1.
Jean-Paul Laurens
–
Jean-Paul Laurens was a French painter and sculptor, and one of the last major exponents of the French Academic style. He was a pupil of Léon Cogniet and Alexandre Bida, strongly anti-clerical and republican, his work was often on historical and religious themes, through which he sought to convey a message of opposition to monarchical and clerical oppression. More recently, however, his work has been re-evaluated as an important and original renewal of history painting and he also provided illustrations for Augustin Thierrys Récits des temps mérovingiens. Two of his sons, Paul Albert Laurens and Jean-Pierre Laurens, fécamp, Éditions des falaises, pp.108 –114 Jean-Paul Laurens 1838 -1921, peintre dhistoire, Catalogue dexposition, Musée dOrsay
Jean-Paul Laurens
–
Self-portrait
Jean-Paul Laurens
–
In 1870, the year when the newly created Kingdom of Italy carried out the
Capture of Rome and put an end to the Pope's
temporal power, Laurens made this painting of the
Cadaver Synod, a notorious Medieval event reflecting badly on the Papacy's reputation
2.
List of French monarchs
–
The monarchs of the Kingdom of France and its predecessors ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of the Franks in 486 till the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870. Sometimes included as kings of France are the kings of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled from 486 until 751, and of the Carolingians, who ruled until 987. The Capetian dynasty, the descendants of Hugh Capet, included the first rulers to adopt the title of king of France for the first time with Philip II. The Capetians ruled continuously from 987 to 1792 and again from 1814 to 1848, the branches of the dynasty which ruled after 1328, however, are generally given the specific branch names of Valois and Bourbon. During the brief period when the French Constitution of 1791 was in effect and after the July Revolution in 1830 and it was a constitutional innovation known as popular monarchy which linked the monarchs title to the French people rather than to the possession of the territory of France. With the House of Bonaparte Emperors of the French ruled in 19th century France and it was used on coins up to the eighteenth century. During the brief period when the French Constitution of 1791 was in effect and after the July Revolution in 1830 and it was a constitutional innovation known as popular monarchy which linked the monarchs title to the French people rather than to the possession of the territory of France. They used the title Emperor of the French and this article lists all rulers to have held the title King of the Franks, King of France, King of the French or Emperor of the French. For other Frankish monarchs, see List of Frankish kings, in addition to the monarchs listed below, the Kings of England and Great Britain from 1340–60, 1369-1420, and 1422–1801 also claimed the title of King of France. For a short time, this had some basis in fact – under the terms of the 1420 Treaty of Troyes, Charles VI had recognized his son-in-law Henry V of England as regent and heir. Henry V predeceased Charles VI and so Henry Vs son, Henry VI, most of Northern France was under English control until 1435, but by 1453, the English had been expelled from all of France save Calais, and Calais itself fell in 1558. Nevertheless, English and then British monarchs continued to claim the title for themselves until the creation of the United Kingdom in 1801. The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that ruled the Franks for nearly 300 years in a known as Francia in Latin. Their territory largely corresponded to ancient Gaul as well as the Roman provinces of Raetia, Germania Superior, the Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. In 751, a Carolingian, Pepin the Younger, dethroned the Merovingians and with the consent of the Papacy, the Robertians were Frankish noblemen owing fealty to the Carolingians, and ancestors of the subsequent Capetian dynasty. Odo, Count of Paris, was chosen by the western Franks to be their king following the removal of emperor Charles the Fat, the Bosonids were a noble family descended from Boso the Elder, their member, Rudolph, was elected King of the Franks in 923. After the death of Louis V, the son of Hugh the Great and grandson of Robert I, the Capetian Dynasty, the male-line descendants of Hugh Capet, ruled France continuously from 987 to 1792 and again from 1814 to 1848. They were direct descendants of the Robertian kings, the cadet branches of the dynasty which ruled after 1328, however, are generally given the specific branch names of Valois and Bourbon
List of French monarchs
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Clovis I (Clovis Ier)
List of French monarchs
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Royal Coat of arms
List of French monarchs
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Theuderic I (Thierry Ier)
List of French monarchs
–
Theudebert I (Thibert Ier)
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
Coronation of the French monarch
–
Coronation of
Louis VIII of France and
Blanche of Castile at
Reims in 1223; a
miniature from the
Grandes Chroniques de France, circa 1450.
Coronation of the French monarch
–
Coronation of
Philip, son of King
Louis VII of France, as junior king
Coronation of the French monarch
–
Coronation of Emperor
Napoleon I of France at
Notre-Dame de Paris. Napoleon crowned himself as "Emperor of the French" during this ceremony, then crowned his consort
Josephine as Empress.
4.
Hugh Capet of France
–
Hugh Capet was the first King of the Franks of the House of Capet from his election in 987 until his death. He succeeded the last Carolingian king, Louis V, the son of Hugh the Great, Duke of the Franks, and Hedwige of Saxony, daughter of the German king Henry the Fowler, Hugh was born in 941. Hugh Capet was born into a well-connected and powerful family with ties to the royal houses of France. Through his mother, Hugh was the nephew to Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Henry I, Duke of Bavaria, Bruno the Great, Archbishop of Cologne, and finally, Gerberga of Saxony, Queen of France. Gerberga was the wife of Louis IV, King of France and mother of Lothair of France and Charles and his paternal family, the Robertians, were powerful landowners in the Île-de-France. His grandfather had been King Robert I, King Odo was his granduncle and King Rudolph was his uncle by affinity. Hughs paternal grandmother was a descendant of Charlemagne, after the end of the ninth century, the descendants of Robert the Strong became indispensable in carrying out royal policies. As Carolingian power failed, the nobles of West Francia began to assert that the monarchy was elective, not hereditary. Robert I, Hugh the Greats father, was succeeded as King of the Franks by his son-in-law, when Rudolph died in 936, Hugh the Great had to decide whether he ought to claim the throne for himself. To block his rivals, Hugh the Great brought Louis dOutremer and this maneuver allowed Hugh to become the most powerful person in France in the first half of the tenth century. Once in power, Louis IV granted him the title of dux Francorum, Louis also officially declared Hugh the second after us in all our kingdoms. Hugh also gained power when Herbert II of Vermandois died in 943, Hugh the Great came to dominate a wide swath of central France, from Orléans and Senlis to Auxerre and Sens, while the king was rather confined to the area northeast of Paris. The realm in which Hugh grew up, and of which he would one day be king, Hughs predecessors did not call themselves kings of France, and that title was not used by his successors until the time of his descendant, Philip II. Kings ruled as rex Francorum, the remaining in use until 1190 The lands they ruled comprised only a small part of the former Carolingian Empire. The eastern Frankish lands, the Holy Roman Empire, were ruled by the Ottonian dynasty, represented by Hughs first cousin Otto II and then by Ottos son, Otto III. The lands south of the river Loire had largely ceased to be part of the West Francia kingdom in the years after Charles the Simple was deposed in 922. Both the Duchy of Normandy and the Duchy of Burgundy were largely independent, in 956, when his father Hugh the Great died, Hugh, the eldest son, was then about fifteen years old and had two younger brothers. In 954, Otto I appointed his brother Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lorraine, as guardian of Lothair, in 956, Otto gave him the same role over Hugh and the Robertian principality
Hugh Capet of France
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12th century portrayal of Hugh Capet
Hugh Capet of France
–
A
denier of Hugh Capet when he was Duke of France, calling him "duke
by the grace of God " (Dux Dei Gratia). Minted at Paris (Parisi Civita)
Hugh Capet of France
–
Denier of Hugh Capet for Beauvais
Hugh Capet of France
–
Apparition of Saint Valery to Hugh Capet
5.
Henry I of France
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Henry I was King of the Franks from 1031 to his death. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign and this is not entirely agreed upon, however, as other historians regard him as a strong but realistic king, who was forced to conduct a policy mindful of the limitations of the French monarchy. A member of the House of Capet, Henry was born in Reims and he was crowned King of France at the Cathedral in Reims on 14 May 1027, in the Capetian tradition, while his father still lived. He had little influence and power until he became sole ruler on his fathers death, the reign of Henry I, like those of his predecessors, was marked by territorial struggles. Initially, he joined his brother Robert, with the support of their mother and his mother, however, supported Robert as heir to the old king, on whose death Henry was left to deal with his rebel sibling. In 1032, he placated his brother by giving him the duchy of Burgundy which his father had him in 1016. In an early strategic move, Henry came to the rescue of his very young nephew-in-law, in 1051, William married Matilda, the daughter of the count of Flanders, which Henry saw as a threat to his throne. In 1054, and again in 1057, Henry invaded Normandy, Henry had three meetings with Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor—all at Ivois. In early 1043, he met him to discuss the marriage of the emperor with Agnes of Poitou, in October 1048, the two Henries met again and signed a treaty of friendship. The final meeting place in May 1056 and concerned disputes over Theobald III. The debate over the duchy became so heated that Henry accused the emperor of breach of contract, in 1058, Henry was selling bishoprics and abbacies, ignoring the accusations of simony and tyranny by the Papal legate Cardinal Humbert. Despite his efforts, Henry Is twenty-nine-year reign saw feudal power in France reach its pinnacle, King Henry I died on 4 August 1060 in Vitry-en-Brie, France, and was interred in Basilica of St Denis. He was succeeded by his son, Philip I of France, at the time of his death, he was besieging Thimert, which had been occupied by the Normans since 1058. He was also Duke of Burgundy from 1016 to 1032, when he abdicated the duchy to his brother Robert, Henry I was betrothed to Matilda, the daughter of Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, but she died prematurely in 1034. Henry then married Matilda of Frisia, but she died in 1044, casting further afield in search of a third wife, Henry married Anne of Kiev on 19 May 1051. They had four children, Philip I, vajay, S. Mathilde, reine de France inconnue,1971
Henry I of France
–
A depiction of Henry from Chroniques de France ou de St Denis
6.
Melun
–
Melun is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is a suburb of Paris 41.4 km from the centre of Paris. Melun is the prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne, and the seat of an arrondissement. Meledunum began as a Gaulish town, Caesar noted Melun as a town of the Senones, situated on an island in the Seine, at the island there was a wooden bridge, which his men repaired. Roman Meledunum was a mutatio where fresh horses were available for official couriers on the Roman road south-southeast of Paris. The Normans sacked it in 845, the castle of Melun became a royal residence of the Capetian kings. Hugh Capet gave Melun to Bouchard, his favorite, in the reign of Hughs son, Robert II of France, Eudes, the count of Champagne, bought the city, but the king took it back for Bouchard in 999. The chatelain Gautier and his wife, who had sold the city, were hanged, Robert died there in July 1031. Donatus Bouchard I, also Count of Vendôme and Count of Paris The early viscounts of Melun were listed by 17th and 18th century genealogists, such viscounts include Honoré Armand de Villars and Claude Louis Hector de Villars. Melun is served by the Gare de Melun, which is a station on Paris RER line D, on the Transilien R suburban rail line. The Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame, Melun was the home of the Melun Diptych. The nearby château of Vaux-le-Vicomte is considered a predecessor of Palace of Versailles. The officers school of the French Gendarmerie is located in Melun, the Viscounts and Counts of Melun are listed in Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln, Neue Folge, Volume VII, Tafels 55 &56
Melun
–
Town Hall
Melun
–
Melun water-color postcard showing Melun in the 1920s and circa 1095.
Melun
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Melun Shield dating from the 15th century – "Melun (Seine-et-Marne): Azure on a semy-de-lys or a castle with three towers argent. Melun was one of the original strongholds of the royal domain. Motto: fida muris usque ad mures, recalling the siege of 1420 when inhabitants had to eat rats." http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/frcitdep.htm
7.
Saint Denis Basilica
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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
Saint Denis Basilica
–
West façade of Saint Denis
Saint Denis Basilica
–
West façade of Saint Denis, before the dismantling of the north tower (c. 1844 – 1845)
Saint Denis Basilica
–
15th-century painting by the
Master of Saint Giles, showing St Denis saying mass before
Charlemagne or
Charles Martel with what is thought to be a largely accurate view of the abbey with a
crux gemmata given by
Charles the Bald and gold altar frontal, both destroyed in the Revolution.
Saint Denis Basilica
–
The north transept rose features the
Tree of Jesse.
8.
Rozala of Italy
–
Rozala of Italy was a Countess of Flanders and Queen consort of the Franks. She was regent of Flanders in 987-988 during the minority of her son, Rozala, born sometime between 950–960, was the daughter of King Berengar of Ivrea, King of Italy. Her mother was Willa of Tuscany, the daughter of Boso, Margrave of Tuscany, in 968 she married Arnulf II, Count of Flanders. On her husbands death, she acted as regent for her young son, on c. 1 April 988 she married secondly the much younger Robert the Pious, the Rex Filius of France, the marriage had been arranged by his father Hugh Capet. According to disputed account she brought her husband Montreuil and Ponthieu as a dowry, upon her marriage, she took the name of Susannah, and was the queen consort of the co-ruling king Robert, under senior King Hugh. From 991/992 the couple lived basically separated as Rozala had become too old to have more children, when her father-in-law died in 996, however, Robert repudiated her completely, desiring to marry Bertha of Burgundy in her place. That marriage was not lawful because of too close kinship so Robert married a third time 1003 with Constance of Arles who bore him seven children, Rozala retired back to Flanders, where she died and was buried. Robert retained control of her dowry, or the rights to the mentioned territory, Rozala was firstly married to Arnulf II, Count of Flanders. They had the children, Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders Mathilda. The second marriage with Robert II of France did not produce any children
Rozala of Italy
–
Rozala of Italy
9.
Bertha of Burgundy
–
Bertha of Burgundy was the daughter of Conrad the Peaceful, King of Burgundy and his wife Matilda, daughter of Louis IV, King of France and Gerberga of Saxony. She was named for her fathers mother, Bertha of Swabia and she first married Odo I, Count of Blois in about 983. They had several children, including Odo II, after the death of her husband in 996, Berthas cousin Robert, co-King of France wished to marry her, in place of his repudiated first wife Rozala, who was many years his senior. The union was opposed by Roberts father, Hugh Capet, due to the political problem that could be caused by religious authorities due to their consanguinity. However, the marriage went ahead after Hughs death in October 996, the closeness of Robert and Bertha by blood was such that Church authorities considered the marriage illegal since they had not received a dispensation, nor had they requested one. Accordingly, Pope Gregory V declared the pair excommunicated and this, and the lack of children, caused Robert to agree with Pope Silvester II to have the marriage annulled in 1000. Robert next married Constance of Arles while Bertha may have been the Bertha who married Arduin of Ivrea, King of Italy, Marquis of Ivrea
Bertha of Burgundy
–
Bertha of Burgundy
10.
Constance of Arles
–
Constance of Arles, also known as Constance of Provence, was a queen consort of France as the third spouse of King Robert II of France. Born c. 986 Constance was the daughter of William I, count of Provence and Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou and she was the half-sister of Count William II of Provence. Constance was married to King Robert, after his divorce from his second wife, the marriage was stormy, Berthas family opposed her, and Constance was despised for importing her Provençal kinfolk and customs. Roberts friend, Hugh of Beauvais, tried to convince the king to repudiate her in 1007, possibly at her request twelve knights of her kinsman, Fulk Nerra, then murdered Beauvais. In 1010 Robert went to Rome, followed by his former wife Bertha, to seek permission to divorce Constance, Pope Sergius IV was not about to allow a consanguineous marriage which had been formally condemned by Pope Gregory V and Robert had already repudiated two wives. After his return according to one source Robert loved his wife more, however, as the condemned clerics left the trial the queen struck out the eye of Stephen. With the staff which she carried and this was seen as Constance venting her frustration at anyone subverting the prestige of the crown. At Constances urging, her eldest son Hugh Magnus was crowned co-king alongside his father in 1017, but later Hugh demanded his parents share power with him, and rebelled against his father in 1025. Constance, however, on learning of her sons rebellion was furious with him, at some point Hugh was reconciled with his parents but shortly thereafter died, probably about age eighteen. Robert and Constance quarrelled over which of their sons should inherit the throne, Robert favored their second son Henry, while Constance favored their third son. Despite his mothers protests and her support by several bishops, Henry was crowned in 1027, Constance, however, was not graceful when she didnt get her way. The ailing Fulbert, bishop of Chartres told a colleague that he could attend the ceremony if he traveled slowly to Reims—but he was too frightened of the queen to go at all. Constance encouraged her sons to rebel, and they began attacking and pillaging the towns, son Robert attacked Burgundy, the duchy he had been promised but had never received, and Henry seized Dreux. At last King Robert agreed to their demands and peace was made which lasted until the kings death, King Robert died on 20 July 1031. Soon afterwards Constance was at odds with both her surviving sons, Constance seized her dower lands and refused to surrender them. Henry fled to Normandy, where he received aid, weapons and he returned to besiege his mother at Poissy but Constance escaped to Pontoise. She only surrendered when Henry began the siege of Le Puiset, Constance died 28 July 1032. and was buried beside her husband Robert at Saint-Denis Basilica. A missing Capetian princess, Advisa, daughter of King Robert II of France,1990 Moore, the Birth of Popular Heresy,1975
Constance of Arles
–
14th-century depiction of Constance surrendering to her son
Henry I of France.
Constance of Arles
–
Tomb of Robert 'the Pious' and Constance of Arles at Saint-Denis
11.
Hugh Magnus
–
Hugh Magnus was co-King of France under his father, Robert II, from 1017 until his death in 1025. He was a member of the House of Capet, a son of Robert II by his third wife, Robert II, when his son was old enough, determined to do the same. Hugh Magnus was thus crowned King of France on 9/19 June 1017, however, when older, he rebelled against Robert. Hugh died, perhaps of a fall from his horse, at Compiègne in 1025/1026 while preparing a rebellion against his father, aged around 18 years old. Rodulfus Glaber was fulsome in his praise of the king, writing, My pen cannot express all of the great. No elegy can ever equal his merits, as a King of France, he would be numbered Hugh II, however, he is rarely referred to as such. The Origins of Some Angelo-Norman Families by Lewis C, the Doomesday Monachorum of Christ Church Canterbury, Page 55-6
Hugh Magnus
–
Merovingians
12.
Robert I, Duke of Burgundy
–
Robert I of Burgundy, known as Robert the Old and Tete-Hardi, was Duke of Burgundy from 1032 to his death. Robert was son of King Robert II of France and brother of Henry I of France, in 1025, with the death of his eldest brother Hugh Magnus, he and Henry rebelled against their father and defeated him, forcing him back to Paris. In 1031, after the death of his father the king, Robert participated in a rebellion against his brother, in which he was supported by his mother, peace was only achieved when Robert was given Burgundy. Throughout his reign, he was more than a robber baron who had no control over his vassals, whose estates he often plundered. He seized the income of the diocese of Autun and the wine of the canons of Dijon and he burgled the abbey of St-Germain at Auxerre. In 1048, he repudiated his wife, Helie of Semur followed by the assassination of her brother Joceran, in that same year, the Bishop of Langres, Harduoin, refused to dedicate the church of Sennecy so as not to be exposed to the violence of the duke. His first son, Hugh, died in battle at an age and his second son, Henry. He was succeeded by Henrys eldest son, his grandson, Hugh I and he married his first wife, Helie of Semur, about 1033, and repudiated her in 1048. Robert and Helie had five children, Hugh, killed in battle Henry and he died shortly before his father, thus making his son Roberts heir. Cambridge Medieval History, Volume III—Germany and the Western Empire
Robert I, Duke of Burgundy
–
Robert I "the Old"
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
Dynasty
–
Charles I of England and his son, the future
James II
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
House of Capet
–
Arms of the King of France
15.
Adelaide of Aquitaine
–
Adbelahide or Adele or Adelaide of Aquitaine, was queen consort of France by marriage to Hugh Capet. Adelaide was the daughter of William III, Duke of Aquitaine and Adele of Normandy and her father used her as security for a truce with Hugh Capet, whom she married in 969. In 987, after the death of Louis V, the last Carolingian king of France and they were proclaimed at Senlis and blessed at Noyon. They were the founders of the Capetian dynasty of France, adeleide and Hughs children were, Hedwig, Countess of Mons, wife of Reginar IV, Count of Mons Robert II, the future king of France. Crowned co-king 987 in order to consolidate the new dynasty Gisèle, Countess of Ponthieu, wife of Hugh I, Count of Ponthieu A number of other daughters are less reliably attested
Adelaide of Aquitaine
–
Adelaide of Aquitaine
16.
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
French language
–
The
"arrêt" signs (French for "stop") are used in
Canada while the international stop, which is also a valid French word, is used in France as well as other French-speaking countries and regions.
French language
–
Regions where French is the main language
French language
–
Town sign in
Standard Arabic and French at the entrance of
Rechmaya in
Lebanon.
French language
–
An obsolete 100
Lebanese pound note with the French language inscriptions "Banque du Liban" and "Cent livres".
17.
Hugh Capet
–
Hugh Capet was the first King of the Franks of the House of Capet from his election in 987 until his death. He succeeded the last Carolingian king, Louis V, the son of Hugh the Great, Duke of the Franks, and Hedwige of Saxony, daughter of the German king Henry the Fowler, Hugh was born in 941. Hugh Capet was born into a well-connected and powerful family with ties to the royal houses of France. Through his mother, Hugh was the nephew to Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Henry I, Duke of Bavaria, Bruno the Great, Archbishop of Cologne, and finally, Gerberga of Saxony, Queen of France. Gerberga was the wife of Louis IV, King of France and mother of Lothair of France and Charles and his paternal family, the Robertians, were powerful landowners in the Île-de-France. His grandfather had been King Robert I, King Odo was his granduncle and King Rudolph was his uncle by affinity. Hughs paternal grandmother was a descendant of Charlemagne, after the end of the ninth century, the descendants of Robert the Strong became indispensable in carrying out royal policies. As Carolingian power failed, the nobles of West Francia began to assert that the monarchy was elective, not hereditary. Robert I, Hugh the Greats father, was succeeded as King of the Franks by his son-in-law, when Rudolph died in 936, Hugh the Great had to decide whether he ought to claim the throne for himself. To block his rivals, Hugh the Great brought Louis dOutremer and this maneuver allowed Hugh to become the most powerful person in France in the first half of the tenth century. Once in power, Louis IV granted him the title of dux Francorum, Louis also officially declared Hugh the second after us in all our kingdoms. Hugh also gained power when Herbert II of Vermandois died in 943, Hugh the Great came to dominate a wide swath of central France, from Orléans and Senlis to Auxerre and Sens, while the king was rather confined to the area northeast of Paris. The realm in which Hugh grew up, and of which he would one day be king, Hughs predecessors did not call themselves kings of France, and that title was not used by his successors until the time of his descendant, Philip II. Kings ruled as rex Francorum, the remaining in use until 1190 The lands they ruled comprised only a small part of the former Carolingian Empire. The eastern Frankish lands, the Holy Roman Empire, were ruled by the Ottonian dynasty, represented by Hughs first cousin Otto II and then by Ottos son, Otto III. The lands south of the river Loire had largely ceased to be part of the West Francia kingdom in the years after Charles the Simple was deposed in 922. Both the Duchy of Normandy and the Duchy of Burgundy were largely independent, in 956, when his father Hugh the Great died, Hugh, the eldest son, was then about fifteen years old and had two younger brothers. In 954, Otto I appointed his brother Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lorraine, as guardian of Lothair, in 956, Otto gave him the same role over Hugh and the Robertian principality
Hugh Capet
–
12th century portrayal of Hugh Capet
Hugh Capet
–
A
denier of Hugh Capet when he was Duke of France, calling him "duke
by the grace of God " (Dux Dei Gratia). Minted at Paris (Parisi Civita)
Hugh Capet
–
Denier of Hugh Capet for Beauvais
Hugh Capet
–
Apparition of Saint Valery to Hugh Capet
18.
Moorish
–
Moors are not a distinct or self-defined people, and mainstream scholars observed in 1911 that The term Moors has no real ethnological value. Medieval and early modern Europeans variously applied the name to Arabs, Berber North Africans and Muslim Europeans. The term has also used in Europe in a broader, somewhat derogatory sense to refer to Muslims in general, especially those of Arab or Berber descent. During the colonial era, the Portuguese introduced the names Ceylon Moors and Indian Moors in Sri Lanka, in 711, troops mostly formed by Moors from North Africa led the Umayyad conquest of Hispania. The Iberian peninsula then came to be known in classical Arabic as Al-Andalus, in 827, the Moors occupied Mazara on Sicily, developing it as a port. They eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy, in 1224 the Muslims were expelled from Sicily to the settlement of Lucera, which was destroyed by European Christians in 1300. The fall of Granada in 1492 marked the end of Muslim rule in Iberia, the Berber tribes of the region were noted in Classical literature as Mauri, which was subsequently rendered as Moors in English and in related variations in other European languages. Mauri is recorded as the name by Strabo in the early 1st century. This appellation was also adopted into Latin, whereas the Greek name for the tribe was Maurusii, in medieval Romance languages, variations of the Latin word for the Moors developed different applications and connotations. During the context of the Crusades and the Reconquista, the term Moors included the suggestion of infidels. Apart from these associations and context, Moor and Moorish designate a specific ethnic group speaking Hassaniya Arabic. They inhabit Mauritania and parts of Algeria, Western Sahara, Tunisia, Morocco, Niger, in Niger and Mali, these peoples are also known as the Azawagh Arabs, after the Azawagh region of the Sahara. Some authors have pointed out that in modern colloquial Spanish use of the term moro is derogatory for Moroccans in particular, however, this designation has gained more acceptance in the south. In the Philippines, a former Spanish colony, many modern Filipinos call the large, local Muslim minority concentrated in Mindanao, the word is a catch-all term, as Moro may come from several distinct ethno-linguistic groups such as the Maranao people. The term was introduced by Spanish colonisers, and has since been appropriated by Filipino Muslims as an endonym, moreno can mean dark-skinned in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and the Philippines. Also in Spanish, morapio is a name for wine, especially that which has not been baptized or mixed with water. Among Spanish speakers, moro came to have a broader meaning, Moro refers to all things dark, as in Moor, moreno, etc. It was also used as a nickname, for instance, the Milanese Duke Ludovico Sforza was called Il Moro because of his dark complexion, in Portugal, mouro may refer to supernatural beings known as enchanted moura, where moor implies alien and non-Christian
Moorish
–
Depiction of Moors in
Iberia. Taken from the
Tale of Bayad and Riyad
Moorish
–
Depiction of three Moorish knights found on
Alhambra 's Ladies Tower
Moorish
–
Castillian ambassadors attempting to convince Moorish Almohad king
Abu Hafs Umar al-Murtada to join their alliance (contemporary depiction from The Cantigas de Santa María)
Moorish
–
Reconstruction of costumes of Moorish
nobility from a German book published in 1880
19.
Borrel II of Barcelona
–
Borrell II was Count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 945 and Count of Urgell from 948. Borrell was first seen acting as Count during the reign of his father Sunyer in 945 at the consecration of the church of Sant Pere de les Puelles in Barcelona. In 947, Sunyer retired to life and ceded the government of his realms jointly to his sons Borrell. In 948, Borrell inherited Urgell from his uncle Sunifred II. Sunyer died in 950, and Miró died in 966, leaving Borrell sole ruler of more than half of Old Catalonia and his own documents almost all refer to him merely as comes et marchio, Count and Marquis. Borrell was the son of Sunyer, in 967 he married Letgarda, who is speculated to have been daughter of a Count of Toulouse or Rouergue based on the names given to her children. By her Borrell had two sons and two daughters, Ramon Borrell, Ermengol, Ermengarda and Richilda, after Letgardas death circa 986, he married Eimeruda of Auvergne in 987. On the other hand, he had far greater success as a diplomat, furthermore, in 970, he voyaged to Rome to meet with both Pope John XIII and Emperor Otto I. Borrell was also a patron of learning and culture, in 967, Borrell visited the monastery of Aurillac and the Abbot asked the count to take Gerbert of Aurillac with him so that the boy could study mathematics in Spain. In the following years, Gerbert studied under the direction of Bishop Atto of Vic, some 60 km north of Barcelona, and probably also at the nearby Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll. He was also taken on the 970 embassy to Rome, during which the Pope persuaded Otto to employ Gerbert as a tutor for his young son, the future emperor Otto II. In 985 the Hispanic March was attacked by the Muslim general Almanzor, who managed to take Barcelona, many citizens were taken prisoner by the Muslim forces. No answer to Hughs letter is known from Borrell, and the connection between the March and France was effectively broken. From 988, Borrells sons Ramon Borrell and Ermengol appear as rulers in a territory, with Ramon Borrell being count of Barcelona, Girona. It was not to be, however, and his death followed soon afterwards
Borrel II of Barcelona
–
History [edit]
20.
Kingdom of Germany
–
The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom developed out of the eastern half of the former Carolingian Empire. Like Anglo-Saxon England and medieval France, it began as a conglomerate, East Francia was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, and was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911, after which the kingship was elective. The initial electors were the rulers of the duchies, who generally chose one of their own. After 962, when Otto I was crowned emperor, the formed the bulk of the Holy Roman Empire. The term rex teutonicorum first came into use in the chancery of Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy, in the twelfth century, in order to stress the imperial and transnational character of their office, the emperors began to employ the title rex Romanorum on their election. Distinct titulature for Germany, Italy and Burgundy, which traditionally had their own courts, laws, there are nevertheless relatively few references to a German realm and an instability in the terms use. The eastern division of the Treaty of Verdun was called the regnum Francorum Orientalium or Francia Orientalis and it was the eastern half of the old Merovingian regnum Austrasiorum. The east Franks themselves were the people of Franconia, which had settled by Franks. Foreign kings and ecclesiastics continued to refer to the regnum Alemanniae, the term regnum Germaniae begins to appear even in German sources at the beginning of the fourteenth century. Therefore, throughout the Middle Ages, the convention was that the king of Germany was also Emperor of the Romans and his title was royal from his election to his coronation in Rome by the Pope, thereafter, he was emperor. After the death of Frederick II in 1250, the trend toward a clearly conceived German kingdom found no real consolidation. The title of king of the Romans became less and less reserved for the emperor-elect but uncrowned in Rome, the reign was dated to begin either on the day of election or the day of the coronation. The election day became the starting date permanently with Sigismund, ultimately, Maximilian I changed the style of the emperor in 1508, with papal approval, after his German coronation, his style was Dei gratia Romanorum imperator electus semper augustus. That is, he was emperor elect, a term that did not imply that he was emperor-in-waiting or not yet fully emperor, at the same time, the custom of having the heir-apparent elected as king of the Romans in the emperors lifetime resumed. For this reason, the king of the Romans came to mean heir-apparent. The Archbishop of Mainz was ex officio arch-chancellor of Germany, as his colleagues the Archbishop of Cologne and Archbishop of Trier were, respectively, arch-chancellors of Italy and these titles continued in use until the end of the empire, but only the German chancery actually existed. The tripartite division of the Carolingian Empire effected by the Treaty of Verdun was challenged early on with the death of the Emperor Lothair I in 855. He had divided his kingdom of Middle Francia between his three sons and immediately the northernmost of the three divisions, Lotharingia, was disputed between the kings of East and West Francia, the war over Lotharingia lasted until 925
Kingdom of Germany
–
Map of the realm during the reign of
Otto the Great in 972 (dark blue only) within the
Holy Roman Empire, and the further expansion of the Holy Roman Empire up through
Conrad the Salian (yellow)
Kingdom of Germany
–
Stem duchies and other areas, which acknowledged the king about the year 1000
Kingdom of Germany
–
Personifications of
Sclavinia ("land of the Slavs"),
Germania,
Gallia, and
Roma (Italy), bringing offerings to
Otto III; from a gospel book dated 990.
21.
Pope John XV
–
John XV and Pope John XV can also refer to Pope John XV of Alexandria. Pope John XV was Pope from August 985 to his death in 996 and he was said to have been Pope after another Pope John who reigned four months after Pope John XIV and was named Papa Ioannes XIV Bis or Pope John XIVb. This supposed second John XIV never existed, rather he was confused with a cardinal deacon John, son of Robert. In 993, he was the first pope to proclaim a saint, at the request of the German ruler, he canonized Bishop Ulrich of Augsburg on 31 January 993. Before that time, saint cults had been local and spontaneous, John XV was the son of Leo, a Roman presbyter. The Popes venality and nepotism made him unpopular with the citizens of Rome. He was a patron and protector of the monks of Cluny. During this papacy, a dispute arose over the deposition in 991 of Arnulf, Archbishop of Reims, by French churchmen. Hugh Capet, king of France, made Arnulf archbishop of Reims in 988, even though Arnulf was the nephew of the Kings bitter rival, Charles thereupon succeeded in capturing Reims and took the archbishop prisoner. Hugh, however, considered Arnulf a turncoat and demanded his deposition by John XV, what would you say of such a one, when you see him sitting upon the throne glittering in purple and gold. Must he not be the Antichrist, sitting in the temple of God, the proceedings of the Synod of Reims were repudiated by Rome, although a second synod had ratified the decrees issued there. John XV summoned the French bishops to hold an independent synod outside the French kings realm at Aachen to reconsider the case, when they refused, he called them to Rome, but they protested that the unsettled conditions en route and in Rome made that impossible. Through the exertions of the legate, the deposition of Arnulf was finally pronounced illegal, after Hugh Capets death on 23 October 996, Arnulf was released from his imprisonment and soon restored to all his dignities. As for Gerbert, he set out for the court at Magdeburg. This was the first time in history that a solemn canonization had been made by a Pope, the Emperor then elevated his own kinsman Bruno to the papal dignity under the name of Gregory V. Herbermann, Charles, ed. Pope John XV. Franz Xaver Seppelt, Geschichte der Päpste, 2nd edition, Kösel Verlag, Munich,1955, pp. 381ff. In, Massimo Bray, Enciclopedia dei Papi, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Vol.2, Rome,2000, OCLC313581688, pp. 102–107
Pope John XV
–
Pope John XV
22.
Berengar II of Italy
–
Berengar II was the King of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961. He was a scion of the Anscarid and Unruoching dynasties, and was named after his maternal grandfather and he succeeded his father as Margrave of Ivrea around 923, and after 940 led the aristocratic opposition to Kings Hugh and Lothair II. In 950 he succeeded the latter and had his son, Adalbert crowned as his co-ruler, in 952 he recognised the suzerainty of Otto I of Germany, but he later joined a revolt against him. In 960 he invaded the Papal States, and the year his kingdom was conquered by Otto. Berengar remained at large until his surrender in 964 and he died imprisoned in Germany two years later. Berengar was a son of Margrave Adalbert I of Ivrea and his wife Gisela of Friuli and he succeeded his father as margrave about 923 and married Willa, daughter of the Bosonid margrave Boso of Tuscany and niece of King Hugh of Italy. The chronicler Liutprand of Cremona, raised at Berengars court at Pavia, about 940 Berengar led a revolt of Italian nobles against the rule of his uncle. To evade an assault by Hughs liensmen, he, forewarned by the young son Lothair, had to flee to the court of King Otto I of Germany. Otto avoided taking sides, nevertheless in 945 Berengar could return to Italy with hired troops, Hugh was defeated and retired to Arles, he was nominally succeeded by Lothair. From the time of Berengars successful uprising, all real power, Lothairs brief reign ended upon his early death in 950, presumably poisoned. Berengar then assumed the title with his son Adalbert as co-ruler. He attempted to legitimize his kingship by forcing Lothairs widow Adelaide, the daughter, daughter-in-law. However, the young woman fiercely refused, whereafter Berengar had her imprisoned at Garda Castle, with the help of Count Adalbert Atto of Canossa she managed to flee and entreated the protection of King Otto of Germany. Otto, himself a widower since 946, took the occasion to gain the Iron Crown of Lombardy, Adelaides requests for intervention resulted in his 951 invasion of Italy. Berengar had to himself at San Marino, while Otto received the homage of the Italian nobility, married Adelaide himself. He afterwards returned to Germany, appointing his son-in-law Conrad the Red Italian regent at Pavia, Berengar by Conrads agency appeared at the 952 Reichstag in Augsburg and paid homage to Otto. When Otto had to deal with the revolt of his son, Duke Liudolf of Swabia in 953, Berengar attacked the Veronese march and also laid siege to Count Adalbert Attos Canossa Castle. In 960, Berengar invaded the Papal States under Pope John XII, on whose appeal finally King Otto, aiming at his coronation as Holy Roman Emperor, Berengars troops deserted him and Otto by Christmas 961 had taken Pavia by default and declared Berengar deposed
Berengar II of Italy
–
Berengar bows to King Otto, Manuscriptum Mediolanense, c. 1200
23.
Consanguinity
–
Consanguinity is the property of being from the same kinship as another person. In that aspect, consanguinity is the quality of being descended from the same ancestor as another person, the laws of many jurisdictions set out degrees of consanguinity in relation to prohibited sexual relations and marriage parties. Rules of Consanguinity are also used to determine heirs of an estate according to statutes that govern intestate succession, the Knot System is a numerical notation that defines consanguinity. Issues of consanguinity arise in several aspects of the law, Laws prohibiting incest govern the degree of kinship within which marriage or sexual intercourse is permitted. These are almost universally prohibited within the degree of consanguinity. Some jurisdictions forbid marriage between first cousins, while others do not, marriage with aunts and uncles is legal in several countries. Consanguinity is also relevant to inheritance, particularly with regard to intestate succession, in general, the law favors inheritance by persons closely related to the deceased. Some jurisdictions bar citizens from service on a jury on the basis of consanguinity with persons involved in the case, in many countries, laws prohibiting nepotism bar employment of, or certain kinds of contracts with, the near relations of public officers or employees. Under Roman civil law, which early canon law of the Catholic Church followed, in the ninth century the church raised the number of prohibited degrees to seven and changed the method by which they were calculated. Eventually the nobility became too interrelated to marry as the pool of non-related prospective spouses became smaller and they had to either defy the churchs position or look elsewhere for eligible marriage candidates. In 1215 the Fourth Lateran Council made what they believed was a change to canon law reducing the number of prohibited degrees of consanguinity from seven back to four. The method of calculating prohibited degrees was changed also, instead of the former practice of counting up to the common ancestor then down to the proposed spouse, the new law computed consanguinity by counting back to the common ancestor. After 1215 the general rule was that while fourth cousins could marry without dispensation, in fourteenth century England, for example, papal dispensations for annulments due to consanguinity were relatively few. The connotations of degree of consanguinity varies by context, most cultures define a degree of consanguinity within which sexual interrelationships are regarded as incestuous. The rule is strict on the mothers side, where the limit is about four generations back. This rule does not apply to Muslims or other ethnic groups, islamThe category includes those one is forbidden to marry due to relationship of blood as well as some who are forbidden due to marital relations. And do not marry women whom your fathers married except what has already passed and it was indeed obscene, hateful and an evil way. And those already married except those whom your right hand possesses, and allowed for you are all besides these if you seek them with your property seeking chastity not fornication
Consanguinity
–
Consanguinity of the
kings of France as shown in Arbor genealogiae regum Francorum (
Bernard Gui, early 14th century).
24.
Pope Gregory V
–
Pope Gregory V, born Bruno of Carinthia was Pope from 3 May 996 to his death in 999. He was a son of the Salian Otto I, Duke of Carinthia, Gregory V succeeded Pope John XV when only twenty-four years of age. He was the chaplain of his cousin Emperor Otto III, who presented him as candidate, Gregory V was the first German Pope. Politically, Gregory V acted consistently as the Emperors representative in Rome, one of his first acts was to crown Otto III Emperor on 21 May 996. The revolt of Crescentius II was decisively suppressed by the Emperor, John XVI fled, and Crescentius II shut himself up in the Castel SantAngelo. The Emperors troops pursued the antipope, captured him, cut off his nose and ears, cut out his tongue, blinded him and he was sent to the monastery of Fulda in Germany, where he lived until c. The Castel SantAngelo was besieged, and when it was taken in 998, Gregory V died suddenly, not without suspicion of foul play, on 18 February 999. He is buried in St. Peters Basilica near Pope Pelagius I and his successor was Gerbert, who took the name Sylvester II. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Herbermann, Charles. In, Salvador Miranda, The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, online at fiu. edu, Website of Florida International University, ein Salier auf dem Stuhl Petri, Online article on Gregory V, from the Diocese of Speyers publication, Der Pilger Gregorius V papa. Repertorium Historical Sources of the German Middle Ages, in, Salvador Miranda, The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, online at fiu. edu, Website of Florida International University, retrieved 5 November 2011. Ein Salier auf dem Stuhl Petri, online article about Gregory V, from the Diocese of Speyers circular, Der Pilger
Pope Gregory V
–
Pope Gregory V
Pope Gregory V
–
Pope Gregory V with Emperor Otto III. c. 1450
25.
Excommunication
–
The word excommunication means putting a specific individual or group out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group, Excommunication may involve banishment, shunning, and shaming, depending on the religion, the offense that caused excommunication, or the rules or norms of the religious community. 1 Corinthians 5, 1-8 directs the church at Corinth to excommunicate a man for sexual immorality, in 2 Corinthians 2, 5-11, the man, having repented and suffered the punishment by the majority is restored to the church. In Romans 16,17, Paul writes to mark those who cause divisions contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them. Also, in 2 John 1, 10-11, the writer advises believers that whosoever transgresseth and he that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed, within the Catholic Church, there are differences between the discipline of the majority Latin Church regarding excommunication and that of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Excommunication can be either latae sententiae or ferendae sententiae, according to Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki, excommunication does not expel the person from the Catholic Church, but simply forbids the excommunicated person from engaging in certain activities. g. A thus excommunicated bishop cannot validly invest a priest as pastor of a vacant parish and they are urged to retain a relationship with the Church, as the goal is to encourage them to repent and return to active participation in its life. These are the effects for those who have incurred a latae sententiae excommunication. Since excommunication excludes from reception of the sacraments, absolution from excommunication is required before absolution can be given from the sin that led to the censure, in many cases, the whole process takes place on a single occasion in the privacy of the confessional. For some more serious wrongdoings, absolution from excommunication is reserved to a bishop, another ordinary and these can delegate a priest to act on their behalf. Such ceremonies are not held today, and instead are simply announced by the bishop, interdict is a censure similar to excommunication. It too excludes from ministerial functions in public worship and from reception of the sacraments, in the Eastern Catholic Churches, excommunications is imposed only by decree, never incurred automatically by latae sententiae excommunication. A distinction is made between minor and major excommunication and those on whom minor excommunication has been imposed are excluded from receiving the Eucharist and can also be excluded from participating in the Divine Liturgy. They can even be excluded from entering a church when divine worship is being celebrated there, the decree of excommunication must indicate the precise effect of the excommunication and, if required, its duration. They are to be removed from participation in the Divine Liturgy, and they are deprived of the right to vote or to be elected. Minor excommunication is roughly equivalent to the interdict in Western law, under current law, an excommunicate is never vitandus. Persons belonging to an Eastern Catholic Church are never subject to a latae sententiae punishment, according to the Code of Canon Law of 1917, the excommunications reserved to the Apostolic See were grouped in three categories, those reserved 1
Excommunication
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An imaginative depiction of
Pope Gregory VII excommunicating Emperor
Henry IV.
Excommunication
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Details of the excommunication penalty at the foundling wheel. Venice, Italy.
Excommunication
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Former German
Catholic priest Martin Luther was excommunicated by
Pope Leo X in 1521.
Excommunication
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Plaque on exterior of the
Chiesa della Pietà in
Venice, the church of the orphanage. This is where the
foundling wheel once stood. The inscription declares, citing a 12 November 1548 papal bull of
Pope Paul III, that God inflicts "maledictions and excommunications" on all who abandon a child of theirs whom they have the means to rear, and that they cannot be absolved unless they first refund all expenses incurred.
26.
Pope Silvester II
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Pope Sylvester II or Silvester II was Pope from 2 April 999 to his death in 1003. Originally known as Gerbert of Aurillac, he was a prolific scholar and he is said to be the first to introduce in Europe the decimal numeral system using Arabic numerals. He was the first French Pope, Gerbert was born about 946 in the town of Belliac, near the present-day commune of Saint-Simon, Cantal, France. Around 963, he entered the monastery of St. Gerald of Aurillac, in the following years, Gerbert studied under the direction of Atto, Bishop of Vic, some 60 km north of Barcelona, and probably also at the nearby Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll. Neither place was under Islamic rule at the time, Borrell II of Barcelona was facing major defeat from the Andalusian powers so he sent a delegation to Córdoba to request a truce. Bishop Atto was part of the delegation met with Al-Hakam II of Cordoba. Atto was mesmerized by the palaces in Cordoba and returned with great respect for the Arabs, Gerbert insisted that Atto teach him more about these Arabic princes who seemed to him more interested in the sciences and literature than warfare. This sparked Gerberts veneration for the Arabs and his passion for mathematics, in 969, Count Borrell II made a pilgrimage to Rome, taking Gerbert with him. There Gerbert met Pope John XIII and the Emperor Otto I, the Pope persuaded Otto I to employ Gerbert as a tutor for his young son, the future Emperor Otto II. Some years later, Otto I gave Gerbert leave to study at the school of Rheims where he was soon appointed a teacher by Archbishop Adalberon. After the death of Otto II in 983, Gerbert became involved in the politics of his time, in 985, with the support of his archbishop, he opposed Lothair of Frances attempt to take the Lorraine from Emperor Otto III by supporting Hugh Capet. Capet became King of France, ending the Carolingian line of Kings in 987, Adalberon died on 23 January 989. Gerbert was a candidate for his succession, but Hugh Capet appointed Arnulf. Arnulf was deposed in 991 for alleged treason against the King, there was so much opposition to Gerberts elevation to the See of Rheims, however, that Pope John XV sent a legate to France who temporarily suspended Gerbert from his episcopal office. Gerbert sought to show that this decree was unlawful, but a further synod in 995 declared Arnulfs deposition invalid, Gerbert now became the teacher of Otto III, and Pope Gregory V, Otto IIIs cousin, appointed him Archbishop of Ravenna in 998. With the Emperors support, he was elected to succeed Gregory V as Pope in 999, Gerbert took the name of Sylvester II, alluding to Pope Sylvester I, the advisor to Emperor Constantine I. Soon after he was elected pope, Sylvester II confirmed the position of his former rival Arnulf as archbishop of Rheims, in 1001, the Roman populace revolted against the Emperor, forcing Otto III and Sylvester II to flee to Ravenna. Otto III led two expeditions to regain control of the city and died on a third expedition in 1002
Pope Silvester II
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Pope Sylvester II
Pope Silvester II
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Statue of Pope Sylvester II in Aurillac, Auvergne, France.
Pope Silvester II
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Pope Sylvester II and the Devil in an illustration of c. 1460.
Pope Silvester II
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Reconstructed
Ancient Roman Abacus.
27.
Fulk III, Count of Anjou
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Fulk III, the Black was an early Count of Anjou celebrated as one of the first great builders of medieval castles. He constructed an estimated 100 of them, along with abbeys and he fought successive wars with neighbors in Brittany, Blois, Poitou and Aquitaine and traveled four times to Jerusalem on pilgrimage during the course of his life. He had two wives and three children, Fulk was a natural horseman and a fearsome warrior, with a keen sense of military strategy that saw him get the better of most of his opponents. He was allied with the goals and aims of the Capetians against the dissipated Carolingians of his era, with his county seat at Angers, Fulk’s bitter enemy was Eudes II of Blois, his neighbor 128 km east along the Loire River, at Tours. The two men traded towns, followers and insults throughout their lives, Fulk finished his first castle at Langeais,104 km east of Angers, on the banks of the Loire, in 994. He built it in the territory of Eudes I, Count of Blois, but Eudes I died of a sudden illness, and his son and successor, Eudes II, did not manage to evict him. He also fortified the castles at Angers, Amboise, Chateau-Gontier, Chinon, Mayenne and Semblançay, “The construction of castles for the purpose of extending a ruler’s power was part of Fulk Nerra’s strategy, ” wrote Peter Fraser Purton, in A History of Medieval Siege, c. Although he never learned to write, he endowed a school with revenue to provide students with an education. Fulk also undertook four pilgrimages to Jerusalem and he was the son of Geoffrey I of Anjou, also known as Geoffrey Grisegonelle, and Adélaide of Vermandois. He had a sister, Hermengarde, who married Conan of Brittany. A half-brother, Maurice, was born in 980, Fulk married Elisabeth de Vendôme, daughter of Count Bouchard of Vendome, and they had a daughter, Adèle. Married Bodon, son of Landry, count of Nevers and their eldest son, Bouchard, inherited Vendôme. Fulk married Hildegarde de Sundgau, whose family was from Lorraine and they had two children, Geoffroy, in 1006, who became known as Geoffroy Martel, succeeded Fulk as count of Anjou in 1040. Fulk Nerra’s first victory was in June 992 at Battle of Conquereuil, Conan’s territorial ambitions had been quashed by Geoffroy Grisgonelle in 980, and seven years later, he planned an ambush on Angers while Fulk was at the crowning of Robert the Pious. Fulk and his men foiled the ambush, killing Conan’s son, in 992 Fulk laid siege to Conan’s castle at Nantes, but he slipped away to Conquereuil. Conan was killed in the battle, and Fulk set up as governor a regent, while Fulk and Eudes II fought many skirmishes over territory and alliances, their biggest battle occurred in July 1016 at Battle of Pontlevoy. Eudes was marching a large troop of 10,000 men southward toward Fulk’s tower at Montboyau when Fulk, Fulk’s men were routed, and retreated, and Eudes, thinking the battle won, went for a swim in the Cher River. Reinforcements arrived to help Fulk, and they returned and slaughtered Eudes men, Fulk also undertook four pilgrimages to Jerusalem, seeking forgiveness for his sins in at least two of the journeys
Fulk III, Count of Anjou
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Seal of Foulque III
Fulk III, Count of Anjou
–
Foulque Nerra's castle keep at
Loches.
28.
Pope Sergius IV
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It can also refer to Sergius IV of Naples, Duke of Naples in 1002–36. Pope Sergius IV was Pope and the ruler of the Papal States from 31 July 1009 to his death in 1012 and he was born in Rome as Pietro Martino Buccaporci, which essentially translates as Peter Martin Pigs Snout. The date of his birth is unknown but is believed to be around 970, Buccaporci was the son of a shoemaker also by the name of Pietro. Despite his familys background, he performed well after entering the Church. In 1004, he became the Cardinal-Bishop of Albano after he became a cardinal and he was elected pope after the abdication of Pope John XVIII in 1009, and adopted the name Sergius IV. The power held by Sergius IV was small and often overshadowed by John Crescentius III, some historians have claimed that Sergius IV was essentially a puppet ruler for Crescentius III. Others, however, claimed that the Pope resisted his power, acts sometimes attributed to Sergius IV include measures to relieve famine in the city of Rome, and the exemption of certain monasteries from episcopal rule. More recently, Hans Martin Schaller has forcefully argued for the documents authenticity. Sergius IV died on 12 May 1012 and was buried in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, there was some suspicion that he was murdered, as he died within a week of Crescentius, considered by many to have been his patron. Sergius was followed in the papacy by Pope Benedict VIII
Pope Sergius IV
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Pope Sergius IV
29.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
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The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, a few steps away from the Muristan. The tomb is enclosed by the 18th-century shrine, called the Aedicule, within the church proper are the last four Stations of the Via Dolorosa, representing the final episodes of Jesus Passion. The main denominations sharing property over parts of the church are the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Roman Catholic, and to a lesser degree the Egyptian Copts, Syriacs and Ethiopians. According to Eusebius of Caesarea, the Roman emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD built a dedicated to the goddess Venus in order to bury the cave in which Jesus had been buried. The first Christian emperor, Constantine the Great, ordered in about 325/326 that the temple be replaced by a church, during the building of the Church, Constantines mother, Helena, is believed to have rediscovered the tomb. Socrates Scholasticus, in his Ecclesiastical History, gives a description of the discovery. The remains are enveloped by a marble sheath placed some 500 years before to protect the ledge from Ottoman attacks. However, there are several thick window wells extending through the marble sheath and they appear to reveal an underlying limestone rock, which may be part of the original living rock of the tomb. The church was starting in 325/326, and was consecrated on 13 September 335. From pilgrim reports it seems that the housing the tomb of Jesus was freestanding at first. Each year, the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the anniversary of the consecration of the Church of the Resurrection on 13 September and this building was damaged by fire in May of 614 when the Sassanid Empire, under Khosrau II, invaded Jerusalem and captured the True Cross. In 630, the Emperor Heraclius restored it and rebuilt the church after recapturing the city, after Jerusalem came under Arab rule, it remained a Christian church, with the early Muslim rulers protecting the citys Christian sites. A story reports that the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab visited the church and stopped to pray on the balcony and he feared that future generations would misinterpret this gesture, taking it as a pretext to turn the church into a mosque. Eutychius added that Umar wrote a decree prohibiting Muslims from praying at this location, the building suffered severe damage due to an earthquake in 746. Early in the century, another earthquake damaged the dome of the Anastasis. The damage was repaired in 810 by Patriarch Thomas, in the year 841, the church suffered a fire. In 935, the Orthodox Christians prevented the construction of a Muslim mosque adjacent the Church, in 938, a new fire damaged the inside of the basilica and came close to the rotunda. In 966, due to a defeat of Muslim armies in the region of Syria, the doors and roof were burnt, and the Patriarch John VII was murdered
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
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Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
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Directly above the
Catholicon, a view of the
Christ Pantocrator in the dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
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Golgotha altar
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
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View of Holy Sepulchre courtyard
30.
Jerusalem
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Jerusalem is a city located on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is considered a city in the three major Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, the part of Jerusalem called the City of David was settled in the 4th millennium BCE. In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent, today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters—known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger, Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old Citys boundaries. These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, the sobriquet of holy city was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Septuagint which Christians adopted as their own authority, was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesuss crucifixion there, in Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. As a result, despite having an area of only 0, outside the Old City stands the Garden Tomb. Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it into Jerusalem, one of Israels Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the countrys undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset, the residences of the Prime Minister and President, the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital, and the city hosts no foreign embassies. Jerusalem is also home to some non-governmental Israeli institutions of importance, such as the Hebrew University. In 2011, Jerusalem had a population of 801,000, of which Jews comprised 497,000, Muslims 281,000, a city called Rušalim in the Execration texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt is widely, but not universally, identified as Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called Urušalim in the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba, the name Jerusalem is variously etymologized to mean foundation of the god Shalem, the god Shalem was thus the original tutelary deity of the Bronze Age city. The form Yerushalem or Yerushalayim first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua, according to a Midrash, the name is a combination of Yhwh Yireh and the town Shalem. The earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961. The inscription states, I am Yahweh thy God, I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem, or as other scholars suggest, the mountains of Judah belong to him, to the God of Jerusalem
Jerusalem
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From upper left: Jerusalem skyline viewed from Givat ha'Arba,
Mamilla, the
Old City and the
Dome of the Rock, a
souq in the
Old City, the
Knesset, the
Western Wall, the
Tower of David and the
Ottoman Old City walls
Jerusalem
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Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Yerushalayim)
Arabic: القُدس (al-Quds)
Aramaic: יְרוּשְׁלֶם (Yərushəlem)
Jerusalem
Jerusalem
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Stepped Stone Structure in
Ophel /
City of David, the oldest part of Jerusalem
31.
Duchy of Burgundy
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Upon the extinction of the line with the death of Duke Philip I in 1361, the duchy fell back to King John II of France and the royal House of Valois. The Burgundian duchy rose to a complex of a European scale after in 1363 King John II of France ceded the duchy to his younger son Philip of Valois. By his marriage with Countess Margaret of Flanders, he laid the foundation for a Burgundian realm further north in the Low Countries collectively known as the Burgundian Netherlands. The Burgundian sphere, in its own right, was one of the largest ducal territories that existed at the time of the emergence of Early Modern Europe. Including the thriving regions of Flanders and Brabant, it was a centre of trade. After about one hundred years of Valois-Burgundy rule, however, the last duke Charles the Bold rushed to the Burgundian Wars and was killed in the 1477 Battle of Nancy. With the abdication of the Habsburg emperor Charles V in 1556, the Burgundians settled in the area around Dijon, Chalon-sur-Saône, Mâcon, Autun and Châtillon-sur-Seine, and gave the name to the region. The Kingdom of the Burgundians was annexed by the Merovingian Kings of the Franks Childebert I in 534 following their defeat by the Franks and it was recreated, however, on several occasions when Frankish territories were redivided between the sons on the death of a Frankish king. As part of the Kingdom of the Franks, Burgundy maintained a semi-autonomous existence, with the Burgundians maintaining their own law code, however, southern Burgundy was pillaged by the Saracen invasion of the 8th century. When Charles Martel drove the invaders out, he divided Burgundy into four commands, Arles-Burgundy, Vienne-Burgundy, Alamanic Burgundy and he appointed his brother Childebrand governor of Frankish Burgundy. Under the Carolingians, Burgundian separatism lessened and Burgundy became a geographical term. As a vital military defender of the West Frankish border, Guerin was sometimes known by the Latin term for leader – Dux or Duke, by the time of Richard the Justiciar, the Duchy of Burgundy was beginning to emerge. Richard was officially recognised by the king as a duke, he stood as individual count of each county he held. As Duke of Burgundy, he was able to wield an increasing amount of power over his territory, to the collective body of his territory there came to be applied the term ducatus. Included in the ducatus of Richard were the regions of Autunais, Beaunois, Avalois, Lassois, Dijonais, Memontois, Attuyer, Oscheret, under Richard, these territories were given law and order, protected from the Normans, and served as a haven for persecuted monks. It was from his territories in Burgundy that he drew the resources needed to fight those who challenged his right to rule, under Hugh the Black came the beginning of what would be a long and troubled saga for Burgundy. His neighbours were the Robertian family, who held the title of Duke of Francia and this family, wanting to improve their standing in France and against the Carolingian kings, attempted to subject the duchy to the suzerainty of their own duchy. They failed, eventually, when they appeared close to success, they were forced to scrap the scheme, two brothers of Hugh Capet, the first Capetian King of France, took up the rule of Burgundy as duke
Duchy of Burgundy
–
Flag
32.
Duke of Burgundy
–
Under the Ancien Régime, the Duke of Burgundy was the premier lay peer of the kingdom of France. Beginning with Robert II of France, the title was held by the Capetians and it was granted to Roberts younger son, Robert, who founded the House of Burgundy. When the senior line of the House of Burgundy became extinct, John granted the duchy as an appanage for his younger son, Philip the Bold. The Valois Dukes of Burgundy became dangerous rivals to the line of the House of Valois. When the male line of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy became extinct, today, the title is used by the House of Bourbon as a revived courtesy title. His descendants and their relatives by marriage ruled the duchy until its annexation over a century later by the French crown, their suzerain. Richard the Justiciar Rudolph, then King of France Hugh the Black Gilbert Otto Eudes Henry the Great Otto William In 1004, Burgundy was annexed by the king, Otto William continued to rule what would come to be called the Free County of Burgundy. His descendants formed another House of Ivrea, Robert Henry Robert, son of Robert II of France, received the Duchy as a peace settlement, having disputed the succession to the throne of France with his brother Henry. John II of France, the second Valois king, successfully claimed the Duchy after the death of Philip, John then passed the duchy to his youngest son Philip as an apanage. In 1477, the territory of the Duchy of Burgundy was annexed by France, in the same year, Mary married Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, giving the Habsburgs control of the remainder of the Burgundian Inheritance. They often used the term Burgundy to refer to it, until the late 18th century, at the same time, various members of the French royal family, most notably Louis, Dauphin of France, the father of Louis XV of France, also used the title. Duchess of Burgundy Kingdom of Burgundy King of Burgundy Duchy of Burgundy County of Burgundy Count of Burgundy Dukes of Burgundy family tree Calmette, the Golden Age of Burgundy, the Magnificent Dukes and Their Courts. Les Origines du Duché de Bourgogne
Duke of Burgundy
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Robert I the Old (Robert I er le Vieux)
Duke of Burgundy
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Cross of Burgundy Flag
Duke of Burgundy
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Odo I Borel the Red (Eudes I er Borel le Roux)
Duke of Burgundy
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Hugh II (Hugues II)
33.
Beaugency
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Beaugency is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. It is located on the Loire river, upriver from Blois,11 March 1152 the council of Beaugency doomed the marriage between Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII. Aaron ben Joseph of Beaugency was a French Bible commentator and rabbinical scholar, the lords of Beaugency attained considerable importance in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, at the end of the 13th century they sold the fiefdom to the Crown. Afterward it passed to the house of Orléans, then to those of Dunois and Longueville, the city of Beaugency has been the site of numerous military conflicts. It was occupied on four occasions by the English. On June 16–17,1429, it was the site of the famous Battle of Beaugency, Beaugency also played an important strategic role in the Hundred Years War. It was burned by the Protestants in 1567 and suffered damage to the walls, the castle. On the 8th, 9th and 10 December 1870, the Prussian army, commanded by the grand-duke of Mecklenburg, defeated the French army of the Loire, under General Chanzy and it was fought on the right bank of the Loire to the northwest of Beaugency. In 1940 and again in 1944, the city was bombed by Nazi Germany, on 16 September 1944, German Major General Botho Henning Elster and his 18850 men and 754 officers surrendered at the Loire bridge of Beaugency to French résistance. Until 1846 Beaugency was an important commercial center due to trade along the Loire, after trade moved from the river to rail traffic, the citys role changed. Beaugency became a center for the surrounding agricultural district. Today Beaugencys economy depends largely on tourism, medieval keep 47°46′39″N 1°37′59″E Lock of Dunois Church Saint Etienne Abbey church City hall Bridge INSEE statistics Beaugency yesterday, vintage cards
Beaugency
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Château de Beaugency
Beaugency
–
City hall
34.
Richard III of Normandy
–
Not to be confused with Richard III Richard III was the eldest son of Richard II who died in 1026. Richards short reign lasted less than a year and it opened with a revolt by his brother and finished in his death by unknown causes. When Richard II died in August 1026, his eldest son, shortly after his reign began his brother Robert, discontented with his province of Hiemois on the border of Normandy, revolted against his brother. He laid siege to the town of Falaise, but was brought to heel by Richard who captured him. No sooner had Richard disbanded his army and returned to Rouen, the duchy passed to his younger brother Robert I. In January 1027 he was married to Adela, of a noble lineage and she is usually identified with Adela, a younger daughter of King Robert II of France, who after Richards death 6 August 1027, remarried to Baldwin V, Count of Flanders. Richards marriage to Adela was childless, by an unknown woman, he had two children, Alice/Alix, who married Ranulph, Viscount of Bayeux Nicolas, Monk at Fecamp, Abbot of Saint-Ouen, Rouen
Richard III of Normandy
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Richard III as part of the Six Dukes of Normandy statue in the town square of Falaise.
35.
Baldwin V of Flanders
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Baldwin V of Flanders was Count of Flanders from 1035 until his death. He was the son of Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders, during a long war as an ally of Godfrey the Bearded, Duke of Lorraine, against the Holy Roman Emperor Henry III, he initially lost Valenciennes to Herman, Count of Mons. Upon the death of Henry III this marriage was acknowledged by treaty by Agnes de Poitou, mother, Baldwin V played host to a grateful dowager queen Emma of England, during her enforced exile, at Bruges. He supplied armed security guards, entertainment, comprising a band of minstrels, Bruges was a bustling commercial centre, and Emma fittingly grateful to the citizens. She dispensed generously to the poor, making contact with the monastery of Saint Bertin at St Omer, from 1060 to 1067 Baldwin was the co-Regent with Anne of Kiev for his nephew-by-marriage Philip I of France, indicating the importance he had acquired in international politics. As Count of Maine, Baldwin supported the King of France in most affairs, but he was also father-in-law to William of Normandy, who had married his daughter Matilda. Flanders played a role in Edward the Confessors foreign policy. Baldwins half-sister had married Earl Godwins third son, Tostig, the half-Viking Godwinsons had spent their exile in Dublin, at a time William of Normandy was fiercely defending his duchy. It is unlikely however that Baldwin intervened to prevent the invasion plans of England. By 1066, Baldwin was an old man, and died the following year, Baldwin and Adèle are known to have had three children, Baldwin VI, 1030–1070 Matilda, c. 1031–1083 who married William the Conqueror Robert I of Flanders, c, but this belief is not accepted by the other historians, including Charles Cawley of Medieval Lands and Stewart Baldwin of The Henry Project. D. Sir Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, The Oxford History of England Heather J. Tanner, Families, Friends and Allies, Boulogne and Politics in Northern France and England, c. 879-1160, ISBN 978-9004132436 Harriet H. Wood, The Battle of Hastings, The Fall of Anglo-Saxon England, ISBN 978-1843548072
Baldwin V of Flanders
–
Baldwin V, Count of Flanders
36.
Robert the Strong
–
Robert the Strong, also known as Rutpert, also known as Robert IV of Worms, was Margrave in Neustria. His family is named after him and called the Robertians, in 853 he was named missus dominicus by Charles the Bald, King of West Francia. He was the father of two kings of West Francia Odo and Robert I of France, Robert the Strong was the great-grandfather of Hugh Capet and thus the ancestor of all the Capetians. Robert was a son of Robert III of Worms, during the reign of Louis the German in East Francia, the Robertian family emigrated from East Francia to West Francia. After their arrival in his realm Charles the Bald rewarded the family defecting from his enemy by assigning to Robert the lay abbacy of Marmoutier in 852. Roberts rise came at the expense of the family of the Rorigonids and was designed to curb their regional power and to defend Neustria from Viking. In 858 Robert joined a rebellion against Charles the Bald, with the Bretons under Salomon he led the Frankish nobles of Neustria and invited Louis the German to invade West Francia and receive their homage. Charles had given Robert the counties of Autun and Nevers in Burgundy, but following Erispoes assassination in November 857, he and Salomon rebelled against Charles. Robert’s Neustrians chased Louis the Stammerer from Le Mans in 858, later that year, Louis the German reached Orléans and received delegations from the Breton and Neustrian leaders, as well as from Pepin II. In 861, Charles made peace with Robert and appointed him Count of Anjou, thereafter Robert successfully defended the northern coast against a Viking invasion. In 862 Charles granted Louis the Stammerer, his son, the lay abbacy of Saint Martin of Tours—a worthy benefice but small in comparison with the kingdom he had received in 856, and lost in 858. The young Louis rebelled and, befriended by Salomon who supplied him with troops, in 862 two Viking fleets converged on Brittany, one had recently been forced out of the Seine by Charles the Bald, the other was returning from a Mediterranean expedition. Salomon hired the Mediterranean fleet to ravage the Loire valley in Nuestria, Robert captured twelve of their ships, killing all on board save a few who fled. He then hired the former Seine Vikings to attack Salomon’s realm for 6,000 pounds silver, robert’s apparent purpose was to prevent the Vikings from serving Salomon. He presumably collected an amount in taxes for a Danegeld to pay for keeping the Vikings out of Neustria. But peace between the Franks and the Vikings did not last long, in 863 Salomon made his peace, Charles now made Robert Lay abbot of the influential abbey St. Martin at Tours. Robert warred with Pepin II in his later years, in 863 he again defended Autun from Louis the German, he campaigned in Neustria in 865 and again in 866, shortly before his death, dealing with Bretons and Vikings ravaging the environs of Le Mans. On 2 July 866, Robert was killed at the Battle of Brissarthe while defending Francia against a joint Breton-Viking raiding party led by Salomon, King of Brittany, during the battle the Viking commander was entrapped in a nearby church
Robert the Strong
–
Map of early Frankland, showing Austrasia, where Robert the Strong originated, and Neustria, between the
Seine and
Loire, where he held the most power.
37.
Robert I of France
–
Robert I of France was the elected King of West Francia from 922 to 923. Before his election to the throne he was Count of Poitiers, Count of Paris and Marquis of Neustria and he succeeded the overthrown Carolingian king Charles the Simple, who in 898 had succeeded Roberts brother, king Odo. Robert was born in 866 as the son of Robert the Strong, count of Anjou, and the brother of Odo. In time West Francia evolved into Kingdom of France, and under Odo, Robert and Odo came from the Robertian dynasty out of which the Capetian dynasty grew. In 885 Robert participated in the defence of Paris during the Viking siege of Paris and he was appointed by Odo as the ruler of several counties, including the county of Paris, and abbot in commendam of many abbeys. Robert also secured the office of Dux Francorum, a dignity of high importance. He did not claim the crown of West Francia when his brother died in 898, instead recognizing the supremacy of the Carolingian king, Charles then confirmed Robert in his offices and possessions, after which he continued to defend northern Francia from the attacks of Vikings. Robert defeated a band of Vikings in the Loire Valley in 921, after which the defeated invaders converted to Christianity. The peace between the king Charles the Simple and his powerful vassal was not seriously disturbed until about 921 when Charles favoritism towards Hagano aroused rebellion. Roberts rule was contested by the Viking leader Rollo, who had settled in Duchy of Normandy in 911 with the permission of Charles the Simple, during Roberts reign, Rollo remained loyal to Charles, who continued to contest his deposition. Gathering an army, Charles marched against Robert, and on 15 June 923 in a battle near Soissons Robert was killed, however, his army won the battle and Charles was captured. Charles remained a captive until his death in 929, Robert was succeeded as king by his son-in-law Rudolph, Count of Burgundy, also known as Raoul. By her, he had, Hildebrant of France to Herbert II of Vermandois and Emma of France, married to Rudolph, Robert married for the second time c. 890 to Béatrice of Vermandois, daughter of Herbert I of Vermandois. Together they had, Adela, married Herbert II, Count of Vermandois Emma of France, married to Rudolph, Duke of Burgundy Hugh the Great, Hugh was the father of the future Hugh Capet, King of the Franks. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
Robert I of France
–
Robert I
Robert I of France
–
Pepin (751–768)
Charlemagne (768–814)
Carloman I (768–771)
Louis the Pious (814–840)
Charles the Bald (840–877)
Louis the Stammerer (877–879)
Louis III (879–882)
Carloman II (879–884)
Charles the Fat (884–888)
Charles the Simple (898–922)
Louis IV (936–954)
Lothaire (954–986)
Louis V (986–987)
38.
Otto I, Duke of Saxony
–
Otto, called the Illustrious by later authors, was the Duke of Saxony from 880 to his death. He was father of Henry the Fowler and grandfather of Otto the Great and he also was father-in-law of Zwentibold, Carolingian King of Lotharingia. He was the son of Duke Liudolf of Saxony and his wife Oda of Billung. His family, named after his father, is called the Liudolfing, by a charter of King Louis the Younger to Gandersheim Abbey dated 26 January 877, the pago Suththuringa is described as in comitatu Ottonis. In a charter of 28 January 897, Otto is described as marchio and he was also the lay abbot of Hersfeld Abbey in 908. He was described as magni ducis Oddonis by Widukind of Corvey when describing the marriage of his sister, Liutgard, to King Louis. He was a prince and his overlords, Louis the Younger and Emperor Arnulf of Carinthia. In Saxony, Otto was king in practice and he established himself as ruler over the neighbouring Slav tribes. The truthfulness of this report is considered doubtful, ottos wife was Hathui of Babenberg, daughter of Henry of Franconia. Otto was and is buried in the church of Gandersheim Abbey and he had two sons, Thankmar and Liudolf, who predeceased him, but his third son Henry succeeded him as duke of Saxony and was later elected king. His daughter Oda married the Carolingian King Zwentibold of Lotharingia, a Companion to Hrotsvit of Gandersheim, Contextual and Interpretive Approaches, ed. Phyllis R. Brown and Stephen L. Wailes, Brill,2013. Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056
Otto I, Duke of Saxony
–
Otto I Dux, Chronica Sancti Pantaleonis, Cologne, about 1237
39.
Henry the Fowler
–
Henry the Fowler was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the elected king of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. An avid hunter, he obtained the epithet the Fowler because he was fixing his birding nets when messengers arrived to inform him that he was to be king. By his death in July 936 Henry had prevented collapse of royal power, as had happened in West Francia, Henry died on July 2,936 in his royal palace in Memleben, one of his favourite places. He was buried at Quedlinburg Abbey, established by his wife Matilda in his honor, in 906 he married Hatheburg von Merseburg, daughter of the Saxon count Erwin. She had previously been a nun, the marriage was annulled in 909 because her vows as a nun were deemed by the church to remain valid. She had already given birth to Henrys son Thankmar, the annulment placed a question mark over Thankmars legitimacy. Later that year he married Matilda, daughter of Dietrich of Ringelheim, Matilda bore him three sons, one called Otto, and two daughters, Hedwig and Gerberga, and founded many religious institutions, including the Quedlinburg Abbey where Henry is buried. Henry became Duke of Saxony after his fathers death in 912, an able ruler, he continued to strengthen the position of his duchy within the weakening kingdom of East Francia, and was frequently in conflict with his neighbors to the South in Duchy of Franconia. On December 23,918 Conrad I, king of East Francia and Franconian duke, although Henry had rebelled against Conrad I between 912 and 915 over the lands in Thuringia, Conrad recommended Henry as his successor. Kingship now changed from Franks to Saxons, who had suffered greatly during the conquests of Charlemagne and were proud of their identity, Henry, as Saxon, was the first non-Frank on the throne. Conrads choice was conveyed by his brother, duke Eberhard III of Franconia at the Imperial Diet of Fritzlar in 919, the assembled Franconian and Saxon nobles elected Henry to be king with other regional dukes not participating in election. Henry, who was elected to kingship by only Saxons and Franconians at Fritzlar, had to subdue other dukes, Duke Arnulf of Bavaria did not submit until Henry defeated him in two campaigns in 921. Henry besieged his residence at Ratisbon and forced Arnulf into submission, Arnulf had crowned himself as king of Bavaria in 919, but in 921 renounced crown and submitted to Henry while maintaining large autonomy and the right to mint his own coins. Duke Burchard II of Swabia soon swore fealty to the new King, Henry was too weak to impose absolutist rule, and regarded his kingdom as a confederation of stem duchies rather than as a feudal monarchy and saw himself as primus inter pares. In 920 king of West Francia Charles the Simple invaded and marched as far as Pfeddersheim near Worms, on November 7,921, Henry and Charles met and concluded a treaty of friendship. Henry then saw an opportunity to wrest Lotharingia when a war over royal succession began in West Francia after coronation of king Robert I. In 923 Henry crossed the Rhine twice, capturing a part of the duchy. The eastern part of Lotharingia was left in Henrys possession until October 924, in 925 duke Gilbert of Lotharingia rebelled
Henry the Fowler
–
Henry's seal from a document of 30 March 925. He is portrayed as a warrior, with a spear and shield. The words are HEINRICUS REX (King Henry).
Henry the Fowler
–
Legend of the German crown offered to Henry,
Hermann Vogel (1854–1921)
Henry the Fowler
–
Himmler at Henry's grave, 1938
40.
Hedwige of Saxony
–
Hedwige of Saxony, a member of the Ottonian dynasty, was Duchess consort of the Franks by her marriage to the Robertian duke Hugh the Great, a descendant of Emperor Charlemagne. Upon her husbands death in 956, she acted as a regent during the minority of their son Hugh Capet, the founder of the Elder House of Capet. After her brother Otto I came to power in 936, an alliance and marriage was arranged with the West Frankish duke Hugh the Great and they married probably in May 937. With Hugh, Hedwig had the children, Beatrice married Frederick I. Hugh Capet, who was crowned King of France in 987, emma of Paris, who married Duke Richard I of Normandy in 960. Otto, Duke of Burgundy Henry I, Duke of Burgundy When Hedwigs husband died in 956, although Hugh inherited his fathers estates, he did not rule independently from the beginning. Along with her brother, Archbishop Bruno, Hedwig acted as Hughs regent, Bruno also held guardianship over his nephew King Lothair of France, son of his sister Gerberga, and temporarily raised to one of the most powerful nobles in West Francia. Hedwig backed her brother in his conflict with Count Reginar III of Hainaut, Hedwig is last mentioned in 958 by the West Frankish chronicler Flodoard of Reims and may have died soonafter, a 965 entry by Sigebert of Gembloux seems doubtful. W. Glocker, Die Verwandten der Ottonen und ihre Bedeutung in der Politik, studien zur Familienpolitik und zur Genealogie des sächsischen Kaiserhauses. J. Michelet, History of France, Vol. I, P. Riché, The Carolingians, A Family Who Forged Europe, trans. Medieval Lands Project Hadwig von Sachsen
Hedwige of Saxony
–
Hedwige of Saxony
41.
Matilda of Ringelheim
–
Saint Matilda was Duchess of Saxony from 912 and German queen from 919 by her marriage with Henry the Fowler, the first king of the Ottonian dynasty. Upon her husbands death in 936, she founded Quedlinburg Abbey to commemorate the late king, Matilda lived to see Western Imperial rule restored when her eldest son Otto was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962. Her surname refers to Ringelheim, where her comital Immedinger relatives established a nunnery about 940, the details of St. Matilda was born in Enger near Herford, in the Westphalian part of the German stem duchy of Saxony. She was the daughter of the local count Dietrich and his wife Reinhild, Matildas biographers traced her ancestry back to the legendary Saxon leader Widukind, who presumably was buried in the Enger church. Her sister Frederuna married Count Wichmann the Elder, a member of the Billung dynasty, by the conjugal union, the Ottonian dynasty considerably enlarged their possessions in the western parts of Saxony. Henrys previous marriage with Hatheburg of Merseburg was annulled and they were married at the Pfalz of Wallhausen in 909. As the eldest surviving son, Henry succeeded his father as Duke of Saxony in 912, in 929 Matilda received the estates of Quedlinburg, Pöhlde, Nordhausen in Thuringia, Grona, and Duderstadt as her wittum. After her husband died in 936 at Memleben, Matilda and her son, now King Otto I of East Francia, the abbey was a convent of noble canonesses, where her granddaughter, also named Matilda, became abbess in 966. At first the Queen Mother remained at the court of her son, during quarrels between the new king and his rebellious brother Henry, Matilda seemed to have favoured her younger son, as he was born after his fathers accession to the throne. In turn, a cabal of royal advisors is reported to have accused her of decreasing the royal treasury in order to pay for her charitable activities. Matilda died after long illness on 14 March 968 in Quedlinburg Abbey, outliving her husband by 32 years and her and Henrys mortal remains are buried in the crypt of St. Servatius Church in Quedlinburg. Medieval chroniclers like Liutprand of Cremona and Thietmar of Merseburg celebrated Matilda for her devotion to prayer and her first biographer depicted her leaving her husbands side in the middle of the night and sneaking off to church to pray. St. Matilda founded many religious institutions, including the canonry of Quedlinburg and she also founded the convents of St. Wigbert in Quedlinburg, in Pöhlde, Enger, and Nordhausen, likely the source of at least one of her vitae. She was later canonized, with her cult largely confined to Saxony, St. Matildas feast day according to the regional German calendar of saints is 14 March. In 1856–58 the Neo-Gothic St. Matildas Church was erected in Quedlinburg, another St. Matildas Church was consecrated in Laatzen, Lower Saxony in 1938. The Melkite Greek Catholic community of Aleppo built a dedicated to Saint Matilda in 1964. There is a glass window dedicated to Saint Matilda in the parish church of Coole. Widukind, Res gestae Saxonicae, ed. Paul Hirsch and H. -E, lohmann, Die Sachsengeschichte des Widukind von Korvei
Matilda of Ringelheim
–
Heinricus rex and Methildis regina, Chronica St. Pantaleonis, 12th century
42.
Ranulf II of Aquitaine
–
Ranulf II was Count of Poitou from 866 and Duke of Aquitaine from 887. On the death of Charles the Fat in 888, he styled himself King of Aquitaine and did so until 889 or his death, Ranulf was a son of Ranulf I and Bilichild of Maine. He married an Ermengard and by her had a son, Ranulf III and his illegitimate son Ebalus succeeded him in Aquitaine and, upon the death of Ranulf III, in Poitiers too. Ranulf may have selected as a king by the Aquitainian nobles. Only the Annales Fuldenses definitively give him this title, saying Ranulf then set himself up as king and he is recorded to have taken custody of Charles, the young son of Louis the Stammerer and he certainly did not recognise Odo as king. The Annales Vedastes record that in 889 Post nativitatem vero Domini cum paucis Francis Aquitaniam perrexit, aquitanos itaque rex ex parte receptos, festinavit propter Nortmannos redire in Franciam. After Christmas, went to Aquitaine with a few Franks, in order to be accepted, so the king returned from Aquitaine to France because of the Norsemen. Ranulf founded the viscountcy of Thouars at about time, as part of a larger movement to create viscounts with powers over regional fortresses to man them against the Vikings. Ramnulfids Dukes of Aquitaine family tree Lewis, Archibald Ross, the Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050. University of Texas Press, Austin,1965, kingship and Politics in the Late Ninth Century, Charles the Fat and the end of the Carolingian Empire
Ranulf II of Aquitaine
–
Guerin
43.
Ebalus, Duke of Aquitaine
–
Ebalus or Ebles Manzer or Manser was Count of Poitou and Duke of Aquitaine on two occasions, from 890 to 892, and then from 902 until his death in 935 and from 928 until 932. Ebles was a son of Ranulf II of Aquitaine. Manzer or Mamzer is a Hebrew word that means bastard, son of a forbidden relationship, upon the death of his father, Ebles assumed his father’s mantle and acquired the role of Count of Poitou. But Ebles could not hold on to the title for long, Aymar, a descendant of one of Ramnulf II’s predecessors, challenged Ebles right to rule, as Ebles was merely a bastard son. William the Pious had taken Ebles under his care and assured the boy’s education after the death of Ebles’ father. In 902, Ebles, with the assistance of William the Pious, a distant relative, conquered Poitiers while Aymar was away, charles III, who knew Ebles as a childhood companion, then formally invested Ebles with the title, Count of Poitou. Ebles would hold this title until his death, the comital title was the only one to which he ever had legitimate investiture. Ebles allotted the abbey of Saint-Maixent to Savary, Viscount of Thouars and he restructured Poitou by creating new viscounties in Aulnay and Melle and dissolved the title and position of Viscount of Poitou upon the death of its holder, Maingaud, in 925. In 904, he conquered the Limousin, in 911 he, with two other French commanders were aligned in opposition to Rollo, a Norwegian invader who had plundered the countryside. Ebles and the two commanders intended to lead their armies in defense of the city of Chartres. Rollo and his forces were routed, smitten, as the legend tells. A panic assuredly fell upon the commander, a species of mental infirmity discernible in his descendants. Unpursued, they dispersed and fled without resistance, at the end of the day,6,800 Danes lay dead on the field of battle. Ebles was somewhat slow in arriving at Chartres, so he was unable to take his due share in the conflict and his victorious partners proudly boasted of their success, and mocked Ebles and his tardy army. To redeem his honor and quiet the ridicule, Ebles accepted a challenge to confront the remant of the Danish army that remained camped on the Mont-Levis, but instead of driving the Danes away, Ebles’ army was defeated soundly. In the dark of the night, the Northmen, sounding their horns and making a terrible clamour, rushed down the mount, Ebles fled and hid in a drum in a fuller’s workshop. His cowardice and dishonor was derided in a popular French ballad of the Plantagenet age, when Ebles’ benefactor, William the Pious, died, William was succeeded as Duke of Aquitaine by William the Younger. In 927, William the Younger died, and he left his title to his brother Acfred, but Acfred did not live even a year
Ebalus, Duke of Aquitaine
–
Guerin
44.
William III, Duke of Aquitaine
–
William III, called Towhead from the colour of his hair, was the Count of the Duchy of Aquitaine from 959 and Duke of Aquitaine from 962 to his death. He was also the Count of Poitou from 935 and Count of Auvergne from 950, the primary sources for his reign are Ademar of Chabannes, Dudo of Saint-Quentin, and William of Jumièges. William was son of Ebalus Manzer and Emilienne and he claimed the Duchy of Aquitaine from his fathers death, but the royal chancery did not recognise his ducal title until the year before his own death. Shortly after the death of King Rudolph in 936, he was constrained to some land to Hugh the Great by Louis IV. He did it with grace, but his relationship with Hugh thenceforward deteriorated, in 950, Hugh was reconciled with Louis and granted the duchies of Burgundy and Aquitaine. He tried to conquer Aquitaine with Louiss assistance, but William defeated them, Lothair, Louiss successor, feared the power of William. In August 955 he joined Hugh to besiege Poitiers, which resisted successfully, William, however, gave battle and was routed. After the death of Hugh, his son Hugh Capet was named duke of Aquitaine and he was given the abbey of Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand, which remained in his house after his death. He also built a library in the palace of Poitiers and his father was duke Ebles Manzer, who already was a man in his middle years when he was born in about 913. According to the chronicle of Ademar de Chabannes, Williams mother was Geirlaug, William III married a lady named Adèle, perhaps about 936, in a match that may have been arranged by William I of Normandy. With Adèle, he had at least one child whose filiation is clearly attested, William and he abdicated to the abbey of Saint-Cyprien in Poitiers and left the government to his son
William III, Duke of Aquitaine
–
Guerin
45.
Rollo of Normandy
–
Rollo was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, a region of France. He is sometimes called the 1st Duke of Normandy, Rollo emerged as the outstanding personality among the Norsemen who had secured a permanent foothold on Frankish soil in the valley of the lower Seine. Rollo is first recorded as the leader of these Viking settlers in a charter of 918 and he was succeeded by his son, William Longsword in the Duchy of Normandy that he had founded. The offspring of Rollo and his followers known as the Normans. The name Rollo is generally presumed to be a latinisation of the Old Norse name Hrólfr – a theory that is supported by the rendition of Hrólfr as Roluo in the Gesta Danorum. It is also suggested that Rollo may be a latinised version of another Norse name. The byname Walker is usually understood to suggest that Rollo was so physically imposing that he could not be carried by a horse and was obliged to travel on foot. Norman and other French sources do not use the name Hrólfr, the 10th century Norman historian Dudo records that Rollo took the baptismal name Robert. A variant spelling, Roul, is used in the 12th-century Norman French Roman de la Rou, Rollo was born in the latter half of the 9th century, his place of birth is unknown. The earliest well-attested historical event associated with Rollo is his leadership of Vikings who besieged Paris in 885–886, perhaps the earliest known source to mention Rollos early life is the French chronicler Richer of Reims, who claims that Rollo was the son of a Viking named Ketill. Medieval sources contradict each other regarding whether Rollos family was Norwegian or Danish in origin, in part, this disparity may result from the indifferent and interchangeable usage in Europe, at the time, of terms such as Vikings, Northmen, Danes, Norwegians and so on. A biography of Rollo, written by the cleric Dudo of Saint-Quentin in the late 10th Century, one of Rollos great-grandsons and a contemporary of Dudo was known as Robert the Dane. According to Dudo, a king of Denmark was antagonistic to Rollos family, including his father – an unnamed Danish nobleman –. Following the death of Rollo and Gurims father, Gurim was killed, Dudo appears to have been the main source for William of Jumièges and Orderic Vitalis, although both include additional details. Likewise, the 12th-century English historian William of Malmesbury stated that Rollo was born of noble lineage among the Norwegians, a chronicler named Benoît wrote in the mid-12th Century Chronique des ducs de Normandie that Rollo had been born in a town named Fasge. This has since been interpreted as referring to Faxe, in Sjælland, Fauske, in Hålogaland. Benoît also repeated the claim that Rollo had been persecuted by a ruler and had fled from there to Scanza island. While Faxe was physically much closer to Scania, the scenery of Fasge, described by Benoît
Rollo of Normandy
–
Rollo on the Six Dukes statue in
Falaise town square.
Rollo of Normandy
–
Statue of Rollo in
Rouen. There are two bronze replicas of this statue: one at
Ålesund (
Norway) and the other one at
Fargo, North Dakota (
United States)
Rollo of Normandy
–
Rollo's grave at the
Cathedral of Rouen
46.
Philip Augustus of France
–
Philip II, known as Philip Augustus, was King of France from 1180 to 1223, a member of the House of Capet. Philips predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French monarch to style himself king of France. The son of King Louis VII and his wife, Adèle of Champagne, he was originally nicknamed Dieudonné God-given because he was the first son of Louis VII. Philip was given the nickname Augustus by the chronicler Rigord for having extended the Crown lands of France so remarkably, the military actions surrounding the Albigensian Crusade helped prepare the expansion of France southward. Philip did not participate directly in these actions, but he allowed his vassals, Philip transformed France from a small feudal state into the most prosperous and powerful country in Europe. He checked the power of the nobles and helped the towns to free themselves from seigniorial authority and he built a great wall around Paris, re-organized the French government and brought financial stability to his country. Philip was born in Gonesse on 21 August 1165 and he spent much of the following night attempting to find his way out, but to no avail. Exhausted by cold, hunger and fatigue, he was discovered by a peasant carrying a charcoal burner. His father went on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Thomas Becket to pray for Philips recovery and was told that his son had indeed recovered, however, on his way back to Paris, he suffered a stroke. In declining health, Louis VII had his 14-year-old son crowned and anointed as king at Rheims on 1 November 1179 by the Archbishop Guillaume aux Blanches Mains. He was married on 28 April 1180 to Isabelle of Hainaut, the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut, and Margaret I, Countess of Flanders, who brought the County of Artois as her dowry. From the time of his coronation, all power was transferred to Philip. Eventually, Louis died on 18 September 1180, while the royal demesne had increased under Philip I and Louis VI, it had diminished slightly under Louis VII. In April 1182, partially to enrich the French crown, Philip expelled all Jews from the demesne, Philips eldest son Louis was born on 5 September 1187 and inherited the County of Artois in 1190, when his mother Isabelle died. The main source of funding for Philips army was from the royal demesne, in times of conflict, he could immediately call up 250 knights,250 horse sergeants,100 mounted crossbowmen,133 crossbowmen on foot,2,000 foot sergeants, and 300 mercenaries. Towards the end of his reign, the king could muster some 3,000 knights,9,000 sergeants,6,000 urban militiamen, using his increased revenues, Philip was the first Capetian king to build a French navy actively. By 1215, his fleet could carry a total of 7,000 men, within two years, his fleet included 10 large ships and many smaller ones. In 1181, Philip began a war with Philip, Count of Flanders, over the Vermandois, which King Philip claimed as his wifes dowry, finally the Count of Flanders invaded France, ravaging the whole district between the Somme and the Oise before penetrating as far as Dammartin
Philip Augustus of France
–
Seal of Philip II
Philip Augustus of France
–
Isabelle, Philip's first wife.
Philip Augustus of France
–
The coronation of Philip II Augustus in the presence of Henry II of England
Philip Augustus of France
–
Remains of the
Wall of Philip II Augustus built around Paris before he went to the Crusades. The segment pictured here is found in the Rue des Jardins-Saint-Paul, Paris
47.
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
Louis VII of France
–
Effigy of Louis VII,
denier,
Bourges
Louis VII of France
–
Géza II of Hungary and Louis VII of France. Image from the Hungarian
Chronicon Pictum (14th century).
Louis VII of France
–
Raymond of Poitiers welcoming Louis VII in
Antioch.
48.
Gerbert of Aurillac
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Pope Sylvester II or Silvester II was Pope from 2 April 999 to his death in 1003. Originally known as Gerbert of Aurillac, he was a prolific scholar and he is said to be the first to introduce in Europe the decimal numeral system using Arabic numerals. He was the first French Pope, Gerbert was born about 946 in the town of Belliac, near the present-day commune of Saint-Simon, Cantal, France. Around 963, he entered the monastery of St. Gerald of Aurillac, in the following years, Gerbert studied under the direction of Atto, Bishop of Vic, some 60 km north of Barcelona, and probably also at the nearby Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll. Neither place was under Islamic rule at the time, Borrell II of Barcelona was facing major defeat from the Andalusian powers so he sent a delegation to Córdoba to request a truce. Bishop Atto was part of the delegation met with Al-Hakam II of Cordoba. Atto was mesmerized by the palaces in Cordoba and returned with great respect for the Arabs, Gerbert insisted that Atto teach him more about these Arabic princes who seemed to him more interested in the sciences and literature than warfare. This sparked Gerberts veneration for the Arabs and his passion for mathematics, in 969, Count Borrell II made a pilgrimage to Rome, taking Gerbert with him. There Gerbert met Pope John XIII and the Emperor Otto I, the Pope persuaded Otto I to employ Gerbert as a tutor for his young son, the future Emperor Otto II. Some years later, Otto I gave Gerbert leave to study at the school of Rheims where he was soon appointed a teacher by Archbishop Adalberon. After the death of Otto II in 983, Gerbert became involved in the politics of his time, in 985, with the support of his archbishop, he opposed Lothair of Frances attempt to take the Lorraine from Emperor Otto III by supporting Hugh Capet. Capet became King of France, ending the Carolingian line of Kings in 987, Adalberon died on 23 January 989. Gerbert was a candidate for his succession, but Hugh Capet appointed Arnulf. Arnulf was deposed in 991 for alleged treason against the King, there was so much opposition to Gerberts elevation to the See of Rheims, however, that Pope John XV sent a legate to France who temporarily suspended Gerbert from his episcopal office. Gerbert sought to show that this decree was unlawful, but a further synod in 995 declared Arnulfs deposition invalid, Gerbert now became the teacher of Otto III, and Pope Gregory V, Otto IIIs cousin, appointed him Archbishop of Ravenna in 998. With the Emperors support, he was elected to succeed Gregory V as Pope in 999, Gerbert took the name of Sylvester II, alluding to Pope Sylvester I, the advisor to Emperor Constantine I. Soon after he was elected pope, Sylvester II confirmed the position of his former rival Arnulf as archbishop of Rheims, in 1001, the Roman populace revolted against the Emperor, forcing Otto III and Sylvester II to flee to Ravenna. Otto III led two expeditions to regain control of the city and died on a third expedition in 1002
Gerbert of Aurillac
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Pope Sylvester II
Gerbert of Aurillac
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Statue of Pope Sylvester II in Aurillac, Auvergne, France.
Gerbert of Aurillac
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Pope Sylvester II and the Devil in an illustration of c. 1460.
Gerbert of Aurillac
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Reconstructed
Ancient Roman Abacus.
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