Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
After his death, the empire was split, carving the outlines of modern France and
Germany.
Eleanor of Aquitaine (c. 1122-1204):
The beautiful, sophisticated ex-wife of the
King of France married the King of England, creating an uneasy union between the
twocountries.Duringherlifetime,FrenchculturewasspreadacrossEuropebyrov-
ing troubadours, theological scholars, and skilled architects pioneering “the French
style”—a.k.a. Gothic.
Joan of Arc (1412-1431):
When France and England fought the Hundred Years'
War to settle who would rule (1337-1453), teenager Joan of Arc—guided by voices
in her head—rallied the French troops. Though Joan was captured and burned as a
heretic, the French eventually drove England out of their country for good, estab-
lishing the current borders. Over the centuries, the church upgraded Joan's status
from heretic to saint (canonized in 1920).
François I (1494-1547):
ThisRenaissancekingruledaunited,modernnation,mak-
ing it a cultural center that hosted the Italian Leonardo da Vinci. François set the
tone for future absolute monarchs, punctuating his commands with the phrase, “For
such is our pleasure.”
Louis XIV (1638-1715):
Charismatic and cunning, the “Sun King” ruled Europe's
richest,mostpopulous,mostpowerfulnation-state.EveryeducatedEuropeanspoke
French, dressed in Louis-style leotards and powdered wigs, and built Versailles-like
palaces. Though Louis ruled as an absolute monarch (distracting the nobility with
courtly games), his reign also fostered the arts and philosophy, sowing the seeds of
democracy and revolution.
Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793):
As the wife of Louis XVI, she came to symbolize
(probably unfairly) the decadence of France's ruling class. When Revolution broke
out (1789), she was arrested, imprisoned, and executed—one of thousands who
were guillotined on Paris' Place de la Concorde as an enemy of the people.
