one gives these priority, one labors for ones own good. These advantages to the state redounds to ones glory, although often criticized for his extravagances, such as the Palace of Versailles, he reigned over France for a long period, and some historians consider him a successful absolute monarch. More recently, revisionist historians have questioned whether Louis reign should be considered absolute, the King of France concentrated in his person legislative, executive, and judicial powers. He was the judicial authority. He could condemn men to death without the right of appeal and it was both his duty to punish offenses and stop them from being committed. From his judicial authority followed his power both to make laws and to annul them and this law consequently authorized the king to abolish all other centers of power. Most important was the abolition of the Council of the Realm and his actions largely originated the militaristic streak of the Hohenzollern
15.
Lit de justice
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For the champion racehorse, see Lit de Justice. In France under the Ancien Régime, the lit de justice was a formal session of the Parlement of Paris, under the presidency of the king. It was named thus because the king would sit on a throne, in the Middle Ages, not every appearance of the King of France in parlement occasioned a formal lit de justice. It was the custom of Philip IV and his three sons, of Charles V, of Charles VI, and of Louis XII to attend sessions of various parlements regularly. A lit de justice in Paris was normally held in the Grand Chambre du Parlement of the palace on the Île de la Cité. Five cushions formed the lit, the king sat on one, another formed a back, peers and prelates were ranged on benches at his right and left. Before the king, a space was kept empty, that the king might discuss matters privately. To preserve order, it was forbidden for anyone to leave his seat or approach the lit without being called, the lit de justice equally served to cow recalcitrant parlements, imposing the sovereignty of the king. In the Middle Ages, a lit de justice was the setting for trials of great aristocrats for major crimes, in the 16th century, it began to be manipulated for enforcing the registration of royal edicts. In the 17th century, it was used but was revived under Louis XV, raising controversy among the parliamentary noblesse de robe. In the kings presence the Parlement lost its quality of judge, to take the role of counsellor following the principle adveniente principe. As relations between Henri III and the Parlement of Paris became strained, the king used his presence in the lit de justice to enforce his will upon a recalcitrant court. He and the Queen Mother made a tour of parlements— Dijon, Toulouse, Bordeaux, from the reign of Louis XIII it was confined to the Parlement de Paris. In his Memoirs, the Duc de Saint-Simon describes in detail a lit de justice held during the Regency of the Duke of Orléans on August 26,1718 at the Tuileries Palace, the last such session was in 1787, under Louis XVI, at Versailles. The whole body, now refractory, rolled out, in wheeled vehicles, Encyclopédie, Lit de justice article in the Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Numerous individual lits de justice are described, and many dates given, elizabeth A. R. Brown, Richard C. Semantics, Ceremonial, and the Parlement of Paris, 1300–1600, Sigmaringen 1994, ISBN 3-7995-7331-3
16.
Palace
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A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which housed the Imperial residences, in many parts of Europe, the term is also applied to ambitious private mansions of the aristocracy. Many historic palaces are now put to uses such as parliaments, museums, hotels. The word is sometimes used to describe a lavishly ornate building used for public entertainment or exhibitions. The word palace comes from Old French palais, from Latin Palātium, the original palaces on the Palatine Hill were the seat of the imperial power while the capitol on the Capitoline Hill was the religious nucleus of Rome. Long after the city grew to the seven hills the Palatine remained a residential area. Emperor Caesar Augustus lived there in a purposely modest house only set apart from his neighbours by the two trees planted to flank the front door as a sign of triumph granted by the Senate. His descendants, especially Nero, with his Golden House, enlarged the house, the word Palātium came to mean the residence of the emperor rather than the neighbourhood on top of the hill. Palace meaning government can be recognized in a remark of Paul the Deacon, AD790 and describing events of the 660s, When Grimuald set out for Beneventum, he entrusted his palace to Lupus. At the same time, Charlemagne was consciously reviving the Roman expression in his palace at Aachen, in the 9th century, the palace indicated the housing of the government too, and the constantly travelling Charlemagne built fourteen. In the Holy Roman Empire the powerful independent Electors came to be housed in palaces and this has been used as evidence that power was widely distributed in the Empire, as in more centralized monarchies, only the monarchs residence would be a palace. In modern times, the term has been applied by archaeologists and historians to large structures that housed combined ruler, court, in informal usage, a palace can be extended to a grand residence of any kind. The earliest known palaces were the residences of the Egyptian Pharaohs at Thebes, featuring an outer wall enclosing labyrinthine buildings. Other ancient palaces include the Assyrian palaces at Nimrud and Nineveh, the Minoan palace at Knossos, the Brazilian new capital, Brasília, hosts modern palaces, most designed by the citys architect Oscar Niemeyer. The Alvorada Palace is the residence of the Brazils president. The Planalto Palace is the official workplace, the Jaburu Palace is the official residence of Brazils vice-president. In Canada, Government House is a given to the official residences of the Canadian monarchy. The use of the term Government House is a custom from the British Empire
17.
Palais de Justice, Paris
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The Palais de Justice, formerly the Palais de la Cité, is located on the Boulevard du Palais in the Île de la Cité in central Paris, France. The justice of the state has been dispensed at this site since medieval times, from the sixteenth century to the French Revolution this was the seat of the Parlement de Paris. The building was reconstructed between 1857 and 1868 by architects Joseph-Louis Duc and Honoré Daumet, the exterior includes sculptural work by Jean-Marie Bonnassieux. It was opened in October 1868 with little fanfare, save from a visit by Baron Haussmann and it was awarded the Grand Prix de lEmpereur as the greatest work of art produced in France in the decade. Tribunal de grande instance de Paris Court of Appeal Ayers, Andrew, a visit of the Hall of Justice Palais de Justice at lartnouveau. com
18.
Hundred Years' War
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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
19.
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
20.
Languedoc
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Languedoc is a former province of France. Its territory is now contained in the region of Occitanie in the south of France. It had an area of approximately 27,376 square kilometers, the traditional provinces of the kingdom of France were not formally defined. A province was simply a territory of common traditions and customs, today, when people refer to the old provinces of France, they actually refer to the gouvernements as they existed in 1789. Gouvernements were military regions established in the middle of the 16th century, however, in some cases, small provinces had been merged with a large one into a single gouvernement, so gouvernements are not exactly the same as the traditional provinces. Historically, the region was called the county of Toulouse, a county independent from the kings of France. The county of Toulouse was made up of what would later be called Languedoc, but it included the province of Quercy. After the French conquest the entire county was dismantled, the part of it being now called Languedoc. The gouvernement of Languedoc was created in the middle of the 16th century, in addition to Languedoc proper, it also included the three small provinces of Gévaudan, Velay, and Vivarais, these three provinces being to the northeast of Languedoc. Some people also consider that the region around Albi was a province, called Albigeois. This decision was intentional, to avoid reviving the independently spirited county of Toulouse. In the rest of the article, Languedoc refers to the territory of this gouvernement of Languedoc, the governors of Languedoc resided in Pézenas, on the Mediterranean coast, away from Toulouse but close to Montpellier. The kings of France became fearful of the power of the governors, thus the gouvernements became hollow structures, but they still carried a sense of the old provinces, and so their names and limits have remained popular until today. The generality of Toulouse is also referred to as Upper Languedoc, while the generality of Montpellier, the intendants of Languedoc resided in Montpellier, and they had a sub-delegate in Toulouse. Montpellier was chosen on purpose to diminish the power of Toulouse, whose parlement was very influential, the intendants replaced the governors as administrators of Languedoc, but appointed and dismissed at will by the king, they were no threat to the central state in Versailles. By 1789 they were the most important element of the administration of the kingdom. For judicial and legislative matters, Languedoc was overseen by the Parlement of Toulouse and it was the first parlement created outside of Paris by the kings of France in order to be the equivalent of the Parlement of Paris in the far-away southern territories of the kingdom. The Parlement of Toulouse was the court of justice for this vast area of France
21.
Toulouse
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Toulouse is the capital city of the southwestern French department of Haute-Garonne, as well as of the Occitanie region. The city lies on the banks of the River Garonne,150 kilometres from the Mediterranean Sea,230 km from the Atlantic Ocean and it is the fourth-largest city in France with 466,297 inhabitants in January 2014. The Toulouse Metro area is, with 1312304 inhabitants as of 2014, Frances 4th metropolitan area after Paris, Lyon and Marseille and ahead of Lille and Bordeaux. Toulouse is the centre of the European aerospace industry, with the headquarters of Airbus, the Galileo positioning system, the SPOT satellite system, the Airbus Group, ATR and the Aerospace Valley. The city also hosts the European headquarters of Intel and CNESs Toulouse Space Centre, thales Alenia Space, and Astrium Satellites, Airbus Groups satellite system subsidiary, also have a significant presence in Toulouse. The University of Toulouse is one of the oldest in Europe and, with more than 103,000 students, is the fourth-largest university campus in France, after the Universities of Paris, Lyon and Lille. The air route between Toulouse Blagnac and Paris Orly is the busiest in Europe, transporting 2.4 million passengers in 2014, according to the rankings of LExpress and Challenges, Toulouse is the most dynamic French city. It is now the capital of the Occitanie region, the largest region in metropolitan France, sernin, the largest remaining Romanesque building in Europe, designated in 1998 because of its significance to the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route. Toulouse is in the south of France, north of the department of Haute-Garonne, the city is traversed by the Canal de Brienne, the Canal du Midi and the rivers Garonne, Touch and Hers-Mort. Toulouse has a subtropical climate which can be qualified as submediterranean due to its proximity to the Mediterranean climate zone. The Garonne Valley was a point for trade between the Pyrenees, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic since at least the Iron Age. The historical name of the city, Tolosa, it is of unknown meaning or origin, possibly from Aquitanian, or from Iberian, Tolosa enters the historical period in the 2nd century BC, when it became a Roman military outpost. After the conquest of Gaul, it was developed as a Roman city of Gallia Narbonensis. In the 5th century, Tolosa fell to the Visigothic kingdom and became one of its cities, in the early 6th century even serving as its capital. From this time, Toulouse was the capital of Aquitaine within the Frankish realm, in 721, Duke Odo of Aquitaine defeated an invading Umayyad Muslim army at the Battle of Toulouse. Odos victory was an obstacle to Muslim expansion into Christian Europe. Charles Martel, a later, won the Battle of Tours. The Frankish conquest of Septimania followed in the 750s, and a quasi-independent County of Toulouse emerged within the Carolingian sub-kingdom of Aquitaine by the late 8th century
22.
Fronde
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The Fronde was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The king confronted the opposition of the princes, the nobility, the law courts, and most of the French people. The Fronde was divided into two campaigns, the Fronde of the parlements and the Fronde of the nobles, the timing of the outbreak of the Fronde des parlements, directly after the Peace of Westphalia that ended the Thirty Years War, was significant. A. Lloyd Moote argues that Cardinal Mazarin blundered into the crisis, the Fronde represented the final attempt of the French nobility to do battle with the king, and they were humiliated. The long-term result was to strengthen Royal authority, but to weaken the economy, the Fronde facilitated the emergence of absolute monarchy. The French word fronde means sling, Parisian crowds used slings to smash the windows of supporters of Cardinal Mazarin, the Fronde in the end provided an incentive for the establishment of royalist absolutism, since the disorders eventually discredited the feudal concept of liberty. The pressure that saw the traditional liberties under threat came in the form of extended and increased taxes as the Crown needed to recover from its expenditures in the recent wars. The costs of the Thirty Years War constrained Mazarins government to raise funds by means, the impôts, the taille. The nobility refused to be so taxed, based on their old liberties, or privileges, and the brunt fell upon the bourgeoisie. When Louis XIV became king in 1643, he was only a child, most historians consider that Louiss later insistence on absolutist rule and depriving the nobility of actual power was a result of these events in his childhood. The military record of the first Fronde is almost blank, the noble faction demanded the calling of an assembly of the Estates General. The nobles believed that in the Estates-General they could continue to control the element as they had in the past. The royal faction, having no army at its disposal, had to release the prisoners. But Frances signing of the Peace of Westphalia allowed the French army to return from the frontiers, the two warring parties signed the Peace of Rueil after little blood had been shed. From then on the Fronde became a story of intrigues, half-hearted warfare in a scramble for power and control of patronage, the military operations fell into the hands of war-experienced mercenaries, led by two great, and many lesser, generals. The peace of Rueil lasted until the end of 1649, the princes, received at court once more, renewed their intrigues against Mazarin. On 14 January 1650, Cardinal Mazarin, having come to an understanding with Monsieur Gondi and Madame de Chevreuse, suddenly arrested Condé, Conti, the war which followed this coup is called the Princes Fronde. This time it was Turenne, before and afterwards the most loyal soldier of his day, listening to the promptings of Madame de Longueville, he resolved to rescue her brother Condé, his old comrade in the battles of Freiburg and Nördlingen
23.
Louis XIV of France
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Louis XIV, known as Louis the Great or the Sun King, was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monarch of a country in European history. In the age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIVs France was a leader in the centralization of power. Louis began his rule of France in 1661, after the death of his chief minister. By these means he became one of the most powerful French monarchs, under his rule, the Edict of Nantes, which granted rights to Huguenots, was abolished. The revocation effectively forced Huguenots to emigrate or convert in a wave of dragonnades, which managed to virtually destroy the French Protestant minority. During Louis reign, France was the leading European power, and it fought three wars, the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg. There were also two lesser conflicts, the War of Devolution and the War of the Reunions, warfare defined Louis XIVs foreign policies, and his personality shaped his approach. Impelled by a mix of commerce, revenge, and pique, in peacetime he concentrated on preparing for the next war. He taught his diplomats their job was to create tactical and strategic advantages for the French military, Louis XIV was born on 5 September 1638 in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, to Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. He was named Louis Dieudonné and bore the title of French heirs apparent. At the time of his birth, his parents had married for 23 years. His mother had experienced four stillbirths between 1619 and 1631, leading contemporaries thus regarded him as a divine gift and his birth a miracle of God. Sensing imminent death, Louis XIII decided to put his affairs in order in the spring of 1643, in defiance of custom, which would have made Queen Anne the sole Regent of France, the king decreed that a regency council would rule on his sons behalf. His lack of faith in Queen Annes political abilities was his primary rationale and he did, however, make the concession of appointing her head of the council. Louis relationship with his mother was uncommonly affectionate for the time, contemporaries and eyewitnesses claimed that the Queen would spend all her time with Louis. Both were greatly interested in food and theatre, and it is likely that Louis developed these interests through his close relationship with his mother. This long-lasting and loving relationship can be evidenced by excerpts in Louis journal entries, such as, but attachments formed later by shared qualities of the spirit are far more difficult to break than those formed merely by blood
24.
Franco-Dutch War
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The war ended with the Treaty of Nijmegen, by which Spain ceded the Franche-Comté and some cities in Flanders and Hainaut to France, while France returned some of its conquests to the Dutch. The year 1672, when an invasion of English, French. In the 1560s, the future Dutch Republicans formed an alliance with France, the alliance lasted for a century. Louis XIV of France considered the Dutch to be trading rivals, seditious republicans and Protestant heretics – and this was until the Dutch signed the Triple Alliance with England and Sweden in support of Spain, and countered French expansion in the Spanish Netherlands in the War of Devolution. To Louis, it seemed clear that France had to deal with the Republic before making another move on the Spanish Netherlands, Louis prepared for war against the Republic. His first and primary objective was to gain the support of England, England felt threatened by the Dutch naval power, it had therefore fought the first and second of the Anglo-Dutch Wars. Thus, the English did not need encouragement to leave the Triple Alliance. Sweden agreed to support the invasion of the Republic, by threatening Brandenburg-Prussia if that state should intervene. Measures taken by Louvois, Louis Secretary of War, allowed France to mobilise about 180,000 men, of these about 120,000 would be used directly against the Republic. The bulk of the French army was divided into two bodies, the body led by field marshal Turenne was stationed in Charleroi, then France. The body led by Condé waited in Sedan, both would march through the pro-France Prince-Bishopric of Liège, join near Maastricht and gain the Rhine. On the Rhine, a body would be waiting. It had been created from the armies of Münster and Cologne and was placed under the command of Luxembourg. The combined armies would attack the duchy of Cleves and the region of Nijmegen. A fourth body was to be an English expeditionary force, the alliances clashed when England declared war on the Republic, on 7 April 1672. Louis arrived in Charleroi on 5 May 1672, Turennes 50,000 men set off on 11 May. Arrived at Visé, Louis decided not to lay siege to Maastricht but only to occupy the forts of Tongeren, Maaseik. Moving along the Rhine, Rheinberg, Wesel, Burick and Orsoy were taken, Turenne then took Nijmegen, with 4,000 infantry and 400 cavalry, and from there Fort Crèvecœur near s-Hertogenbosch, which fell after only two days
25.
Douai
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Douai is a commune in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department, located on the river Scarpe some 40 kilometres from Lille and 25 km from Arras, Douai is home to one of the regions most impressive belfries. The population of the area, including Lens, was 552,682 in 1999. The main industries in the town are in the chemical and metal engineering sectors, Renault has a large vehicle assembly plant near the town, which has produced many well known Renault vehicles, such as the R14, R11, R19, and the Megane and Scenic of today. The Gare de Douai railway station is served by trains towards Lille, Arras, Lens, Amiens, Saint-Quentin. It is also connected to the TGV network, with high speed trains to Paris, Lyon, Nantes and its site probably corresponds to that of a 4th-century Roman fortress known as Duacum. From 10th century the town was a fiefdom of the counts of Flanders. The town became a textile market centre during the Middle Ages. In 1384, the county of Flanders passed into the domains of the Dukes of Burgundy, in 1667, Douai was taken by the troops of Louis XIV of France, and by the 1668 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the town was ceded to France. During successive sieges from 1710 to 1712, Douai was almost completely destroyed by the British Army, by 1713, the town was fully integrated into France. Douai became the seat of the Parliament of Flanders, the town is still a transportation and commercial center for the area, which was known up to the Sixties for its coalfield, the richest in northern France. Douais ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower, the 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying German forces and they were reinstalled after repairs in 1924, but 47 of them were replaced in 1954 to obtain a better sound. An additional larger bell in the summit, a La called Joyeuse, dates from 1471, the chimes are rung by a mechanism every quarter-hour, but are also played via a keyboard on Saturday mornings and at certain other times. The substantial Porte de Valenciennes town gate, a reminder of the towns past military importance, was built in 1453, one face is built in Gothic style, while the other is of Classical design. The University of Douai was founded under the patronage of Phillip II and it was prominent, from the 1560s until the French Revolution, as a centre for the education of English Catholics escaping the persecution in England. Connected with the University were not only the English College, Douai, founded by William Allen, but also the Irish and Scottish colleges and the Benedictine, Franciscan and Jesuit houses. However, the community was expelled at the time of the French Revolution in 1793 and, after years of wandering, finally settled at Downside Abbey, Somerset
26.
Arras
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Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France, prior to the reorganization of 2014 it was located in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. It is located in Northern France on the Scarpe river, the Arras plain lies on a large chalk plateau bordered on the north by the Marqueffles fault, on the southwest by the Artois and Ternois hills, and on the south by the slopes of Beaufort-Blavincourt. On the east it is connected to the Scarpe valley, established during the Iron Age by the Gauls, the town of Arras was first known as Nemetocenna, which is believed to have originated from the Celtic word nemeton, meaning sacred space. The first mention of the name Arras appeared in the 12th century, some hypothesize it is a contraction of Atrebates, a Belgic tribe of Gaul and Britain that used to inhabit the area. The name Atrebates could have evolved to become Atrades, Atradis, Aras. Others believe it comes from the Celtic word Ar, meaning running water, Arras is Pas-de-Calais’ third most populous town after Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer. The town counted 43,693 residents in 2012, with the Arras metropolitan area having a population of 124,200, Arras is located 182 kilometers north of Paris and can be reached in 2 hours by car and in 50 minutes by TGV. It is the center of the former Artois province. Its local speech is characterized as a patois, the city of Arras is well known for its architecture, culture, and history. It was once part of the Spanish Netherlands, a portion of the Low Countries controlled by Spain from 1556 to 1714, each year Arras attracts thousands of visitors, who explore the citys architecture and historic buildings. Some famous attractions include the splendid Town Hall and its Belfry, the Boves, the Squares, the Art District, the Abbey District, the Vauban Citadel, unlike many French words, the final s in the name Arras should be pronounced. Archaeologists found evidence of human settlements in the Scarpe basin. The archaeological sites of Mont-Saint-Vaast in Arras and Biache-Saint-Vaast were Stone Age settlements of the Mousterian culture and they were evidenced by the finds of stone tools. Very little was found to document the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in the Arras area, Arras was founded on the boat of Baudimont by the Belgic tribe of the Atrebates, who named it Nemetocenna in reference to a nemeton that probably existed there. It was later renamed Nemetacum/Atrebatum by the Romans, under whom it became an important garrison town, in the Scarpe valley archaeologists excavations and data recovery revealed Late Iron Age settlements. These buildings, believed to be farms, were found near the municipalities of Arras, Hamblain-les-Prés, in the 4th century, Nemetecacum was renowned for its arts and crafts as well as textiles trade throughout the whole empire. Between 406 and 407, the city was taken and destroyed by Germanic invaders, in 428, the Salian Franks led by Clodion le Chevelu took control of the region including the current Somme department. Roman General Aetius then chose to negotiate for peace and concluded a treaty with Clodion that gave the Franks the status of «foederati» fighting for Rome
27.
Metz
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Metz is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Great East region, located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, the city forms a central place of the European Greater Region and the SaarLorLux euroregion. The city has been steeped in Romance culture, but has strongly influenced by Germanic culture due to its location. Because of its historical, cultural, and architectural background, Metz has been submitted on Frances UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List, Metz is home to some world-class venues including the Arsenal Concert Hall and the Centre Pompidou-Metz museum. A basin of urban ecology, Metz gained its nickname of The Green City, as it has extensive open grounds, the historic city centre is one of the largest commercial pedestrian areas in France. A historic garrison town, Metz is the heart of the Lorraine region, specialising in information technology. In ancient times, the town was known as city of Mediomatrici, after its integration into the Roman Empire, the city was called Divodurum Mediomatricum, meaning Holy Village or Holy Fortress of the Mediomatrici, then it was known as Mediomatrix. During the 5th century AD, the name evolved to Mettis, Metz has a recorded history dating back over 3,000 years. Before the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, between the 6th and 8th centuries, the city was the residence of the Merovingian kings of Austrasia. After the Treaty of Verdun in 843, Metz became the capital of the Kingdom of Lotharingia and was integrated into the Holy Roman Empire. During the 12th century, Metz rose to the status of Republic, with the signature of the Treaty of Chambord in 1552, Metz passed to the hands of the Kings of France. Under French rule, Metz was selected as capital of the Three Bishoprics, with creation of the departments by the Estates-General of 1789, Metz was chosen as capital of the Department of Moselle. Metz remained German until the end of World War I, when it reverted to France, however, after the Battle of France during the Second World War, the city was annexed once more by the German Third Reich. In 1944, the attack on the city by the U. S, Third Army freed the city from German rule and Metz reverted one more time to France after World War II. During the 1950s, Metz was chosen to be the capital of the newly created Lorraine region, with the creation of the European Community and the later European Union, the city has become central to the Greater Region and the SaarLorLux Euroregion. Metz is located on the banks of the Moselle and the Seille rivers,43 km from the Schengen tripoint where the borders of France, Germany, and Luxembourg meet. The city was built in a place where branches of the Moselle river creates several islands. The terrain of Metz forms part of the Paris Basin and presents a plateau relief cut by river valleys presenting cuestas in the north-south direction
28.
Nancy, France
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Nancy is the capital of the north-eastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, and formerly the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, and then the French province of the same name. The metropolitan area of Nancy had a population of 410,509 inhabitants at the 1999 census,103,602 of whom lived in the city of Nancy proper. The motto of the city is Non inultus premor, Latin for Im not touched with impunity—a reference to the thistle, the earliest signs of human settlement in the area date back to 800 BC. Early settlers were attracted by easily mined iron ore and a ford in the Meurthe River. A small fortified town named Nanciacum was built by Gérard, Duke of Lorraine around 1050, Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy, was defeated and killed in the Battle of Nancy in 1477, René II, Duke of Lorraine became the ruler. In 1736 Emperor Charles arranged her marriage to Duke François of Lorraine, exiled Polish king Stanisław Leszczyński, father-in-law of French king Louis XV, was given the vacant duchy instead. Under his nominal rule, Nancy experienced growth and a flowering of Baroque culture and architecture, with his death in 1766, the duchy became a regular French province and Nancy lost its position as a residential capital city with its own princely court and patronage. As unrest surfaced within the French armed forces during the French Revolution, a few reliable units laid siege to the town and shot or imprisoned the mutineers. In 1871, Nancy remained French when Prussia annexed Alsace-Lorraine, the flow of refugees reaching Nancy doubled its population in three decades. Artistic, academic, financial and industrial excellence flourished, establishing what is still the Capital of Lorraines trademark to this day, Nancy was freed from Nazi Germany by the U. S. Third Army in September 1944, during the Lorraine Campaign of World War II at the Battle of Nancy ), in 1988, Pope John Paul II visited Nancy. In 2005, French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, Nancy is situated on the left bank of the river Meurthe, about 10 km upstream from its confluence with the Moselle. The Marne–Rhine Canal runs through the city, parallel to the Meurthe, Nancy is surrounded by hills that are about 150 m higher than the city center, which is situated at 200 m amsl. The area of Nancy proper is small,15 km2. Its built-up area is continuous with those of its adjacent suburbs, the neighboring communes of Nancy are, Jarville-la-Malgrange, Laxou, Malzéville, Maxéville, Saint-Max, Tomblaine, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy and Villers-lès-Nancy. Adjacent to its south is the quarter Charles III – Centre Ville and this quarter contains the famous Place Stanislas, the Nancy Cathedral, the Opéra national de Lorraine and the main railway station. The old city centers heritage dates from the Middle Ages to the 18th century, the cathedral of Nancy, the Triumphal Arch and the Place de la Carriere are a fine examples of 18th-century architecture. The Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine is the princely residence of the rulers
29.
Colmar
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Colmar is the third-largest commune of the Alsace region in north-eastern France. It is the seat of the prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department, the town is situated on the Alsatian Wine Route and considers itself to be the capital of Alsatian wine. The city is renowned for its old town, its numerous architectural landmarks and its museums. Colmar was founded in the 9th century, and is mentioned as Columbarium Fiscum by the monk Notker Balbulus in a text dated 823 and this was the location where the Carolingian Emperor Charles the Fat held a diet in 884. Colmar was granted the status of an imperial city by Emperor Frederick II in 1226. In 1354 it joined the Décapole city league, during the Thirty Years War, it was taken by the Swedish army in 1632, who held it for two years. In 1635 the citys harvest was spoiled by Imperialist forces while the shot at them from the walls. The city was conquered by France under King Louis XIV in 1673, with the rest of Alsace, Colmar was annexed by the newly formed German Empire in 1871 as a result of the Franco-Prussian War and incorporated into the Alsace-Lorraine province. The Colmar Treasure, a hoard of precious objects hidden by Jews during the Black Death, was discovered here in 1863, Colmar is 64 kilometres south-southwest of Strasbourg, at 48. 08°N,7. 36°E, on the Lauch River, a tributary of the Ill. It is located directly to the east of the Vosges Mountains, in 2013, the city had a population of 67,956 and the metropolitan area of Colmar had a population of 126,957 in 2009. Colmar is the center of the arrondissement of Colmar-Ribeauvillé, which had 199,182 inhabitants in 2013, Colmar has a sunny microclimate and is one of the driest cities in France, with an annual precipitation of just 607 mm, making it ideal for Alsace wine. It is considered the capital of the Alsatian wine region, mostly spared from the destructions of the French Revolution and the wars of 1870–1871, 1914–1918 and 1939–1945, the cityscape of old-town Colmar is homogenous and renowned among tourists. An area that is crossed by canals of the river Lauch is now called little Venice, Maison Adolph – 14th century Koifhus, also known as Ancienne Douane –1480 Maison Pfister –1537. Cour dAssises –1840 Théâtre municipal –1849 Marché couvert –1865, the citys covered market, built in stone, bricks and cast iron, still serves today. Préfecture –1866 Water tower –1886, oldest still preserved water tower in Alsace. Gare SNCF –1905 Cour dappel –1906 Église Saint-Martin – 1234–1365, the largest church of Colmar and one of the largest in Haut-Rhin. Displays some early stained glass windows, several Gothic and Renaissance sculptures and altars, the choir is surrounded by an ambulatory opening on a series of Gothic chapels, a unique feature in Alsatian churches. Now disaffected as a church, displays Martin Schongauers masterwork La Vierge au buisson de roses as well as 14th century stained glass windows, the adjacent convent buildings house a section of the municipal library
30.
Dijon
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Dijon is a city in eastern France, capital of the Côte-dOr département and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. The earliest archaeological finds within the city limits of Dijon date to the Neolithic period, Dijon later became a Roman settlement named Divio, located on the road from Lyon to Paris. Population,151,576 within the city limits,250,516 for the greater Dijon area, the city has retained varied architectural styles from many of the main periods of the past millennium, including Capetian, Gothic and Renaissance. Many still-inhabited town houses in the central district date from the 18th century. Dijon architecture is distinguished by, among other things, toits bourguignons made of tiles glazed in terracotta, green, yellow and black, Dijon holds an International and Gastronomic Fair every year in autumn. With over 500 exhibitors and 200,000 visitors every year, Dijon is also home, every three years, to the international flower show Florissimo. The historical center of the city has been registered since July 4,2015 as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the earliest archaeological finds within the city limits of Dijon date to the Neolithic period. Dijon later became a Roman settlement called Divio, which may mean sacred fountain, saint Benignus, the citys apocryphal patron saint, is said to have introduced Christianity to the area before being martyred. The Duchy of Burgundy was a key in the transformation of medieval times toward early modern Europe, the Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy now houses city hall and a museum of art. In 1513, Swiss and Imperial armies invaded Burgundy and besieged Dijon, the siege was extremely violent, but the town succeeded in resisting the invaders. After long negotiations, Louis II de la Trémoille managed to persuade the Swiss, during the siege, the population called on the Virgin Mary for help and saw the towns successful resistance and the subsequent withdrawal of the invaders as a miracle. For those reasons, in the following the siege the inhabitants of Dijon began to venerate Notre-Dame de Bon-Espoir. Although a few areas of the town were destroyed, there are no signs of the siege of 1513 visible today. However, Dijons museum of arts has a large tapestry depicting this episode in the towns history. Dijon is situated at the heart of a plain drained by two small converging rivers, the Suzon, which crosses it mostly underground from north to south, farther south is the côte, or hillside, of vineyards that gives the department its name. Dijon lies 310 km southeast of Paris,190 km northwest of Geneva, the average low of winter is −1 °C, with an average high of 4.2 °C. The average high of summer is 25.3 °C with a low of 14.7 °C. Average normal temperatures are between 2.3 °C and 5.3 °C from November to March, and 17.2 to 19.7 °C from June to August, the climate is oceanic but with a greater temperature range than closer to the Atlantic coastline
31.
Grenoble
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Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère, the city advertises itself as the Capital of the Alps, due to its size and its proximity to the mountains. Grenobles history goes back more than 2,000 years, to a time when it was a small Gallic village, industrial development increased the prominence of Grenoble, through several periods of economic expansion over the last three centuries. The city has grown to be one of Europes most important research, technology, the population of the city of Grenoble was 160,215 at the 2013 census, while the population of the Grenoble metropolitan area was 664,832. The residents of the city are called Grenoblois, the many communes that make up the metropolitan area include three suburbs with populations exceeding 20,000, Saint-Martin-dHères, Échirolles, and Fontaine. For the ecclesiastical history, see Bishopric of Grenoble, the first references to Grenoble date back to 43 BC. Cularo was at time a little Gallic village founded by the Allobroges tribe near a bridge across the Isère River. Three centuries later and with insecurity rising in the late Roman empire, the Emperor Gratian visited Cularo and, touched by the peoples welcome, made the village a Roman city. In honour of this, Cularo was renamed Gratianopolis in 381, Christianity spread to the region during the 4th century, and the diocese of Grenoble was founded in 377 AD. From that time on, the bishops exercised significant political power over the city, until the French Revolution, they styled themselves the bishops and princes of Grenoble. Arletian rule was interrupted between 942 and 970 due to Arabic rule based in Fraxinet, Grenoble grew significantly in the 11th century when the Counts of Albon chose the city as the capital of their territories. At the time, their possessions were a patchwork of several territories sprawled across the region, the central position of Grenoble allowed the Counts to strengthen their authority. When they later took the title of Dauphins, Grenoble became the capital of the State of Dauphiné, despite their status, the Counts had to share authority over the city with the Bishop of Grenoble. One of the most famous of those was Saint Hugh, under his rule, the citys bridge was rebuilt, and both a regular hospital and a leper one were built. The inhabitants of Grenoble took advantage of the conflicts between the Counts and the bishops and obtained the recognition of a Charter of Customs that guaranteed their rights and that charter was confirmed by Kings Louis XI in 1447 and Francis I in 1541. In 1336 the last Dauphin Humbert II founded a court of justice, the Conseil delphinal and he also established the University of Grenoble in 1339. Aging and heirless, Humbert sold his state to France in 1349, the first one, the future Charles V, spent nine months in Grenoble. The city remained the capital of the Dauphiné, henceforth a province of France, the only Dauphin who really governed his province was Louis XI, whose reign lasted from 1447 to 1456
32.
Aix-en-Provence
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Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a city-commune in the south of France, about 30 km north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur, in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, the population of Aix numbers approximately 143,000. Its inhabitants are called Aixois or, less commonly, Aquisextains, Aix was founded in 123 BC by the Roman consul Sextius Calvinus, who gave his name to its springs, following the destruction of the nearby Gallic oppidum at Entremont. In the 4th century AD it became the metropolis of Narbonensis Secunda and it was occupied by the Visigoths in 477. In the succeeding century, the town was plundered by the Franks and Lombards. Aix passed to the crown of France with the rest of Provence in 1487, and in 1501 Louis XII established there the parliament of Provence, in the 17th and 18th centuries, the town was the seat of the Intendance of Provence. Current archeological excavations in the Ville des Tours, a suburb of Aix, have unearthed the remains of a Roman amphitheatre. The city slopes gently north to south and the Montagne Sainte-Victoire can easily be seen to the east. Aixs position in the south of France gives it a warm climate and it has an average January temperature of 5 °C and a July average of 23 °C. It has an average of 300 days of sunshine and only 91 days of rain, while it is partially protected from the Mistral, Aix still occasionally experiences the cooler and gusty conditions it brings. Unlike most of France which has a climate, Aix-en-Provence has a Mediterranean climate. The Cours Mirabeau is a thoroughfare, planted with double rows of plane-trees, bordered by fine houses. It follows the line of the old city wall and divides the town into two sections. The new town extends to the south and west, the old town, with its narrow, along this avenue, which is lined on one side with banks and on the other with cafés, is the Deux Garçons, the most famous brasserie in Aix. Built in 1792, it has been frequented by the likes of Paul Cézanne, Émile Zola, the Cathedral of the Holy Saviour is situated to the north in the medieval part of Aix. The archbishops palace and a Romanesque cloister adjoin the cathedral on its south side, the Archbishopric of Aix is now shared with Arles. Among its other public institutions, Aix also has the second most important Appeal Court outside of Paris, the Hôtel de Ville, a building in the classical style of the middle of the 17th century, looks onto a picturesque square. It contains some fine woodwork and tapestries, at its side rises a handsome clock-tower erected in 1510
33.
Perpignan
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Perpignan is a city, a commune, and the capital of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Perpignan was the capital of the province and County of Roussillon. In 2013 Perpignan had 118,238 inhabitants in the city proper, the metropolitan area had a total population of 305,837 in 2010. Perpignan is located in the center of the Roussillon plain,13 km west of the Mediterranean coast and it is the southern most of the cities of metropolitan France. Perpignan is crossed by the largest river in Roussillon, the Têt, and by one of its tributaries, floods often occur, as in 1892 when the rising of the Têt in Perpignan destroyed 39 houses, leaving more than 60 families homeless. Perpignan experiences a Mediterranean climate similar to much of the Mediterranean coastline of France, roads The motorway A9 connects Perpignan with Barcelona and Montpellier. Trains Perpignan is served by the Gare de Perpignan railway station, which offers connections to Paris, Barcelona, Toulouse, salvador Dalí proclaimed it to be the Center of the Universe after experiencing a vision of cosmogonic ecstasy there in 1963. Airport The nearest airport is Perpignan–Rivesaltes Airport, attested forms The name of Perpignan appears in 927 as Perpinianum, followed in 959 by Villa Perpiniano, Pirpinianum in the 11th century, Perpiniani in 1176. Perpenyà, which appears in the 13th century, is the most common form until the 15th century, though settlement in the area goes back to Roman times, the medieval town of Perpignan seems to have been founded around the beginning of the 10th century. Soon Perpignan became the capital of the counts of Roussillon, historically, it was part of the region known as Septimania. In 1172 Count Girard II bequeathed his lands to the Counts of Barcelona, Perpignan acquired the institutions of a partly self-governing commune in 1197. French feudal rights over Roussillon were given up by Louis IX in the Treaty of Corbeil, when James I the Conqueror, king of Aragon and count of Barcelona, founded the Kingdom of Majorca in 1276, Perpignan became the capital of the mainland territories of the new state. The succeeding decades are considered the age in the history of the city. It prospered as a centre of manufacture, leather work, goldsmiths work. King Philippe III of France died there in 1285, as he was returning from his crusade against the Aragonese Crown. In 1344 Peter IV of Aragon annexed the Kingdom of Majorca, a few years later it lost approximately half of its population to the Black Death. Perpignan is one of the houses of Lancaster Girls Grammar School, the festival has a broad mainstream focus with pop-related music as well as traditional acoustic guitar music and alternative music. The festival has attracted international guests like Caetano Veloso, Rumberos Catalans, Pedro Soler, Bernardo Sandoval, Peter Finger, in 2008, Perpignan became Capital of Catalan Culture
34.
Bordeaux
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Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France. The municipality of Bordeaux proper has a population of 243,626, together with its suburbs and satellite towns, Bordeaux is the centre of the Bordeaux Métropole. With 749,595 inhabitants and 1,178,335 in the area, it is the fifth largest in France, after Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Lille. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department and its inhabitants are called Bordelais or Bordelaises. The term Bordelais may also refer to the city and its surrounding region, Bordeaux is the worlds major wine industry capital. It is home to the main wine fair, Vinexpo. Bordeaux wine has been produced in the region since the 8th century, the historic part of the city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble of the 18th century. After Paris, Bordeaux has the highest number of preserved buildings of any city in France. In historical times, around 300 BC it was the settlement of a Celtic tribe, the Bituriges Vivisci, the name Bourde is still the name of a river south of the city. In 107 BC, the Battle of Burdigala was fought by the Romans who were defending the Allobroges, a Gallic tribe allied to Rome, the Romans were defeated and their commander, the consul Lucius Cassius Longinus, was killed in the action. The city fell under Roman rule around 60 BC, its importance lying in the commerce of tin, later it became capital of Roman Aquitaine, flourishing especially during the Severan dynasty. In 276 it was sacked by the Vandals, further ravage was brought by the same Vandals in 409, the Visigoths in 414 and the Franks in 498, beginning a period of obscurity for the city. In the late 6th century, the city re-emerged as the seat of a county and an archdiocese within the Merovingian kingdom of the Franks, the city started to play a regional role as a major urban center on the fringes of the newly founded Frankish Duchy of Vasconia. Around 585, a certain Gallactorius is cited as count of Bordeaux, the city was plundered by the troops of Abd er Rahman in 732 after storming the fortified city and overwhelming the Aquitanian garrison. After Duke Eudess defeat, the Aquitanian duke could still save part of its troops, the following year, the Frankish commander descended again over Aquitaine, but clashed in battle with the Aquitanians and left to take on hostile Burgundian authorities and magnates. In 745, Aquitaine faced yet another expedition by Charles sons Pepin and Carloman against Hunald, Hunald was defeated, and his son Waifer replaced him, who in turn confirmed Bordeaux as the capital city. During the last stage of the war against Aquitaine, it was one of Waifers last important strongholds to fall to King Pepin the Shorts troops. Next to Bordeaux, Charlemagne built the fortress of Fronsac on a hill across the border with the Basques, in 778, Seguin was appointed count of Bordeaux, probably undermining the power of the Duke Lupo, and possibly leading to the Battle of Roncevaux Pass that very year
35.
Rennes
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Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department, renness history goes back more than 2,000 years, at a time when it was a small Gallic village named Condate. Together with Vannes and Nantes, it was one of the cities of the historic province of Brittany. After the French Revolution, Rennes remained for most of its history a parliamentary, administrative, since the 1950s, Rennes has grown in importance through rural flight and its modern industrial development, partly automotive. The city developed extensive building plans to accommodate upwards of 200,000 inhabitants, during the 1980s, Rennes became one of the main centres in telecommunication and high technology industry. It is now a significant digital innovation centre in France, in 2015, the city is the tenth largest in France, with a metropolitan area of about 700,000 inhabitants. With more than 63,000 students in 2013, is also the eighth-largest university campus of France, the inhabitants of Rennes are called Rennais in French. In 2012, lExpress named Rennes as the most liveable city in France, Rennes is the administrative capital of the French department of Ille-et-Vilaine. It has a long history due to its location at the confluence of two rivers and its proximity to the regions from which arose various challenges to the borders of Brittany. Without inscriptions, as the Celtic practice was, the Redones coinage features a charioteer whose pony has a human head, large hoards of their coins were unearthed in the treasure of Amanlis found in June 1835 and that of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, discovered in February 1941. The museum at Rennes contains a representative collection. In 57 BC the Redones joined the Gaulish coalition against Rome which was suppressed by Crassus, in 52 BC, the Redones responded to the call of Vercingetorix to furnish a large contingent of warriors. The oldest known Rennais is Titus Flavius Postuminus, known to us from his steles found in Rennes in 1969. As indicated by his name, he would have been born under the Flavian dynasty, under the reign of Titus, one of the steles tells us, in Latin, that he took charge over all the public affairs in the Civitas Riedonum. He was twice duumvir and flamen for life for Mars Mullo, during the Roman era, the strategic position of the town contributed to its importance. To the west the principal Roman route, via Osismii, stretched from Condate Riedonum to Vorgium, in 275, the threat of barbarians led to the erection of a robust brick wall around Rennes. The Holy See of Rennes had been established by 453, with a church having occupied the site of the current Rennes Cathedral since the start of the 6th century. One of the earliest bishops of Rennes, Melaine - who would become the patron saint - played an important role in the peace treaty between the Franks and the Armoricans in 497
36.
Rouen
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Rouen is a city on the River Seine in the north of France. It is the capital of the region of Normandy, formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, Rouen was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy during the Middle Ages. It was one of the capitals of the Anglo-Norman dynasties, which ruled both England and large parts of modern France from the 11th to the 15th centuries. The population of the area at the 2007 census was 532,559. People from Rouen are known as Rouennais, Rouen and its metropolitan area of 70 suburban communes form the Agglomeration community of Rouen-Elbeuf-Austreberthe, with 494,382 inhabitants at the 2010 census. Rouen was founded by the Gaulish tribe of Veliocasses, who controlled an area in the lower Seine valley. The Gauls named the settlement Ratumacos and the Romans called it Rotomagus, Roman Rotomagus was the second city of Gallia Lugdunensis, after Lugdunum. In the 5th century, it became the seat of a bishopric, in the 10th century Rouen became the capital of the Duchy of Normandy and the residence of the dukes, until William the Conqueror established his castle at Caen. During the early 12th century the population reached 30,000. In 1150, Rouen received its charter, which permitted self-government. During the 12th century, Rouen was probably the site of a Jewish yeshiva, at that time, about 6,000 Jews lived in the town, comprising about 20% of the total population. The well-preserved remains of a medieval Jewish building, that could be a yeshiva, were discovered in the 1970s under the Rouen Law Courts. In 1200, a destroyed part of Rouens Romanesque cathedral, leaving just St Romains tower, the side porches of its front. New work on the present Gothic cathedral of Rouen began, in the nave, transept, choir, on 24 June 1204, Philip Augustus entered Rouen and annexed Normandy to the French Kingdom. The fall of Rouen meant the end of Normandys sovereign status and he demolished the Norman castle and replaced it with his own, the Château Bouvreuil, built on the site of the Gallo-Roman amphitheatre. A textile industry developed based on wool imported from England, competing with the northern County of Flanders, the city found its market niche in the Champagne fairs. Rouen also depended on the traffic of the Seine for its prosperity. Wine and wheat were exported to England, with tin and wool received in return, in the late 13th century urban strife threatened the city, in 1291, the mayor was assassinated and noble residences in the city were pillaged
37.
Paulette (tax)
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La Paulette was the name commonly given to the annual right, a special tax levied by the French Crown under the Ancien Régime. It was first instituted on December 12,1604 by King Henry IVs minister Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully. The paulette was a tax on the holders of government and judicial offices, paid to the Crown. Paying the paulette secured the right of the officeholder to transfer his office at will, the transmission of judicial offices had been a common practice in France since the late Middle Ages. By the beginning of the century the practice had extended to almost all levels of the ever-increasing Renaissance state administration. Custom had permitted an officer to transfer his office to his heir with royal permission in return for the payment of a fee, before it was made illegal in 1521, it had been possible to leave open-ended the date that the transfer was to take effect. Still, the new office holder had to meet the qualifications needed for the office or else the office went back to the crown. The paulette was a modification of this rule, which substituted a tax as protection against the forty days rule. The paulette provided the Crown with a source of revenue while consolidating the practice of hereditary government offices. This system was abolished after the French Revolution, while the paulette provided revenue for the Crown, the salaries of government officials stressed the royal funds and forced the Crown to tax the lower classes heavily. During the rule of Louis XIV, his minister of finance Jean Baptiste Colbert expanded the creation, salmon, John Hearsey McMillan, Society in crisis, France in the sixteenth century, London, England, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0-416-73050-7
38.
Normandy
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Normandy is one of the regions of France, roughly corresponding to the historical Duchy of Normandy. Administratively, Normandy is divided into five departments, Calvados, Eure, Manche, Orne and it covers 30,627 km², forming roughly 5% of the territory of France. Its population of 3.37 million accounts for around 5% of the population of France, Normans is the name given to the inhabitants of Normandy, and the region is the homeland of the Norman language. The historical region of Normandy comprised the region of Normandy, as well as small areas now part of the départements, or departments of Mayenne. For a century and a following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, Normandy and England were linked by Norman. Archaeological finds, such as paintings, prove that humans were present in the region in prehistoric times. Celts invaded Normandy in successive waves from the 4th to the 3rd century BC, when Julius Caesar invaded Gaul, there were nine different Celtic tribes living in Normandy. The Romanisation of Normandy was achieved by the methods, Roman roads. Classicists have knowledge of many Gallo-Roman villas in Normandy, in the late 3rd century, barbarian raids devastated Normandy. Coastal settlements were raided by Saxon pirates, Christianity also began to enter the area during this period. In 406, Germanic tribes began invading from the east, while the Saxons subjugated the Norman coast, the Roman Emperor withdrew from most of Normandy. As early as 487, the area between the River Somme and the River Loire came under the control of the Frankish lord Clovis, the Vikings started to raid the Seine Valley during the middle of the 9th century. As early as 841, a Viking fleet appeared at the mouth of the Seine, after attacking and destroying monasteries, including one at Jumièges, they took advantage of the power vacuum created by the disintegration of Charlemagnes empire to take northern France. The fiefdom of Normandy was created for the Norwegian Viking leader Hrólfr Ragnvaldsson, Rollo had besieged Paris but in 911 entered vassalage to the king of the West Franks, Charles the Simple, through the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. In exchange for his homage and fealty, Rollo legally gained the territory which he, the name Normandy reflects Rollos Viking origins. The descendants of Rollo and his followers adopted the local Gallo-Romance language and they became the Normans – a Norman-speaking mixture of Saxons and indigenous Franks and Celts. Besides the Norman conquest of England and the subsequent conquests of Wales and Ireland, Norman families, such as that of Tancred of Hauteville, Rainulf Drengot and Guimond de Moulins played important parts in the Norman conquest of southern Italy and Crusades. They also carved out a place for themselves and their descendants in the Crusader states of Asia Minor, the 14th century Norman explorer Jean de Béthencourt established a kingdom in the Canary Islands
39.
Parlement de Normandie
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The Parliament of Normandy, also known as the Parliament of Rouen after the place where it sat, was a provincial parlement of the Kingdom of France. It replaced the ancient court of the exchequer of Normandy, set up by Rollo, today, the building is the seat of the courthouse of the city of Rouen. Raised to a court and given a base in Rouen by Louis XII of France. The parlement de Rouen had responsibility for the seven great bailliages of Normandy – Rouen, Caudebec-en-Caux, Évreux, Les Andelys, Caen, Coutances and Alençon. It was thus made up of 4 presidents,13 clergy councillors,15 lay councillors,2 greffiers, following letters patent of 1507 from Louis XII, the archbishop of Rouen and the abbot of Saint-Ouen were ex officio honorary councillors to the parlement. When the court of the échiquier was made permanent, it was divided into two chambers, one to sit in the morning and the other in the afternoon and this second chamber later became known as the première des enquêtes. The chambre de la Tournelle, entrusted with criminal cases, was built in 1519, until 1 October 1506, the parlement de Normandie sat in the château de Rouen then in the palais. Many kings of France held lits de justice at the parlement de Normandie, Charles VIII held one on 27 April 1485 and at it confirmed Normandys privileges. Louis XII was accompanied there by the officers of his court on 24 October 1508. On 2 August 1517, Francis I held one there, accompanied by chancellor Duprat, some days later, the dauphin came to the parliament, where he was granted the same honors as the king himself, as the king had ordered. Charles IX was declared of age at the parlement, accompanied by chancellor Michel de LHospital, in 1540 chancellor Guillaume Poyet set the king against the parlement de Rouen, and the king banned it. In 1560, the parlement de Normandie and the provincial parlements were suppressed before being reestablished in June 1568 by Charles IX. Banned again in 1639, for not having opposed the revolt of the va-nu-pieds strongly enough, encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers by Diderot & d’Alembert, vol
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listen)), in the Ancien Régime of France, was a provincial appellate court. In 1789, France had 13 parlements, the most important of which was the Parlement of Paris. While the English word parliament derives from this French term, parlements were not legislative bodies, they consisted of a dozen or more appellate judges, or about 1,100 judges nationwide.[citation needed] They were the court of final appeal of the judicial system, and typically wielded much power over a wide range of subject matter, particularly taxation. Laws and edicts issued by the Crown were not official in their respective jurisdictions until the parlements gave their assent by publishing them, the members were aristocrats called nobles of the gown who had bought or inherited their offices, and were independent of the King.
