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....
King Charles VII: from the ‘King of Bourges’ to the King of France free from the English
King Charles VII of France, known as the Victorious (le Victorieux), died on the 22nd of July, 1461 at Mehun-sur-Yèvre at the age of 58. His main legacy is the freedom of the French and the end of the Hundred Years’ War. Nonetheless, Charles VII’s reign started in the atmosphere...
Philippe II of France: a monarch rightfully deserving the epithet ‘Augustus’
Born on the 21st of August 1165, King Philippe II of France died on the 14th of July 1223 in Mantes-la-Jolie en route to Paris at the age of 58. When his father, Louis VII of France, fell ill, he had his only son crowned at Reims in 1179, making...
Louis XII of France: a king by accident with dreams of Italian conquests
King Louis XII of France was born on the 27th of June 1462 at Château de Blois. The son of Duke Charles d'Orléans, and Mary of Cleves, Louis XII succeeded his father only at the age of 3. King Louis XI appointed the chief councilors and servitors of the young...
King François I’s Book of Hours!
King François I’s Book of Hours! It belonged to the art-loving Knight-King, the first Renaissance King of France! It appears in my novels from time to time as François uses it quite often for prayers. Purchased in the 1530s, François used it every day. It is a stunning masterpiece of...
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...