1.
Treaty
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A treaty is an agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, pact, or exchange of letters, regardless of terminology, all of these forms of agreements are, under international law, equally considered treaties and the rules are the same. A treaty is an official, express written agreement that states use to bind themselves. Since the late 19th century, most treaties have followed a consistent format. A treaty typically begins with a preamble describing the parties and their joint objectives in executing the treaty. Modern preambles are sometimes structured as a very long sentence formatted into multiple paragraphs for readability. The end of the preamble and the start of the agreement is often signaled by the words have agreed as follows. After the preamble comes numbered articles, which contain the substance of the actual agreement. Each article heading usually encompasses a paragraph, a long treaty may further group articles under chapter headings. The date is written in its most formal, longest possible form. For example, the Charter of the United Nations was DONE at the city of San Francisco the twenty-sixth day of June, one nine hundred. If the treaty is executed in multiple copies in different languages, that fact is always noted, the signatures of the parties representatives follow at the very end. Bilateral treaties are concluded between two states or entities, each of these treaties has seventeen parties. These however are still bilateral, not multilateral, treaties, the parties are divided into two groups, the Swiss and the EU and its member states. The treaty establishes rights and obligations between the Swiss and the EU and the member states severally—it does not establish any rights and obligations amongst the EU, a multilateral treaty is concluded among several countries. The agreement establishes rights and obligations between each party and every other party, Treaties of mutual guarantee are international compacts, e. g. the Treaty of Locarno which guarantees each signatory against attack from another. Reservations are essentially caveats to an acceptance of a treaty. Reservations are unilateral statements purporting to exclude or to modify the legal obligation and these must be included at the time of signing or ratification, i. e. a party cannot add a reservation after it has already joined a treaty
2.
Edward III of England
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Edward III transformed the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe. Edward was crowned at age fourteen after his father was deposed by his mother, Isabella of France, at age seventeen he led a successful coup against Mortimer, the de facto ruler of the country, and began his personal reign. After a successful campaign in Scotland he declared himself heir to the French throne in 1337. This started what would become known as the Hundred Years War, following some initial setbacks the war went exceptionally well for England, victories at Crécy and Poitiers led to the highly favourable Treaty of Brétigny. Edwards later years, however, were marked by international failure and domestic strife, largely as a result of his inactivity, Edward III was a temperamental man but capable of unusual clemency. He was in ways a conventional king whose main interest was warfare. Admired in his own time and for centuries after, Edward was denounced as an adventurer by later Whig historians such as William Stubbs. This view has been challenged recently and modern historians credit him with some significant achievements, Edward was born at Windsor Castle on 13 November 1312, and was often referred to as Edward of Windsor in his early years. The reign of his father, Edward II, was a problematic period of English history. One source of contention was the inactivity, and repeated failure. Another controversial issue was the kings patronage of a small group of royal favourites. The birth of an heir in 1312 temporarily improved Edward IIs position in relation to the baronial opposition. To bolster further the independent prestige of the prince, the king had him created Earl of Chester at only twelve days of age. In 1325, Edward II was faced with a demand from his brother-in-law, Charles IV of France, Edward was reluctant to leave the country, as discontent was once again brewing domestically, particularly over his relationship with the favourite Hugh Despenser the Younger. Instead, he had his son Edward created Duke of Aquitaine in his place, the young Edward was accompanied by his mother Isabella, who was the sister of King Charles, and was meant to negotiate a peace treaty with the French. While in France, however, Isabella conspired with the exiled Roger Mortimer to have Edward deposed, to build up diplomatic and military support for the venture, Isabella had Prince Edward engaged to the twelve-year-old Philippa of Hainault. An invasion of England was launched and Edward IIs forces deserted him completely, the king was forced to relinquish the throne to his son on 25 January 1327. The new king was crowned as Edward III on 1 February 1327 and it was not long before the new reign also met with other problems caused by the central position at court of Roger Mortimer, who was now the de facto ruler of England
3.
John II of France
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John II, called John the Good, was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1350 until his death. While John was a prisoner in London, his son Charles became regent and faced several rebellions, to liberate his father, he concluded the Treaty of Brétigny, by which France lost many territories and paid an enormous ransom. In an exchange of hostages, which included his second son Louis, Duke of Anjou, when John was informed that Louis had escaped from captivity, he voluntarily returned to England, where he died in 1364. He was succeeded by his son Charles V, John was nine years old when his father had himself crowned as Philip VI of France. Initially a marriage with Eleanor of Woodstock, sister of King Edward III of England, was considered, Bohemia had aspirations to control Lombardy and needed French diplomatic support. The military clauses stipulated that, in the event of war, the political clauses ensured that the Lombard crown would not be disputed if the king of Bohemia managed to obtain it. Philip selected Bonne of Bohemia as a wife for his son, as she was closer to child-bearing age, and the dowry was fixed at 120,000 florins. John reached the age of majority,13 years and one day, on 27 April 1332, the wedding was celebrated on 28 July at the church of Notre-Dame in Melun in the presence of six thousand guests. The festivities were prolonged by a two months when the young groom was finally knighted at the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. Upon his accession as Duke of Normandy in 1332, John had to deal with the reality that most of the Norman nobility was already allied with the English camp, effectively, Normandy depended economically more on maritime trade across the English Channel than on river trade on the Seine. The Duchy had not been English for 150 years, but many landowners had holdings across the Channel, consequently, to line up behind one or other sovereign risked confiscation. Therefore, Norman members of the nobility were governed as interdependent clans and it was split into two key camps, the counts of Tancarville and the counts of Harcourt, which had been in conflict for generations. King Philip, worried about the richest area of the breaking into bloodshed, ordered the bailiffs of Bayeux. Geoffroy dHarcourt raised troops against the king, rallying a number of nobles protective of their autonomy, the rebels demanded that Geoffroy be made duke, thus guaranteeing the autonomy granted by the charter. Royal troops took the castle at Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte and Geoffroy was exiled to Brabant, three of his companions were decapitated in Paris on 3 April 1344. In 1342, John was in Avignon at the coronation of Pope Clement VI, by 1345, increasing numbers of Norman rebels had begun to pay homage to Edward III, constituting a major threat to the legitimacy of the Valois kings. The defeat at the Battle of Crécy on 26 August 1346, defections by the nobility, whose land fell within the broad economic influence of England, particularly in the north and west, increased. Consequently, King Philip VI decided to seek a truce, Duke John met Geoffroy dHarcourt, to whom the king agreed to return all confiscated goods, even appointing him sovereign captain in Normandy
4.
Hundred Years' War
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Each side drew many allies into the war. It was one of the most notable conflicts of the Middle Ages, the war marked both the height of chivalry and its subsequent decline, and the development of strong national identities in both countries. After the Norman Conquest, the kings of England were vassals of the kings of France for their possessions in France, the French kings had endeavored, over the centuries, to reduce these possessions, to the effect that only Gascony was left to the English. Through his mother, Isabella of France, Edward III of England was the grandson of Philip IV of France and nephew of Charles IV of France, in 1316, a principle was established denying women succession to the French throne. When Charles IV died in 1328, Isabella, unable to claim the French throne for herself, the French rejected the claim, maintaining that Isabella could not transmit a right that she did not possess. Several overwhelming English victories in the war—especially at Crecy, Poitiers, however, the greater resources of the French monarchy precluded a complete conquest. Historians commonly divide the war into three separated by truces, the Edwardian Era War, the Caroline War, and the Lancastrian War. Later historians adopted the term Hundred Years War as a historiography periodization to encompass all of these events, the war owes its historical significance to multiple factors. By its end, feudal armies had been replaced by professional troops. Although primarily a conflict, the war gave impetus to ideas of French. The wider introduction of weapons and tactics supplanted the feudal armies where heavy cavalry had dominated, the war precipitated the creation of the first standing armies in Western Europe since the time of the Western Roman Empire and thus helping to change their role in warfare. With respect to the belligerents, in France, civil wars, deadly epidemics, famines, English political forces over time came to oppose the costly venture. The dissatisfaction of English nobles, resulting from the loss of their continental landholdings, the root causes of the conflict can be found in the demographic, economic and political crises of 14th century Europe. The outbreak of war was motivated by a rise in tension between the Kings of France and England about Guyenne, Flanders and Scotland. The dynastic question, which due to an interruption of the direct male line of the Capetians, was the official pretext. The question of succession to the French throne was raised after the death of Louis X in 1316. Louis X left only a daughter, and his posthumous son John I lived only a few days, Philip, Count of Poitiers, brother of Louis X, asserted that women were ineligible to succeed to the French throne. Through his political sagacity he won over his adversaries and succeeded to the French throne as Philip V of France, by the same law that he procured, his daughters were denied the succession, which passed to his younger brother, Charles IV, in 1322
5.
Continental Europe
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Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe, or, by Europeans, simply the Continent, is the continuous continent of Europe, excluding surrounding islands. This historical core of Carolingian Europe was consciously invoked in the 1950s as the historical basis for the prospective European integration. In both Great Britain and Ireland, the Continent is widely and generally used to refer to the mainland of Europe, an apocryphal British newspaper headline supposedly once read, Fog in Channel, Continent Cut Off. It has also claimed that this was a regular weather forecast in Britain in the 1930s. In addition, the word Europe itself is regularly used to mean Europe excluding the islands of Great Britain, Iceland. The term mainland Europe is also sometimes used, derivatively, the adjective continental refers to the social practices or fashion of continental Europe. Examples include breakfast, topless sunbathing and, historically, long-range driving often known as Grand Touring. Differences include electrical plugs, time zones for the most part, the use of traffic, and for the United Kingdom, currency. Britain is physically connected to continental Europe through the undersea Channel Tunnel and this route is popular with refugees and migrants seeking to enter the UK. Especially in Germanic studies, continental refers to the European continent excluding the Scandinavian peninsula, Britain, Ireland, and Iceland. The reason for this is that although the Scandinavian peninsula is attached to continental Europe, kontinenten is a vernacular Swedish expression that refers to the area excluding Sweden, Norway, and Finland but including Denmark and the rest of continental Europe. In Norway, similarly, one speaks about Kontinentet as an entity, usually referring to Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Benelux countries. Today, the Scandinavian peninsula is accessible by train and road with several bridge/tunnel structures connecting the Danish peninsula of Jutland to Scania in Sweden. The Continent may sometimes refer to the part of Italy, the continental part of Spain, the continental part of France. The term is used from the perspective of the residents of each country to describe the continental portion of their country or the continent as a whole. Continental philosophy Geopolitical divisions of Europe Geographical midpoint of Europe Mainland Western Europe Hajnal line
6.
Chartres
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Chartres is a commune and capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in France. It is located 96 km southwest of Paris and this city is well known for its cathedral. Chartres was in Gaul one of the towns of the Carnutes. In the Gallo-Roman period, it was called Autricum, name derived from the river Autura, the city was burned by the Normans in 858, and unsuccessfully besieged by them in 911. During the Middle Ages, it was the most important town of the Beauce. It gave its name to a county which was held by the counts of Blois, and the counts of Champagne, and afterwards by the House of Châtillon, a member of which sold it to the Crown in 1286. In 1417, during the Hundred Years War, Chartres fell into the hands of the English, in 1528, it was raised to the rank of a duchy by Francis I. In 1568, during the Wars of Religion, Chartres was unsuccessfully besieged by the Huguenot leader and it was finally taken by the royal troops of Henry IV on 19 April 1591. In 1674, Louis XIV raised Chartres from a duchy to a peerage in favor of his nephew. The title of Duke of Chartres was hereditary in the House of Orléans, in the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian War, Chartres was seized by the Germans on 2 October 1870, and continued during the rest of the war to be an important centre of operations. With his driver, Griffith proceeded to the cathedral and, after searching it all the way up its bell tower, the order to destroy the cathedral was withdrawn. Colonel Griffith was killed in later on that day in the town of Lèves,3.5 kilometres north of Chartres. For his heroic action both at Chartres and Lèves, Colonel Griffith received, posthumously, several decorations awarded by the President of the United States, 5th Infantry and 7th Armored Divisions belonging to the XX Corps of the U. S. Third Army commanded by General George S. Patton, Chartres is built on a hill on the left bank of the Eure River. Its renowned medieval cathedral is at the top of the hill, to the southeast stretches the fertile plain of Beauce, the granary of France, of which the town is the commercial centre. Chartres is best known for its cathedral, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres and its historical and cultural importance has been recognized by its inclusion on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. It was built on the site of the former Chartres cathedral of Romanesque architecture, begun in 1205, the construction of Notre-Dame de Chartres was completed 66 years later. The stained glass windows of the cathedral were financed by guilds of merchants and craftsmen and it is not known how the famous and unique blue, bleu de Chartres, of the glass was created, and it has been impossible to replicate it
7.
Prisoner of war
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A prisoner of war is a person, whether combatant or non-combatant, who is held in custody by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the prisoner of war dates to 1660. The first Roman gladiators were prisoners of war and were named according to their ethnic roots such as Samnite, Thracian, typically, little distinction was made between enemy combatants and enemy civilians, although women and children were more likely to be spared. Sometimes, the purpose of a battle, if not a war, was to capture women, a known as raptio. Typically women had no rights, and were legally as chattel. For this he was eventually canonized, during Childerics siege and blockade of Paris in 464, the nun Geneviève pleaded with the Frankish king for the welfare of prisoners of war and met with a favourable response. Later, Clovis I liberated captives after Genevieve urged him to do so, many French prisoners of war were killed during the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. In the later Middle Ages, a number of religious wars aimed to not only defeat, in Christian Europe, the extermination of heretics was considered desirable. Examples include the 13th century Albigensian Crusade and the Northern Crusades, likewise, the inhabitants of conquered cities were frequently massacred during the Crusades against the Muslims in the 11th and 12th centuries. Noblemen could hope to be ransomed, their families would have to send to their captors large sums of wealth commensurate with the status of the captive. In feudal Japan there was no custom of ransoming prisoners of war, in Termez, on the Oxus, all the people, both men and women, were driven out onto the plain, and divided in accordance with their usual custom, then they were all slain. The Aztecs were constantly at war with neighbouring tribes and groups, for the re-consecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, between 10,000 and 80,400 persons were sacrificed. During the early Muslim conquests, Muslims routinely captured large number of prisoners, aside from those who converted, most were ransomed or enslaved. Christians who were captured during the Crusades, were either killed or sold into slavery if they could not pay a ransom. The freeing of prisoners was highly recommended as a charitable act, there also evolved the right of parole, French for discourse, in which a captured officer surrendered his sword and gave his word as a gentleman in exchange for privileges. If he swore not to escape, he could gain better accommodations, if he swore to cease hostilities against the nation who held him captive, he could be repatriated or exchanged but could not serve against his former captors in a military capacity. Early historical narratives of captured colonial Europeans, including perspectives of literate women captured by the peoples of North America. The writings of Mary Rowlandson, captured in the fighting of King Philips War, are an example
8.
Battle of Poitiers
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The Battle of Poitiers was a major battle of the Hundred Years War between England and France. The battle occurred on 19 September 1356 near Poitiers, France, preceded by the Battle of Crécy in 1346, and followed by the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, it was the second of the three great English victories of the war. The town and battle were often referred to as Poictiers at the time, Edward, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of King Edward III, began a great chevauchée on 8 August 1356. He conducted many scorched earth raids northwards from the English base in Aquitaine, in an effort to bolster his troops in central France, as well as to raid and ravage the countryside. His forces met little resistance, burning towns to the ground and living off the land. They were unable to take the castle or burn the town due to a heavy downpour and this delay allowed John II, King of France, to attempt to catch Edwards army. There were negotiations before the battle of Poitiers that are recorded in the writings of the life of Sir John Chandos and he records the final moments of a meeting of both sides in an effort to avoid the bloody conflict at Poitiers. Of speech there he made no stint, there they held their parliament, and each one spoke his mind. But their counsel I cannot relate, yet I know well, in truth, as I hear in my record. Sir Thomas Felton fought not only at Poitiers but also at the Battle of Crécy, one of the chief commanders at both Crécy and Poitiers was John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, mentioned above. Another account states that John of Ghistelles perished at the Battle of Crécy so there is ambiguity as to this man. The French army also included a contingent of Scots commanded by Sir William Douglas, Douglas fought in the Kings own Battle, but when the fight seemed over Douglas was dragged by his men from the melee. At the beginning of the battle, the English removed their baggage train leading the French to think they were about to retreat which provoked a hasty charge by the French knights against the archers. According to Froissart, the English attacked the enemy, especially the horses, geoffrey the Baker writes that the French armour was invulnerable to the English arrows, that the arrowheads either skidded off the armour or shattered on impact. Given the following actions of the archers, it seems likely Baker was correct, the armour on the horses was weaker on the sides and back, so the archers moved to the sides of the cavalry and shot the horses in the flanks. This was a method of stopping a cavalry charge, as a falling horse often destroyed the cohesion of the enemys line. The Dauphin attacked Salisbury and pressed his advance in spite of heavy shot by the English archers, green suggests that the Dauphin had thousands of troops with him in this phase of the attack. He advanced to the English lines but ultimately fell back, the French were unable to penetrate the protective hedge the English were using
9.
Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
10.
Dauphin of France
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The Dauphin of France —strictly The Dauphin of Viennois —was the title given to the heir apparent to the throne of France from 1350 to 1791 and 1824 to 1830. The word is French for dolphin, as a reference to the depiction of the animal on their coat of arms, guigues IV, Count of Vienne, had a dolphin on his coat of arms and was nicknamed le Dauphin. The wife of the Dauphin was known as la Dauphine, the first French prince called le Dauphin was Charles the Wise, later to become Charles V of France. The title was equivalent to the English Prince of Wales, the Scottish Duke of Rothesay, the Portuguese Prince of Brazil. The official style of a Dauphin of France, prior to 1461, was par la grâce de Dieu, dauphin de Viennois, comte de Valentinois et de Diois. A Dauphin of France united the coat of arms of the Dauphiné, which featured Dolphins, with the French fleurs-de-lis, and might, where appropriate, further unite that with other arms. Because of this, the Dauphiné suffered from anarchy in the 14th and 15th centuries, for example, he married Charlotte of Savoy against his fathers wishes. Savoy was an ally of the Dauphiné, and Louis wished to reaffirm that alliance to stamp out rebels. Louis was driven out of the Dauphiné by Charles VIIs soldiers in 1456, after his succession as Louis XI of France in 1461, Louis united the Dauphiné with France, bringing it under royal control. The sons of the King of France hold the style and rank of Son of France, while male-line grandsons hold the style, the sons and grandsons of the Dauphin ranked higher than their cousins, being treated as the kings children and grandchildren respectively. The title was abolished by the Constitution of 1791, which made France a constitutional monarchy, under the constitution the heir to the throne was restyled Prince Royal, taking effect from the inception of the Legislative Assembly on 1 October 1791. The title was restored in potentia under the Bourbon Restoration of Louis XVIII, with the accession of his brother Charles X, Charles son and heir Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême automatically became Dauphin. With the removal of the Bourbons the title fell into disuse, in Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck encounters two odd characters who turn out to be professional con men. One of them claims that he should be treated with deference, since he is really an impoverished English duke, in Baronness Emma Orczys Eldorado, the Scarlet Pimpernel rescues the Dauphin from prison and helps spirit him from France. Alphonse Daudet wrote a story called The Death of the Dauphin. It is also mentioned in Cormac McCarthys Blood Meridian
11.
Charles V of France
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Charles V, called the Wise, was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1364 to his death. In 1349, as a prince, Charles received from his grandfather King Philip VI the province of Dauphiné to rule. This allowed him to bear the title Dauphin until his coronation, after 1350, all heirs apparent of France bore the title of Dauphin until their coronation. Charles became regent of France when his father John II was captured by the English at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. With the help of talented advisers known as the Marmousets, his management of the kingdom allowed him to replenish the royal treasury. He established the first permanent army paid with regular wages, which liberated the French populace from the companies of routiers who regularly plundered the country when not employed. Furthermore, the French Navy, led by Jean de Vienne and he was succeeded by his son Charles VI the Mad, whose disastrous reign allowed the English to regain control of large parts of France. Charles was born at the Château de Vincennes outside of Paris, the future king was highly intelligent but physically weak, with pale skin and a thin, ill-proportioned body. This made a sharp contrast to his father, who was tall, strong, as neither the pope nor the emperor wanted to buy, the transaction was concluded with Philip VI. Under the Treaty of Romans, the Dauphiné of Viennois was to be held by a son of the future king John the Good, so it was Charles, the eldest son of the latter, who became the first Dauphin. At the age of twelve, he was confronted with the exercise of power while staying in Grenoble. A few days after his arrival, the people of Grenoble were invited to the Place Notre-Dame, young Charles took his place next to Bishop John of Chissé and received the oath of allegiance of the people. On April 8,1350 at Tain-lHermitage, the Dauphin married his cousin Joanna of Bourbon at the age of 12, the prior approval of the pope was obtained for this consanguineous marriage. The marriage was delayed by the death of his mother Bonne of Luxembourg and his grandmother Joan the Lame, the dauphin himself had been seriously ill from August to December 1349. Gatherings were limited to slow the spread of the then raging in Europe. Despite his young age, the applied to be recognized by his subjects. Charles was recalled to Paris at the death of his grandfather Philip VI, the legitimacy of John the Good, and that of the Valois in general, was not unanimous. His father, Philip VI, had lost all credibility with the disasters of Crecy, Calais, the ravages of the plague, the royal clan had to cope with opposition from all sides in the kingdom
12.
Jacquerie
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This article is about a specific 14th century French peasant uprising. For the general concept, see List of peasant revolts, the Jacquerie was a popular revolt by peasants that took place in northern France in the early summer of 1358 during the Hundred Years War. The revolt was centred in the valley of the Oise north of Paris and was suppressed after a few weeks of violence and this rebellion became known as the Jacquerie because the nobles derided peasants as Jacques or Jacques Bonhomme for their padded surplice, called a jacque. The word jacquerie became a synonym of peasant uprisings in general in both English and French, the Estates-General was too divided to provide effective government, however, and the disputes between the two rulers provoked disunity amongst the nobles. Consequently, the prestige of the French nobility had sunk to a new low. The century had begun poorly for the nobles at Courtrai, where they fled the field and left their infantry to be hacked to pieces, they had also given up their king at the Battle of Poitiers. The passage of a law required the peasants to defend the châteaux that were emblems of their oppression was the immediate cause of the spontaneous uprising. The law was particularly onerous as many commoners already blamed the nobility for the defeat at Poitiers, many peasants questioned why they should work for an upper class that could not meet its implied obligation to provide protection for them. This combination of problems set the stage for a series of bloody rebellions in northern France in 1358. They shamed and despoiled the realm, and it would be a thing to destroy them all. The account of the rising by the contemporary chronicler Jean le Bel includes a description of horrifying violence, according to him, peasants killed a knight, put him on a spit, and roasted him with his wife and children looking on. After ten or twelve of them raped the lady, they wished to force feed them the roasted flesh of their father and husband and made them then die by a miserable death. Among the chroniclers, the one sympathetic to their plight is Jean de Venette, the peasants involved in the rebellion seem to have lacked any real organization, instead rising up locally as an unstructured mass. Jean le Bel speculated that governors and tax collectors spread the word of rebellion from village to village to inspire the peasants to rebel against the nobility, when asked as to the cause of their discontent they apparently replied that they were just doing what they had witnessed others doing. Additionally it seems that the rebellion contained some idea that it was possible to rid the world of nobles, Froissarts account portrays the rebels as mindless savages bent on destruction, which they wrought on over 150 noble houses and castles, murdering the families in horrific ways. Outbreaks occurred in Rouen and Rheims, while Senlis and Montdidier were sacked by the peasant army, the bourgeoisie of Beauvais, Senlis, Paris, Amiens, and Meaux, sorely pressed by the court party, accepted the Jacquerie, and the urban underclass were sympathetic. The Jacquerie must be seen in the context of this period of internal instability, at a time of personal government, the absence of a charismatic king was detrimental to the still-feudal state. The Dauphin had to contend with roaming free companies of out-of-work mercenaries, the plotting of Charles the Bad, and the possibility of another English invasion
13.
Guyenne
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Guyenne or Guienne was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Aquitania Secunda of the Romans and the archdiocese of Bordeaux. The name Guyenne comes from Aguyenne, a deformation of Aquitania. In the 12th century, it formed with the Gascony the duchy of Aquitaine which passed under the dominion of the kings of England by the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine to Henry II. In the 13th century, through the conquests of Philip II, Louis VIII and Louis IX and it is at this point that Guyenne became distinct from Aquitaine. It then comprised the Bordelais, the Bazadais, part of Périgord, Limousin, Quercy and Rouergue, still united with Gascony, it formed a duchy extending from the Charentes to the Pyrenees. At the treaty of Brétigny, King Edward III of England acquired the sovereignty of the duchy of Guyenne, together with Aunis, Saintonge, Angoumois. The victories of Bertrand du Guesclin and Gaston III, Count of Foix, in 1451, it was conquered and finally united to the French crown by Charles VII. In 1469, Louis XI gave it in exchange for Champagne and Brie to his brother Charles, Duke of Berry, after death in 1472. Guyenne then formed a government which from the 17th century onwards was united with Gascony, the government of Guyenne and Gascony, with its capital at Bordeaux, lasted till the end of the Ancien Régime. Under the French Revolution, the formed from Guyenne proper were those of Gironde, Lot-et-Garonne, Dordogne, Lot, Aveyron
14.
Gascony
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Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the Province of Guyenne and Gascony prior to the French Revolution. The region is defined, and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear, by some they are seen to overlap, while others consider Gascony a part of Guyenne. Most definitions put Gascony east and south of Bordeaux and it is currently divided between the region of Aquitaine and the region of Midi-Pyrénées. Gascony was historically inhabited by Basque-related people who appear to have spoken a language similar to Basque, the name Gascony comes from the same root as the word Basque. From medieval times until today, the Gascon language has been spoken, Gascony is the land of dArtagnan, who inspired Alexandre Dumass character dArtagnan in The Three Musketeers. It is also home to Henry III of Navarre, who became king of France as Henry IV. In pre-Roman times, the inhabitants of Gascony were the Aquitanians, the Aquitanians inhabited a territory limited to the north and east by the Garonne River, to the south by the Pyrenees mountain range, and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean. In the 50s BC, Aquitania was conquered by lieutenants of Julius Caesar, later, in 27 BC, during the reign of Emperor Augustus, the province of Gallia Aquitania was created. In 297, as Emperor Diocletian reformed the administrative structures of the Roman Empire, the territory of Novempopulania corresponded quite well to what we call now Gascony. The Aquitania Novempopulana or Novempopulania suffered like the rest of the Western Roman Empire from the invasions of Germanic tribes, the Visigoths were defeated by the Franks in 507, and fled into Spain and Septimania, as well as Albania. Novempopulania then became part of the Frankish Kingdom like the rest of southern France, however, Novempopulania was far away from the home base of the Franks in northern France, and was only very loosely controlled by the Franks. Modern historians reject this hypothesis, which is sustained by no archeological evidence, for Juan José Larrea, and Pierre Bonnassie, a Vascon expansionism in Aquitany is not proved and is not necessary to understand the historical evolution of this region. This Basque-related culture and race is, whatever the origin, attested in Medieval documents, the word Vasconia evolved into Wasconia, and then into Gasconia. The gradual abandonment of the Basque-related Aquitanian language in favor of a local vulgar Latin, was not reversed, the replacing local vulgar Latin evolved into Gascon. It was heavily influenced by the original Aquitanian language, quite paradoxically the Basques from the French side of the Basque Country traditionally call anyone who does not speak Basque a Gascon. Meanwhile, Viking raiders conquered several Gascon towns, among them Bayonne in 842–844 and their attacks in Gascony may have helped the political disintegration of the Duchy until their defeat against William II Sánchez of Gascony in 982. In turn, the weakened ethnic polity known as Duchy of Wasconia/Wascones, unable to get round the general spread of feudalization and his 1152 marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine allowed the future Henry II to gain control of his new wifes possessions of Aquitaine and Gascony. This addition to his already plentiful holdings made Henry the most powerful vassal in France, in 1248, Simon de Montfort was appointed Governor in the unsettled Duchy of Gascony
15.
Poitou
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Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century, there is a marshland called the Poitevin Marsh on the Gulf of Poitou, on the west coast of France, just north of La Rochelle and west of Niort. By the Treaty of Paris of 1259, King Henry III of England recognized his loss of continental Plantaganet territory to France. During the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries Poitou was a hotbed of Huguenot activity among the nobility, many of the Acadians who settled in what is now Nova Scotia beginning in 1604, and later in New Brunswick, came from the region of Poitou. After the Acadians were deported by the British beginning in 1755, a large portion of these refugees were also deported to Louisiana in 1785 and eventually became known as Cajuns. The common thread connecting both phenomena is an assertion of a local identity and opposition to the central government in Paris, whatever its composition. Large parts of the Angelique series of novels are set in 17th century Poitou. Count of Poitiers for a list of the Comtes de Poitou, poitou-Charentes for the present-day région including Poitiers. Poitevin, the French regional language spoken in Poitou
16.
Saintonge
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Saintonge, historically spelled Xaintonge and Xainctonge, is a former province of France located on the west central Atlantic coast. Other principal towns include Saint-Jean-dAngély, Jonzac, Frontenay-Rohan-Rohan, Royan, Marennes, Pons, today, four fifths of the historical Saintonge province occupies the modern département of Charente-Maritime. Most of the fifth is in Charente, and a small section extends north into Deux-Sèvres. The province derives its name from the Santones, an ancient Gallic tribe that inhabited the area. During antiquity, Saintonge was part of the Roman province of Gallia Aquitania, the region fell under the control of the kings and dukes of Aquitaine, the counts of Anjou, then the counts of Poitiers, before becoming integrated for centuries in the new Duchy of Aquitaine. Saintonge was primarily attached to Anglo-Aquitaine until the mid-fourteenth century, Saintonge was the birthplace of French explorer Jean Allefonsce in 1484, and Samuel de Champlain in 1574, who explored the New World and founded Quebec. It also was one of the centers of French Huguenots, Protestants, the distinctive Saintongeais dialect was once spoken throughout Saintonge, as well as in the provinces of Aunis and Angoumois. The region is famous for its grapes, which are used to produce cognac and this area is famous for its medieval pottery, which was widely exported. Sherds of it have been found in quantities in medieval excavations throughout Ireland. These shards are from vessels made and exported as a by-product of the Bordeaux wine trade and this ware has been found on Irish excavations from the later 12th century but it is most commonly uncovered in 13th-century contexts. They consist of an off-white micaceous fabric with moderate amounts of quartz and they are glazed on the external surface only, with a clear lead glaze. In Saintonge Green wares, the addition of copper filings, or copper oxide to the lead glaze. Many forms of Saintonge wares were produced, including Saintonge Polychrome, Saintonge Green, slipped Saintonge is more consistent in colour and appearance than unslipped, having the benefit of an undercoating to regulate the process. The most common forms of vessel produced in this ware were wine jugs and these were characteristically tall, with slightly ovoid bodies, flat bases, parrot-beak spouts and strap handles. Saintonge was exported well through the 17th century, acadians and French colonists in Quebec and Eastern Canada imported many Saintonge ceramics, including bowls, plates, mugs and other types. Many Saintonge ceramic fragments have been found in context with 17th-century colonists and are used as evidence of pre-British occupation of these areas. Saintonge Regiment Derœux, D. & Dufournier, D.1991, réflexions sur la diffusion de la céramique très decorée d’origine française en Europe du nord-ouest XIII-XIVe siècles, Archéologie médiévale 21, p. 163–77
17.
Aunis
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Aunis is a historical province of France, situated in the north-west of the department of Charente-Maritime. Its historic capital is La Rochelle, which took over from Castrum Allionis the historic capital which gives its name to the province and it was a fief of the Duchy of Aquitaine. It extended to Marais Poitevin in the north, Basse Saintonge in the east, Aunis had an influence approximately 20–25 km into the Isle of Ré. It was thus that Aunis legally became a separate province, Aunis was the smallest province in France, in terms of area. Nowadays it is a part of the Charente-Maritime département together with Saintonge, people from Aunis were called Aunisien or Aunisienne. Aunis is mostly a rolling plain, whose navigable rivers have always been important modes of communication, and from which came economic development. The region is coastal, with varied seafronts and offshore islands, nowadays tourism is of great importance. Aunis has two borders, those of the Sèvre Niortaise in the north, and the Charente River in the south. To the west is the Atlantic Ocean and two islands, the Île de Ré and the Île dAix, to the east it is bordered by the valley of the Mignon River, by the hills of Saintonge around Saint-Félix, and by the valleys of the Trézence and Boutonne. Aunis is a plain of the Jurassic period, characterised by gently rolling hills, where no valley is completely enclosed. The islands of Ré and Aix were made at the same time, the chalk table completes the triangular promontory which juts into the Atlantic, forming the northern extremity of the Aquitaine Basin. Large freshwater and seawater marshes have formed in places that have been drained, the seawater marshes correspond to ancient marine gulfs, made from marine or fluvial sediments. Since the Middle Ages they have been drained by man. In the north, the Marais Poitevin dries up, at the centre there are the valleys of the small river Curé and its tributary the Virson. In the south is the marshland of Little Flanders, drained since the 17th century, together these constitute an important reservoir of fresh water, essential for the agricultural and snail-farming activities of the north of the department. The geography of the plain was always very unfavourable for communications, the region was almost an enclave, and for a long time on the margins of the French kingdom politically as well as geographically. Huge efforts were made to break this geographical isolation, without doubt the most spectacular was the coming of the railway in 1857, running from La Rochelle and Rochefort to Paris. This line has been repeatedly modernised, the regional railways connecting Nantes to Bordeaux also serve Aunis, passing through La Rochelle, Châtelaillon-Plage and Rochefort
18.
History of Limousin
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The history of Limousin, one of the traditional provinces of France, reaches back to Celtic and Roman times. The region surrounds the city of Limoges, Limousin lies in the foothills of the western edge of the Massif Central, with cold weather in the winter. During the 3rd century, Saint Martial evangelized the region, the northernmost part of Limousin belonged to the County of La Marche, while the bishops of Limoges controlled most of present-day Haute-Vienne. Such political fragmentation led to the construction of castles, whose ruins still evoke memories of that historical period. In 1199, King Richard I of England was fatally wounded by a bolt during his siege of Château de Châlus-Chabrol. The region was reconstituted during the Fifth Republic as part of efforts by the French government. LAtlas du Limousin, Ph. Bernard-Allée, M. -F
19.
Quercy
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Quercy comprised the present-day department of Lot, the northern half of the department of Tarn-et-Garonne, and a few communities in the departments of Dordogne, Corrèze, and Aveyron. The traditional capital of Quercy is Cahors, now prefecture of Lot, the largest town of Quercy is Montauban, prefecture of Tarn-et-Garonne. Also distinct from the rest of the region is the Quercy Blanc lying between Cahors and the boundary of Lot, characterised by its white limestone buildings. Like Périgord, the area is noted for its cuisine, more particularly the duck dishes, confit de canard and magret de canard, Quercy has a land area of 6,987 km². At the 1999 census there were 275,984 inhabitants on the territory of the province of Quercy. However, if Montauban is not included inside Quercy, then the population of Quercy in 1999 was 224,129 inhabitants. The province gave its name to cadurcum, a variety of light linen, under the Romans Quercy was part of Aquitania prima, and Christianity was introduced during the 4th century. Early in the 6th century it fell under the authority of the Franks, at the end of the 10th century its rulers were the powerful counts of Toulouse. During the wars between England and France in the reign of Henry II, the English placed garrisons in the county, and by the 1259 Treaty of Paris lower Quercy was ceded to England. The monarchs of both England and France confirmed and added to the privileges of the towns and the district, in 1360, by the Treaty of Bretigny, the whole county passed to England, but in 1440 the English were finally expelled. In the 16th century Quercy was a stronghold of the Protestants, the civil wars of the reign of Louis XIII largely took place around Montauban. net Quest-ce que le Quercy. Atlas historique du Quercy Portail régional du Quercy Le portail du tourisme en Quercy La Maison du Patrimoine et de l’Environnement Midi-Quercy
20.
Bigorre
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Today Bigorre comprises the centre and west of the département of Hautes-Pyrénées, with two small exclaves in the neighbouring Pyrénées Atlantiques. Before the French Revolution, the province of Bigorre had an area of 2,574 km². At the 1999 French census, there lived 177,575 inhabitants on the territory of the province of Bigorre. The largest urban areas in Bigorre are Tarbes, with 77,414 inhabitants in 1999, Lourdes, with 15,554 inhabitants in 1999, and Bagnères-de-Bigorre, with 11,396 inhabitants in 1999. At the time of the Roman conquest, the area of Bigorre was inhabited by the Bigorri or Bigerri, the Bigorri were probably speakers of Aquitanian, a language possibly related to Basque. Bigorre was conquered by the Roman general Julius Caesar in 56 BC, in the fourth century, Aquitania was divided in three, for administration, the region that became Bigorre was part of the southernmost section, Aquitania tertia or Novempopulana. Like the rest of Aquitaine, Bigorre was subsumed within the Visigothic kingdom during the fifth century, under the Merovingian kings, Bigorre was a civitas, the chief settlement of which was Cieutat. It was part of the morganegyba of Galsuintha from her husband, on Galsuinthas murder it passed to her sister Brunhilda as part of the arbitration imposed by Guntram of Burgundy. By the Treaty of Andelot Guntram acquired possession of it and it remained with Burgundy until the reunion of various Frankish kingdoms in 613, the history of Bigorre in the seventh and eighth centuries is obscure. It was apparently part of the Basque Duchy of Gascony which was often at odds with the Frankish Duchy of Aquitaine, the County of Bigorre was formed by the Dukes of Gascony in the ninth century and inherited by scions of the ducal house in the tenth. It remained semi-independent of ducal authority throughout the two centuries, and was briefly attached to the Viscounty of Béarn. Recaptured by the French and their allies the counts of Foix between 1370 and 1406, Bigorre was granted by King Charles VII of France to Count Jean I of Foix in 1426. Thus, Bigorre was incorporated into the estates of the House of Foix-Grailly, which included the county of Foix, Béarn, Henry III of Navarre became King Henry IV of France in 1589. In 1607, he united to the French crown those of his personal fiefs that were under French sovereignty, before the French Revolution, Bigorre was made part of the gouvernement of Guienne-Gascony, whereas for general matters it depended from the généralité of Auch like the rest of Gascony. For judicial matters, Bigorre depended from the Parlement of Toulouse, unlike so many other French provinces, Bigorre kept its provincial parliament, its estates, until the Revolution. The provincial estates of Bigorre decided the level of taxation in Bigorre, in 1789 Bigorre sent four representatives to the Estates-General in Versailles. The representatives of Bigorre lobbied quite successfully because in 1790 it was decided that Bigorre would become a French département, Tarbes, the capital of Bigorre, was made the capital of the new département
21.
Angoumois
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Angoumois was a county and province of France. Its capital was Angoulême, and it corresponded to the Charente Department. Baynes, T. S. ed. Angoumois, Encyclopædia Britannica,2, New York, Charles Scribners Sons, chisholm, Hugh, ed. Angoumois, Encyclopædia Britannica,2, Cambridge University Press, p.42. Castaignes 1845 Essai dune bibliothèque historique de lAngoumois
22.
Rouergue
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Rouergue is a former province of France, bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc, on the east by Gévaudan and on the west by Quercy. During the Middle Ages Rouergue changed hands a number of times, its rulers including England, Armagnac, Rouergue became a department in 1790, and was renamed Aveyron after the principal river flowing through it. Upon creation of the department of Tarn-et-Garonne in 1808, the canton of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val was detached from the extremity of Aveyron. The province of Rouergue has an area of 9,007 km². At the 1999 census there were 269,774 inhabitants on the territory of the province of Rouergue, Counts of Rouergue Counts of Toulouse
23.
Montreuil, Pas-de-Calais
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Montreuil or Montreuil-sur-Mer is a sub-prefecture in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is located on the Canche river, not far from Étaples, the sea, however, is now some distance away. It is surrounded by ramparts, part of the reinforcement work of the famed French military engineer Vauban from his fortification of northern France in the 17th century. Population,2,688 inhabitants for the city,21,603 inhabitants for the canton and 99,288 inhabitants for the arrondissement, Montreuil was the headquarters of the British Army in France during the First World War from March 1916 until it closed in April 1919. The military academy providing excellent facilities for GHQ, Montreuil was chosen as G. H. Q. for a wide variety of reasons. It was on a road from London to Paris—the two chief centres of the campaign—though not on a main railway line, which would have been an inconvenience. It was not a town and so avoided the complications alike of noise. Haig staff member Sir Frank Fox OBE wrote a critically acclaimed account of the headquarters in 1916, originally published under the pseudonym GSO. His work in the QMGs Directorate in the offensive against the German Army resulted in his being awarded the OBE He was also Mentioned in Despatches. General Haig was quartered in the nearby Château de Beaurepaire, two miles SE of the town on the D138, there is a plaque on the château wall to commemorate the event. King George V, accompanied by Haig, made a triumphant passage through Montreuil on his way to Paris on 27 November 1918, a statue of Haig on horseback, commemorating his stay, can be seen outside the theatre on the Place Charles de Gaulle. During the German occupation of the town during the Second World War and it was never found and is thought to have been melted down. It was rebuilt in the 1950s, using the original mould. Lawrence Sterne visited the town in 1765 and he recounted his visit through the eyes of the narrator of his novel A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy. Montreuil is the setting for part of Victor Hugos novel Les Misérables, hugo had spent several vacations in Montreuil
24.
Calais
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Calais is a town and major ferry port in northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. The population of the area at the 2010 census was 126,395. Calais overlooks the Strait of Dover, the narrowest point in the English Channel, which is only 34 km wide here, the White Cliffs of Dover can easily be seen on a clear day from Calais. Calais is a port for ferries between France and England, and since 1994, the Channel Tunnel has linked nearby Coquelles to Folkestone by rail. Due to its position, Calais since the Middle Ages has been a major port and it was annexed by Edward III of England in 1347 and grew into a thriving centre for wool production. The town came to be called the brightest jewel in the English crown owing to its importance as the gateway for the tin, lead, lace. Calais was a possession of England until its capture by France in 1558. In 1805 it was an area for Napoleons troops for several months during his planned invasion of the United Kingdom. The town was razed to the ground during World War II. During World War II, the Germans built massive bunkers along the coast in preparation for launching missiles on England, the old part of the town, Calais proper, is situated on an artificial island surrounded by canals and harbours. The modern part of the town, St-Pierre, lies to the south, south east of the Place is the church of Notre-Dame, built during the English occupancy of Calais. It is arguably the only built in the English perpendicular style in all of France. In this church former French President Charles de Gaulle married his wife Yvonne Vendroux, south of the Place and opposite the Parc St Pierre is the Hôtel-de-ville, and the belfry from the 16th and early 17th centuries. Today, Calais is visited by more than 10 million annually, although the early history of habitation in the area is limited, the Romans called the settlement Caletum. Julius Caesar mustered 800 to 1,000 sailing boats, five legions, as the pebble and sand ridge extended eastward from Calais, the haven behind it developed into fen, as the estuary progressively filled with silt and peat. Calais was improved by the Count of Flanders in 997 and fortified by the Count of Boulogne in 1224, in 1189, Richard the Lionheart is documented to have landed at Calais on his journey to the Third Crusade. Angered, the English king demanded reprisals against the citizens for holding out for so long
25.
Sangatte
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Sangatte is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department on the northern coast of France on the English Channel. Like many place names in French Flanders, the name is of Flemish origin, Sangatte became internationally famous because of the works for the Channel Tunnel and is the location for the tunnels French cooling station, its British counterpart being at Samphire Hoe. In addition, it is the French end-point for the HVDC Cross-Channel, blériot-Plage is named to commemorate Louis Blériot who, on the July 25,1909, was the first person to fly across the English Channel. He flew from the beach at Sangatte to the White Cliffs of Dover, the crossing took 37 minutes in his aeroplane, Blériot XI, built in collaboration with Raymond Saulnier. It was powered by a 3-cylinder 25 horsepower engine, at the western end of the beach, a statue of the French aviator Hubert Latham overlooks the sea. Latham was another pioneering cross-channel pilot whose earlier attempt on July 19 had failed, Sangatte also achieved notoriety as the location of a controversial refugee camp, colloquially dubbed Sans-gate. Nicolas Sarkozy, then Minister of the Interior, ordered its closure, there were riots in 2001 and 2002, the year the camp closed
26.
Ham, Somme
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Ham is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Ham is situated on the D930 and D937 crossroads, some 21 kilometres southwest of Saint-Quentin, in the far southeast of the department, the nearby villages of Estouilly and Saint-Sulpice joined the commune of Ham in 1965 and 1966 respectively. Mentioned for the first time in 932 as a possession of the seigneur Erard, the town was later conquered by the Counts of Vermandois in the 12th century. In the 14th century it was owned by a family from Ham itself, from April 7 to June 3,1917, Ham was home to the Lafayette Escadrille The first stone ramparts were put up in the 13th century by the local nobleman, Odon IV. All that remains are the tower and vestiges of the donjon. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, accused of plotting against the state, was imprisoned at the château of Ham from 1840 to 1846, when he escaped, disguised as a worker, carrying a plank on his shoulder
27.
Countship
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Count or countess is a title in European countries for a noble of varying status, but historically deemed to convey an approximate rank intermediate between the highest and lowest titles of nobility. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning “companion”, the adjective form of the word is comital. The British and Irish equivalent is an earl, alternative names for the count rank in the nobility structure are used in other countries, such as Graf in Germany and Hakushaku during the Japanese Imperial era. In the Western Roman Empire, Count came to indicate generically a military commander, in the Eastern Roman Empire, from about the seventh century, count was a specific rank indicating the commander of two centuries. Military counts in the Late Empire and the Germanic successor kingdoms were often appointed by a dux, the position of comes was originally not hereditary. By virtue of their estates, many counts could pass the title to their heirs—but not always. For instance, in Piast Poland, the position of komes was not hereditary, the title had disappeared by the era of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the office had been replaced by others. Only after the Partitions of Poland did the title of count resurface in the title hrabia, in the United Kingdom, the equivalent Earl can also be used as a courtesy title for the eldest son of a duke or marquess. In Italy, by contrast, all the sons of certain counts were counts, in Sweden there is a distinction between counts created before and after 1809. All children in comital families elevated before 1809 are called count/countess, the following lists are originally based on a Glossary on Heraldica. org by Alexander Krischnig. The male form is followed by the female, and when available, apart from all these, a few unusual titles have been of comital rank, not necessarily to remain there. Dauphin was a comital title in southern France, used by the Dauphins of Vienne and Auvergne. The Dauphin was the lord of the province known as the région Dauphiné. Conde-Barão Count-Baron is a title used in Portugal, notably by D. Luís Lobo da Silveira, 7th Baron of Alvito. His palace in Lisbon still exists, located in a named after him. The German Graf and Dutch graaf stems from the Byzantine-Greek grapheus meaning he who calls a meeting together), the Ottoman military title of Serdar was used in Montenegro and Serbia as a lesser noble title with the equivalent rank of a Count. Since Louis VII, the highest precedence amongst the vassals of the French crown was enjoyed by those whose benefice or temporal fief was a pairie, i. e. In the eleventh century, conti like the Count of Savoy or the Norman Count of Apulia, were virtually sovereign lords of broad territories
28.
Homage (feudal)
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Homage in the Middle Ages was the ceremony in which a feudal tenant or vassal pledged reverence and submission to his feudal lord, receiving in exchange the symbolic title to his new position. It was an acknowledgement to the lord that the vassal was, literally. The oath known as fealty implied lesser obligations than did homage, a similar concept is the bayah, a type of oath in Islam. There have been some conflicts about obligations of homage in history, for example, the Angevin monarchs of England were sovereign in England, i. e. they had no duty of homage regarding those holdings, but they were not sovereign regarding their French holdings. So Henry II was king of England, but he was merely Duke of the Normans and Angevins, the Capetian kings in Paris, though weak militarily, claimed a right of homage. The usual oath was therefore modified by Henry to add the qualification for the lands I hold overseas, the implication was that no knights service was owed for the conquered English lands. After King John was forced to surrender Normandy to France in 1204, John still expected to recover his ancestral lands, and those English lords who held lands in Normandy would have to choose sides. Many were forced to abandon their continental holdings, at first that seemed to satisfy John, but eventually, as a price for making peace with the French king to keep his lands, the Earl Marshall fell out of favour with John. The conflict between the French monarchs and the Angevin kings of England continued through the 13th century, when Edward I was asked to provide military service to Philip III in his war with Aragon in 1285, Edward made preparations to provide service from Gascony. A truce was arranged, however, before Edward had to decide what to do, but when Phillip III died, and his son Philip IV ascended the French throne in 1286, Edward dutifully but reluctantly performed homage for the sake of peace. In doing so, Edward added yet another qualification – that the duty owed was according to the terms of the peace made between our ancestors, allegiance Bayah Charge Duty Fealty Feudalism in the Holy Roman Empire Honor
29.
Channel Islands
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The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are considered the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy, and although they are not part of the United Kingdom, it is responsible for the defence, the Crown dependencies are not members of the Commonwealth of Nations nor of the European Union. They have a population of about 168,000. The total area of the islands is 198 km2, the two bailiwicks have been administered separately since the late 13th century, each has its own independent laws, elections, and representative bodies. Any institution common to both is the rather than the rule. The Bailiwick of Guernsey is divided into three jurisdictions – Guernsey, Alderney and Sark – each with its own legislature, the term Channel Islands began to be used around 1830, possibly first by the Royal Navy as a collective name for the islands. The permanently inhabited islands of the Channel Islands are, Jersey Guernsey Alderney Sark Herm Jethou Brecqhou There are also several uninhabited islets and they are an incorporated part of the commune of Granville. While they are popular with visitors from France, Channel Islanders rarely visit them as there are no transport links from the other islands. Chausey is referred to as an Île normande, Îles Normandes and Archipel Normand have also, historically, been used in Channel Island French to refer to the islands as a whole. The lowest point is the Atlantic Ocean, the earliest evidence of human occupation of the Channel Islands has been dated to 250,000 years ago when they were attached to the landmass of continental Europe. The islands became detached by rising sea levels in the Neolithic period, hoards of Armorican coins have been excavated, providing evidence of trade and contact in the Iron Age period. Evidence for Roman settlement is sparse, although evidently the islands were visited by Roman officials, the Roman name for the Channel Islands was I. Lenuri and is included in the Peutinger Table The traditional Latin names used for the islands derive from the Antonine Itinerary, gallo-Roman culture was adopted to an unknown extent in the islands. In the sixth century, Christian missionaries visited the islands, samson of Dol, Helier, Marculf and Magloire are among saints associated with the islands. In the sixth century, they were included in the diocese of Coutances where they remained until reformation. The islands were inhabited by Britons, who also inhabited Wales, south west England, from the beginning of the ninth century, Norse raiders appeared on the coasts. Norse settlement succeeded initial attacks, and it is from this period that many names of Norse origin appear. In 933, the islands were granted to William I Longsword by Raoul King of Western Francia, in 1066, William II of Normandy invaded and conquered England, becoming William I of England, also known as William the Conqueror
30.
Touraine
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Touraine is one of the traditional provinces of France. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher and Indre, traversed by the Loire and its tributaries the Cher, the Indre and the Vienne, Touraine makes up a part of the Paris Basin. It is well known for its viticulture, the TGV, which connects Tours with Paris in just over an hour, has made Touraine a place of residence for people who work in the capital but seek a different quality of life. Touraine takes its name from a Celtic tribe called the Turones, in 1044, the control of Touraine was given to the Angevins, who became kings of England in 1154, the castle of Chinon being their greatest stronghold. In 1205, Philip II Augustus of France regained Touraine, at this time, Touraine was made into a royal duchy. In 1429, Saint Joan of Arc had a meeting with the future King of France Charles VII at Chinon. These same châteaux became popular tourist attractions in modern times, the royal duchy became a province in 1584, and was divided into departments in 1790. Touraine is celebrated for its many châteaux, examples are those at Amboise, Azay-le-Rideau, Chenonceaux, Chinon, Langeais, Loches and Villandry
31.
Anjou
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Anjou is an historical and cultural region of France, a former French county, duchy, and province. Its capital was the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley, the territory has no very clear geographical borders but instead owes its territory and prominence to the fortunes of its various rulers. Henry Curtmantle, count of Anjou, inherited the kingdom of England on October 25,1154, the resulting Angevin Empire would, at its peak, spread from Ulster to the Pyrenees. Count Arthur was taken prisoner by his uncle the king in 1203, in 1205, the county was seized by Philip II Augustus of France. Its status was elevated to that of a duchy for Prince Louis, Anjou corresponds largely to the present-day department of Maine-et-Loire. It occupied the part of what is now the department of Maine-et-Loire. Anjous political origin is traced to the ancient Gallic state of the Andes, after the conquest by Julius Caesar, the area was organized around the Roman civitas of the Andecavi. The Roman civitas was afterward preserved as a district under the Franks with the name first of pagus—then of comitatus or countship—of Anjou. At the beginning of the reign of Charles the Bald, the integrity of Anjou was seriously menaced by a danger, from Brittany to the west. Lambert, a count of Nantes, devastated Anjou in concert with Nominoé. By the end of the year 851, he had succeeded in occupying all the part as far as the Mayenne. The principality which he carved out for himself was occupied on his death by Erispoé. By him, it was handed down to his successors, in whose hands it remained until the beginning of the 10th century, the Normans raided the country continuously as well. A brave man was needed to defend it, the chroniclers of Anjou named a Tertullus as the first count, elevated from obscurity by Charles the Bald. A figure by that name seems to have been the father of the later count Ingelger but his dynasty seems to have preceded by Robert the Strong. Robert met his death in 866 in a battle at Brissarthe against the Normans, hugh the Abbot succeeded him in the countship of Anjou as in most of his other duties, on his death in 886, it passed to Odo, Roberts eldest son. His descendants continued to bear that rank for three centuries and he was succeeded by his son Fulk II the Good, author of the proverb that an unlettered king is a wise ass, in 938. He was succeeded in turn by his son Geoffrey I Grisegonelle around 958, Geoffrey Greytunic succeeded in making the Count of Nantes his vassal and in obtaining from the Duke of Aquitaine the concession in fief of the district of Loudun
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Maine (province)
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Maine is one of the traditional provinces of France. It corresponds to the former County of Maine, whose capital was also the city of Le Mans, the area, now divided into the departments of Sarthe and Mayenne, contains about 857,000 inhabitants. In the 8th and 9th centuries there existed a Duchy of Normandy and this duchy was a march that may have included several counties including Maine, and extended into Lower Normandy, all the way to the Seine. In 748, Pepin the Short, then Mayor of the Palace and thus the most powerful man in France after the king, in 790 Charlemagne in turn gave it to his younger son, Charles the Younger. Charlemagnes grandson, the future Charles the Bald, and his son Louis the Stammerer inherited the title, ragenold, who may have been the son of Renaud dHerbauges, died in 885 fighting the Vikings who were pillaging Rouen. The son-in-law of Charlemagne, Rorgon, was the count of Maine between 832 and 839, in the last half of the 9th century, Maine took on strategic importance because of invasions from Normandy and Brittany. Rorgons son Gauzfrid in turn became Count of Maine and he fought against Salomon, King of Brittany and in 866 participated in the battle of Brissarthe alongside Robert the Strong, the Frankish Margave of Neustria. In 924 King Rudolph of France was said to give Maine to the Norse nobleman Rollo, bordering the county of Anjou to the south and the Duchy of Normandy to the north, Maine became a bone of contention between the rulers of these more powerful principalities. Hugh III of Maine was forced to recognize Fulk III, Count of Anjou as his overlord, sometime between 1045 and 1047 Hugh IV married Bertha, daughter of Odo II, Count of Blois and widow of Alan III, Duke of Brittany. The Angevins did not want Maine to come under the influence of Blois, but the Normans did not want Maine to return to the Angevin orbit, so were pulled into the conflict. The precise chronology is disputed, but it is clear that in 1051 Hugh IV died, Anjou wound up with effective control of most of the county, but the Normans did take several important strongholds on the Maine–Normandy border. Hugh IVs son Herbert II fled to the Norman court and his death in 1062 precipitated a succession crisis, Herbert died childless in 1062 after declaring William the Bastard, then Duke of Normandy, his heir. His sister Marguerite was engaged to Williams eldest son, Robert Curthose and Herbert had taken refuge at Williams court in 1056 when Geoffrey Martel, Duke of Anjou, while the county was in Angevin hands, Anjou had its own succession problem. Duke William of Normandy claimed the county on their behalf of Herberts young sister Margaret, the other claimant was Herberts aunt Biota, a sister of Hugh IV, and her husband Walter, Count of the Vexin. Biota and Walter were captured at the taking of Le Mans and they died sometime later in 1063, poisoned, it was rumoured, though there is no hard evidence for this. Norman control of Maine secured the border of Normandy against Anjou and is one factor which enabled William to launch his successful invasion of England in 1066. In 1069 the citizens of Le Mans revolted against the Normans, soon some of the Manceaux barons joined the revolt, the Normans were expelled in 1070, and young Hugh V was proclaimed Count of Maine. He was the son of Azzo dEste and his wife Gersendis, Azzo returned to Italy, leaving Gersendis in charge
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Brittany
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Brittany is a cultural region in the north-west of France. Brittany has also referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain. It is bordered by the English Channel to the north, the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and its land area is 34,023 km². Since reorganisation in 1956, the administrative region of Brittany comprises only four of the five Breton departments. The remaining area of old Brittany, the Loire-Atlantique department around Nantes, at the 2010 census, the population of historic Brittany was estimated to be 4,475,295. Of these, 71% lived in the region of Brittany, while 29% lived in the Loire-Atlantique department, in 2012, the largest metropolitan areas were Nantes, Rennes, and Brest. Brittany is the homeland of the Breton people and is recognised by the Celtic League as one of the six Celtic nations. A nationalist movement seeks greater autonomy within the French Republic, the word Brittany, along with its French, Breton and Gallo equivalents Bretagne, Breizh and Bertaèyn, derive from the Latin Britannia, which means Britons land. This word had been used by the Romans since the 1st century to refer to Great Britain and this word derives from a Greek word, Πρεττανικη or Βρεττανίαι, used by Pytheas, an explorer from Massalia who visited the British Islands around 320 BC. This term probably comes from a Gallic word, aremorica, which close to the sea. Another name, Letauia, was used until the 12th century and it possibly means wide and flat or to expand and it gave the Welsh name for Brittany, Llydaw. Later, authors like Geoffrey of Monmouth used the terms Britannia minor, breton-speaking people may pronounce the word Breizh in two different ways, according to their region of origin. Breton can be divided into two dialects, the KLT and the dialect of Vannes. KLT speakers pronounce it and would write it Breiz, while the Vannetais speakers pronounce it, the official spelling is a compromise between both variants, with a z and an h together. In 1941, efforts to unify the dialects led to the creation of the so-called Breton zh, on its side, Gallo language has never had a widely accepted writing system and several ones coexist. For instance, the name of the region in that language can be written Bertaèyn in ELG script, or Bertègn in MOGA, Brittany has been inhabited by humans since the Lower Paleolithic. This population was scarce and very similar to the other Neanderthals found in the whole of Western Europe and their only original feature was a distinct culture, called Colombanian. One of the oldest hearths in the world has found in Plouhinec
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Flanders
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Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium, although there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics and history. It is one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, the demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish. The official capital of Flanders is Brussels, although Brussels itself has an independent regional government, in historical contexts, Flanders originally refers to the County of Flanders, which around AD1000 stretched from the Strait of Dover to the Scheldt estuary. In accordance with late 20th century Belgian state reforms the area was made two political entities, the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region. These entities were merged, although geographically the Flemish Community, which has a cultural mandate, covers Brussels. Flanders has figured prominently in European history, as a consequence, a very sophisticated culture developed, with impressive achievements in the arts and architecture, rivaling those of northern Italy. Belgium was one of the centres of the 19th century industrial revolution, geographically, Flanders is generally flat, and has a small section of coast on the North Sea. Much of Flanders is agriculturally fertile and densely populated, with a density of almost 500 people per square kilometer. It touches France to the west near the coast, and borders the Netherlands to the north and east, the Brussels Capital Region is an enclave within the Flemish Region. Flanders has exclaves of its own, Voeren in the east is between Wallonia and the Netherlands and Baarle-Hertog in the consists of 22 exclaves surrounded by the Netherlands. It comprises 6.5 million Belgians who consider Dutch to be their mother tongue, the political subdivisions of Belgium, the Flemish Region and the Flemish Community. The first does not comprise Brussels, whereas the latter does comprise the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Brussels, the political institutions that govern both subdivisions, the operative body Flemish Government and the legislative organ Flemish Parliament. The two westernmost provinces of the Flemish Region, West Flanders and East Flanders, forming the central portion of the historic County of Flanders, a feudal territory that existed from the 8th century until its absorption by the French First Republic. Until the 1600s, this county also extended over parts of France, one of the regions conquered by the French in Flanders, namely French Flanders in the Nord department. French Flanders can be divided into two regions, Walloon Flanders and Maritime Flanders. The first region was predominantly French-speaking already in the 1600s, the latter became so in the 20th century, the city of Lille identifies itself as Flemish, and this is reflected, for instance, in the name of its local railway station TGV Lille Flandres. The region conquered by the Dutch Republic in Flanders, now part of the Dutch province of Zeeland, the significance of the County of Flanders and its counts eroded through time, but the designation remained in a very broad sense. In the Early modern period, the term Flanders was associated with the part of the Low Countries
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Aquitaine
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Aquitaine, archaic Guyenne/Guienne was a traditional region of France, and was an administrative region of France until 1 January 2016. It is now part of the new region Nouvelle-Aquitaine and it is situated in the south-western part of Metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It is composed of the five departments of Dordogne, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes, in the Middle Ages, Aquitaine was a kingdom and a duchy, whose boundaries fluctuated considerably. This has been demonstrated by various Aquitanian names and words that were recorded by the Romans, whether this Aquitanian language was a remnant of a Vasconic language group that once extended much farther, or whether it was generally limited to the Aquitaine/Basque region is not known. The original Aquitania at the time of Caesars conquest of Gaul included the area bounded by the Garonne River, the Pyrenees, the name may stem from Latin aqua, maybe derived from the town Aquae Augustae, Aquae Tarbellicae or just Aquis or as a more general geographical feature. In 392, the Roman imperial provinces were restructured and Aquitania Prima, Aquitania Secunda, accounts of Aquitania during the Early Middle Ages are a blur, lacking precision, but there was much unrest. The Visigoths were called into Gaul as foederati, legalizing their status within the Empire, eventually they established themselves as the de facto rulers in south-west Gaul as central Roman rule collapsed. Visigoths established their capital in Toulouse, but their tenure on Aquitaine was feeble, in 507, they were expelled south to Hispania after their defeat in the Battle of Vouillé by the Franks, who became the new rulers in the area to the south of the Loire. The Roman Aquitania Tertia remained in place as Novempopulania, where a duke was appointed to hold a grip over the Basques and these dukes were quite detached from central Frankish overlordship, sometimes governing as independent rulers with strong ties to their kinsmen south of the Pyrenees. As of 660, the foundations for an independent Aquitaine/Vasconia polity were established by the duke Felix of Aquitaine, a united Basque-Aquitanian realm reached its heyday under Odo the Greats rule. Odo was required to pledge allegiance to the Frankish Charles Martel in exchange for help against the advancing Arabic forces, Basque-Aquitanian self-rule temporarily came to a halt, definitely in 768 after the assassination of Waifer. Seguin, count of Bordeaux and Duke of Vasconia, seemed to have attempted a detachment from the Frankish central authority on Charlemagnes death, the new emperor Louis the Pious reacted by removing him from his capacity, which stirred the Basques into rebellion. Before Pepins death, emperor Louis had appointed a new king in 832, his son Charles the Bald, however scarce, some Frankish population and nobles settled down in regions like Albigeois, Carcassone, Toulouse, and Provence and Lower Rhone. After the death of the king Dagobert I, the Merovingian tenure south of the Loire became largely nominal, with the power being in the hands of autonomous regional leaders. The Franks may have largely assimilated to the preponderant Gallo-Roman culture by the 8th century. Still, in the Battle of Toulouse, the Aquitanian duke Odo is said to be leading an army of Aquitanians, on the other hand, the Franks didnt mix with the Basques, keeping separate paths. Recorded evidence points to their deployment across Aquitaine in a capacity as a mainstay of the Dukes forces. Romans are cited as living in the cities of Aquitaine, as opposed to the Franks, in 1058, the Duchy of Vasconia and Aquitaine merged under the rule of William VIII, Duke of Aquitaine
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Roman Catholic Diocese of Coutances
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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Coutances is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Its mother church is the Cathedral of Coutance in the commune of Coutances in France, the diocese is suffragan of the Archbishop of Rouen and comprises the entire department of Manche. It was enlarged in 1802 by the addition of the former Diocese of Avranches, since 1854 its bishops have held the title of Bishop of Coutances. The final rupture occurred definitively in 1569 when Queen Elizabeth I demanded that the Bishops hand the island over to the Bishop of Winchester, in 1757 the city of Coutances had a population of about 12,000 Catholics. The Cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and its Chapter was composed of eight dignities and twenty-five Canons. There were also six Choral Vicars, forty-two chaplains, fourteen choristers and six boy singers, the Cantor has existed from the XI century. The four archdeacons were, Coutances, Baptois, Val-de-Vire and Cotentin, in the city were two parishes, two houses of male religious, and two monasteries of monks. The entire diocese had some 500 parishes, the diocese contained seven houses of Benedictine monks, Saint-Sever, Lessay, Saint-Sauveur le Vicomte, Montebourg, Hambie, Notre-Dame de Protection, and Notre-Dame des Anges. There was a house of Premonstratensians at Blanchelande, and two houses of Augustinians, at Saint-Lô and Notre-Dame de Voeu at Cherbourg, all were abolished by will of the Constituent Assembly in 1790, and their properties confiscated and sold. Monastic vows were dissolved and forbidden, on 12 April 1791 the priests of the seminary were expelled for refusing to take the Oath to the Constitution. On 15 January 1793 the turn came of the houses of women to be closed and confiscated, the Cathedral of Avranches, situated in a town of some 2500 inhabitants in 1764, was dedicated to Saint Andrew on 17 September 1211. The Chapter of the Cathedral had six dignities and eighteen Canons, the archdeacons were named Archidiaconus Abricensis and Archidiaconus Vallis Moretonii. The town contained three parishes, one community of religious and one monastery of monks. The entire diocese contained 170 parishes, the Diocese of Avranches was abolished during the French Revolution by the Legislative Assembly, under the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Its territory was subsumed into the new diocese, called Manche, with its seat at Coutances, when the Concordat of 1801 was struck between Pope Pius VII and First Consul Bonaparte, the Diocese of Avranches was not revived. Joseph Wicquart, 1966–1988 Jacques Fihey, 1989–2006 Stanislas Lalanne, 2007–2012, Laurent Le Boulch, 2013−present Catholic Church in France Gallia christiana, series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae, quotquot innotuerunt a beato Petro apostolo. Ratisbon, Typis et Sumptibus Georgii Josephi Manz, hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi V. Patavii, Messagero di S. Antonio. Hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi VI, calendar of documents preserved in France, illustrative of the history of Great Britain and Ireland
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Alderney
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Alderney is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency and it is 3 miles long and 1 1⁄2 miles wide. The area is 3 square miles, making it the third-largest island of the Channel Islands, and the second largest in the Bailiwick. It is around 10 miles from the west of La Hague on the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy and it is the closest of the Channel Islands to both France and the United Kingdom. It is separated from Cap de la Hague by the dangerous Alderney Race, as of April 2013, the island had a population of 1,903, natives are traditionally nicknamed vaques after the cows, or else lapins after the many rabbits seen in the island. Formally, they are known as Ridunians, from the Latin Riduna, the only parish of Alderney is the parish of St Anne, which covers the whole island. The main town, St Anne, historically known as La Ville, is referred to as St Annes by visitors and incomers. The towns High St, which formerly had a handful of shops, is now almost entirely residential, crossing Victoria St at its highest point. The town area features a church and an unevenly cobbled main street. There are a school, a secondary school, a post office. Other settlements include Braye, Crabby, Longis, Mannez, La Banquage, Alderney shares its prehistory with the other islands in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, becoming an island in the Neolithic period as the waters of the Channel rose. A cist survives near Fort Tourgis, and Longis Common has remains of an Iron Age site, there are traces of Roman occupation including a fort, built in the late 300s, at 49°43′09″N 2°10′36″W above the islands only natural harbour. The etymology of the name is obscure. It is known in Latin as Riduna but as with the names of all the Channel Islands in the Roman period there is a degree of confusion, Riduna may be the original name of Tatihou, while Alderney is conjectured to be identified with Sarnia. Alderney/Aurigny is variously supposed to be a Germanic or Celtic name and it may be a corruption of Adreni or Alrene, which is probably derived from an Old Norse word meaning island near the coast. Alternatively it may derive from three Norse elements, alda, renna and öy or -ey, Alderney may be mentioned in Paul the Deacons Historia Langobardorum as Evodia in which he discussed a certain dangerous whirlpool. The name Evodia may in turn originate from the seven Haemodae of uncertain identification in Plinys Natural History, puffins on Burhou and gannets on Les Étacs just off Alderney are a favourite of many visitors to the island. About a quarter of Alderney hedgehogs are of the white or blonde variety and these are not albinos, but descent of rarely met blonde European hedgehogs, with a blonde pair released on the island in the 1960s
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Franc
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The franc is the name of several currency units. The French franc was the currency of France until the euro was adopted in 1999. The Swiss franc is a world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription francorum rex used on early French coins and until the 18th century, or from the French franc, the countries that use francs include Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and most of Francophone Africa. Before the introduction of the euro, francs were used in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, while Andorra. The franc was used within the French Empires colonies, including Algeria and Cambodia. The franc is sometimes italianised or hispanicised as the franco, for instance in Luccan franco, one franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. It was equivalent to one livre tournois, the French franc was the name of a gold coin issued in France from 1360 until 1380, then a silver coin issued between 1575 and 1641. The franc finally became the currency from 1795 until 1999. Though abolished as a coin by Louis XIII in 1641 in favor of the gold louis and silver écu. The franc was also minted for many of the former French colonies, such as Morocco, Algeria, French West Africa, today, after independence, many of these countries continue to use the franc as their standard denomination. The value of the French franc was locked to the euro at 1 euro =6, fourteen African countries use the franc CFA, originally worth 1.7 French francs and then from 1948,2 francs but after January 1994 worth only 0.01 French franc. Therefore, from January 1999,1 CFA franc is equivalent to €0.00152449, a separate circulates in Frances Pacific territories, worth €0.0084. In 1981, The Comoros established an arrangement with the French government similar to that of the CFA franc, originally,50 Comorian francs were worth 1 French franc. In January 1994, the rate was changed to 75 Comorian francs to the French franc, since 1999, the currency has been pegged to the euro. The conquest of most of western Europe by Revolutionary and Napoleonic France led to the wide circulation. Newly unified Italy adopted the lira on a basis in 1862. In the 1870s the gold value was made the fixed standard, the 1921 monetary union of Belgium and Luxembourg survived, however, forming the basis for full economic union in 1932
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Livre tournois
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The livre tournois was, one of numerous currencies used in France in the Middle Ages, and a unit of account used in France in the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The denier tournois coin was minted by the abbey of Saint Martin in the Touraine region of France. The livre tournois was, in common with the original livre of Charlemagne, divided into 20 sols, between 1360 and 1641, coins worth one livre tournois were minted, known as francs. Other francs were minted under Charles V of France, Henri III of France, the use of the name franc became a synonym for livre tournois in accounting. The first French paper money, issued between 1701 and 1720, was denominated in livres tournois and this was the last time the name was used officially, as later notes and coins were denominated simply in livres, the livre parisis having finally been abolished in 1667. With many forms of domestic and international money circulating throughout Europe in the late Middle Ages and the modern period. In the world of banking of the 13th century, it was the florin. For example, the Louisiana Purchase treaty of 1803 specified the relative ratios of the franc, dollar and livre tournois. The official use of the livre tournois accounting unit in all contracts in France was legislated in 1549, since coins in Europe in the Middle Ages and the Early modern period did not have any indication of their value, their official value was determined by royal edicts. In cases of financial need, French kings could use the value for currency devaluation. By reversing these techniques, currencies could be reinforced, royal finance officers faced many difficulties. For more on issues, see Monetary policy and Greshams Law. French livre Livre parisis French franc Louis Luxembourgish livre Écu Roman currency
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Brétigny". Encyclopædia Britannica. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 501.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the