French Historical Information

Index:
I.  France
    1.  Napoleon I the Great
         a. The Empire of France
         b. The Kingdom of France and the 1st colonial empire
         c. The Republic of France and the 2nd colonial empire
II.  French Consuls, Presidents, Marshals, Kings, and Queens
      1.  The Consulate (1799-1804)
      2.  Presidents of the Republic
      3.  Marshals
      4.  Kings and Queens
III.   Marie de France
        1. Her Work
            a.  LE LAIS DU LAUSTIC (English translation)
            b.  Quotes
 

Note:  Click on highlighted names to see a picture & click on highlighted dates to see a map.
           Links to other sites pertaining to each section at end of each section.
           Photos from the Art and Culture of France (May 19 - June 3, 2001)

"Une belle femme plaît aux yeux.
  Une femme aimable plaît au coeur.
  La première est un bijou.
  La deuxième est un trésor."

Napoleon I the Great 1804-1814, 1815
__Josephine the Good 1804-1809
__Marie-Louise 1810-1814
Napoleon II 1815
Napoleon III 1852-1870
__Eugenie 1853-1870

Napoleon-Russian Army for Wargamers
PBS: Napoleon
The Napoleonic Alliance
The Napoleon Foundation
The Napoleon Series
The Napoleonic Society of America

With such victories as Austerlitz (1805) and Wagram (1809), Napoleon was able to dominate Europe and create a vast European empire with France at its core. While emperor of France, Napoleon was also protector of the Confederation of the Rhine, king of Italy, and mediator of the Swiss Confederation. His brother Joseph was king of Naples and then of Spain, his brother Louis was king Holland, and his brother Jerome was king of Westphalia. His sister Elisa was princess of Piombina and Lucca and his sister Pauline was princess of Guastalla. The French marshal Murat who was married to Napoleon's sister Caroline was king of Naples and the French marshal Bernadotte was king of Sweden. The Grand Duchy of Warsaw was a satelite statea and in 1810, Napoleon married the daughter of the Austrian emperor, but Napoleon's plans for world conquest and to create the United States of Europe failed with the decisive defeats of Trafalgar (1805), Torres Vedras (1810-11), Salamanca (1812), Leipzig (1813), and Waterloo (1815). His son was technically emperor for five days, but never actually ruled. Napoleon III tried to emulate his uncle and achieved victories at Sevastopol (1854-55) and Solferino (1859). He also tried to create a puppet empire, but in Mexico under Maximilian and Charlotte. At Sedan (1870), the Prussians defeated the French and Napoleon III's empire fell and France again became a republic. His son is sometimes referred to as Napoleon IV, though he never ruled.
Napoleon's dream lives on. Such men as Hugo, Briand, and Churchill wished for a United States of Europe and the European Union is the virtual realization of this dream. The Bank of France, the Treaty of Amiens, the Napoleonic Code, the Legion of Honor, the Arc de Triomphe, La Madeleine church, the University of France, the annexation of Nice and Savoy, and the modernization of Paris are just some of the many amazing accomplishments of the years when Napoleon and his nephew ruled France.

First Empire

The French kindgom had grown out of Charlemagne's empire after the Treaty of Verdun in 843 and some of the early French kings were also Holy Roman Emperors (Charles II the Bald, Charles III the Fat). Philip Augustus' victory over the English, German, Flemish, and Lotharingian forces at Bouvines (1214) strengthened the growth of the French national spirit. France was almost conquered by the English until Joan of Arc defeated them at the siege of Orleans. The kingdom reached its zenith during the 17th century which is known to the French as the Great Century. In France itself during this century, Cardinal Richelieu began the foundation of modern France and after the death of Louis XIII, Louis XIV the Great ruled over the most powerful nation in the world. Although during this time France was not officially an empire, Champlain, Frontenac, and La Salle had founded vast French North America with New France and Lousiana, nonetheless. This 1st colonial empire and the kingdom were destroyed in the 18th century by the Seven Years' War and the French Revolution.

 
 

During the Consulate, the French Republic had reached a sort of golden age and revival of its colonial empire. With the victories at Valmy (1792) and Mantua (1796-7), France had obtained hegemony in Europe. Napoleon had an army in Egypt from 1798-1801, had obtained the Louisiana Territory from 1800-1803, and had control of Haiti until it gained independence in 1804.
After 1871, the French Republic had its own unofficial empire with France being headed by a president. The main areas of French colonization were French West Africa, French Equatorial Africa, and French Indo-China. The high point of this 2nd colonial empire was from 1890-1914 in what is known to the French as the Beautiful Age. After the World Wars, France's empire would be in a decline as wars broke out in Indo-China and Algeria. To decolonize, France had first created the French Union from 1946-1958 and then replaced it with the French Community in 1958. Charles de Gaulle is the most well known of the French presidents. Georges Clemenceau is the most well known of French prime ministers.

 
 

First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte 1799-1804
Second Consul Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès 1799
Third Consul Roger Ducos 1799
Second Consul Jean-Jacques Cambacérès 1799-1804
Third Consul Charles-François Lebrun 1799-1804

The Consulate began on November 11, 1799. Cambacérès and Lebrun replaced Ducos and Sieyès on December 12, 1799. On August 2, 1802, Napoleon was named first consul for life and on May 18, 1804, he was elected emperor of the French.

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte 1848-1852
Lous Adolphe Thiers 1871-1873
Marshal Marie Edmé Patrice M. de MacMahon 1873-1879
François Paul Jules Grévy 1879-1887
M. Sadi-Carnot 1887-1894
Jean Paul Pierre Casimir-Périer 1894-1895
François Félix Faure 1895-1899
Émile Loubet 1899-1906
Clement Armand Fallières 1906-1913
Raymond Poincaré 1913-1920
Paul E.L. Deschanel 1920
Alexandre Millerand 1920-1924
Gaston Doumergue 1924-1931
Paul Doumer 1931-1932
Albert Lebrun 1932-1940
Charles de Gaulle 1944-1946
Félix Gouin 1946
Georges Bidault 1946-1947
Vincent Auriol 1947-1954
René Coty 1954-1959
Charles Andre J. M. de Gaulle 1959-1969
Georges Pompidou 1969-1974
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing 1974-1981
François Mitterand 1981-1995
Jacques René Chirac 1995-present

Name and Date of Appointment:
Pierre François Charles Augereau, 19 May 1804
Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, 19 May 1804
Louis-Alexandre Berthier, 19 May 1804
Jean Baptiste Bessieres, 19 May 1804
Guillaume Marie Anne Brune, 19 May 1804
Louis Nicolas Davout, 19 May 1804
Jean Baptiste Jourdan, 19 May 1804
François Etienne Christophe Kellermann, 19 May 1804
Jean Lannes, 19 May 1804
François Joseph Lefebvre, 19 May 1804
André Massena, 19 May 1804
Bon Adrien Jannot de Moncey, 19 May 1804
Adolphe Edward Casimir Joseph Mortier, 19 May 1804
Joachim Murat, 19 May 1804
Michel Ney, 19 May 1804
Catherine Dominique Perignon, 19 May 1804
Jean Mathieu Philibert Serurier, 19 May 1804
Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult, 19 May 1804
Claude Victor-Perrin, 13 July 1807
Jacques Etienne Joseph Alexandre Macdonald, 12 July 1809
Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, 12 July 1809
Nicolas Charles Oudinot, 12 July 1809
Louis Gabriel Suchet, 1 July 1811
Laurent Gouvion St. Cyr, 27 August 1812
Prince Josef Anton Poniatowski, 16 October 1813
Marquis Emmanuel de Grouchy, 3 June 1815
Beurnonville, 1816
Clarke, 1816
Coigny, 1816
Vioménil, 1816
Lauriston, 1823
Molitor, 1823
Hohenlohe, 1827
Maison, 1829
Bourmont, 1830
Gérard, 1830
Clausel, 1831
Mouton, 1831
Valée, 1837
Sebastiani de le Porta, 1840
Bugeaud, 1843
Drouent d'Erlon, 1843
Dode de La Brunerie, 1847
Reille, 1847
Jérôme Bonaparte, 1850
Exelmans, 1851
Pélissier, 1851
Bosquet, 1856
Canrobert, 1856
Randon, 1856
Marie Edmé Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, 1859
Niel, 1859
Renault de Saint-Jean d'Angély, 1859
D'Ornano, 1861
Forey, 1863
Achille François Bazaine, September 1864
Leboeuf, 1870
Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre, 26 December 1916
Ferdinand Foch, 6 August 1918
Henri Philippe Pétain, 21 November 1918
Fayolle, 1921
Franchet d'Esperey, 1921
Gallieni, 1921
Lyautey, 1921
Maunroy, 1923
De Lattre de Tassigny, 1952
Juin, 1952
Leclerc de Hauteclocque, 1952
Koenig, 1984

Louis I the Pious 814-840
__Irmingard\Ermengard 814-818
__Judith von Bavaria-Altdorf 819-840
Charles I the Bald 840-877
__Ermentrude d'Orleans 842-869
__Princess Richardis\Richeut of Provence ? (m. 869/870, died ?)
Louis II the Stammerer 877-879
__Countess Palatine Adelheid 877-879
Louis III 879-882
Carloman 879-884
Charles II the Fat 884-887
Duke Eudes of France 888-898
Charles III the Simple 898-923
__Frederuna ? (m. 907, died 916/917
__Eadgifu of Wessex 917-923
Robert I 922-923
__Beatrice (Senlis) de Vermandois 922-923
Raoul 923-936
__Emma de France ? (died 934)
Louis IV 936-954
__Gerberga von Saxony 939-954
Lothaire 954-986
Louis V 986-987
Hugh Capet 987-996
__Adelaide de Poitou d'Aquitaine 987-996
Robert II the Pious 996-1031
__Rosela Roxana of Italy ? (m. 988, divorced ?)
__Bertha de Bourgogne 996-1010
__Constance de Provence 1001-1031
Henry I 1031-1060
__Matilda von Germany 1036-1044
__Princess Anna (Yaroslavna)of Kiev 1051-1060
Philip I the Fair 1060-1108
__Bertha of Holland 1072-1093
__Bertrada de Montfort-l'Amaury 1095-1108
Louis VI the Fat 1108-1137
__Lucienne de Rochefort ? (m. 1104, died ?)
__Adele de Savoy 1115-1137
Louis VII the Young 1137-1180
__Duchess Eleanor de Poitou d'Aquitaine ? (m. 1137, annuled ?)
__Constance of Castile 1153-1160
__Alix de Blois-Champagne 1160-1180
Philip II Augustus 1180-1223
__Css Isabella d'Artois of Hainault+Flanders ? (m. 1180, died 1189/90)
__Ingeborg\Isambour of DenmarkValdemarsdottir ? (m. 1193, divorced ?)
__Agnes von Meran ? (m. 1196, divorced ?)
Louis VIII the Lion 1223-1226
__Blanche de Castile 1223-1226
Saint Louis IX 1226-1270
__Margarethe 1234-1270
Philip III the Hardy 1270-1285
__Isabella d'Aragon ? (m. 1262, died 1270/71)
__Marie de Brabant 1274-1285
Philip IV the Handsome 1285-1314
__Jeanne I de Blois 1285-1304
Louis X 1314-1316
__Marguerite de Bourgone 1314-1315
__Clemence 1315-1316
John I 1316
Philip V the Tall 1316-1322
__Joan de Bourgogne 1316-1322
Charles IV the Fair 1322-1328
__Blanche ? (m. 1307, divorced?
__Marie 1322-1324
__Jeanne d'Evreux 1325-1328
Philip VI 1328-1350
__Jeanne de Bourgogne 1328-1348
__Blanche ? 1348/49-1350
John II the Good 1350-1364
__Jeanne 1350-1360
Charles V the Wise 1364-1380
__Jeanne de Bourbon ? 1364-1376/77
Charles VI the Beloved 1380-1422
__Isabella von Bavaria 1385-1422
Henry VI of England 1422
Charles VII the Victorious 1422-1461
__Marie d'Anjou 1422-1461
Louis XI the Cruel 1461-1483
__Charlotte de Savoy 1461-1483
Charles VIII the Affable 1483-1498
__Anne de Dreux 1491-1498
Louis XII the Father of the People 1498-1515
__Anne de Dreux ? 1498/99-1513/14
__Mary 1514-1515
Francis I 1515-1547
__Claude de France 1515-1524
__Eleonore 1530-1547
Henry II 1547-1559
__Catherine de Medici 1547-1559
Francis II 1559-1560
__Mary 1559-1560
Charles IX 1560-1574
__Elisabeth 1570-1574
Henry III 1574-1589
__Louise ? 1574/75-1589
Henry IV the Great 1589-1610
__Marguerite ? (m.1572, divorced?)
__Marie de Medici 1600-1610
Louis XIII the Just 1610-1643
__Anna 1615-1643
Louis XIV the Great 1643-1715
__Claude of Vin ? (b.1637, d.1687)
__Marie Angelique ? (b.1661, d.1681)
__Maria Theresia 1660-1683
__Françoise d'Aubigne 1684-1715
Louis XV the Good 1715-1774
__Maria 1725-1768
Louis XVI 1774-1792
__Marie Antoinette 1774-1792
Louis XVII 1793-1795
Louis XVIII 1814-1815, 1815-1824
Charles X 1824-1830
Louis Philippe I 1830-1848
__Maria Amelia 1830-1848

By the Treaty of Troyes (1420), Henry VI of England becomes King of France upon the death of King Charles VI of France in 1422, but soon after Charles' son Charles VII claims to be France's true king and with the help of Joan of Arc is crowned at Rheims in 1429.  The English monarchs keep the title of King of France until 1801.

English claimants to French throne (1422-1801):
Edward III 1340-1360, 1368-77
__Philippa 1340-1360, 1368-69
Henry VI 1422-1461
__Marguerite d'Anjou 1445-1461
Edward IV 1461-1470
__Elizabeth Woodville 1464-1470
Henry VI 1470-1471
__Marguerite d'Anjou 1470-1471
Edward IV 1471-1483
__Elizabeth Woodville 1471-1483
Edward V 1483
Richard III 1483-1485
__Anne Beauchamp, Lady Nevill 1483-1484/85 ?
Henry VII 1485-1509
__Elizabeth of York 1485/86-1502/03 ?
Henry VIII 1509-1547
__Catherine d'Aragon 1509-1534
__Marchioness Anne Boleyn of Pembroke 1532/33-1536 ?
__Jane Seymour 1536-1537
__Anne von Cleves 1539/40-1540 ?
__Catherine Howard 1540-1541/42 ?
__Catherine Parr 1543-1547
Edward VI 1547-1553
Lady Jane Grey 1553
__Dudley, Lord Guildford 1553
Bloody Mary I 1553-1558
__Felipe II of Spain 1554-1558
Elizabeth I 1558-1603
James I 1603-1625
__Princess Anna of Denmark 1603-1618/19 ?
Charles I 1625-1649
__Henriette Maria de Bourbon of France 1625-1649
Charles II 1660-1685
__Catherine de Braganca 1662-1685
James II 1685-1688
__Mary Beatrice d'Este of Modena 1685-1688
William III 1689-1702
__Mary II 1689-1694
Anne 1702-1714
__George of Denmark 1702-1708
George I 1714-1727
__Sophia Dorothea von Brunswick-Celle 1714-1726
George II 1727-1760
__Margravine Karoline von Brandenburg-Ansbach 1727-1737
George III 1760-1801
__Charlotte Sophie von Mecklenburg-Strelitz 1761-1801
 
 

LE LAIS DU LAUSTIC (English translation)
The adventure in my next tale
The Bretons made into a lai
Called "Laustic," I've heard them say,
In Brittany; in French they call
The "laustic" a "rossignol"
And in good English, "nightingale."

Near St. Malo there was a town
(Somewhere thereabouts) of great renown.
Two knights lived there, no lowly vassals,
In houses that were built like castles.
These barons were so good, their fame
Gave their village goodness's own name.
One of them had married lately:
Polite and polished, such a lady!
She was wise to her own worth
(--Normal in ladies of high birth).
The other lord was a bachelor,
Famed for prowess and for valor,
Loved by all, for he knew how to live:
Joust a lot, spend a lot, what you have give
Away freely. He loved the wife of his neighbor.
He begged so much, and prayed yet more
--And goodness was his striking feature--
So she loved him more than any creature,
Because of the deeds he was famous for,
And because he lived in the castle next door.
Wisely and well they loved, these lovers;
They guarded their love under various covers
And hid it from general sight,
Lest anyone think it not right.
But who'd suspect? Who would suppose...?
Their two houses were built so close,
Together they stood, side-by-side,
No bar, no fencing to divide
Tower from tower, hall from hall--
Nothing but one high dark stone wall.
At the window of her bedroom suite
The lady would stand, and, oh! how sweet!
Talking thence with her loving friend
On the other side. They'd often send
Love-gifts flying through the air--
Toss and catch. Those evenings were fair:
Nothing's missing from their pleasure!
They had all they wanted, at their leisure,
Except coming together alone, you know,
And going as far as they'd like to go.
For her man used to guard and restrict
Her when he rode out in the district.
Still, day or night, if either lover
Longed to set eyes upon the other,
They had their hope and their refuge:
No-one detected their subterfuge,
No-one could tell her not to stare
Out her own window--and he'd be there.
Long had they loved each other dear
When there came the summer of one year.
Now woods and meadows are green again,
Orchards in blossom are seen again,
The birdie all his sweet notes showers
In joyous play on the sweet flowers.
A man or woman who loves someone--
Where else would their sweet thoughts run?
To tell the truth about this knight:
That's where his thoughts run, all right;
And the lady, at her window, higher,
Speaks, and looks, only desire.
Nights, when the moon her pale light shed,
When her husband had gone to bed,
The lady rose up from his side,
Wrapped herself in a mantle wide,
Went to stand at the window, true
To her friend waiting there, she knew;
For both their lives were just the same,
They waked all night till morning came.
 The rapture of looking made them so glad
(That rapture the only one they had).

She stood there so often, so often got up,
That her lord and master got all het up;
Then he'd ask her to represent
Why she got up and where she went.
"Lord," she said, "That girl or boy
Has never known this good world's joy
Who never heard the laustic's song.
That's why I stand here all night long.
I hear him sing so sweet at night,
It seems to me just pure delight;
I feel pleasure, such longing--I
Need to listen--I can't shut my eye."
He listened to her, every word,
Laughed, cruel, angry, at what he heard.
He made his plan, which must not fail:
He would trap the nightingale.
For every house-servant one task he set,
To fashion a snare, or a trap, or a net.
In the orchard they spread them; no big
Strong chestnut tree nor hazel twig
Lacked some snare or sticky lime.
Of course, they caught the bird, in time.
They took it to their lord, the husband.
Glad to be holding in his hand
The laustic, still full of life,
He went to show it to his wife.
"Lady, where are you? Speak some word
to us! Look! I caught this bird--
Come here, now! See how my lime glue
Got him! This nightingale kept you
Awake so often, night-long, when
You should sleep in peace. Well, never again!"
The lady listened to her master
Hurt and angry at this disaster.
--Could she have the bird? If her lord willed it?
In a fit of temper her lord killed it.
With both hands the neck he broke
(A vile deed, worthy of churlish folk!)
And at the lady he threw the body,
Getting her chemise all bloody
A little, in front, on the breast.
He left, not waiting to see the rest.

The lady took up the body small.
Weeping hard, she cursed them all,
Those traitors to the laustic
Who made the traps and snares to sneak
Away her joy forever more!
"Alas," she said, "my love next door!
Never again I'll rise up at night
To stand at the window, to catch a sight
of my friend as oft I used to do!
I know one thing, as true as true:
When I'm not there, my faith he'll doubt.
This is a problem I must think out.
I'll send my friend this nightingale.
All that's happened, he'll hear the tale."
The birdie she covered with a fold
Of samite, all in precious gold
Embroidered and inscribed.
She called her servant and described
The message and package she wanted to send.
He took both next door to her friend.
The servant came to the knight next door
And greeted him with his lady's favor.
He spoke his piece as she'd bade him speak
And handed over the laustic.
When he'd told the story and shown the bird
The knight, who'd listened to every word,
Was sad as could be at how things had turned out.
No vile churl he, though, no lazy lout:
He ordered the best smith to mold
A tiny vessel, all pure gold
(No iron or steel), and good stones,
Precious ones, expensive ones,
And make a good tight-fitting lid.
Inside, the laustic he hid.
Then he sealed up this reliquary
To ever after with him carry.

This adventure was widely known:
They couldn't hide it for more than a week.
It was sung as a lai by some Breton
And men call it "Laustic."

Quotes

"Good kings are slaves and their subjects are free."

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