by John Julius Norwich
Leaders
Vercingetorix – “great warrior king” – 50 BC -defeated by Romans/Ceasar
Attila the Hun invaded around 400 AD
Roman Empire fell, Gaul area ruled by various tribes
Clovis – king of the Franks – took on the Christian faith
Charlemagne – 8th century – greatly extended empire – fell apart after his death. – Carolingian Dynasty
Invasion of Vikings in 10th century
Hugh Capet – “elected” in 10th century (didn’t come to power via heredity) . Rome church backed him.
Pope Urban II and the First Crusade. Lead by Urban. Was “successful”.
Louis II – married to Eleanor – who divorced him and married Henry II (kings of England). Louis started Notre Dame Cathedral in 1163. And University of Paris (Sorbonne)
Louis II son, Phillip Augustus, was one of the great French kings. First real king of the Franks (all of them).
Richard the Lion-hearted was the son of Henry. He, with Phillip, led the disastrous Second Crusade.
Phillip removed England from French territory. He eliminated the threat of the Germans.
(last page 63)
Louis X – Louis the Quarrelsome – let the Jews back in the country- but they had to live in a ghetto and wear an armband (!)
He also murdered his wife.
Phillip VI was king at the start of the 100 Year War with England. Phillip was a brave warrior by a terrible general.
Edward III took Calais. (Rodin, the Burghers of Calais)
Charles VI was insane
Henry V (england) invaded in 1415.
1429, Joan of Arc. Had some success in battle.
Charles VII, France, flourished after 100 year war.
author says Louis XI was an awful person, but left France stronger than ever at the end of the Middle Ages.
p. 106
Francis I “was the Renaissance”. His book were used to found the Bibliotheque Nationale.
Huguenots = Protestants.
p. 142
St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre – Catholics and Protestant battle. Lead to civil war between Catholics and Protestants.
Henry of Navarre – first non-Catholic king
Henry built Lourve – and Pont Neuf oldest Seine Bridge
Duke of Richelieu – killed Huguenots
Louis XIV – king for 72 years
fronde – series of unsucessful uprisings between 1648-53
War of Spanish Succession (Spain king Charles died, left crown to Duke of Anjou, Phillip. He tooks over (Charles did this because of the Inquisition.)
Led to the ware between with England, the Empire, Dutch.
“the civilization of France in the age of Louis XIV is among he most brilliant that the world has ever known.” p. 174
Louis XVI – 20 years old became king. big eater (like 14). short. liked astronomy. married Marie Antoinette. from Austria. didn’t screw for 7 years. Should have listen to controller Turgot, who told him/marie to limit spending.
Estates General – nobility, clergy, and everyone else. Mirabeau was chosen as leader of “everyone else.” good speaker.
“storming of the Bastille” (Bastille was a prison). king was “busy” hunting, as usual. Royal family forcefully move from Versailles to Tuileries in Paris.
escaped from Tuileries. hope to convince Austria and/or Spain to invade France. caught. Jacobins rise to power (anti-royal message).
Louis and Marie faced guilloine in 1792.
French Revolution. Girondins vs. the Jacobins. Robespierre leader of Jacobins.
Committee of “Public Safety”.
Napoleon Bonaparte takes over after the fall of Robespierre.
He coudn’t attack England, their Navy was too strong. Went to Egypt instead. disaster.
big mistake in Russia. allowed them to draw him farther and farther into country as winter was coming. many froze.
exiled to Elba. excape, took over France again, lost again at Waterloo, exiled to St. Helena.
he did “spread revolutionary ideal of liberty, equality and fraternity the length and breath of the continent.”
Louis XVIII took over after Napolean.
Talleyrand was succeeded by Duc De Richelieu.
Charles X was a “disaster” – suspended the constitution, closed newspapers, was quickly kicked out.
Louis-Philippe took over, wanted a constitutional monarchy. book says “he was one of the best kings France ever had”
Second French Republic after Philippe. 1848. Napoleon III took over. Made himself Emperor. Married Eugenie in 1853.
Napoleon redid Paris, Georges Haussmann in charge of the project. Rue de Rivoli, Rue Saint-Antoine, Boulevard Saint-Germain, Ave de l’Opera, Avenue Foch, Voulevar de Sebastopol, Boulevard Haussmann. new bilding, the Palais Garnier, cnetal market Les Halles.
Crimean War in 1853.
Mexico owned British, French, Spain lots of $. They invaded. Went badly.
Bismarck invaded Austria after Nap. said they would not interfere (!).
Franco-Prussiona war. French lost. End of Nap. Paris seige, hot air balloons. American help.
Third Republic in 1870 (after Nap.). Panama Canal scandal. bribes.
Dreyfus affair. (he was not guilty)
Battle of the Marne (wwi)
Battle of Verdun.
US was “largely responsible for the German defeat” in WWI.
Treaty of Versailles.
Free French, force that fought back against Hitler.
Vichy was the “french” gov’t that collaborated with the Nazis.
Operation Torch
Battle of the Bulge (Hilter’s last crazed offensive)
