The battle of Nerwinden was the most terrible shock of this war.

The French cavalry placed in reserve remained four hours without moving under the most violent fire, and tore off with king d' Angleterre this cry of spite: "Oh! the insolente nation! "the victory was disputed a long time; finally the soldiers of the gardes-françaises decided day by a load with the bayonet, the first which our history presents. (July 1693.)

Born in Strasbourg in 1753, initially Austrian officer, then voluntary French into 92, General into 93, illustrated themselves in Germany, in the Vendée, in Egypt; assassinated in Cairo (1800).

The king of Naples, by hatred of the Revolution, undertook to destroy the Roman republic, but the Championnet General ran to the help of the Romans and walked on Naples: the king flees shamefully on the English fleet; the French seized Naples and proclaimed there the Republic (January 1799).

The pilori was the post, the pillar or the scaffold on which the criminals, the yoke with the neck, were exposed to the insults of the rabble.

That of the Markets, in Paris, was a species of turn where the patients had the head and the hands passed in holes.

Sometimes one nailed with the pilori the books considered seditious which were to be destroyed then by the hand of the torturer.

Under Louis XIV, Dîme royal, works of Vauban, had been condemned to this humiliating sorrow (1707).

The pilori was abolished in 1789.

After the defeat of Turin, Italy was lost and invaded France.

Prince Eugene, French passed to the service of Austria, and the duke of Savoy Victor-Amédée penetrated in Provence, with forty thousand men, and besieged Toulon, that the English and the Dutchmen blocked by sea with fifty ship of the lines.

But the city resisted the bombardment, Provençaux took the weapons, and the enemy, not to be crossed from Italy, had to raise the seat after having lost 10 000 men. (August 707.)

Two days before Crécy, the English army had failed to be entirely destroyed: driven back with the sea and the Sum, it did not seem to be able to escape to Philippe VI who approached with a large army, but the English were made show by the peasants el ford of Blanquetaque, practicable with low tide; they passed it at the point of the day, and collapsed the small French body which kept right bank of the river: one fought in water with fury, but when Philippe VI arrived on Al Summons, it was too late: the English were established other side, and the rising tide made the river insuperable.

The English admiral Nelson had his victory with a movement of a great boldness: the French vessels were arranged on line with little distance of the coast; Nelson, launching a part of its vessels between the shore and the French fleet, took it between two fires and struck down our ships the ones after the others; the French admiral Brueys died bravely on his bench of quarter; Villeneuve flees in Malta with four ships, all the remainder of the French fleet was taken or destroyed, and Bonaparte found insulated in Egypt (August 1798).

The Large Companies were bands of adventurers, in turn soldiers and brigands, who enrôlaient themselves to make fortune, and who resorted to plundering as soon as they did not find any more enemies to be fought.

In 1366, Charles V, who did not need their services, skilfully decided them to take the way of Spain, and Du Guesclin, which could speak to them, succeeds with leading to it: it was only forced to make them some concessions, and it was on its authorities that the Pope, to save Avignon of their visit, made them give by his legate one present of one hundred thousand franks and the discharge of their innumerable sins.

France started to weary Republic.

Bonaparte, trustful in its glory, solved to seize the capacity using the army.

The 18 brumaire of year VIII (November 9, 1799), it was ensured of the devotion of the Generals, and made transport the two assemblies to Saint-Cloud, to remove the support of Paris to them.

The 19 brumaire it completed to reconcile the assembly of Old, then it went to that of Cinq-Cents; accomodated by low cries "A the dictator", insulted, surrounded, threatened, it left the room, harangua the soldiers, and exaggerating the danger which it had run, it did not have of sorrow to ignite their enthusiasm: a pomegranate battalion invades the room with the sound of the drum, the bayonet at the end of rifle, and the deputies fled.

Montaigne, born in 1533 in Périgord, died in 1592, was mixed with the political events with its time as mayor with Bordeaux, then like deputy with the states of Blois: human and tolerant, it never engaged à fond in the fray, and often took refuge in the study.

Its single work, entitled the Tests, is a succession of thoughts without order, but always deep or clever, written in a vigorous style which engraves them in the memory.

The summary of its book is "Which I know ? "

A nephew of Louis Débonnaire, Bernard, dissatisfied to have had in division only the kingdom of Italy, wanted at least to make himself independent, but Louis gathered a large army in the Châlons-on-Saone and prepared to pass the Alps.

Bernard, too weak to support the fight, beseeched his forgiveness; Louis made him tear off the eyes (818).

Marie Leczinska was girl of Stanislas Leczinski, former king de Pologne, who lived obscurely in Alsace.

Married to Louis in 1725, it was very unhappy.

The war between Richard and Philippe was a keen fight which extended from Normandy in Berry and the Flanders.

Richard had with its service of bands of lorry drivers, "which did not count for nothing overflowing human blood, plundering and the fire" Philippe, which had only knights and communal militia, often the lower part had.

In 1194, it was surprised in the surroundings of Blois, and it lost all its luggage, its money, its royal seal, a part of its files.

Another time, in 1196, it fell into a ambush in Courcelles, close to Gisors; the French were only two hundreds against several thousands: Philippe sprang bravely on the English and managed to clear a passage, but the majority as of the his companions perished.

In addition to the lance and the sword the knight was armed with an axe, of a dagger, a plague of weapons, and a mass of weapons, bludgeon furnished with points.

With the end of the twelfth century the Masters and the schoolboys joined to form a corporation which bore the name of University; they obtained from Philippe Auguste and the pope of important privileges: they could not be stopped for debts, nor judged by the provost of Paris: they had a special court and an elected chief whom one called the Vice-chancellor; its entry in functions was celebrated by a procession: it had a dress of violet scarlet, a silk belt with gold nipples, a broad cross-belt of ribbon, a mantelet of hermine and a doctor's cap; it had the step on the bishops.

The majority of the students lived joint in the colleges.

Catherine de Médicis, who was to play a so great part during the reigns of her sons Charles IX and Henri III, did not have any influence of living of her husband, in spite of her intelligence and her beauty.

Girl of Laurent II of Médicis, it had been chosen by Henri II only for her richness.

The long humiliation where it lived contributed to desiccate the heart to him, and when it had the capacity between the hands, it put the policy of Machiavel into practice, i.e.

the policy which makes fun of any principle and which does not move back in front of the crime.

The Empire of Charlemagne included/understood Gaule, the North of Spain, the greatest part of Italy and Germany.

Also the Emperor it was often surrounded lords of all countries, which made a brilliant escort to him.

Its power highly struck the spirit of the men of its time; its person became for their imagination larger than natural and its history was transformed into legend.

Templiers, at the same time monks and templiers, had been instituted to fight the Inaccurate ones into Ground-Holy.

But when the time of the crusades had passed, they remained organized in the various countries of Europe as they had been in Palestine; nouveau riches by donations, brave, disciplined, blindly submitted to their Large-Master, they could become dangerous for the royalty.

In France, their principal monastery was the Temple, castle extremely now destroyed, but which left its name with the district.

Bayard heroically supported the retirement with some brave men, when it accepted in the kidneys a blow of arquebus: "My God, says it, I died! "His companions gave up it under a tree, and soon appeared the Spanish avant-garde.

Bourbon, which ordered it, met dying it and felt sorry for it of its fate: "It is not me which am to feel sorry for, the good knight answered, because I die as a man of good, but I have pity of you, Sir, who are useful against your prince, your fatherland and your oath! "(1524)

The States General were composed of deputies of the nobility, the clergy and the third state; but the noble ones, cut down by their defeats, had lost very ascending on the Parisian ones; they were withdrawn and any more but did not think of fighting; the clergy, directed by Robert Lecoq, bishop of Laon, supported the third state in its complaints; the influence passed thus to people of the trades, and mainly to the clothier Étienne Marcel.

In addition to the Louvre, which is one of the wonders of architecture, France still has a great number of castles of the Rebirth: the castle of Blois, with its large rooms, where the States General were held, its apartments, its prisons, which point out so many historical memories; - the castle of Chambord, with its up to date staircase, its beautiful towers, its pinnacles and its thousand sculptures; - the castle of Chenonceaux, elegantly located on Expensive; etc.

The castle of Fontainebleau is "an appointment of palate" whose main thing is that of the sixteenth century.

Finally one of the most beautiful castles of the Rebirth was the castle of Gaillon than the cardinal of Amboise had been made build not far from Rouen: it us remains about it only charming it gantry which decorates the schoolyard with the Art schools, in Paris.

Henri IV, who had only 7 000 men against 30 000, seemed in a desperate plight, but it was cut off from the heights from Arch, like in the suburbs and the castle of Dieppe; Mayenne made during three weeks of main efforts to force it in its positions: all its attacks were useless, and, when it learned the approach from an army of help, it was withdrawn in all haste.

The honest companion of Henri IV, Crillon, which suffered from a wound, had not been able to attend the battle: Henri wrote to him with his ordinary gaity: "Hang yourself, honest Crillon, we overcame without you"

Marie de Médicis, born in Florence in 1572, was girl of the large-duke of Tuscany.

Married to Henri IV in 1600, it gave the day to Louis XIII and to Gaston of Orleans.

After having exerted regency, it was exiled in Blois after the death of Concini and made the war with her son to seize again the capacity.

Reconciled with him by Richelieu, it took again influence after the death of Albert de Luynes, but in 1630 it intrigued against Richelieu itself: Louis XIII supported his minister and Marie de Médicis died in the exile in 1652.

The battle of Leipzick, called by the Germans the battle of the nations, is most fatal of modern times: 130 000 French fought there during three days against 330 000 Austrians, Prussians, Germans, Russian and Swede; they lost 50 000 men, and the enemy more than 60 000. The first day, that of October 16, was a victory, but two days later the allies, which received reinforcements unceasingly, started again the fight: the French still had the advantage when suddenly 12 000 Saxon and Wurtembergeois, our last German allies, which formed a part of our line passed to the enemy and were turned over at once against us; the French Army, cut into two, was forced to move back and the retirement changed into disaster; all the rear-guard was destroyed.

Friedland was another Austerlitz: Napoleon, after having crossed into two the Russian army, threw himself on the principal part, wrapped it, drove back it in Alle in the small town of Friedland, and covered the bridge of grapeshot; the Russians, who did not have an other line of retirement, threw themselves to water to flee, and much drowned: the battle cost them 40 000 died men, wounded or taken (June 14, 1807).

Louis XIV had seen dying before him his son and the elder one of his grandsons: it was its great-grandson, five years old, who succeeded to him under the name of Louis XV.

The Viscount of Limoges having found a large treasure in the castle of Chalus, his suzerain Richard Lion Heart claimed to him, and for tearing off to him, it came itself to besiege Chalus; but, at the time when it put foot at ground, it was reached with the shoulder of a feature launched by a crossbow, and it died at the end of a few days, after having asked its soldiers to save his murderer (1199).

A few months after, for Ushant, the Breton admiral Herve de Primoguet attacked with twenty ships an English fleet four times more: first shock it ran three English ships, but it is surrounded soon by higher forces, and its vessel the Beautifulone is sifted balls, is démâté, and tightened closely by the Regent, vessel of the English admiral.

Primoguet refuses to go, and in a sublime despair, it pushes the Beautifulone against the Regent, clings to it by hooks, and makes jump the two ships: the other vessels transfer a great gleam, and heard a formidable noise, then they saw only the floods which had just absorbed two thousand men; the English withdrew themselves terrified, and nineteen French vessels returned to Brest.

The year which preceded the battle by Hastings, Harold was thrown by a storm on the coast of France, and from Guillaume his freedom only while swearing to him with solemnity in front of a crowd of Norman lords to recognize it for king d' Angleterre with died of Édouard the Confessor obtained: he believed that his promise was without consequence, parce which he had extended the hand only on small relics, but Guillaume had dissimulated under a carpet a large tank full with bones of Saints; when the carpet was raised, Harold realized trap where it had fallen and fades of terror: its oath was crowned more than it had not believed.

New king d' Espagne, Philippe V, after having said good-bye to Louis XIV and in France, left Versailles on December 4, and made his entry in Madrid, February 18, 1701. The eighteenth century opened with glory, and the courtiers repeated with enthusiasm the word of Louis XIV: "There are no more the Pyrenees"

Gaston de Foix, young person general of twenty-three years, returned one moment the victory to France.

He had as much prudence than the old Generals, and he astonished more the brave men by his courage.

After having driven out Switzerland of the Milanese, removed Bologna with the Spaniards and Brescia with Venetian, it attacks in Ravenne the Spaniards and the army of the Pope.

Thanks to a terrible cannonade and with furious loads, the battle was gained and the enemy fled, when Gaston, seeing two Spanish companies which were withdrawn proudly with the small step, sprang on them au.galop with some men; soon surrounded and désarçonné, it refused to go, and, new Roland, it defended himself a long time with blows of sword, but to the fifteenth wound, it fell (April 1512).

Gaston de Foix was not replaced, and the fortune of France succumbed with him.

Jacques-heart, endowed with the genius for business, had founded a vast maritime company, put France in relation to the Indies, fact of the treaties with the Turks and had given to the trade a rise hitherto unknown.

Become the richest man of the kingdom, it lent to Charles VII the money necessary to the conquest of Normandy, became its treasurer, and played a great political part; but calumniated by the crowd of envieux, it lost the confidence of the king and was condemned to the exile (1453).

Its hotel is still upright.

Started with the twelfth century, and finished at the thirteenth century.

The king of Spain Charles II had designated for his heir the duke to Anjou, Philippe, second son of the Dolphin.

Louis XIV, after having reflected during three days, took his party, and, gathering all the courtiers, it introduced his grandson to them, and says to them: "Messrs, here the king of Spain" (November 1700.)

The army of the Knights, if already reduced by the diseases and the combat, endured under the walls of Jerusalem the greatest sufferings: the sun burned the ground; the torrents were desiccated, and the poisoned water of the cisterns.

But the Christians suffered without murmuring, because they were supported by the faith.

Pushed back in several attacks, they forced finally the rampart el July 14, 1099, and penetrated in the city per hour of Passion.

The battle continued street in street, of house in house; with the entry of the large mosque, the floods of blood rose to the breast piece of the horses.

As soon as the Christians were Masters of the city, they washed their bloody hands, and went to the holy places to adore God.

Since the opening of the States General, and especially since the meeting of June 23, Paris anxious and was agitated; the gatherings of troops to the Field of Mars, the insolence of some officers, the reference of the Necker minister, in a word the threats of coup d'etat produced an angry outburst there: the people raised themselves (July 12); the French guards, almost all children of Paris, made common cause with him, and when the dragons were on the point of charging crowd with Tileries, they found uniforms in front of them; the 13, Paris were held on the defensive, manufactured spades, and organized a national guard of 48 000 men; the 14, the people removed deposit of the Invalids 28 000 rifles and 20 guns, then it seized the Bastille.

The king, renonçant with the fight, moved away his troops and pointed out Necker.

The Protestants of Aunis, Saintonge and Normandy tried to flee by sea; a rather great number succeeded in gaining England through thousand dangers, but of the soldiers the coasts supervised, of the ships crossed with the broad one, and much the unhappy ones were brought back irons to the hands and were condemned.

Nimes also preserved its Roman arenas, where 24 000 spectators could take seat on thirty-five rows, fifteen for the aristocracy, ten for the middle class, ten for the small people and slaves: they were several repaired times, and they are used still sometimes for bullfights.

The General of Ornano having been seriously wounded, Napoleon gave him the only car which it had been able to preserve and made the remainder of the road to foot.

The plains were strewn with remains and corpses buried in snow.

The poor which knew the great charity of king Robert, misused it sometimes.

One feastday, in Étampes, Robert had inserted some poor in the room where it soupait, and it gave them to eat by ground as with dogs which their Master spoils.

When they had left, one realized that they had stolen the gold fringes of the royal coat.

The queen was strong in anger and regretted the beautiful fringes, but the kings was satisfied to say while smiling: "They for of required undoubtedly more that me" the chroniclers tell good king Robert several anecdotes of the same kind.

Moreau, the winner of Hohenlinden, had conspired in 1804 against Bonaparte, of which it envied fortune, and it had been condemned to the exile.

After having lived a few years in America, it returned to Europe in 1813, not to defend its threatened fatherland, but to carry the last blows to him.

Accomodated well by the enemies of France, it did not have shame to be used to them as guide, and it was charged to trace a vast plan of invasion, but hardly was it opposite the French Army, on the battle field of Dresden, that a French ball crashed to pieces the two legs to him, at the time when it indicated to the emperor of Russia an operation to be made (August 1813).

Moreau undergoes with courage the amputation of the two legs and died after six days of sufferings, while saying: "This Bonaparte is always happy"

Philippe 1st, having repudiated his Berthe wife to marry Bertrade, woman of the count d' Anjou, was excommunicated by the pope Urbain II, then by the council of Clermont: at once all the good Christians moved away from him, its servants even did not dare more to approach it.

Philippe, to obtain his forgiveness, promised to return Bertrade and to make penitence, but it held its word badly.

The three sons of Philippe the Beautiful one, Louis, Philippe and Charles were armed knights the same day.

The king of England Édouard, which had married Isabelle, girl of Philippe the Beautiful one, was invited to the ceremony, and the festivals lasted one week; the middle-class men of Paris organized cavalcades, mimes and all kinds of entertainments: "the Queen of England was avoided in a turret with several injuries and damoiselles, and they liked this festival extremely, and turned to great honor to king de France and people of Paris"

Ronsard, born in 1524 in Vendômois, died in 1585, was a poet of an admirable variety: sonnets, elegies, odes, comedies, tragedies, it approached all the kinds, it tested all the rates/rhythms; one can reproach his poetry for being too in charge of scholarship, but one must know liking to him to have softened the French worms and to have enhardi the public taste.

It had joined together around him a company of poets whom it called his Pleiad, i.e.

the constellation of which it was the principal star.

One of the first acts of White of Castille was to return freedom to the count de Flandre Ferrand, imprisoned since the battle of Bouvines.

The constituent Assembly, after having abolished the privileges, had, in the declaration of the rights of man, proclaimed the principles of personal freedom and national sovereignty, but the king refused to sanction such radical reforms; the people of Paris, fearing new attempts at coup d'etat went in mass to Versailles, invade the palate, massacred some bodyguards, and took along of force the royal family to Tileries, to hold it at his disposal (October 5, and 6 1789).

The Isabeau queen of Bavaria, which had had the infamy to betray her husband Charles VI, to strip her own son Charles VII, and to deliver France to the English, was for the nation an object of contempt, and the English themselves insulted it.

When she died, in 1435, no bishop wanted to attend his funeral: no ceremony was made; the chronicler Jean Chartier, brother of the poet Alain Chartier, tells that the body was transferred onto a small boat, and that four people only followed the convoy.

Under Louis XII the French navy, up to that point of no importance, starts to compete of glory with the army, and the two names of Prégent and Primoguet deserve to be engraved in touts the memories.

Attacked by the English fleet (April 25, 1513), Prégent de Bidoux, which had only four small galères, was withdrawn in the handle of Conquet, not to be surrounded, and awaited the attack of the enemy in a narrow master key where the number became useless; the first ship which was presented was that of the admiral Howard; Prégent lets it approach, is thrown on him with the boarding, shapes with body with the admiral and extends it dead to its feet.

A second English ship, which advances with the help of the first, runs up against rocks and sinks.

The fleet moves away from the coasts of France, and Prégent, in its turn, will devastate the coasts of England.

The coalition of king d' Angleterre Henri III, king d' Aragon and the French rebel was fortunately thwarted by the energy of Louis saint.

Henri III, unloaded with Royan with 300 knights, had just joined the account of Walk on the edges of Charente, and sought to bring together around him all the dissatisfied lords, when, instead of Angevins until he waited, the French Army appeared suddenly.

As soon as it saw holy Louis springing on the bridge of Taillebourg, the high sword, and beginning the combat valiantly, it dispatched to him in all haste his Richard brother to ask him peace, obtained a one day truce, and as soon as it night had come, it flees au.galop with all those which had a rather good horse to follow it (Juill. 1242).

Henri IV pushed with strength the head office of Rouen, when the duke of Parma came for the second time to tear off hands to him the victory.

Henri, leaving large army under the walls of Rouen, ran with a part of his cavalry ahead of of the Spaniards to observe their movements.

He met them in Aumale, and started the combat, although he had only 1000 men against 30 000: received by a hail of balls, wrapped by the enemy cavalry, it showed the first soldier of the world, but had its safety only with the extreme prudence of the duke of Parma, which, fearing a trap, did not dare to make give all its troops.

Turenne, which had followed the Germans on other side of the Rhine, prepared for the following day a great battle and visited its outposts, when it was reached by a lost ball; its officers ran: it had died.

Its soldiers cried it like a father, and Saint-Hilaire, seriously wounded by the same ball, known as with his son who cried: "It is not me, it is this great man who should be cried" (July 1675.)

Nimes is one of the cities which kept the most vestiges of the Roman period: theSquare one is a temple which goes up at the time of Auguste: it is in so good state, which it does not seem older than modern constructions which surround it; it was used as model with the church of the Madeleine of Paris.

The good mood of Henri IV remained proverbial; its interview with Mayenne at Gabrielle d' Estrées, in Monceaux in Brie, is one of prettiest anecdotes the than one tells of him.

Mayenne, forced to acknowledge itself overcome, was thrown to the feet of Henri IV, while wondering with anguish which fate awaited it.

Henri, after having raised it, took it by the hand and involved it with great steps in the alleys of the park; Mayenne, which was very large and which suffered from the drop, was soon forced to stop to take again breath: "By God, tells him while laughing Henri IV, here is all my revenge; touch-there, my cousin, "and it embraced it.

From this day, Henri did not have a servant more devoted than Mayenne, the former chief of the members of a league.

Built at the thirteenth century.

Its gate is a wonder.

Fallen to the hands from his rebellious sons, Louis Débonnaire was subjected to an odious humiliation.

One carried out it in the Saint Médard's Day church to Soissons; one forced it to start at knees and reading in front of all a long consent of his faults, true or imaginary; then his military badges were removed to him, and one covered it with a dress of penitent; after which one locked up it in a narrow prison for the remainder of his days (833).

As the duke of Orleans left to the queen and followed the street Old woman-of-Temple, a score of men, hidden close to the Barbette door, were thrown at the same time on him while shouting: With death. - "Stop, says to them it, I am the duke of Orleans" - "It is what we ask", the band answered by striking it.

The duke, who had with him only two riders and four servants, could not even defend himself: one of the riders was killed at its sides; the others fled.

He was only eight hours of the evening, but the night was black and the deserted street; the unhappy one was sifted blows, and the assassins, who did not want to see it ressusciter like Clisson, withdrew themselves only after him to have crushed the head (November 1407).

Henri VIII, who projected to dismember France, and which had appointment in Paris with Charles-Quint, unloaded in Calais with an army of 50 000 men, invades Picardy and put the seat in front of Boulogne; the inhabitants were determined to defend oneself bravely, but the governor made only one show of resistance, and capitulated soon (September 14, 1544).

The catch of Boulogne decided François 1st to treat with Charles-Quint, whose avant-garde was shown with the doors of Meaux; peace was signed with Crespy-in-Valois September 18, and France did not have to push back but the English invasion any more.

François 1st, become as careful as it had been bold, did not want to intend to speak about great battle.

The young count d' Enghien, who ordered the French Army, and which saw the enemy in an unfavorable position, dispatched with the king the Montluc brave man, to tear off the permission to him to fight: "We all are determined to die or overcome; who do you want who kills twelve thousand men like us ? "Montluc appeared so assured success, that the king let himself gain: Triumphing Montluc turned over in all hastes near the count d' Enghien; the battle took place, and it was the victory of Cérisoles (April 1544).

The Gallic ones liked the adventures, and their audacity often involved them with far.

At the fourth century before J.-C., one their bands pushed to the heart of Italy, beat the Roman army in Allia, entered Rome, besieged the fortress of Capitole, and forced the Romans to capitulate.

Overcome had to pay 1000 pounds of gold (326 kilog.), and one reports that the Gallic chief, to have good measurement, threw in the balance its heavy sword with its cross-belt, and required the gold weight of them, while exclaiming: "Misfortune with overcome".