King François I of France was born on the 12th of September at Cognac, Aquitaine, France. The only son of Charles d’Orléans, Count d’Angoulême, and his wife, Louise de Savoy, François was a great-great-grandson of King Charles V of France called the Wise (le Sage). A son of the man with...
Philippe III of France: an imitation of Saint Louis’ kingship based on favoritism
Philippe III of France (born on the 30th of April 1245 and died on the 5th of October 1285) ascended to the throne upon the death of his father – Louis IX known as Saint Louis – on the 25th of August 1270. His father passed away of dysentery in...
King Philippe I of the Franks known as the Amorous
King Philippe I of the Franks, born on the 23rd of May 1052, died on the 29th of July 1108. He was the eldest son of King Henry I and his second wife, Anne of Kiev. At the time, the name ‘Philippe’, which Anne gave him, was unusual for Europe,...
A Forgotten Confrontation: the Battle of Bouvines of 1214
Nowadays, few people heard about the Battle of Bouvines fought on the 27th of July 1214 near the town of Bouvines in the County of Flanders. Nonetheless, many remember the Battles of Crécy, of Poitiers, and of Agincourt. This battle was the decisive confrontation of the Anglo-French War that lasted...
Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII of France: an ill-fated royal match
On the 25th of July 1137, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, and the future Louis VII of France married in the Cathedral of Saint-Andre in Bordeaux. The marriage between was arranged by Louis VII’s father – King Louis VI of France known as the Fat....
The Château de Saumur: ‘Château d’Amour’ of the Loire Valley
Château de Saumur, one of the French royal châteaux in the Loire Valley, is located in the town of Saumur, overlooking the confluence of the Loire River and the Thouet River. Standing at the edge of an abrupt cliff, the castle boasts gorgeous views of the town and the Loire...
The Château de Chenonceau: “Château des Dames” of the Loire Valley
The Château de Chenonceau is a magnificent castle spanning the River Cher. It is located close to the village of Chenonceaux in the Indre-et-Loire département of the Loire Valley in France. One of the most famous châteaux of the Loire valley, it is a unique Renaissance castle, a fairytale and...
Marriage of François d’Angoulême and Claude of France
On the 18th of May 1514, François d’Angoulême, the future King François I of France, married his distant cousin Claude, the eldest of the two surviving daughters of Queen Anne and King Louis XII. The quiet ceremony took place in the atmosphere of lament in a chapel at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which...
The Boy-king of France
On November 1, 1179, fourteen year-old Philippe Capet was crowned and anointed at Rheims as King of the Franks. By the time of Philippe’s death nearly 44 years later, he had greatly enlarged and transformed his dominion, and he was the first French monarch to style himself as the “King...
King François I’s worst defeat: the Battle of Pavia and captivity
Today is another anniversary of the Battle of Pavia. It was fought on the morning of the 24th of February 1525 near the Imperial-controlled city of Pavia in Lombardy, Italy. The French kingdom of King François I of France was unfortunately vanquished by the Habsburg empire of Emperor Charles V,...