Tiziano Vecelli, or simply Titian: ‘The Sun Amidst Small Stars’

Titian, one of the most prominent Renaissance artists, was born as Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio in Cadore, in the Republic of Venice sometime around 1488 to 1490.  Regarded as the most important Renaissance member of the 16th-century Venetian school of art, he was called ‘The Sun Amidst Small Stars’, echoing...

A heroic death of John the Blind, King of Bohemia, at the Battle of Crécy

John (or Jean) the Blind, Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310, heroically fell in the Battle of Crécy at the age of 50.  He commanded the left wing of the French forces together with Count Jean d’Aumale, Count Guy de Saint-Pol, and Jean de Hainault....

The Battle of Crécy: in the Footsteps of Edward III of England and Philippe VI of France

The Hundred Years’ War…  Doesn’t this sound daunting?  Frightening for everyone, indeed.  It lasted more than 100 years and was one of the most bloodthirsty and longest military conflicts in history.  Jean Froissart (a French-speaking medieval author from the Low Countries) became the most famed chronicler of this war, and...

Intricacies of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

On the night of the 23 and 24th of August 1572, the sanguineous St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre was carried out in Paris.  It was the cold-blooded murder of thousands of French Protestants called ‘Huguenots’, which appears to have been orchestrated by the formidable mother of King Charles IX of France...

The She-Wolf of France: Isabella of France as a product of an avaricious and ruthless age

Born in 1295, Isabella of France, who was Queen of England as the spouse of King Edward II of England, died on the 22nd of August 1358.  The youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philippe IV of France and Jeanne I of Navarre, Isabella is frequently described as...

Jacopo Peri known as Il Zazzerino: the inventor of opera

The Italian artist Jacopo Peri, who was known under the pseudonym Il Zazzerino, was born on the 20th of August 1561 (died on the 12th of August 1633).  Born in Rome, he was a composer and singer of the transitional period between the Renaissance and Baroque styles.  Il Zazzerino is...

The religious catastrophe in France preceding the marriage of Henri III of Navarre and Marguerite de Valois

On the 18th of August 1572, a fateful wedding took place in Paris, France.  King Henri III of Navarre, a Huguenot monarch and the future Henri IV of France, married Princess Marguerite de Valois.  Henri was the only surviving son of Jeanne d’Albret, or Queen Jeanne III of Navarre, and...

The establishment of the famous Italian House of Gonzaga in Mantua

On the 16th of 1328, the famous Italian House of Gonzaga seized power in the Duchy of Mantua, and ruled until 1708.   Starting from the 12th century, the family was growing their wealth, becoming a dominant one in Mantua.  Allied with the Bonacolsi, they together defeated their common enemy –...

Madeleine, Summer Queen of Scotland – a fragile flower destined to wither

Madeleine de Valois was born on the 10th of August 1520 to King François I of France and his first wife Queen Claude, Duchess of Brittany, at Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris.    The couple’s 5th child and 3rd daughter, Madeleine was a sickly girl since her early childhood.  Despite all...

Dauphin François of France: poisoned or died of natural causes?

Duke François III of Brittany, who was also Dauphin of France and an heir apparent, was the eldest son of King François I of France and his first wife, Queen Claude of France, who also was his cousin as daughter of King Louise XII and his second spouse, Anne de...

The Drama of Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany

On the 10th of August 1241, Eleanor Fair Maid of Brittany (House of Plantagenet) died as a nun at the age of 57 or 59.  Originally buried at St James’ Priory, Bristol, her remains were then exhumed and reburied at Amesbury Abbey by King Henry III of England (her cousin),...

‘The Peace of the Ladies’, and the misfortunes of King François I of France

The Treaty of Cambrai, also called ‘Peace of the Ladies’ (French: ‘Paix Des Dames’), was signed on the 3rd of August because of the efforts of two powerful women – Louise de Savoy, the mother of King François I of France, and Archduchess Margaret of Austria, who was Emperor Charles...

Queen Elizabeth I’s Famous Tilbury Speech

On the 9th of August 1588 (old calendar), Queen Elizabeth I of England appeared before her troops gathered at Tilbury, in Essex in preparation to repel the possible invasion by the Spanish Armada.  Nevertheless, by the time, the once powerful Armada had been driven from the Strait of Dover in...

Guillaume Dufay: a renowned Franco-Flemish composer

Guillaume Dufay was born on the 5th of August 1397 near Brussels, Burgundian Netherlands (modern Belgium).  Becoming a renowned Franco-Flemish composer, he lived a long life and died on the 27th of November 1474 in Cambrai (modern France).  Being probably the illegitimate son of a priest and Marie Dufay, Guillaume...

King Henri I of the Franks: the weak royal demesne of France

King Henri I of the Franks, born c 1008 in Reims, died on the 4th of August 1060, in Vitry-aux-Loges in France.  He was crowned at Reims in 1027 in his father’s lifetime, following the sudden demise of his elder brother Hugh Magnus.   Son of Robert Capet (King Robert II)...