1.
King of France
–
The monarchs of the Kingdom of France and its predecessors ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of the Franks in 486 till the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870. Sometimes included as kings of France are the kings of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled from 486 until 751, and of the Carolingians, who ruled until 987. The Capetian dynasty, the descendants of Hugh Capet, included the first rulers to adopt the title of king of France for the first time with Philip II. The Capetians ruled continuously from 987 to 1792 and again from 1814 to 1848, the branches of the dynasty which ruled after 1328, however, are generally given the specific branch names of Valois and Bourbon. During the brief period when the French Constitution of 1791 was in effect and after the July Revolution in 1830 and it was a constitutional innovation known as popular monarchy which linked the monarchs title to the French people rather than to the possession of the territory of France. With the House of Bonaparte Emperors of the French ruled in 19th century France and it was used on coins up to the eighteenth century. During the brief period when the French Constitution of 1791 was in effect and after the July Revolution in 1830 and it was a constitutional innovation known as popular monarchy which linked the monarchs title to the French people rather than to the possession of the territory of France. They used the title Emperor of the French and this article lists all rulers to have held the title King of the Franks, King of France, King of the French or Emperor of the French. For other Frankish monarchs, see List of Frankish kings, in addition to the monarchs listed below, the Kings of England and Great Britain from 1340–60, 1369-1420, and 1422–1801 also claimed the title of King of France. For a short time, this had some basis in fact – under the terms of the 1420 Treaty of Troyes, Charles VI had recognized his son-in-law Henry V of England as regent and heir. Henry V predeceased Charles VI and so Henry Vs son, Henry VI, most of Northern France was under English control until 1435, but by 1453, the English had been expelled from all of France save Calais, and Calais itself fell in 1558. Nevertheless, English and then British monarchs continued to claim the title for themselves until the creation of the United Kingdom in 1801. The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that ruled the Franks for nearly 300 years in a known as Francia in Latin. Their territory largely corresponded to ancient Gaul as well as the Roman provinces of Raetia, Germania Superior, the Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. In 751, a Carolingian, Pepin the Younger, dethroned the Merovingians and with the consent of the Papacy, the Robertians were Frankish noblemen owing fealty to the Carolingians, and ancestors of the subsequent Capetian dynasty. Odo, Count of Paris, was chosen by the western Franks to be their king following the removal of emperor Charles the Fat, the Bosonids were a noble family descended from Boso the Elder, their member, Rudolph, was elected King of the Franks in 923. After the death of Louis V, the son of Hugh the Great and grandson of Robert I, the Capetian Dynasty, the male-line descendants of Hugh Capet, ruled France continuously from 987 to 1792 and again from 1814 to 1848. They were direct descendants of the Robertian kings, the cadet branches of the dynasty which ruled after 1328, however, are generally given the specific branch names of Valois and Bourbon
2.
Coronation
–
The ceremony can also be conducted for the monarchs consort, either simultaneously with the monarch or as a separate event. A ceremony without the placement of a crown on the head is known as an enthronement. Coronations are still observed in the United Kingdom, Tonga, in addition to investing the monarch with symbols of state, Western-style coronations have often traditionally involve anointing with holy oil, or chrism as it is often called. Wherever a ruler is anointed in this way, as in Great Britain and Tonga, some other lands use bathing or cleansing rites, the drinking of a sacred beverage, or other religious practices to achieve a comparable effect. Such acts symbolise the granting of divine favour to the monarch within the relevant spiritual-religious paradigm of the country, in the past, concepts of royalty, coronation and deity were often inexorably linked. Rome promulgated the practice of worship, in Medieval Europe. Coronations were once a direct expression of these alleged connections. Thus, coronations have often been discarded altogether or altered to reflect the nature of the states in which they are held. However, some monarchies still choose to retain an overtly religious dimension to their accession rituals, others have adopted simpler enthronement or inauguration ceremonies, or even no ceremony at all. In non-Christian states, coronation rites evolved from a variety of sources, buddhism, for instance, influenced the coronation rituals of Thailand, Cambodia and Bhutan, while Hindu elements played a significant role in Nepalese rites. The ceremonies used in modern Egypt, Malaysia, Brunei and Iran were shaped by Islam, Coronations, in one form or another, have existed since ancient times. Egyptian records show coronation scenes, such as that of Seti I in 1290 BC, judeo-Christian scriptures testify to particular rites associated with the conferring of kingship, the most detailed accounts of which are found in II Kings 11,12 and II Chronicles 23,11. Following the assumption of the diadem by Constantine, Roman and Byzantine emperors continued to wear it as the symbol of their authority. Although no specific coronation ceremony was observed at first, one gradually evolved over the following century, the emperor Julian was hoisted upon a shield and crowned with a gold necklace provided by one of his standard-bearers, he later wore a jewel-studded diadem. Later emperors were crowned and acclaimed in a manner, until the momentous decision was taken to permit the Patriarch of Constantinople to physically place the crown on the emperors head. Historians debate when exactly this first took place, but the precedent was established by the reign of Leo II. This ritual included recitation of prayers by the Byzantine prelate over the crown, after this event, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the ecclesiastical element in the coronation ceremonial rapidly develop. This was usually performed three times, following this, the king was given a spear, and a diadem wrought of silk or linen was bound around his forehead as a token of regal authority
3.
Coronation of the French monarch
–
The accession of the King of France was legitimized by coronation ceremony performed with the Crown of Charlemagne at Notre-Dame de Reims. The most important part of the French coronation ceremony was not the coronation itself, the Carolingian king Pepin the Short was the first anointed monarch in Europe, which occurred in Soissons to legitimize the accession of the new dynasty. A second coronation of Pepin by Pope Stephen II took place at the Basilica of St Denis in 754, the first coronation performed by a Pope. Since this Roman glass vial containing the balm due to be mixed with chrism, was brought by the dove of the Holy Spirit. All succeeding Kings of France were anointed with this same oil—mixed with chrism prior to their coronation, French queens were crowned either together with their husband at Rheims or alone at Sainte-Chapelle or Abbey of St. Denis. The king is crowned by the Archbishop of Reims who is assisted by four bishops of his ecclesiastical province. The established order of six bishops is, The Archbishop of Reims anoints, the Bishop of Laon carries the holy ampulla. The Bishop of Langres carries the scepter, the Bishop of Beauvais carries and shows the coat of arms or royal mantle. The Bishop of Chalons carries the royal ring, the Bishop of Noyon carries the belt. To these are added the Abbot of the Abbey of Saint-Remi, guardian of the ampulla. Peers are cited for the first time in 1203 and 1226, however, their first recorded participation in the coronation is made on the occasion of the coronation of Philip V of France on 9 January 1317. These are the six aforementioned ecclesiastical peers and the six lay peers, in order of protocol, the six lay peers are, The Duke of Burgundy carries the royal crown, girds the kings sword, and gives him the order of chivalry. The Duke of Normandy carries the first square banner, the Duke of Aquitaine carries the second square banner. The Count of Toulouse carries the spurs, the Count of Flanders carries the royal sword. The Count of Champagne carries the banner of war, the spiritual peerages were perpetual, and were never extinguished during the existence of the Kingdom of France. But as early as 1204, the roster of the lay peerages had been incomplete, Normandy had been absorbed into the French crown, Toulouse in 1271, Champagne in 1284. Aquitaine was several times forfeited and restored, Burgundy became extinct in 1361 and again in 1477, hence, more often than not, princes of the royal blood and high-ranking members of the nobility acted as representatives of the ancient lay peerages. Spiritual peers were also represented if their see is vacant or they are unable to attend
4.
Louis VII of France
–
Louis VII was King of the Franks from 1137 until his death. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI of France, hence his nickname, immediately after the annulment of her marriage, Eleanor married Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou, to whom she conveyed Aquitaine. When Henry became King of England in 1154, as Henry II, Henrys efforts to preserve and expand on this patrimony for the Crown of England would mark the beginning of the long rivalry between France and England. Louis VIIs reign saw the founding of the University of Paris and he died in 1180 and was succeeded by his son Philip II. Louis was born in 1120 in Paris, the son of Louis VI of France. The early education of Prince Louis anticipated an ecclesiastical career, in October 1131, his father had him anointed and crowned by Pope Innocent II in Reims Cathedral. He spent much of his youth in Saint-Denis, where he built a friendship with the Abbot Suger, an advisor to his father who also served Louis well during his early years as king. Following the death of William X, Duke of Aquitaine, Louis VI moved quickly to have Prince Louis married to Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, heiress of the late duke, on 25 July 1137. In this way, Louis VI sought to add the large, on 1 August 1137, shortly after the marriage, Louis VI died, and Prince Louis became king of France, reigning as Louis VII. The pairing of the monkish Louis and the high-spirited Eleanor was doomed to failure, she once declared that she had thought to marry a king. Louis and Eleanor had two daughters, Marie and Alix, in the first part of his reign, Louis VII was vigorous and zealous in his prerogatives. His accession was marked by no other than uprisings by the burgesses of Orléans and Poitiers. He soon came into violent conflict with Pope Innocent II, however, the pope thus imposed an interdict upon the king. As a result, Champagne decided to side with the pope in the dispute over Bourges, the war lasted two years and ended with the occupation of Champagne by the royal army. Louis VII was personally involved in the assault and burning of the town of Vitry-le-François, more than a thousand people who had sought refuge in the church died in the flames. Overcome with guilt and humiliated by ecclesiastical reproach, Louis admitted defeat, removed his armies from Champagne and he accepted Pierre de la Chatre as archbishop of Bourges and shunned Raoul and Petronilla. Desiring to atone for his sins, he declared his intention of mounting a crusade on Christmas Day 1145 at Bourges, bernard of Clairvaux assured its popularity by his preaching at Vezelay on Easter 1146. In the meantime, Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, completed his conquest of Normandy in 1144, in exchange for being recognised as Duke of Normandy by Louis, Geoffrey surrendered half of the Vexin — a region vital to Norman security — to Louis
5.
Louis VIII of France
–
Louis VIII the Lion was King of France from 1223 to 1226. He also claimed the title King of England from 1216 to 1217, Louis VIII was born in Paris, the son of King Philip II of France and Isabelle of Hainaut, from whom he inherited the County of Artois. While Louis VIII only briefly reigned as king of France, he was a leader in his years as crown prince. During the First Barons War of 1215-17 against King John of England, after his victory at the Battle of Roche-au-Moine in 1214, he invaded southern England and was proclaimed King of England by rebellious barons in London on the 2 June 1216. He was never crowned, however, and renounced his claim after being excommunicated and repelled, in 1217, Louis started the conquest of Guyenne, leaving only a small region around Bordeaux to Henry III of England. Louiss short reign was marked by an intervention using royal forces into the Albigensian Crusade in southern France that decisively moved the conflict towards a conclusion and he died in 1226 and was succeeded by his son Louis IX. In summer 1195, a marriage between Louis and Eleanor of Brittany, niece of Richard I of England, was suggested for an alliance between Philip II and Richard, but it failed and this led to a sudden deterioration in relations between Richard and Philip. On 23 May 1200, at the age of 12, Louis was married to Blanche of Castile, daughter of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor of England, the marriage could only be concluded after prolonged negotiations between King Philip II of France and Blanches uncle John. In 1214, King John of England began his campaign to reclaim the Duchy of Normandy from Philip II. John was optimistic, as he had built up alliances with Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV, Count Renaud of Boulogne. Johns plan was to split Philips forces by pushing north-east from Poitou towards Paris, while Otto, Renaud and Ferdinand, supported by the Earl of Salisbury, marched south-west from Flanders. Whereas Philip II took personal command of the front against the emperor and his allies. The first part of the campaign went well for the English, with John outmanoeuvring the forces under the command of Prince Louis, John besieged the castle of Roche-au-Moine, a key stronghold, forcing Louis to give battle against Johns larger army. The local Angevin nobles refused to advance with the king, left at something of a disadvantage, shortly afterwards, Philip won the hard-fought Battle of Bouvines in the north against Otto and Johns other allies, bringing an end to Johns hopes of retaking Normandy. In 1215, the English barons rebelled against the unpopular King John in the First Barons War, the barons offered the throne to Prince Louis, who landed unopposed on the Isle of Thanet in eastern Kent, England, at the head of an army on 21 May 1216. There was little resistance when the prince entered London, and Louis was proclaimed king at Old St Pauls Cathedral with great pomp and celebration in the presence of all of London. Even though he was not crowned, many nobles, as well as King Alexander II of Scotland on behalf of his English possessions, on 14 June 1216, Louis captured Winchester and soon controlled over half of the English kingdom. But just when it seemed that England was his, King Johns death in October 1216 caused many of the barons to desert Louis in favour of Johns nine-year-old son
6.
Gonesse
–
Gonesse is a commune in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 16.5 km from the centre of Paris, the commune lies immediately north of Le Bourget Airport, and it is six kilometres south-west of Charles de Gaulle International Airport. Since Carolingian times, cereals have been grown in Gonesse, in the period of the 12th through to the 16th centuries, the cultivation of grain was supplemented by drapery, in particular the production of the coarse woollen material of the gaunace. This caused the government to issue a statement on the harmlessness, in 1815, Marshal Grouchy arrived in Gonesse in the course of the War of the Sixth Coalition, with 40,000 troops and 120 artillery pieces. On 2 July, the Duke of Wellington made his headquarters at the commune, since June 1939, the property Frapart is used as the main establishment of the urban administration. Jean Camus, Louis Furmanek, Pierre Lorgnet, and Albert Drouhot from Gonesse belonged to the French Resistance movement during the German occupation of France from 1940 to 1944, the crash led to the deaths of all 109 people on board and four more on the ground. The Concorde crash occurred fewer than 6 km from Goussainville, the site of the crash of the supersonic Tupolev Tu-144 during the 1973 Paris Air Show, Gonesse is twinned with the town of Leonessa in Rieti / Italy, since 1981. Gonesse is served neither by the Paris Métro, RER, nor the suburban rail network, the closest station is the Villiers-le-Bel – Gonesse – Arnouville station on the Paris RER line D. This station is located in the commune of Arnouville-lès-Gonesse,2.6 km from Gonesse town centre. As of 2015 the commune had 20 municipal primary schools with a total of 3,526, pupils, including 11 pre-schools with a total of 1,389 pupils and nine elementary schools with 2,137 total pupils. Junior high schools, College Philippe Auguste Collège Robert Doisneau Collège François Truffaut There is one high school. King Philip Augustus was born in Gonesse on 21 August 1165
7.
Mantes-la-Jolie
–
Mantes-la-Jolie is a commune based in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the suburbs of Paris,48.4 km from the center of Paris. Mantes-la-Jolie is a subprefecture of the department, Mantes was half way between the centres of power of the dukes of Normandy at Rouen and the Kings of France at Paris. Along with most of northern France, it changed frequently in the Hundred Years War. Philip Augustus died at Mantes,14 July 1223, louis XIV instituted the manufacture of musical instruments in Mantes, and it was chosen as the centre of brass and woodwind instrument manufacture. In the 19th century, painters were attracted to the town, particularly Corot, whose paintings of the bridge, prokofiev spent the summer of 1920 there orchestrating the ballet Chout. Originally officially called Mantes-sur-Seine, Mantes merged with the commune of Gassicourt in 1930, Mantes was the location of the first allied bridgehead across the Seine on 19 August 1944, by General Pattons 3rd Army. Major rebuilding was needed after the war and it is the newest district of Mantes-la-Jolie, built in the sixties and seventies, home to 28,000 of the citys total 45,000 inhabitants. The main monument in Mantes is the church of Notre-Dame dating back to 12th century, a previous church was burnt down by William the Conqueror together with the rest of the town, at the capture of which he lost his life in 1087. Modern bridges link Mantes with the town of Limay on the side of the river. Mantes is home to small businesses working on concrete and chemical processing and it is historically and at present a center of musical instrument manufacturing. The well known Buffet-Crampon woodwind factory is located in the city of Mantes-la-Ville. Mantes-la-Jolie is served by two stations on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare and Transilien Paris – Montparnasse suburban rail lines, Mantes-Station, the Gare de Mantes-la-Jolie is also served by TGV trains towards Le Havre, Cherbourg, Strasbourg and Marseille. The municipality has nineteen public preschools, sixteen elementary schools, six public junior high schools
8.
Basilica of St Denis
–
The Basilica of Saint Denis is a large medieval abbey church in the city of Saint-Denis, now a northern suburb of Paris. The building is of unique importance historically and architecturally as its choir, completed in 1144, the site originated as a Gallo-Roman cemetery in late Roman times. The archeological remains still lie beneath the cathedral, the people buried there seem to have had a faith that was a mix of Christian and pre-Christian beliefs, around 475 St. Genevieve purchased some land and built Saint-Denys de la Chapelle. In 636 on the orders of Dagobert I the relics of Saint Denis, the relics of St-Denis, which had been transferred to the parish church of the town in 1795, were brought back again to the abbey in 1819. Saint-Denis soon became the church of a growing monastic complex. In the 12th century the Abbot Suger rebuilt portions of the church using innovative structural. In doing so, he is said to have created the first truly Gothic building, the abbey church became a cathedral in 1966 and is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Denis, Pascal Michel Ghislain Delannoy. Although known as the Basilica of St Denis, the cathedral has not been granted the title of Minor Basilica by the Vatican, Saint Denis, a patron saint of France, became the first bishop of Paris. A martyrium was erected on the site of his grave, which became a place of pilgrimage during the fifth and sixth centuries. Dagobert, the king of the Franks, refounded the church as the Abbey of Saint Denis, Dagobert also commissioned a new shrine to house the saints remains, which was created by his chief councillor, Eligius, a goldsmith by training. He composed a crest and a magnificent frontal and surrounded the throne of the altar with golden axes in a circle and he placed golden apples there, round and jeweled. He made a pulpit and a gate of silver and a roof for the throne of the altar on silver axes and he made a covering in the place before the tomb and fabricated an outside altar at the feet of the holy martyr. So much industry did he lavish there, at the kings request, the Basilica of St Denis ranks as an architectural landmark—as the first major structure of which a substantial part was designed and built in the Gothic style. Both stylistically and structurally, it heralded the change from Romanesque architecture to Gothic architecture, before the term Gothic came into common use, it was known as the French Style. As it now stands, the church is a cruciform building of basilica form. It has an aisle on the northern side formed of a row of chapels. The west front has three portals, a window and one tower, on the southern side. The eastern end, which is built over a crypt, is apsidal, surrounded by an ambulatory, the basilica retains stained glass of many periods, including exceptional modern glass, and a set of twelve misericords
9.
Isabella of Hainault
–
Isabella of Hainaut was Queen of France as the first spouse of King Philip II. Isabella was born in Valenciennes on 5 April 1170, the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut, at the age of one, her father had her betrothed to Henry, the future Count of Champagne. He was the nephew of Adèle of Champagne, who was Queen of France, in 1179, both their fathers swore that they would proceed with the marriage, but her father later agreed to her marrying Philip II of France. She married King Philip on 28 April 1180 at Bapaume and brought as her dowry the county of Artois, the marriage was arranged by her maternal uncle Philip, Count of Flanders, who was advisor to the King. Isabella was crowned Queen of France at Saint Denis on 28 May 1180, as Baldwin V rightly claimed to be a descendant of Charlemagne, the chroniclers of the time saw in this marriage a union of the Carolingian and Capetian dynasties. The wedding did not please the queen mother, since it had meant the rejection of her nephew and the lessening of influence for her kinsmen. Meanwhile, King Philip in 1184, was waging war against Flanders, according to Gislebert of Mons, Isabella then appeared barefooted and dressed as a penitent in the towns churches and thus gained the sympathy of the people. Her appeals angered them so much that they went to the palace, Robert, the kings uncle, successfully interposed and no repudiation followed as repudiating her would also have meant the loss of Artois to the French crown. Finally, on 5 September 1187, she gave birth to the needed heir and her second pregnancy was extremely difficult, on 14 March 1190, Isabella gave birth to twin boys named Robert and Philip. Due to complications in childbirth, Isabella died the next day and she was not quite 20 years old and was mourned for greatly in the capital, since she had been a popular queen. The twins lived only four days, both having died on 18 March 1190 and her son Louis succeeded her as Count of Artois. Isabellas dowry of Artois eventually returned to the French Crown following the death of King Philip, Queen Isabelle, she of noble form and lovely eyes. In 1858, Isabelles body was exhumed and measured at the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, at 90 cm from pelvis to feet, she would have stood about 58-59, tall. It was during this exhumation that a seal was discovered in the queens coffin. Little used during her time, it is one of the few medieval seals with a royal connection to survive from the Middle Ages. Philip Augustus, King of France 1180-1223, attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed
10.
Ingeborg of Denmark, Queen of France
–
Ingeborg of Denmark was a French queen by marriage to Philip II of France. She was a daughter of Valdemar I of Denmark and Sofia of Minsk, Ingeborg was married to Philip II Augustus of France on 15 August 1193 after the death of Philips first wife Isabelle of Hainaut. Her marriage brought a dowry from her brother Knut VI. Stephen of Tournai described her as kind, young of age. At the marriage, she was renamed Isambour, on the day after his marriage to Ingeborg, King Philip changed his mind, and attempted to send her back to Denmark. Outraged, Ingeborg fled to a convent in Soissons, from where she protested to Pope Celestine III, contemporary Canon law stated that a man and a woman could not marry if they shared an ancestor within the last seven generations. The council therefore declared the marriage void, Ingeborg protested again and the Danes sent a delegation to meet Pope Celestine. They convinced him that the family tree was false but the pope merely declared the annulment invalid. Ingeborg spent the next 20 years in imprisonment in various French castles. In one stage she spent more than a decade in the castle of Étampes southwest of Paris and her brother Knud VI and his advisers continually worked against the annulment. Contemporary sources also indicate that many of Philips advisers in France supported Ingeborg, possibly he also wanted more allies against the rival Angevin dynasty. As a dowry, he had asked the support of Danish fleet for a year, Knud VI, Ingeborgs brother, agreed only to a dowry of 10.000 silver marks. Marriage had been negotiated through Philips adviser Bernard of Vincennes and Guillaume, Pope Celestine defended the Queen, but was able to do little for her. Indeed, Philip asked Pope Celestine III for an annulment on the grounds of non-consummation “per maleficium, Philip had not reckoned with Ingeborg, however, she insisted that the marriage had been consummated, and that she was his wife and the rightful Queen of France. The Franco-Danish churchman William of Paris intervened in the case of Philip Augustus who was attempting to repudiate Ingeborg, Philip married Agnes of Merania, a German heiress, in June 1196. However, in 1198, new Pope Innocent III declared that new marriage was void because the previous marriage was still valid. He ordered Philip to dismiss Agnes and take Ingeborg back, Ingeborg had written to him, stating abuse and isolation and claiming thoughts of suicide because of harsh treatment. Philips response was to lock Ingeborg away in the chateau of Étampes, locked up in a tower, Ingeborg was a prisoner
11.
Agnes of Merania
–
Agnes Maria of Andechs-Merania was a Queen of France. She is called Marie by some of the French chroniclers, Agnes Maria was the daughter of Berthold, Duke of Merania, who was Count of Andechs, a castle and territory near Ammersee, Bavaria. Her mother was Agnes of Rochlitz, in June 1196 Agnes married Philip II of France, who had repudiated his second wife Ingeborg of Denmark in 1193. Pope Innocent III espoused the cause of Ingeborg, but Philip did not submit until 1200, Agnes died broken-hearted in July of the next year, at the castle of Poissy, and was buried in the Convent of St Corentin, near Nantes. Agnes and Philip had two children, Philip I, Count of Boulogne and Mary, were legitimized by the Pope in 1201 at the request of the King, little is known of the personality of Agnes, beyond the remarkable influence which she seems to have exercised over Philip. She has been made the heroine of a tragedy by François Ponsard, Agnès de Méranie and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Agnes of Meran. Endnotes, See The notes of Robert Davidsohn in Philipp II, a genealogical notice is furnished by the Chronicon of the monk Alberic of Fontaines, in Pertz, Scriptores, vol. xxiii. Pp.872 f. and by the Genealogia Wettinensis, ibid. p.229, media related to Agnes of Merania at Wikimedia Commons
12.
Philip I, Count of Boulogne
–
Philip I of Boulogne was a French prince, Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis in his own right, and Count of Boulogne, Mortain, Aumale, and Dammartin-en-Goële jure uxoris. He was the son of Philip II of France and his third wife Agnes of Merania. Illegitimacy shadowed his birth and career, but he was legitimated by Pope Innocent III and he was associated with founding the Tour du Guet in Calais. He is the first recorded person to bear a differenced version of the arms of France and he was married in c.1223 to Matilda II, Countess of Boulogne. Young Philip, by right of his wife, became Count of Boulogne, Mortain, Aumale and he revolted against his sister-in-law Blanche of Castile when his elder half-brother Louis VIII died in 1226. When Philip died in 1235, Matilda continued to reign and was married to Afonso III of Portugal, Matilda and Philip had a son Alberic and daughter Joan, who both survived Philip. Alberic reportedly renounced his rights and went to England, for unknown reasons, apparently he survived his mother and died in 1284. Joan of Boulogne married Gaucher de Châtillon in 1236
13.
Dynasty
–
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
14.
House of Capet
–
The House of Capet or the Direct Capetians, also called the House of France, or simply the Capets, ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians, historians in the 19th century came to apply the name Capetian to both the ruling house of France and to the wider-spread male-line descendants of Hugh Capet. It was not a contemporary practice and they were sometimes called the third race of kings, the Merovingians being the first, and the Carolingians being the second. The name is derived from the nickname of Hugh, the first Capetian King, the direct succession of French kings, father to son, from 987 to 1316, of thirteen generations in almost 330 years, was unparallelled in recorded history. The direct line of the House of Capet came to an end in 1328, with the death of Charles IV, the throne passed to the House of Valois, descended from a younger brother of Philip IV. He then proceeded to make it hereditary in his family, by securing the election and coronation of his son, Robert II, the throne thus passed securely to Robert on his fathers death, who followed the same custom – as did many of his early successors. Louis VIII – the eldest son and heir of Philip Augustus – married Blanche of Castile, a granddaughter of Aliénor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England. In her name, he claimed the crown of England, invading at the invitation of the English Barons and these lands were added to the French crown, further empowering the Capetian family. Louis IX – Saint Louis – succeeded Louis VIII as a child, unable to rule for several years, the government of the realm was undertaken by his mother, at the death of Louis IX, France under the Capetians stood as the pre-eminent power in Western Europe. Unfortunately for the Capetians, the proved a failure. Philip IV had married Jeanne, the heiress of Navarre and Champagne, by this marriage, he added these domains to the French crown. More importantly to French history, he summoned the first Estates General – in 1302 – and in 1295 established the so-called Auld Alliance with the Scots and it was Philip IV who presided over the beginning of his Houses end. The first quarter of the century saw each of Philips sons reign in rapid succession, Louis X, Philip V, accordingly, Louis – unwilling to release his wife and return to their marriage – needed to remarry. He arranged a marriage with his cousin, Clementia of Hungary and this proved the case, but the boy – King John I, known as the Posthumous – died after only 5 days, leaving a succession crisis. Eventually, it was decided based on several reasons that Joan was ineligible to inherit the throne, which passed to the Count of Poitiers. Marie died in 1324, giving birth to a stillborn son, the last of the direct Capetians were the daughters of Philip IVs three sons, and Philip IVs daughter, Isabella. Since they were female, they could not transmit their Capetian status to their descendants, the wife of Edward II of England, Isabella overthrew her husband in favour of her son and her co-hort, only for Edward III to execute Mortimer and have Isabella removed from power. Joan, the daughter of Louis X, succeeded on the death of Charles IV to the throne of Navarre, she now being – questions of paternity aside – the unquestioned heiress
15.
Adela of Champagne
–
Adela of Champagne, also known as Adelaide and Alix, was Queen of France as the third wife of Louis VII. She was the daughter of Theobald II, Count of Champagne, and Matilda of Carinthia, Louis and Adela married on 18 October 1160, five weeks after his previous wife, Constance of Castile, died in childbirth. Queen Adèle was the mother of Louis VIIs only son, Philip II, Adela was active in the political life of the kingdom, along with her brothers Henry I, Theobald V, and Guillaume aux Blanches Mains. Henry and Theobald were married to daughters of Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine, Adela and her brothers felt their position threatened when the heiress of Artois, Isabella of Hainault, married Adèles son Philip. Adèle formed an alliance with Hugh III, Duke of Burgundy, and Philip of Flanders, war broke out in 1181, and relations became so bad that Philip attempted to divorce Isabella in 1184. Although her power decreased after the accession of Philip in 1180 and she returned to the shadows when he returned in 1192 but participated in the founding of many abbeys. Queen Adela died on 4 June 1206 in Paris, Île-de-France, France, and was buried in the church of Pontigny Abbey near Auxerre
16.
Roman Catholicism
–
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church or the Universal Church, is the largest Christian church, with more than 1.28 billion members worldwide. As one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, it has played a prominent role in the history, headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope, the churchs doctrines are summarised in the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed. Its central administration is located in Vatican City, enclaved within Rome, the Catholic Church is notable within Western Christianity for its sacred tradition and seven sacraments. It teaches that it is the one church founded by Jesus Christ, that its bishops are the successors of Christs apostles. The Catholic Church maintains that the doctrine on faith and morals that it declares as definitive is infallible. The Latin Church, the Eastern Catholic Churches, as well as such as mendicant orders and enclosed monastic orders. Among the sacraments, the one is the Eucharist, celebrated liturgically in the Mass. The church teaches that through consecration by a priest the sacrificial bread and wine become the body, the Catholic Church practises closed communion, with only baptised members in a state of grace ordinarily permitted to receive the Eucharist. The Virgin Mary is venerated in the Catholic Church as Queen of Heaven and is honoured in numerous Marian devotions. The Catholic Church has influenced Western philosophy, science, art and culture, Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of education and medical services in the world, from the late 20th century, the Catholic Church has been criticised for its doctrines on sexuality, its refusal to ordain women and its handling of sexual abuse cases. Catholic was first used to describe the church in the early 2nd century, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in the letter from Saint Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans, written about 110 AD. In the Catechetical Discourses of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, the name Catholic Church was used to distinguish it from other groups that call themselves the church. The use of the adjective Roman to describe the Church as governed especially by the Bishop of Rome became more widespread after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and into the Early Middle Ages. Catholic Church is the name used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church follows an episcopal polity, led by bishops who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders who are given formal jurisdictions of governance within the church. Ultimately leading the entire Catholic Church is the Bishop of Rome, commonly called the pope, in parallel to the diocesan structure are a variety of religious institutes that function autonomously, often subject only to the authority of the pope, though sometimes subject to the local bishop. Most religious institutes only have male or female members but some have both, additionally, lay members aid many liturgical functions during worship services
17.
French language
–
French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
18.
Augustus (honorific)
–
Augustus, /ɔːˈɡʌstəs/, Classical Latin, Latin for majestic, the increaser, or venerable), was an ancient Roman title given as both name and title to Gaius Octavius, Romes first Emperor. On his death, it became a title of his successor. The feminine form Augusta was used for Roman empresses and other females of the Imperial family, the masculine and feminine forms originated in the time of the Roman Republic, in connection with things considered divine or sacred in traditional Roman religion. In Romes Greek-speaking provinces, Augustus was translated as sebastos, or hellenised as augoustos, after the fall of the Roman Empire, Augustus was sometimes used as a name for men of aristocratic birth, especially in the lands of the Holy Roman Empire. It remains a name for males. Some thirty years before its first association with Caesars heir, Augustus was an honorific with religious associations. One early context, associates it with provincial Lares, in poetry and prose it was the elevation or augmentation of what is already sacred or religious. Some Roman sources connected it to augury, and Rome was said to have been founded with the august augury of Romulus, the first true Roman Emperor known as augustus was Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. He was the son and heir of Julius Caesar, who had been murdered for his seeming aspiration to divine monarchy. Octavian studiously avoided any association with Caesars claims, other than acknowledging his position and duties as Divi filius, nevertheless, his position was unique, and extraordinary. He had ended Romes prolonged and bloody war with his victory at Actium. As princeps senatus he presided at senatorial meetings and he was pontifex maximus, chief priest of Roman state religion. He held consular imperium, with authority equal to the chief executive, he was supreme commander of all Roman legions. As a tribune, his person was inviolable and he had the right to any act or proposal by any magistrate within Rome. He was officially renamed Augustus by the Roman Senate on January 16,27 BC – or perhaps the Senate ratified his own choice, Romulus had been considered. His full and official title was Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus and this extension of an Imperial honorific to major and minor deities of Rome and her provinces is considered a ground-level feature of Imperial cult. It continued until the replacement of Romes traditional religions by Christianity. The title or name of Augustus was adopted by his successors, most emperors also used imperator but others could and did bear the same title and functions
19.
Crown lands of France
–
The crown lands, crown estate, royal domain or domaine royal of France refers to the lands, fiefs and rights directly possessed by the kings of France. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, the first Capetians—while being the kings of France—were among the least powerful of the feudal lords of France in terms of territory possessed. Patiently, through the use of law, conquest, annexation, skillful marriages with heiresses of large fiefs, and even by purchase. However, the system of appanage alienated large territories from the royal domain. During the Wars of Religion, the alienation of lands and fiefs from the domain was frequently criticized. These lands were largely the inheritance of the Robertians, the ancestors of the Capetians. 988, Montreuil-sur-Mer, the first port held by the Capetians, is acquired though the marriage of the crown prince Robert with Rozala,1016, acquisition of the Duchy of Burgundy. The king was the nephew of Duke Henry of Burgundy, who died without heirs, other additions to the royal domain include, Montlhéry and Châteaufort, Chevreuse, Corbeil, Meung-sur-Loire, Châteaurenard and Saint-Brisson. 1137, marriage of Louis with Eleanor of Aquitaine, Duchess of Aquitaine and Gascony, by this marriage, Louis hopes to attach most of South-West France to the royal domain. 1137, Louis gives Dreux to his brother Robert,1151, separation of Louis VII and of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who in 1152 weds Henry Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine and Duke of Normandy, who becomes in 1154, King of England. Eleanors lands come to Henry in her dowry,1160, gives Norman Vexin to his daughter Margaret as a dowry. Margaret is later forced to surrender her dowry,1185, by the Treaty of Boves, gains Amiens and Montdidier, Roye, Choisy-au-Bac, and Thourotte and rights to the inheritance of Vermandois and Valois. 1187, seizes Tournai from the bishop, confiscates Meulan, Gisors, and other castles. 1191, at the death of Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders, the County of Artois and its dependencies and these areas would not become integrated into the royal domain until 1223 when Louis becomes king. 1191, the County of Vermandois is acquired by the king, after the death of Elisabeth of Vermandois, confirmed in 1213, by Eléonore of Vermandois sister of Elisabeth. 1200, the Norman Vexin is annexed 1200 the County of Évreux and Issoudun are annexed,1204, confiscation of the Duchy of Normandy, the Touraine, Anjou, Saintonge and, temporarily, of the Poitou from John of England. 1208, La Ferté-Macé confiscated from Guillaume IV of Ferté-Macé1220,1223, Philip Hurepel, half-brother of the king, received in appanage the Counties of Boulogne, and of Clermont, as well as the fiefs of Domfront, Mortain and Aumale. Poitou, Saintonge, Angoumois, Périgord and a part of the Bordelais were confiscated from the king of England,1241, the king confirms the appanage grant of Poitou for his brother Alfonso, Count of Poitou
20.
House of Plantagenet
–
The House of Plantagenet was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154, with the accession of Henry II, until 1485, under the Plantagenets, England was transformed, although this was only partly intentional. The Plantagenet kings were forced to negotiate compromises such as Magna Carta. These constrained royal power in return for financial and military support, the king was no longer just the most powerful man in the nation, holding the prerogative of judgement, feudal tribute and warfare. He now had defined duties to the realm, underpinned by a justice system. A distinct national identity was shaped by conflict with the French, Scots, Welsh and Irish, in the 15th century, the Plantagenets were defeated in the Hundred Years War and beset with social, political and economic problems. Popular revolts were commonplace, triggered by the denial of numerous freedoms, the Tudors worked to centralise English royal power, which allowed them to avoid some of the problems that had plagued the last Plantagenet rulers. The resulting stability allowed for the English Renaissance, and the advent of early modern Britain, Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, adopted Plantagenet as his family name in the 15th century. Plantegenest had been a 12th-century nickname for his ancestor Geoffrey, count of Anjou, one of many popular theories suggests the common broom, planta genista in medieval Latin, as the source of the nickname. It is uncertain why Richard chose this name, although during the Wars of the Roses it emphasised Richards status as Geoffreys patrilineal descendant. It was only in the late 17th century that it passed into common usage among historians, the three Angevin kings were Henry II, Richard I and John, Angevin can also refer to the period of history in which they reigned. Many historians identify the Angevins as a distinct English royal house, Angevin is also used in reference to any sovereign or government derived from Anjou. The term Angevin Empire was coined by Kate Norgate in 1887, the Empire portion of Angevin Empire has been controversial. In 1986 a convention of historians concluded that there had not been an Angevin state, and therefore no Angevin Empire, nonetheless, historians have continued to use Angevin Empire. The later counts of Anjou, including the Plantagenets, descended from Geoffrey II, Count of Gâtinais, in 1060 the couple inherited the title via cognatic kinship from an Angevin family that was descended from a noble named Ingelger, whose recorded history dates from 870. During the 10th and 11th centuries, power struggles occurred between rulers in northern and western France including those of Anjou, Normandy, Brittany, Poitou, Blois, Maine, and the kings of France. In the early 12th century Geoffrey of Anjou married Empress Matilda, King Henry Is only surviving legitimate child and heir to the English throne. As a result of marriage, Geoffreys son Henry II inherited the English throne as well as Norman and Angevin titles, thus marking the beginning of the Angevin
21.
Angevin Empire
–
Its rulers were Henry II, Richard I, and John. The empire was established by Henry II, as King of England, Count of Anjou, in 1152, through marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine, he became ruler of the Duchy of Aquitaine. Despite the extent of Angevin rule, Henrys son, John, was defeated in the Anglo-French War by Philip II of France of the House of Capet following the Battle of Bouvines, John lost control of all his continental possessions, apart from Gascony in southern Aquitaine. This defeat set the scene for the Saintonge War and the Hundred Years War, the term Angevin Empire is a neologism defining the lands of the House of Plantagenet, Henry II and his sons Richard I and John. Another son, Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, ruled Brittany, the term Angevin Empire was coined by Kate Norgate in her 1887 publication, England under the Angevin Kings. In France, the term Espace Plantagenêt is sometimes used to describe the fiefdoms the Plantagenets had acquired. The term Angevin itself is the demonym for the residents of Anjou and its capital, Angers. The demonym, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, has been in use since 1653, the use of the term Empire has engendered controversy among some historians, over whether the term is accurate for the actual state of affairs at the time. The area was a collection of the inherited and acquired by Henry. Other historians argue that Henry IIs empire was powerful, centralised. There was no title, as implied by the term Angevin Empire. However, even if the Plantagenets themselves did not claim any imperial title, some chroniclers, often working for Henry II himself, Auvergne was also in the empire for part of the reigns of Henry II and Richard, in their capacity as dukes of Aquitaine. Henry II and Richard I pushed further claims over the County of Berry but these were not completely fulfilled and the county was lost completely by the time of the accession of John in 1199. The frontiers of the empire were sometimes well known and therefore easy to mark, one characteristic of the Angevin Empire was its polycratic nature, a term taken from a political pamphlet written by a subject of the Angevin Empire, the Policraticus by John of Salisbury. This meant that rather than the empire being controlled fully by the ruling monarch, he would delegate power to specially appointed subjects in different areas. England was under the firmest control of all the lands in the Angevin Empire, due to the age of many of the offices that governed the country, England was divided in shires with sheriffs in each enforcing the common law. A justiciar was appointed by the king to stand in his absence when he was on the continent, as the kings of England were more often in France than England they used writs more frequently than the Anglo-Saxon kings, which actually proved beneficial to England. Under William Is rule, Anglo-Saxon nobles had been replaced by Anglo-Norman ones who couldnt own large expanses of contiguous lands
22.
Holy Roman Empire
–
The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, however, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels. After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, Otto, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
23.
County of Flanders
–
The County of Flanders was a historic territory in the Low Countries. From 862 onwards the Counts of Flanders were one of the twelve peers of the Kingdom of France. For centuries their estates around the cities of Ghent, Bruges and Ypres formed one of the most affluent regions in Europe, up to 1477, the area under French suzerainty was located west of the Scheldt River and was called Royal Flanders. Aside from this the Counts of Flanders from the 11th century on also held land east of the river as a fief of the Holy Roman Empire, an area called Imperial Flanders. Part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1384, the county was removed from French to Imperial control after the Peace of Madrid in 1526. In 1795 the remaining territory within the Austrian Netherlands was incorporated by the French First Republic, the former County of Flanders, except for French Flanders, is the only part of the medieval French kingdom that is not part of modern-day France. Flanders and Flemish are likely derived from the Frisian *flāndra and *flāmisk, the Flemish people are first mentioned in the biography of Saint Eligius, the Vita sancti Eligii. This work was written before 684, but only known since 725 and this work mentions the Flanderenses, who lived in Flandris. The geography of the historic County of Flanders only partially overlaps with present-day region of Flanders in Belgium, though there it extends beyond West Flanders. Some of the county is now part of France and the Netherlands. The arms of the County of Flanders were allegedly created by Philip of Alsace, count of Flanders from 1168 to 1191, as a result, the arms of the county live on as arms of the Flemish Community. It is said that Philip of Alsace brought the flag with him from the Holy Land, where in 1177 he supposedly conquered it from a Saracen knight. The simple fact that the lion appeared on his personal seal since 1163, in reality Philip was following a West-European trend. In the same period also appeared in the arms of Brabant, Luxembourg, Holland, Limburg. It is curious that the lion as a symbol was mostly used in border territories. It was in all likelihood a way of showing independence from the emperor, in Europe the lion had been a well-known figure since Roman times, through works such as the fables of Aesop. The future county of Flanders had been inhabited since prehistory, during the Iron Age the Kemmelberg formed an important Celtic settlement. During the times of Julius Caesar, the inhabitants were part of the Belgae, for Flanders in specific these were the Menapii, the Morini, the Nervii and the Atrebates
24.
Battle of Bouvines
–
The Battle of Bouvines, which took place on 27 July 1214, was a medieval battle which ended the 1202–1214 Anglo-French War. It was fundamental in the development of France in the Middle Ages by confirming the French crowns sovereignty over the Angevin lands of Brittany. Philip Augustus of France defeated an army consisting of Imperial German, English and Flemish soldiers, led by Otto IV, Allied with Philip was Frederick II Hohenstaufen, who controlled the southern Holy Roman Empire and afterwards deposed Otto. Other leaders included Count Ferrand of Flanders, William de Longespee, Ferrand and Renaud were captured and imprisoned and King John of England was forced to agree to the Magna Carta by his discontented barons. Philip was himself able to take undisputed control of most of the territories in France that had belonged to King John of England, Ottos maternal uncle, johns plan was carried out at first, but the allies in the north moved slowly. John, after two encounters with the French, retreated to Aquitaine on 3 July, on 23 July, after having summoned all his vassals, Philip had an army consisting of 4,000 cavalry and 11, 000-foot soldiers. The emperor finally succeeded in concentrating his forces at Valenciennes, although John was out of the picture, and in the interval Philip Augustus had counter marched northward and regrouped. Philip now took the offensive himself, and in maneuvering to get a good cavalry ground upon which to fight he offered battle, on the plain east of Bouvines and the river Marque. Otto was surprised by the speed of his enemy and was thought to have been caught unprepared by the King of France, although he was under a Church interdict, Otto, already an excommunicate, decided to launch an attack on what was then the French rearguard. The Allied army drew up facing south-westward towards Bouvines, the cavalry on the wings. The total force was estimated at 25,000 men, a larger force of foot soldiers. Philips army contained about 2,000 knights and 2,000 mounted sergeants with the rest being infantry, even today, the evaluation of forces is controversial. The classic French historiography often refers to Coalition troops three times more numerous than those of the King of France, Philippe Contamine is not of this opinion, On the face of it, his opponents did not have a clear numerical superiority. William the Breton also says in his column that the two lines of combatants were separated by a pretty small space, Philip Augustus had then launched an appeal to the municipalities in northern France, in order to obtain their support. Seventeen of the municipalities of the royal demesne answered the call for militia. Paris sent a corps of 2,000 men,1,750 of whom fought on the battlefield, in total, the royal army totalled 7,000 soldiers. In the front of the wing were men of arms and militia from the parishes of Burgundy, Champagne. In front of the king and his knights were infantry from the towns of Île de France, the left wing, composed of knights and foot soldiers was led by Robert of Dreux, and Count William of Ponthieu
25.
John, King of England
–
John, also known as John Lackland, was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death in 1216. The baronial revolt at the end of Johns reign led to the sealing of Magna Carta, John, the youngest of five sons of King Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, was at first not expected to inherit significant lands. Following the failed rebellion of his brothers between 1173 and 1174, however, John became Henrys favourite child. He was appointed the Lord of Ireland in 1177 and given lands in England, Johns elder brothers William, Henry and Geoffrey died young, by the time Richard I became king in 1189, John was a potential heir to the throne. John unsuccessfully attempted a rebellion against Richards royal administrators whilst his brother was participating in the Third Crusade, John spent much of the next decade attempting to regain these lands, raising huge revenues, reforming his armed forces and rebuilding continental alliances. Johns judicial reforms had a impact on the English common law system. An argument with Pope Innocent III led to Johns excommunication in 1209, Johns attempt to defeat Philip in 1214 failed due to the French victory over Johns allies at the battle of Bouvines. When he returned to England, John faced a rebellion by many of his barons, although both John and the barons agreed to the Magna Carta peace treaty in 1215, neither side complied with its conditions. Civil war broke out shortly afterwards, with the barons aided by Louis of France and it soon descended into a stalemate. John was born to Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine on 24 December 1166, Henry had inherited significant territories along the Atlantic seaboard—Anjou, Normandy and England—and expanded his empire by conquering Brittany. The result was the Angevin Empire, named after Henrys paternal title as Count of Anjou and, more specifically, its seat in Angers. The Empire, however, was fragile, although all the lands owed allegiance to Henry. As one moved south through Anjou and Aquitaine, the extent of Henrys power in the provinces diminished considerably, scarcely resembling the concept of an empire at all. Some of the ties between parts of the empire such as Normandy and England were slowly dissolving over time. It was unclear what would happen to the empire on Henrys death, most believed that Henry would divide the empire, giving each son a substantial portion, and hoping that his children would continue to work together as allies after his death. To complicate matters, much of the Angevin empire was held by Henry only as a vassal of the King of France of the line of the House of Capet. Henry had often allied himself with the Holy Roman Emperor against France, shortly after his birth, John was passed from Eleanor into the care of a wet nurse, a traditional practice for medieval noble families. Eleanor then left for Poitiers, the capital of Aquitaine, and sent John and this may have been done with the aim of steering her youngest son, with no obvious inheritance, towards a future ecclesiastical career
26.
Magna Carta
–
Magna Carta Libertatum, commonly called Magna Carta, is a charter agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. Neither side stood behind their commitments, and the charter was annulled by Pope Innocent III, at the end of the 16th century there was an upsurge in interest in Magna Carta. Lawyers and historians at the believed that there was an ancient English constitution, going back to the days of the Anglo-Saxons. Both James I and his son Charles I attempted to suppress the discussion of Magna Carta, until the issue was curtailed by the English Civil War of the 1640s and the execution of Charles. The political myth of Magna Carta and its protection of ancient personal liberties persisted after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 until well into the 19th century. In the 21st century, four exemplifications of the original 1215 charter remain in existence, held by the British Library, there are also a handful of the subsequent charters in public and private ownership, including copies of the 1297 charter in both the United States and Australia. The original charters were written on parchment sheets using quill pens, in heavily abbreviated medieval Latin, each was sealed with the royal great seal, very few of the seals have survived. The four original 1215 charters were displayed together at the British Library for one day,3 February 2015, to mark the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. Magna Carta originated as an attempt to achieve peace between royalist and rebel factions in 1215, as part of the events leading to the outbreak of the First Barons War. England was ruled by King John, the third of the Angevin kings, although the kingdom had a robust administrative system, the nature of government under the Angevin monarchs was ill-defined and uncertain. Following the defeat of his allies at the Battle of Bouvines, John had to sue for peace, John was already personally unpopular with many of the barons, many of whom owed money to the Crown, and little trust existed between the two sides. John held a council in London in January 1215 to discuss potential reforms, both sides appealed to Pope Innocent III for assistance in the dispute. John also began recruiting mercenary forces from France, although some were sent back to avoid giving the impression that the King was escalating the conflict. Letters backing John arrived from the Pope in April, but by then the rebel barons had organised into a military faction and they congregated at Northampton in May and renounced their feudal ties to John, marching on London, Lincoln, and Exeter. Johns efforts to moderate and conciliatory had been largely successful. The King offered to submit the problem to a committee of arbitration with the Pope as the supreme arbiter, John met the rebel leaders at Runnymede, a water-meadow on the south bank of the River Thames, on 10 June 1215. Here the rebels presented John with their demands for reform. By 15 June, general agreement had been made on a text, and on 19 June and it focused on the rights of free men—in particular the barons
27.
First Barons' War
–
King John in June 1215 was forced to put his seal to The Articles of the Barons by a group of powerful barons who could no longer stand Johns failed leadership and despotic rule. The kings Great Seal was attached to it on 15 June 1215, in return, the barons renewed their oaths of fealty to King John on 19 July 1215. A formal document to record the agreement was created by the chancery on 15 July. The law of the land is one of the great watchwords of Magna Carta, the Magna Carta of 1215 contained clauses which in theory noticeably reduced the power of the king, such as clause 61, the security clause. After a few months of half-hearted attempts to negotiate in the summer of 1215, the war began over the Magna Carta but quickly turned into a dynastic war for the throne of England. The rebel barons, faced with a king, turned to Louis, son and heir apparent of King Philip II of France. The Norman invasion had occurred only 149 years before, and the relationship between England and France was not so simply adversarial as it later became. The contemporary document called the annals of Waverley sees no contradiction in stating that Louis was invited to invade in order to prevent the realm being pillaged by aliens, at first, in November 1215, Louis simply sent the barons a contingent of knights to protect London. However, even at that stage he also agreed to an invasion, despite discouragement from his father. This came in May 1216, when watchmen on the coast of Thanet detected sails on the horizon, and on the next day, John decided to escape to the Saxon capital of Winchester, and so Louis had little resistance on his march to London. He entered London, also with little resistance, and was received by the rebel barons and citizens of London. Many nobles gathered to give homage to him, including Alexander II of Scotland, many of Johns supporters, sensing a tide of change, moved to support the barons. Gerald of Wales remarked, The madness of slavery is over, on 14 June Louis captured Winchester and soon conquered over half of the English kingdom. In the meantime, the King of France taunted his son for trying to conquer England without first seizing its key, Dover. The royal castles at Canterbury and Rochester, their towns, and indeed, most of Kent had already fallen to Louis and its constable, Hubert de Burgh, had a well-supplied garrison of men. The first siege began on 19 July, with Louis taking the ground to the north of the castle. His men successfully undermined the barbican and attempted to topple the castle gate, in the meantime Louiss occupation of Kent was being undermined by a guerrilla force of Wealden archers raised and led by William of Cassingham. After three months spent besieging the castle, and with a part of his forces diverted by the siege, Louis called a truce on 14 October
28.
Albigensian Crusade
–
The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, in the south of France. The reforms were a reaction against the scandalous and dissolute lifestyles of the Catholic clergy in southern France. They became known as the Albigensians, because there were many adherents in the city of Albi, Innocent IIIs diplomatic attempts to roll back Catharism met with little success. After the murder of his legate, Pierre de Castelnau, in 1208 and he offered the lands of the Cathar heretics to any French nobleman willing to take up arms. After initial successes, the French barons faced an uprising in Languedoc which led to the intervention of the French royal army. The Albigensian Crusade also had a role in the creation and institutionalization of both the Dominican Order and the medieval inquisition. By the 12th century, organized groups of dissidents, such as the Waldensians and Cathars, were beginning to appear in the towns and cities of newly urbanized areas. In western Mediterranean France, one of the most urbanized areas of Europe at the time, the Cathars grew to represent a mass movement. Relatively few believers took the consolamentum to become full Cathars, the theology of the Cathars was dualistic, a belief in two equal and comparable transcendental principles, God, the force of good, and Satan, or the demiurge, the force of evil. They held that the world was evil and created by this demiurge. Rex Mundi encompassed all that was corporeal, chaotic and powerful, the Cathar understanding of God was entirely disincarnate, they viewed God as a being or principle of pure spirit and completely unsullied by the taint of matter. He was the God of love, order and peace, jesus was an angel with only a phantom body, and the accounts of him in the New Testament were to be understood allegorically. As the physical world and the body were the creation of the evil principle. Civil authority had no claim on a Cathar, since this was the rule of the physical world, deriving from earlier varieties of gnosticism, Cathar theology found its greatest success in the Languedoc. The Cathars were known as Albigensians because of their association with the city of Albi, in Languedoc, political control was divided among many local lords and town councils. Before the crusade there was fighting in the area and it had a fairly sophisticated polity. Western Mediterranean France itself was at that time divided between the Crown of Aragon and the county of Toulouse, on becoming Pope in 1198, Innocent III resolved to deal with the Cathars and sent a delegation of friars to the province of Languedoc to assess the situation. One of the most powerful, Count Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse, openly supported the Cathars and he refused to assist the delegation
29.
Bourgeoisie
–
A legally defined class of the Middle Ages to the end of the Ancien Régime in France, that of inhabitants having the rights of citizenship and political rights in a city. This bourgeoisie destroyed aristocratic privilege and established civic equality after the French monarchy collapsed, the aristocracy crumbled because it refused to reform institutions and financial systems. An affluent and often opulent stratum of the class who stand opposite the proletariat class. In English, bourgeoisie identified a social class oriented to economic materialism and hedonism, hence, since the 19th century, the term bourgeoisie usually is politically and sociologically synonymous with the ruling upper class of a capitalist society. The 18th century saw a partial rehabilitation of bourgeois values in such as the drame bourgeois and bourgeois tragedy. The bourgeoisie emerged as a historical and political phenomenon in the 11th century when the bourgs of Central and this urban expansion was possible thanks to economic concentration due to the appearance of protective self-organisation into guilds. Guilds arose when individual businessmen conflicted with their feudal landlords who demanded greater rents than previously agreed. In English, the bourgeoisie is often used to denote the middle classes. In fact, the French term encompasses both the upper and middle classes, a misunderstanding which has occurred in other languages as well. The bourgeoisie in France and many French-speaking countries consists of four evolving social layers, petite bourgeoisie, moyenne bourgeoisie, grande bourgeoisie, the petite bourgeoisie consists of people who have experienced a brief ascension in social mobility for one or two generations. It usually starts with a trade or craft, and by the second and third generation, the petite bourgeois would belong to the British lower middle class and would be American middle income. They are distinguished mainly by their mentality, and would differentiate themselves from the proletariat or working class and this class would include artisans, small traders, shopkeepers, and small farm owners. They are not employed, but may not be able to afford employees themselves, the moyenne bourgeoisie or middle bourgeoisie contains people who have solid incomes and assets, but not the aura of those who have become established at a higher level. They tend to belong to a family that has been bourgeois for three or more generations, some members of this class may have relatives from similar backgrounds, or may even have aristocratic connections. The moyenne bourgeoisie is the equivalent of the British and American upper-middle classes, the grande bourgeoisie are families that have been bourgeois since the 19th century, or for at least four or five generations. Members of these tend to marry with the aristocracy or make other advantageous marriages. This bourgeoisie family has acquired an established historical and cultural heritage over the decades, the names of these families are generally known in the city where they reside, and their ancestors have often contributed to the regions history. These families are respected and revered and they belong to the upper class, and in the British class system are considered part of the gentry
30.
Wall of Philip II Augustus
–
The Wall of Philip Augustus is the oldest city wall of Paris whose plan is accurately known. Partially integrated into buildings, more traces of it remain than of the fortifications which were destroyed and replaced by the Grands Boulevards. The wall was built during the struggles between Philip II of France and the Anglo-Norman House of Plantagenet, the French king, before leaving for the Third Crusade, ordered a stone wall to be built to protect the French capital in his absence. The Right Bank was fortified from 1190 to 1209 and the Left Bank from 1200 to 1215, the difference in completion dates was probably strategic. The Duchy of Normandy was in the hands of the English Plantagenet dynasty so an attack would most likely come from the northwest, Philip Augustus decided to build the fortress of the Louvre to strengthen the defence of the city from attack from the Seine. The Left Bank was less urbanized and less threatened and thus considered less of a priority, despite the construction during the 14th century of Charles Vs wall encircling Philip Augustus wall on the Right Bank, the latter wall was not demolished. In 1434, it was considered strong enough and thick enough for a cart to be driven on top. In 1533, Francis I demolished the Right Bank gates and authorised the leasing of the land enclosed by the wall without authorising the demolition of the wall itself. From the second half of the 16th century, these lands were sold to individuals, the Left Bank wall followed the same path under Henry IV. In 1590, he preferred digging ditches beyond the city outskirts to once again modernising the wall, the ditches near the Seine were used as open sewers and caused health problems so in the 17th century they were filled and replaced by covered galleries. The last remaining gates, unsuited to ever-increasing traffic, were rased in the 1680s from when the wall became completely invisible, the Philip Augustus wall enclosed an area of 253 hectares, its length was 2500 metres on the Left Bank and 2600 on the Right Bank. The west side was the weakest point of the defence against Norman threat, near the Seine, Philip Augustus built Fortress of the Louvre with a fortified donjon and ten defensive towers surrounded by a moat. The construction cost was more than 14,000 livres during the roughly twenty years of the construction. The wall was between six and eight high, including the parapet, about three meters thick at the base. It was made from two walls of large ashlar-faced limestone blocks, reinforced with an infill of stone rubble. The wall was topped with a crenellated two-metre wide chemin de ronde, the wall had 77 semi-circular towers at 60-metre intervals. Each stood 15 metres high, with a diameter. The bases were vaulted but the floors were wooden planked
31.
Thomas Becket
–
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion and he engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was canonised by Pope Alexander III, the main sources for the life of Becket are a number of biographies that were written by contemporaries. A few of these documents are by unknown writers, although traditional historiography has given them names, the other biographers, who remain anonymous, are generally given the pseudonyms of Anonymous I, Anonymous II, and Anonymous III. Besides these accounts, there are two other accounts that are likely contemporary that appear in the Quadrilogus II and the Thómas saga Erkibyskups. Besides these biographies, there is also the mention of the events of Beckets life in the chroniclers of the time. These include Robert of Torignis work, Roger of Howdens Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi and Chronica, Ralph Dicetos works, William of Newburghs Historia Rerum, Becket was born about 1119, or in 1120 according to later tradition. He was born in Cheapside, London, on 21 December and he was the son of Gilbert Beket and Gilberts wife Matilda. Gilberts father was from Thierville in the lordship of Brionne in Normandy, Matilda was also of Norman ancestry, and her family may have originated near Caen. Gilbert was perhaps related to Theobald of Bec, whose family also was from Thierville. Gilbert began his life as a merchant, perhaps as a textile merchant and he also served as the sheriff of the city at some point. They were buried in Old St Pauls Cathedral, one of Beckets fathers wealthy friends, Richer de LAigle, often invited Thomas to his estates in Sussex where Becket was exposed to hunting and hawking. According to Grim, Becket learned much from Richer, who was later a signatory of the Constitutions of Clarendon against Thomas. Beginning when he was 10, Becket was sent as a student to Merton Priory in England and later attended a school in London. He did not study any subjects beyond the trivium and quadrivium at these schools, later, he spent about a year in Paris around age 20. He did not, however, study canon or civil law at this time, some time after Becket began his schooling, Gilbert Beket suffered financial reverses, and the younger Becket was forced to earn a living as a clerk. Theobald entrusted him several important missions to Rome and also sent him to Bologna. His efficiency in those posts led to Theobald recommending him to King Henry II for the vacant post of Lord Chancellor, as Chancellor, Becket enforced the kings traditional sources of revenue that were exacted from all landowners, including churches and bishoprics
32.
Reims
–
Reims, a city in the Grand Est region of France, lies 129 km east-northeast of Paris. The 2013 census recorded 182,592 inhabitants in the city of Reims proper and its river, the Vesle, is a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by the Gauls, it became a city during the period of the Roman Empire. Reims played a prominent ceremonial role in French monarchical history as the site of the crowning of the kings of France. The Cathedral of Reims housed the Holy Ampulla containing the Saint Chrême and it was used for the anointing, the most important part of the coronation of French kings. Reims functions as a subprefecture of the department of Marne, in the region of Grand Est. Although Reims is by far the largest commune in both its region and department, Châlons-en-Champagne is the capital and prefecture of both. Before the Roman conquest of northern Gaul, Reims, founded circa 80 BC as *Durocorteron, at its height in Roman times the city had a population in the range of 30,000 -50,000 or perhaps up to 100,000. Christianity had become established in the city by 260, at which period Saint Sixtus of Reims founded the bishopric of Reims, for centuries the events at the crowning of Clovis I became a symbol used by the monarchy to claim the divine right to rule. Meetings of Pope Stephen II with Pepin the Short, and of Pope Leo III with Charlemagne, took place at Reims, Louis IV gave the city and countship of Reims to the archbishop Artaldus in 940. Louis VII gave the title of duke and peer to William of Champagne, archbishop from 1176 to 1202, by the 10th century Reims had become a centre of intellectual culture. Archbishop Adalberon, seconded by the monk Gerbert, founded schools which taught the liberal arts. Louis XI cruelly suppressed a revolt at Reims, caused in 1461 by the salt tax, during the French Wars of Religion the city sided with the Catholic League, but submitted to Henri IV after the battle of Ivry. In August 1909 Reims hosted the first international meet, the Grande Semaine dAviation de la Champagne. Major aviation personages such as Glenn Curtiss, Louis Blériot and Louis Paulhan participated, hostilities in World War I greatly damaged the city. German bombardment and a subsequent fire in 1914 did severe damage to the cathedral, from the end of World War I to the present day an international effort to restore the cathedral from the ruins has continued. The Palace of Tau, St Jacques Church and the Abbey of St Remi also were protected and restored, the collection of preserved buildings and Roman ruins remains monumentally impressive. During World War II the city suffered additional damage, but in Reims, at 2,41 on the morning of 7 May 1945, General Eisenhower and the Allies received the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht
33.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims
–
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by St. Sixtus, the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese around 750, the archbishop received the title primate of Gallia Belgica in 1089. In 1023, Archbishop Ebles acquired the Countship of Reims, making him a prince-bishop, it became a duchy, the archdiocese comprises the arrondissement of Reims and the département of Ardennes while the province comprises the région of Champagne-Ardenne. The suffragan dioceses in the province of Reims are Amiens, Beauvais, Noyon, and Senlis, Châlons, Langres, Soissons, Laon, and Saint-Quentin. The archepiscopal see is located in the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims, in 2014 it was estimated that there was one priest for every 4,760 Catholics in the diocese. Pope John Paul II appointed Thierry Romain Camille Jordan as Archbishop of Reims in 1999, on June 28,2013, Pope Francis appointed Father Bruno Feillet as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Reims. Reims was taken by the Vandals in 406, according to Flodoard, on Holy Saturday,497, Clovis was baptized and anointed by Archbishop Remigius of Reims in the cathedral of Reims. In 719 the city took up arms against Charles Martel, who besieged the city, took it by assault, the First Council of Reims took place in 625, under the presidency of Archbishop Sonnatius. It produced at least twenty-five canons, in 816, Pope Stephen IV crowned Louis the Pious as Emperor at Reims. On 28 January 893, Charles III the Simple was crowned King of West Francia at Reims, King Robert I was consecrated and crowned Rex Francorum at Saint-Remi in Reims on 29 June 922 by Archbishop Hervée. Hugh Capet was crowned at Reims on Christmas Day 988, by Archbishop Adalberon, in 990 the city was attacked by Charles of Lorraine, the rival of Hugues Capet, who seized the city and devastated the area. In 1049, from 3 to 5 October, a Council of the Church took place at Reims under the presidency of Pope Leo IX, with twenty bishops and some fifty abbots in attendance. The Pope was in Reims for the dedication of the church of the monastery of Saint-Rémi, in 1657, the Chapter of the Cathedral of Reims contained nine dignities and sixty-four Canons. The dignities included, the Major Archdeacon, the Minor Archdeacon, the Provost, the Dean, the Cantor, the Treasurer, the Vicedominus, the Scholasticus, and the Poenitentiarius. The two archdeacons were already in existence in 877, when they are mentioned at the head of the Capitulations issued by Archbishop Hincmar and they were both appointees of the Archbishop. Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae, quotquot innotuerunt a beato Petro apostolo, ratisbon, Typis et Sumptibus Georgii Josephi Manz. Pouillés de la province de Reims, recueils des historiens de la France, Pouilles. Hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi V. Patavii, Messagero di S. Antonio, hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi VI
34.
William of the White Hands
–
White Hands and Whitehands redirect here. For similar uses, see White hand, William of the White Hands, also called William White Hands, was a French cardinal. William was born in Brosse, Île-de-France, France and he was a son of Theobald the Great, Count of Blois and Count of Champagne, and Matilda of Carinthia. William served as Bishop of Chartres in 1165, Archbishop of Sens, Archbishop of Reims, and he anointed his nephew, Philip II of France, as co-king on 1 November 1179 in Rheims. Pope Alexander III created him Cardinal Priest of Santa Sabina in March 1179, as such and he died on 7 September 1202. William was portrayed by actor Liam OCallaghan in the 1978 BBC TV drama series The Devils Crown, ludwig Falkenstein, “Guillaume aux Blanches Mains, archevêque de Reims et légat du siège apostolique, ” Revue d’histoire de l’Église de France, XCI,2005, pp. 5-25. Kanonistische Abteilung, CXX,2003, pp. 107-284, * Dietrich Lohrmann, Papsturkunden in Frankreich. Jules Mathorez, “Guillaume aux Blanches-Mains, évêque de Chartres, ” Archives du diocese de Chartres, Pièces detaches, Etudes et documents, XX,1914, pp. 187-340
35.
Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut
–
Baldwin V of Hainaut was count of Hainaut, margrave of Namur as Baldwin I and count of Flanders as Baldwin VIII. He was the son of Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut, Flanders was acquired via his marriage to his widowed third cousin once removed Margaret I of Flanders, Countess of Flanders in 1169. Namur was acquired from his mother Alice of Namur and he was described as The Count Baldwin with eyes of blue
36.
Margaret I, Countess of Flanders
–
Margaret I was countess of Flanders suo jure from 1191 to her death. She was the daughter of Thierry, Count of Flanders, and Sibylla of Anjou, in 1160 she married Ralph II, Count of Vermandois. He died of leprosy in 1167 without issue, in 1169 she married Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut, her third cousin once removed, who became her co-ruler when she gained the county of Flanders in 1191. 1197 Guichard IV, Sire de Beaujeu and they had a daughter, Agnes of Beaujeu. Eustace of Hainaut, regent of the Kingdom of Thessalonica Godfrey of Hainaut Margaret died on 15 November 1194, thereafter her husband was sole count of Flanders
37.
County of Artois
–
The County of Artois was an historic province of the Kingdom of France, held by the Dukes of Burgundy from 1384 until 1477/82, and a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1493 until 1659. Present Artois lies in northern France, on the border with Belgium and its territory has an area of around 4000 km² and a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras, Calais, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Saint-Omer, Lens and it forms the interior of the French département Pas-de-Calais. Originally a feudal county itself, Artois was annexed by the county of Flanders and it came to France in 1180 as a dowry of a Flemish princess, Isabelle of Hainaut, and was again made a separate county in 1237 for Robert, a grandson of Isabelle. Through inheritance, Artois came under the rule of the dukes of Burgundy in 1384, at the death of the fourth duke, Charles the Bold, Artois was inherited by the Habsburgs and passed to the dynastys Spanish line. After the religious revolts of 1566 in the Netherlands, Artois briefly entered the Dutch Revolt in 1576, after the Union, Artois and Hainaut reached a separate agreement with Philip II. Artois remained with the Spanish Netherlands until it was conquered by the French during the Thirty Years War, the annexation was acknowledged during the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, and it became a French province. Artois had already been largely French-speaking, but it was part of the Southern Netherlands until the French annexation, Artois experienced rapid industrial development during the second half of the 19th century, fueled by its rich coal resources. During World War I, the front line between the opposing Entente and Allied armies in France ran through the province, resulting in physical damage. Since the second half of the 20th century, Artois has suffered along with nearby areas because of the decline of the coal industry, Artois occupies the interior of the Pas-de-Calais département, the western part of which constitutes the former Boulonnais. Artois roughly corresponds to the arrondissements of Arras, Béthune, Saint Omer, and Lens, and it occupies the western end of the coalfield which stretches eastward through the neighbouring Nord département and across central Belgium. At the time of Julius Caesar, Artois was the province of the Atrebates and their capital, Nemetocenna, is now the city of Arras, which possibly took its later name from the old name of the region. Artois originally was a Carolingian lordship established in West Francia, in Roman times, Artois had been situated in the Roman provinces of Belgica and Germania Inferior and inhabited by Celtic tribes, until Germanic peoples replaced them as the Roman Empire waned. Upon Isabelles death in 1190, it was claimed as a fief by the French crown. In 1237, King Louis VIII gave the County of Artois as an appanage to his younger son Robert, who became the progenitor of the House of Artois. The dispute was settled in favour of Mahaut, upon her death in 1329, Artois passed to her daughter by the Anscarid count Otto IV of Burgundy, Countess Joan II. Joan II had inherited the County of Burgundy in 1315 and when she died in 1330, she bequested Artois and Franche-Comté to her eldest daughter, Joan III. Joan III, Countess of Artois and Burgundy, entered into the dynastic allegiance with the ducal House of Burgundy, until 1350 all territories of Artois, Franche-Comté and the Burgundian duchy were inherited by their grandson Philip I of Burgundy
38.
Demesne
–
In England royal demesne is the land held by the Crown, and ancient demesne is the legal term for the land held by the king at the time of the Domesday Book. The word derives from Old French demeine, ultimately from Latin dominus, lord, the word barton, which is an element found in many place-names, can refer to a demesne farm, it derives from Old English bere and ton. In this feudal system the demesne was all the land retained under his own management by a lord of the manor for his own use and it was not necessarily all contiguous to the manor house. A portion of the lands, called the lords waste, served as public roads and common pasture land for the lord. Most of the remainder of the land in the manor was sub-enfeoffed by the lord to others as sub-tenants, with the advent of the early modern period, demesne lands came to be cultivated by paid labourers. In times of inflation or debasement of coinage, the rent might come to represent a pittance, demesne lands that were leased out for a term of years remained demesne lands, though no longer in the occupation of the lord of the manor. The king made grants of large parcels of land under various forms of feudal tenure from his demesne. The land not so enfeoffed, for example royal manors administered by royal stewards and royal hunting forests, thus remained within the royal demesne. During the reign of King George III, Parliament appropriated most of the demesne, in exchange for a fixed annual sum thenceforth payable to the monarch. The position of the estate of Windsor, still occupied by the monarch and never alienated since 1066. Since the demesne surrounded the principal seat of the lord, it came to be used of any proprietary territory. A Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases
39.
Philip I of France
–
Philip I, called the Amorous, was King of the Franks from 1060 to his death. His reign, like that of most of the early Capetians, was long for the time. The monarchy began a modest recovery from the low it reached in the reign of his father and he added to the royal demesne the Vexin, Philip was born 23 May 1052 at Champagne-et-Fontaine, the son of Henry I and his wife Anne of Kiev. Unusual at the time for Western Europe, his name was of Greek origin, although he was crowned king at the age of seven, until age fourteen his mother acted as regent, the first queen of France ever to do so. Baldwin V of Flanders also acted as co-regent, following the death of Baldwin VI of Flanders, Robert the Frisian seized Flanders. Baldwins wife, Richilda requested aid from Philip, who defeated Robert at the battle of Cassel in 1071, Philip first married Bertha in 1072. Although the marriage produced the heir, Philip fell in love with Bertrade de Montfort. He repudiated Bertha and married Bertrade on 15 May 1092, in 1094, he was excommunicated by Hugh of Die, for the first time, after a long silence, Pope Urban II repeated the excommunication at the Council of Clermont in November 1095. In France, the king was opposed by Bishop Ivo of Chartres, Philip appointed Alberic first Constable of France in 1060. A great part of his reign, like his fathers, was spent putting down revolts by his power-hungry vassals, in 1077, he made peace with William the Conqueror, who gave up attempting the conquest of Brittany. In 1082, Philip I expanded his demesne with the annexation of the Vexin, then in 1100, he took control of Bourges. It was at the aforementioned Council of Clermont that the First Crusade was launched, Philip at first did not personally support it because of his conflict with Urban II. Philips brother Hugh of Vermandois, however, was a major participant, Philip died in the castle of Melun and was buried per request at the monastery of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire – and not in St Denis among his forefathers. He was succeeded by his son, Louis VI, whose succession was, however, according to Abbot Suger, Philip‘s children with Bertha were, Constance, married Hugh I of Champagne before 1097 and then, after her divorce, to Bohemund I of Antioch in 1106
40.
Louis VI of France
–
Louis VI, called the Fat, was King of the Franks from 1108 until his death. Chronicles called him roi de Saint-Denis, nonetheless, Louis VI managed to reinforce his power considerably and became one of the first strong kings of France since the division of the Carolingian Empire in 843. Louis was a king but by his forties his weight had become so great that it was increasingly difficult for him to lead in the field. Louis was born on 1 December 1081 in Paris, the son of Philip I and his first wife, and. How valiant he was in youth, and with what energy he repelled the king of the English, William Rufus, when he attacked Louis inherited kingdom. Louis married Lucienne de Rochefort, a French crown princess, in 1104, on 3 August 1115 Louis married Adelaide of Maurienne, daughter of Humbert II of Savoy and Gisela of Burgundy, and niece of Pope Callixtus II. Adelaide was one of the most politically active of all Frances medieval queens and her name appears on 45 royal charters from the reign of Louis VI. During her tenure as queen, royal charters were dated with both her regnal year and that of the king, suger became Louiss adviser before he became king and he succeeded his father at the age of 26 on 29 July 1108. Louiss half-brother prevented him from reaching Rheims, and so Daimbert, Archbishop of Sens, ralph the Green, Archbishop of Rheims, sent envoys to challenge the validity of the coronation and anointing, but to no avail. When Louis ascended the throne the Kingdom of France was a collection of feudal principalities, beyond the Isle de France the French Kings had little authority over the great Dukes and Counts of the realm but slowly Louis began to change this and assert Capetian rights. This process would take two centuries to complete but began in the reign of Louis VI, the second great challenge facing Louis was to counter the rising power of the Anglo-Normans under their capable new King, Henry I of England. From early in his reign Louis faced the problem of the barons who resisted the Kings authority and engaged in brigandry. In 1108, soon after he ascended the throne, Louis engaged in war with Hugh of Crecy, who was plaguing the countryside and had captured Eudes, Count of Corbeil, Louis besieged that fortress to free Eudes. In early 1109, Louis besieged his half-brother, Philip, the son of Bertrade de Montfort, philips plots included the lords of Montfort-lAmaury. Amaury III of Montfort held many castles which, when linked together, in 1108-1109 a seigneur named Aymon Vaire-Vache seized the lordship of Bourbon from his nephew, Archambaud, a minor. Louis demanded the boy be restored to his rights but Aymon refused the summons, Louis raised his army and besieged Aymon at his castle at Germigny-sur-lAubois, forcing its surrender and enforcing the rights of Archambaud. In 1122, Aimeri, Bishop of Clermont, appealed to Louis after William VI, Count of Auvergne, had driven him from his episcopal town. When William refused Louis summons, Louis raised an army at Bourges, and marched into Auvergne, supported by some of his vassals, such as the Counts of Anjou, Brittany. Louis seized the fortress of Pont-du-Chateau on the Allier, then attacked Clermont, four years later William rebelled again and Louis, though his increasing weight made campaigning difficult, marched again
41.
Philip I, Count of Flanders
–
Philip of Alsace was count of Flanders from 1168 to 1191. He succeeded his father Thierry of Alsace and his reign began in 1157, while he acted as regent and co-count for his father, Thierry, who was frequently away on crusade. He defeated Floris III, Count of Holland and stopped the piracy, Floris was captured in Bruges and remained in prison until 1167, at which point he was being ransomed in exchange for recognition of Flemish suzerainty over Zeeland. By inheritance, Philip also recovered for Flanders the territories of Waasland, in 1159 Philip married Elisabeth of Vermandois, also known as Isabelle, elder daughter of count Raoul I of Vermandois and Petronilla of Aquitaine. When his brother-in-law died, his wife inherited the county of Vermandois and this pushed Flemish authority further south, to its greatest extent thus far, and threatened to completely alter the balance of power in northern France. Philip governed wisely with the aid of Robert dAire, whose role was almost that of a prime minister and they established an effective administrative system and Philips foreign relations were excellent. He mediated in disputes between Louis VII of France and Henry II of England, between Henry II and Thomas Becket, and arranged the marriage of his sister Margaret with Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut. In 1175, Philip discovered that Elisabeth was committing adultery and had her lover, Walter de Fontaines, Philip then obtained complete control of her lands in Vermandois from King Louis VII of France. Philips brothers Matthew and Peter of Alsace also died without surviving children, so in 1177, before going on crusade, he designated Margaret and Baldwin as his heirs. In the Holy Land, Philip hoped to take part in an invasion of Egypt. A Byzantine fleet of 150 galleys was waiting at Acre when Philip arrived on 2 August and he and King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem were first cousins, sharing a grandfather, King Fulk, whose daughter from his first marriage, Sibylla of Anjou, was Philips mother. Baldwin IV was a leper and childless, and offered Philip the regency of the Kingdom of Jerusalem as his closest male relative currently present there, Philip refused both this and the command of the army of the kingdom, saying he was there only as a pilgrim. Instead Baldwin appointed Raynald of Châtillon, to whom Philip would act as an assistant, as William of Tyre says, this being the situation, the count at last revealed the secret thought of his mind and did not try to conceal to what end all his plans were. He had come to have his own vassals married to his cousins, Baldwins sister Sibylla, Baldwin of Ibelin insulted the count in public. Philip left Jerusalem in October to campaign in the north for the Principality of Antioch, meanwhile, the Byzantine alliance against Egypt was abandoned. In November Baldwin IV and Raynald defeated Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard, Philip returned from Palestine in 1179, at which point Louis VII, now sick, named him guardian of his young son Philip II. One year later, Philip of Alsace had his protégé married to his niece, Isabelle of Hainaut, offering the County of Artois and other Flemish territories as dowry, when Louis VII died, Philip II began to assert his independence. King Philip refused to open battle and gained the upper hand
42.
Somme (river)
–
The Somme is a river in Picardy, northern France. The name Somme comes from a Celtic word meaning tranquility, the department Somme was named after this river. The river is 245 km long, from its source in the ground of the former Forest of Arrouaise at Fonsommes near Saint-Quentin, to the Bay of the Somme. It lies in the geological syncline which also forms the Solent and this gives it a fairly constant and gentle gradient where several fluvial terraces have been identified. The Invasion Fleet of William the Conqueror assembled in the Bay of the Somme at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, the river featured in the 1346 withdrawal of Edward IIIs army, which forded the river at the battle of Blanchetaque during the campaign which culminated in the Battle of Crécy. Crossing the river also featured prominently in the campaign led to the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. The river is famous for the World War I Battle of the Somme from July to November 1916. Aisne, Saint-Quentin Somme, Ham, Péronne, Corbie, Amiens, Abbeville, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, Le Crotoy The river is characterized by a gentle gradient. The valley is more or less steep-sided but its bottom is flat with fens and these characteristics of steady flow and flooded valley bottom arise from the rivers being fed by the ground water in the chalk basin in which it lies. At earlier, colder times, from the Günz to the Würm the river has cut down into the Cretaceous geology to a level below the water table. The valley bottom has now therefore, filled with water which and this picture, of the source of the Somme in 1986, shows it when the water table had fallen below the surface of the chalk in which the aquifer lies. Here, the flow of water had been sufficient to keep fen from forming and this satellite photograph shows the fenny valley crossing the chalk to the sea on the left. The sinuous length at the centre of the picture lies downstream from Péronne, one of the fens, the Marais de lÎle is a nature reserve in the town of St. Quentin. The traditional market gardens of Amiens, the Hortillonages are on this sort of land, once exploited for peat cutting, the fen is now used for fishing and shooting The construction of the Canal de la Somme began in 1770 and reached completion in 1843. It is 156 km long, beginning at St. Simon, from St. Simon to Froissy, the canal is alongside the river. Thence to the sea, the river is partly river and partly navigation, from Abbeville, it is diverted through the silted, former estuary, to Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, where the maritime canal, once called the canal du Duc dAngoulême enters the English Channel. The St Quentin Canal, famous for the 1918 battle, links the Somme to northern France and Belgium, the Canal du Nord also links the Somme to the Oise, at Noyon, thence to Paris. In 2001, the Somme valley was affected by high floods
43.
Oise
–
Oise is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise, natives of the department are called Isariens. Oise is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4,1790 and it was created from part of the province of Île-de-France and Picardy. After the coalition victory at Waterloo, the department was occupied by British troops between June 1815 and November 1818, Oise is part of the current region of Hauts-de-France and is situated 35 km north of Paris. It is surrounded by the departments of Somme, Aisne, Seine-et-Marne, Val-dOise, Eure, the major tourist attraction of the department is the Parc Astérix, which opened in 1989. Another very interesting site is Beauvais Cathedral, also to be seen is the Chateau de Pierrefonds, restored by Viollet-le-Duc. The art collection of the Château de Chantilly is one of the largest outside Paris, one of the villages along the river Oise is Auvers-sur-Oise, famous for having been visited by several impressionist artists. This is where Vincent van Gogh spent his last 70 days and it is his and his brother Theos resting place