History of France — Fall

What is unique about France?
How does France and the French story differ from other European nations?
How much does geography and the physical space determine the nature of France?

REQUIRED READING:

Here is an excellent general history of France that will be very useful for our entire year.

 

Before the Romans crossed the Alps into Transalpine Gaul, the first people to settle into the wide Seine river basin were the Celts. We studied the Celts last year in History of England. But this year we are interested in the Celts as the first people to discover and capitalize on the strategic uniqueness of the Paris region and its important islands that enabled one to cross the Seine.

REQUIRED READING:

RECOMMENDED READING:

From the publisher: Fierce warriors and skilled craftsmen, the Celts were famous throughout the ancient Mediterranean world, the archetypal barbarians from the north, feared by both Greeks and Romans. And though this ancient thousand-year-old civilization was crushed by the military campaigns of Julius Caesar,
the Celts remain an object of fascination to this day. Now, in The Ancient Celts, Barry Cunliffe, one of the world's leading authorities on European prehistory, explores the true nature of the Celtic identity and presents the first thorough and up-to-date account of a people whose origins still provoke heated debate.
Drawing on a wealth of recent archaeological findings, Cunliffe reveals how this loose band of nomads evolved from migratory barbarians into adroit traders and artists, inhabiting virtually every corner of Europe north of the Po. Beginning in the Hungarian plains of 1300 B.C., where the first hints of Celtic culture can be traced, the book shows how this fierce people slowly grew into one of Europe's most feared powers, constantly raiding and threatening the empires of both Greece and the Rome. Cunliffe demonstrates how the unprecedented Celtic diaspora gave way to the development of a number of mature, urban societies scattered throughout the continent. The book pays ample tribute to Celtic economic prowess, revealing how the civilization shrewdly took advantage of Europes tin, cooper, and gold resources to become both a respected trading partner with Rome and a nation of skilled artisans who forged some of the greatest weaponry of pre-antiquity. The book also describes the Celts's pantheistic religious traditions, with detailed accounts of weapon burials, human sacrifices, and the meditative powers of the Druids, and it concludes with a look at the influences of the Celtic mystique on the modern world, revealing how the concept of the Celt has been used many times by nations in search for an identity.
From the Victorians glorification of Boudicca, to linguistic influences in Ireland and Britain, to the common bond of Celtic ancestry that virtually every European shares, this comprehensive history demystifies the world of the Celts as never before. A fascinating history blending insightful
narrative with vivid detail, and boasting over 200 illustrations--including 24 color plates--and 30 maps, The Ancient Celts is an indispensable guide to this age-old, intriguing culture.

 

This book on the ancient Celts is a magnificent volume with great photographs and excellent text. You can also buy a used (like new) hardcover version of this for not much more than this paperback edition.

France as a Roman Colony.
How "Romanized" was France?
The limits of the Roman conquest.
And how the limits influenced all of later French history.
Remnants of Roman France.
You may own a copy of Julius Caesar's book on the Roman conquest of Gaul since we read it in our first year of Making of the Western Mind. If you end up with two copies, bring one in to class and am sure there will be someone who will be happy to purchase your extra copy.

REQUIRED READING

This is one of the most important books that we will read this year. Here is the Roman leading the army into Gaul (France), but also the one who gives us many views of the Celtic people who lived there and against whom he fought. It is a brilliant work of history written in the third person as if by someone who watched Caesar conquer Gaul: "Caesar did this and Caesar did that."

One of the most fascinating stories in all of European history is the story of how Roman Spain, Roman France, and Roman England slowly began to be transformed into something new, something that had never existed before, producing in each case a new national identity, rooted in early Celtic traditions, and enlarged by Roman contributions but also something beyond the Celtic and Roman flavor – something totally new. Between 300 and 500 AD a whole new cultural entity began to emerge in Europe. In the case of France this process was most fascinating in the southwest region around Bordeaux known as Aquataine from the healthy waters of the area. Here the Roman institutions, the cities, the libraries, the villas, were impressive and because of their strength and endurance, they survived the era of invasions and lived on into the new age. The figure who most perfectly speaks for this transition from Roman Gaul to the new France is Decimus Magnus Ausonius (310-395). Ausonius was a doctor's son born at Bordeaux in 310 AD. After an excellent Classical education in grammar and rhetoric he established a school of rhetoric (public speaking, an educational program that included politics and other subject matter). Among his many students were important figures in the Christian church such as Paulinus, Bishop of Nola as well as Roman officials. In 364, Ausonius was called to Rome by Emperor Valentinian to be the tutor to his son Gratian. When Gratian was murdered in 383, Ausonius went home to his villa outside Bordeaux. He had lived at the highest levels of Roman government, now his return to his villa outside of Bordeaux allowed him to be in touch with all aspects of the great international Roman empire. During his remaining years in Bordeaux he produced a fascinating collection of poetry that tells us about the world and the values of the late empire as the center failed to hold and the signs of collapse became more and more evident. We will provide you with copies of some of Ausonius' poetry.

RECOMMENDED READING

PHOTOGRAPHY

One of the great treats this quarter will be a visit to the Chateau Ausone.   Ausonius's Chateau still stands and now is the location of one of the greatest vineyards in all of the Bordeaux region.  The vineyard is built right into the Roman ruins and the bottles are aged in caves that have been used for two thousand years.   I am hoping we can buy a bottle of wine from Chateau Ausone to share on our night when we discuss Ausonius.  Such a bottle is available in our area as I write this at a cost of about $500 (yes, you read right).  Chateau Ausone wine is one of the most highly valued wines in the world.  So this project may not come to fruition, but we will try.  Whether we get to have a taste of the wine or not, we will all get to visit the Chateau thanks to the incredible generosity of the Varthier family who now own the vineyard.  They have provided us with spectacular photographs for our night on Ausonius.

You can visit the Chateau on line: Chateau Ausone

Martin of Tours was one of the best known saints of the fourth century. His lifespan from 316 to 397 put him right in the middle of the most important century of Christianity after the first. Martin was named after Mars, god of war, which Sulpicius Severus interpreted as carrying the meaning of "the brave, the courageous". His father was a senior officer (tribune) in the Imperial Horse Guard, a unit of the Roman army, and was later stationed at Ticinum, Cisalpine Gaul (now Pavia, Italy), where Martin grew up. At the age of ten, he went to the church against the wishes of his parents and became a catechumen or candidate for baptism. At this time, Christianity had been made a legal religion (in 313), but it was by no means the dominant religion of the Roman Empire. As a member of a high level Roman family who chose Christianity on his own, his life resembles that of Augustine. When Martin was fifteen, as the son of a veteran officer, he was required to join a cavalry unit himself and thus, around 334, was stationed at Ambianensium civitas or Samarobriva in Gaul (now Amiens, France). While Martin was still a soldier at Amiens, he experienced the vision that became the most-repeated story about his life. He was at the gates of the city of Amiens with his soldiers when he met a scantily dressed beggar. He impulsively cut his own military cloak in half and shared it with the beggar. That night he dreamed of Jesus wearing the half-cloak Martin had given away. He heard Jesus say to the angels: "Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is not baptised; he has clad me." (Sulpicius, ch 2). In another story, when Martin woke his cloak was restored, and the miraculous cloak was preserved among the relic collection of the Merovingian kings of the Franks. The dream confirmed Martin in his piety and he was baptized at the age of 18. Martin's decision to come to France (Tours) to help the church began one of the most important careers in the whole history of Christianity. Martin lays the foundations for the whole French Christian church.

RECOMMENDED READING

The life of Martin is known to us through the work of Sulpitius Severus.

"Alexander Roberts, Sulpitius Severus on the Life of S. Martin
from NICENE AND POST-NICENE FATHERS: Second Series, Volume XI Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian"

PHOTOGRAPHY

Tours became the cradle of Christianity in France and Saint Martin of Tours became its most famous citizen. This evening we will visit Tours.

The Franks or Frankish people (Latin: Franci or gens Francorum) were a West Germanic tribal confederation first attested in the third century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a kingdom on Roman-held soil that was acknowledged by the Romans after 357. In the climate of the collapse of imperial authority in the West, the Frankish tribes were united under the Merovingians and conquered all of Gaul in the 6th century. The Salian political elite would be one of the most active forces in spreading Christianity over western Europe. The Merovingian dynasty, descended from the Salians, founded one of the Germanic monarchies which replaced the Western Roman Empire from the fifth century. The Frankish state consolidated its hold over large parts of western Europe by the end of the eighth century, developing into the Carolingian Empire which dominated most of Western Europe. This empire would gradually evolve into France and the Holy Roman Empire. (Wikipedia)

The story of this new dynasty and its evolution is told by an eyewitness: Gregory of Tours. Tours remained one of the most important centers of French culture in the fifth and sixth centuries and Gregory continued the work of his famous predecessor Saint Martin. Gregory was Bishop of Tours from 573 until his death in 594. His book History of the Franks is our most important document for the story of the Franks.

 

NEXT WEEK THANKSGIVING NO CLASS

REQUIRED READING

(History of the Franks summary from Wikipedia)

Gregory of Tours' history is a dense work, full of numerous narratives and characters. Gregory's history contains Christian tales of miracles, descriptions of omens and natural events, stories of Christian martyrs, dialogues of church debates, lives of holy men, lives of the nobility, lives of eccentric peasants, frequent Bible verses and references, and complex international relations between numerous tribes and nations including the Lombards, Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Huns, not to mention Gregory's personal biography and interpretation of events.

Begins with the a pronouncement by the author, the Bishop of Tours, of Gregory's faith. That he is a Frankish Catholic clergyman who follows the Nicene Creed, and abhors heresy like those of the “wicked” Arian sect among other heresies. The Narrative history begins with a brief epitome of the Biblical Old Testament and New Testament, and the subsequent spread of the Christian Religion into Gaul. Next Gregory covers the history of Christianity in Gaul and some of the major events in Roman-Gallo relations. Book One ends with the death of Saint Martin of Tours in AD 397.

Covers the beginnings of the Merovingian dynasty. Book Two ends with the death of King Clovis I in 511, after his conquest of large tracts of land in modern-day France. Also narrated is Clovis's conversion to Christianity by his wife Clotilde.

Follows the four male inheritors of King Clovis who equally divide his realms at his death in AD 511. These four kings, Theodoric I, Lothar I, Childebert I, and Chlodomer, quarrel and fight for supremacy of the Frankish realm. Despite their disputes, the four brothers can occasionally work together against an outside threat, such as successful cooperation against the Burgundians in 523. Eventually Clothar becomes the most powerful King in the Frankish realm. Book Three ends with the death of king Theudebert I in 548. He is a grandson of Clovis and son to king Theodoric I, who died in 534 bequesting his kingdom to Theudebert. The kingdom after 548 falls to Theudebald until 555.

The two remaining sons of Clovis die; King Childebert in 558 and King Clothar in 561. The last years of his life see the entire realm of the Franks ruled by Clothar. At the time of his demise in AD 561 (like Clovis before him), the Kingdom is divided equally between four sons of Clothar and again the kingly sons quarrel for control of the entire Kingdom. A truce between the brothers is maintained until after the death of King Charibert I (son of Clothar) in 567. Clothar's remaining sons, Kings Sigibert, Guntram, and Chilperic, fight for the supremacy of the kingdom, with King Sigibert showing the strongest military force. Book Four ends with the killing of King Sigbert in AD 575. Gregory of Tours blames Fredegund, the wife of King Chilperic, for this assassination. The death leaves King Chilperic as the dominant king. Fredegund has long held a grudge against King Sigibert and his wife Brunhilda.

This book begins the part of the narrative where the author (Bishop Gregory of Tours) has much personal knowledge about the events in the Frankish Kingdom. This book and the ones hereafter, are considerably longer and more detailed than previous, whilst covering a smaller amount of time. This book also contains Gregory's impressions of ecclesiastical issues he saw in person and had some bearing on. This book describes a possible debate that Gregory had with a rival Arian church leader. Moreover, book 5 also introduces Childebert II, the son of recently slain King Sigibert, and of the still living Brunhilda. Childebert is taken along with Brunhilda under the protection of King Gunthram, brother and sometime rival of King Chilperic.

The young Childebert betrays his alliance with his adoptive uncle King Gunthram, the king who had protected Childebert and his mother after his father Sigibert's death. Now Childebert forms an alliance with his uncle, King Chilperic, who had often been an enemy of King Sigibert. Later, King Chilperic is murdered under mysterious circumstances in AD 584.

Fredegund assumes regency for her young son Clothar II. In the future Clothar will be king of all Franks until his death in 619, but that is beyond Gregory's narrative which end in roughly AD 593. Fredegund and her son are under the protection of King Gunthram. She remains in power until her death in AD 597. Also in this book is the rebellion of Gundovald and its failure. Gundovald claimed to be a lost illegitimate son of dead King Chlothar I. Many of the Frankish nobles and the Byzantine emperor Maurice gave some support to this rebellion; however, it is swiftly crushed by King Guntram.

“Many evil things were done at this time” as Gregory writes in Book VIII. It begins with the travels of King Guntram to Paris and Orleans and describes numerous confrontations between the king and some bishops. Meanwhile, king Guntram becomes ill and fears for his life. Gregory comments that the king's illness is a just punishment because he is planning to send a great number of bishops into exile. Fredegund gives two poisoned daggers to two clerics and sends them away with the order to assassinate King Childebert and Brunehild. However, the two clerics are arrested by Childebert, tortured and executed. Meanwhile, Fredegund is also behind the assassination of bishop Praetextus of Rouen while he is praying in his church. King Guntram orders his army to march against Arian Septimania and Spain without success and blames his army commanders for having allowed atrocities and random destruction.

The Treaty of Andelot is signed in AD 587 between King Guntram, Brunhilda, and King Childebert II. The treaty is a close pact of alliance, wherein Childebert is formally adopted as Guntram's heir. Brunhilda also formally allies with Guntram and comes under his protection.

Around 589, Basina the daughter of King Chilperic I and Clotilda, daughter of King Charibert lead a brief revolt from a nunnery. The 18 Bishops of Tours are named and described. Book Ten ends with a summary of Gregory's previous written works.

On October 10, 732, the Battle of Poitiers was fought in an area between the cities of Poitiers and Tours, near the village of Moussais-la-Bataille about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Poitiers. The location of the battle was close to the border between the Frankish realm and then-independent Aquitaine. The battle pitted Frankish forces under Charles Martel against an army of the Umayyad Caliphate led by ‘Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, Governor-General of al-Andalus (Seville and Cordoba). The Franks were victorious, ‘Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi was killed, and Charles subsequently extended his authority in the south. Ninth-century chroniclers, who interpreted the outcome of the battle as divine judgment in his favour, gave Charles the nickname Martellus ("The Hammer"). The Battle of Poitiers was one of the great turning points of history. It stopped what had seemed an unstoppable Islamic drive north into the heart of Europe. First had come the lightening invasion across the Mediterranean, then the conquest of all Spain in 711, and then the move further north over the Pyrenees into southern France. The battle not only marked the end of the northern spread of Islam in Europe, it also marked the ascent of a new dynasty in France: the Carolingians.

 

 

 

He was heavily built, sturdy, and of considerable stature, although not exceptionally so, since his height was seven times the length of his own foot. He had a round head, large and lively eyes, a slightly larger nose than usual, white but still attractive hair, a bright and cheerful expression, a short and fat neck, and he enjoyed good health, except for the fevers that affected him in the last few years of his life. Towards the end, he dragged one leg. Even then, he stubbornly did what he wanted and refused to listen to doctors, indeed he detested them, because they wanted to persuade him to stop eating roast meat, as was his wont, and to be content with boiled meat.Charles was temperate in eating, and particularly so in drinking, for he abominated drunkenness in anybody, much more in himself and those of his household; but he could not easily abstain from food, and often complained that fasts injured his health. He very rarely gave entertainments, only on great feast-days, and then to large numbers of people. His meals ordinarily consisted of four courses, not counting the roast, which his huntsmen used to bring in on the spit; he was more fond of this than of any other dish. While at table, he listened to reading or music. The subjects of the readings were the stories and deeds of olden time: he was fond, too, of St. Augustine's books, and especially of the one titled "The City of God". Einhard, Life of Charlemagne

The 12th century and Eleanor of Aquitaine
The world of feudalism, the Crusades, and Courtly Love
"In democracy your vote counts, in feudalism your Count votes."

PART TWO: Vezelay one of the most extraordinary French cities of Eleanor's era.

 

RECOMMENDED READING

MOVIES: If you want to enjoy the best motion picture version of Eleanor ever made, rent Lion in Winter with Katherine Hepburn at her Academy-Award-winning best, Peter O'Toole as Henry, Anthony Hopkins as Richard, and a young Timothy Dalton as King Philip of France. The cast is spectacular. Katharine and Peter maneuver and shout as Eleanor and Henry did in real life; it is all so good you can't believe it. When you watch it, remember that it deals with a moment in Eleanor's long life during which Henry has locked her up so that he won't have to share power with her. The movie portrays Eleanor as a woman without power, languishing in Henry's luxurious jail. But that situation was just one in her long life. After Henry dies in 1189, Eleanor is back in the driver's seat as her son Richard goes off to a Crusade and leaves England in her hands.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED GENERAL BOOK ON MIDDLE AGES:

This week we begin studying the period that is known as the "Middle Ages" and I know many of you will want to have some general history of the Middle Ages to give you background beyond that which we have time to study in class. There is such a book and I am happy to tell you that it is available in a nice paperback edition. The chapters on Eleanor and Courtly Love are excellent.

Friedrich Heer, The Medieval World, first published in 1961 and still the best one-volume history of the Middle Ages that I know. Paperback - 384 pages (October 1998, ISBN: 1566491975, $18.95).

MARIE COUNTESS OF CHAMPAGNE
Marie of France (1145 – 11 March 1198) was a French princess who became Countess of Champagne by marriage to Henry I, Count of Champagne. She was regent of the county of Champagne three times: during the absence of her spouse between 1179 and 1181; during the minority of her son Henry II, Count of Champagne in 1181–1187; and finally during the absence of her son between 1190 and 1197. Marie's birth was hailed as a "miracle" by Bernard of Clairvaux, an answer to his prayer to bless the marriage between her mother Eleanor of Aquitaine and her father, Louis VII. She was just two years old when her parents led the Second Crusade to the Holy Land. Not long after their return in 1152, when Marie was seven, her parents' marriage was annulled. Custody of Marie and her younger sister, Alix, was awarded to their father, since they were at that time the only heirs to the French throne. Both Louis and Eleanor remarried quickly; Eleanor married King Henry II and became Queen of England. Louis remarried first Constance of Castile (d. 1160) and then Adele of Champagne on 13 November 1160. Marie had numerous half-siblings on both her mother's and father's side, including the eventual kings Philip II of France and John and Richard I of England.

TROYES AND THE COUNTY OF CHAMPAGNE

Troyes is a small city, the préfecture (capital) of the northeastern Aube département in France and is located on the Seine river. It is around 150 km (93 mi) south-east of Paris. Troyes has been in existence since the Roman era, as Augustobona Tricassium, which stood at the hub of numerous highways, primarily the Via Agrippa which led north to Reims and south to Langres and eventually to Milan;[1] other Roman routes from Troyes led to Poitiers, Autun and Orléans.[2] It was the civitas of the Tricasses,[3] who had been separated by Augustus from the Senones. Of the Gallo-Roman city of the early Empire, some scattered remains have been found, but no public monuments, other than traces of an aqueduct. By the Late Empire the settlement was reduced in extent, and referred to as Tricassium or Tricassae, the origin of French Troyes ("three").  In the twelfth century, the strategic location of the town led to its development of huge trade fairs with visitors from all regions of Europe meeting with merchants from south of the Alps representing the great city-states of Italy. Troyes was at the center of an exploding new trade web in which valuable merchandise traveled from Asia to Turkey and then west in Italian ships to Venice, Pisa, Genoa and other Italian ports.  Then the merchandise was carried on land over the Alps to France, then north and then finally to Troyes where the Italians would meet their northern European buyers.  For about 100 years, the great Champagne trade fairs turned the small city of Troyes into one of the great active centers of northern Europe.

Presiding over this great cultural scene was the glamourous brilliant Marie, Countess of Champagne.  Marie is now seen as one of the most important patrons of the new Courtly Love.  She moved among some of the most brilliant and powerful people of her age. Her mother was Eleanor of Aquitaine.  Her father was Louis VII, King of France.  her close friend was the greatest writer of Courtly Love literature, Chretien de Troyes.  We will read some of Marie's own poetry and discuss this fascinating culture.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BOOK

NEXT WEEK CHRISTMAS VACATION FOR THREE WEEKS

What is unique about France?
How does France and the French story differ from other European nations?
How much does geography and the physical space determine the nature of France?

REQUIRED READING:

Here is an excellent general history of France that will be very useful for our entire year.

 

Before the Romans crossed the Alps into Transalpine Gaul, the first people to settle into the wide Seine river basin were the Celts. We studied the Celts last year in History of England. But this year we are interested in the Celts as the first people to discover and capitalize on the strategic uniqueness of the Paris region and its important islands that enabled one to cross the Seine.

REQUIRED READING:

RECOMMENDED READING:

From the publisher: Fierce warriors and skilled craftsmen, the Celts were famous throughout the ancient Mediterranean world, the archetypal barbarians from the north, feared by both Greeks and Romans. And though this ancient thousand-year-old civilization was crushed by the military campaigns of Julius Caesar,
the Celts remain an object of fascination to this day. Now, in The Ancient Celts, Barry Cunliffe, one of the world's leading authorities on European prehistory, explores the true nature of the Celtic identity and presents the first thorough and up-to-date account of a people whose origins still provoke heated debate.
Drawing on a wealth of recent archaeological findings, Cunliffe reveals how this loose band of nomads evolved from migratory barbarians into adroit traders and artists, inhabiting virtually every corner of Europe north of the Po. Beginning in the Hungarian plains of 1300 B.C., where the first hints of Celtic culture can be traced, the book shows how this fierce people slowly grew into one of Europe's most feared powers, constantly raiding and threatening the empires of both Greece and the Rome. Cunliffe demonstrates how the unprecedented Celtic diaspora gave way to the development of a number of mature, urban societies scattered throughout the continent. The book pays ample tribute to Celtic economic prowess, revealing how the civilization shrewdly took advantage of Europes tin, cooper, and gold resources to become both a respected trading partner with Rome and a nation of skilled artisans who forged some of the greatest weaponry of pre-antiquity. The book also describes the Celts's pantheistic religious traditions, with detailed accounts of weapon burials, human sacrifices, and the meditative powers of the Druids, and it concludes with a look at the influences of the Celtic mystique on the modern world, revealing how the concept of the Celt has been used many times by nations in search for an identity.
From the Victorians glorification of Boudicca, to linguistic influences in Ireland and Britain, to the common bond of Celtic ancestry that virtually every European shares, this comprehensive history demystifies the world of the Celts as never before. A fascinating history blending insightful
narrative with vivid detail, and boasting over 200 illustrations--including 24 color plates--and 30 maps, The Ancient Celts is an indispensable guide to this age-old, intriguing culture.

 

This book on the ancient Celts is a magnificent volume with great photographs and excellent text. You can also buy a used (like new) hardcover version of this for not much more than this paperback edition.

France as a Roman Colony.
How "Romanized" was France?
The limits of the Roman conquest.
And how the limits influenced all of later French history.
Remnants of Roman France.
You may own a copy of Julius Caesar's book on the Roman conquest of Gaul since we read it in our first year of Making of the Western Mind. If you end up with two copies, bring one in to class and am sure there will be someone who will be happy to purchase your extra copy.

REQUIRED READING

This is one of the most important books that we will read this year. Here is the Roman leading the army into Gaul (France), but also the one who gives us many views of the Celtic people who lived there and against whom he fought. It is a brilliant work of history written in the third person as if by someone who watched Caesar conquer Gaul: "Caesar did this and Caesar did that."

One of the most fascinating stories in all of European history is the story of how Roman Spain, Roman France, and Roman England slowly began to be transformed into something new, something that had never existed before, producing in each case a new national identity, rooted in early Celtic traditions, and enlarged by Roman contributions but also something beyond the Celtic and Roman flavor – something totally new. Between 300 and 500 AD a whole new cultural entity began to emerge in Europe. In the case of France this process was most fascinating in the southwest region around Bordeaux known as Aquataine from the healthy waters of the area. Here the Roman institutions, the cities, the libraries, the villas, were impressive and because of their strength and endurance, they survived the era of invasions and lived on into the new age. The figure who most perfectly speaks for this transition from Roman Gaul to the new France is Decimus Magnus Ausonius (310-395). Ausonius was a doctor's son born at Bordeaux in 310 AD. After an excellent Classical education in grammar and rhetoric he established a school of rhetoric (public speaking, an educational program that included politics and other subject matter). Among his many students were important figures in the Christian church such as Paulinus, Bishop of Nola as well as Roman officials. In 364, Ausonius was called to Rome by Emperor Valentinian to be the tutor to his son Gratian. When Gratian was murdered in 383, Ausonius went home to his villa outside Bordeaux. He had lived at the highest levels of Roman government, now his return to his villa outside of Bordeaux allowed him to be in touch with all aspects of the great international Roman empire. During his remaining years in Bordeaux he produced a fascinating collection of poetry that tells us about the world and the values of the late empire as the center failed to hold and the signs of collapse became more and more evident. We will provide you with copies of some of Ausonius' poetry.

RECOMMENDED READING

PHOTOGRAPHY

One of the great treats this quarter will be a visit to the Chateau Ausone.   Ausonius's Chateau still stands and now is the location of one of the greatest vineyards in all of the Bordeaux region.  The vineyard is built right into the Roman ruins and the bottles are aged in caves that have been used for two thousand years.   I am hoping we can buy a bottle of wine from Chateau Ausone to share on our night when we discuss Ausonius.  Such a bottle is available in our area as I write this at a cost of about $500 (yes, you read right).  Chateau Ausone wine is one of the most highly valued wines in the world.  So this project may not come to fruition, but we will try.  Whether we get to have a taste of the wine or not, we will all get to visit the Chateau thanks to the incredible generosity of the Varthier family who now own the vineyard.  They have provided us with spectacular photographs for our night on Ausonius.

You can visit the Chateau on line: Chateau Ausone

Martin of Tours was one of the best known saints of the fourth century. His lifespan from 316 to 397 put him right in the middle of the most important century of Christianity after the first. Martin was named after Mars, god of war, which Sulpicius Severus interpreted as carrying the meaning of "the brave, the courageous". His father was a senior officer (tribune) in the Imperial Horse Guard, a unit of the Roman army, and was later stationed at Ticinum, Cisalpine Gaul (now Pavia, Italy), where Martin grew up. At the age of ten, he went to the church against the wishes of his parents and became a catechumen or candidate for baptism. At this time, Christianity had been made a legal religion (in 313), but it was by no means the dominant religion of the Roman Empire. As a member of a high level Roman family who chose Christianity on his own, his life resembles that of Augustine. When Martin was fifteen, as the son of a veteran officer, he was required to join a cavalry unit himself and thus, around 334, was stationed at Ambianensium civitas or Samarobriva in Gaul (now Amiens, France). While Martin was still a soldier at Amiens, he experienced the vision that became the most-repeated story about his life. He was at the gates of the city of Amiens with his soldiers when he met a scantily dressed beggar. He impulsively cut his own military cloak in half and shared it with the beggar. That night he dreamed of Jesus wearing the half-cloak Martin had given away. He heard Jesus say to the angels: "Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is not baptised; he has clad me." (Sulpicius, ch 2). In another story, when Martin woke his cloak was restored, and the miraculous cloak was preserved among the relic collection of the Merovingian kings of the Franks. The dream confirmed Martin in his piety and he was baptized at the age of 18. Martin's decision to come to France (Tours) to help the church began one of the most important careers in the whole history of Christianity. Martin lays the foundations for the whole French Christian church.

RECOMMENDED READING

The life of Martin is known to us through the work of Sulpitius Severus.

"Alexander Roberts, Sulpitius Severus on the Life of S. Martin
from NICENE AND POST-NICENE FATHERS: Second Series, Volume XI Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian"

PHOTOGRAPHY

Tours became the cradle of Christianity in France and Saint Martin of Tours became its most famous citizen. This evening we will visit Tours.

The Franks or Frankish people (Latin: Franci or gens Francorum) were a West Germanic tribal confederation first attested in the third century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a kingdom on Roman-held soil that was acknowledged by the Romans after 357. In the climate of the collapse of imperial authority in the West, the Frankish tribes were united under the Merovingians and conquered all of Gaul in the 6th century. The Salian political elite would be one of the most active forces in spreading Christianity over western Europe. The Merovingian dynasty, descended from the Salians, founded one of the Germanic monarchies which replaced the Western Roman Empire from the fifth century. The Frankish state consolidated its hold over large parts of western Europe by the end of the eighth century, developing into the Carolingian Empire which dominated most of Western Europe. This empire would gradually evolve into France and the Holy Roman Empire. (Wikipedia)

The story of this new dynasty and its evolution is told by an eyewitness: Gregory of Tours. Tours remained one of the most important centers of French culture in the fifth and sixth centuries and Gregory continued the work of his famous predecessor Saint Martin. Gregory was Bishop of Tours from 573 until his death in 594. His book History of the Franks is our most important document for the story of the Franks.

 

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REQUIRED READING

(History of the Franks summary from Wikipedia)

Gregory of Tours' history is a dense work, full of numerous narratives and characters. Gregory's history contains Christian tales of miracles, descriptions of omens and natural events, stories of Christian martyrs, dialogues of church debates, lives of holy men, lives of the nobility, lives of eccentric peasants, frequent Bible verses and references, and complex international relations between numerous tribes and nations including the Lombards, Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Huns, not to mention Gregory's personal biography and interpretation of events.

Begins with the a pronouncement by the author, the Bishop of Tours, of Gregory's faith. That he is a Frankish Catholic clergyman who follows the Nicene Creed, and abhors heresy like those of the “wicked” Arian sect among other heresies. The Narrative history begins with a brief epitome of the Biblical Old Testament and New Testament, and the subsequent spread of the Christian Religion into Gaul. Next Gregory covers the history of Christianity in Gaul and some of the major events in Roman-Gallo relations. Book One ends with the death of Saint Martin of Tours in AD 397.

Covers the beginnings of the Merovingian dynasty. Book Two ends with the death of King Clovis I in 511, after his conquest of large tracts of land in modern-day France. Also narrated is Clovis's conversion to Christianity by his wife Clotilde.

Follows the four male inheritors of King Clovis who equally divide his realms at his death in AD 511. These four kings, Theodoric I, Lothar I, Childebert I, and Chlodomer, quarrel and fight for supremacy of the Frankish realm. Despite their disputes, the four brothers can occasionally work together against an outside threat, such as successful cooperation against the Burgundians in 523. Eventually Clothar becomes the most powerful King in the Frankish realm. Book Three ends with the death of king Theudebert I in 548. He is a grandson of Clovis and son to king Theodoric I, who died in 534 bequesting his kingdom to Theudebert. The kingdom after 548 falls to Theudebald until 555.

The two remaining sons of Clovis die; King Childebert in 558 and King Clothar in 561. The last years of his life see the entire realm of the Franks ruled by Clothar. At the time of his demise in AD 561 (like Clovis before him), the Kingdom is divided equally between four sons of Clothar and again the kingly sons quarrel for control of the entire Kingdom. A truce between the brothers is maintained until after the death of King Charibert I (son of Clothar) in 567. Clothar's remaining sons, Kings Sigibert, Guntram, and Chilperic, fight for the supremacy of the kingdom, with King Sigibert showing the strongest military force. Book Four ends with the killing of King Sigbert in AD 575. Gregory of Tours blames Fredegund, the wife of King Chilperic, for this assassination. The death leaves King Chilperic as the dominant king. Fredegund has long held a grudge against King Sigibert and his wife Brunhilda.

This book begins the part of the narrative where the author (Bishop Gregory of Tours) has much personal knowledge about the events in the Frankish Kingdom. This book and the ones hereafter, are considerably longer and more detailed than previous, whilst covering a smaller amount of time. This book also contains Gregory's impressions of ecclesiastical issues he saw in person and had some bearing on. This book describes a possible debate that Gregory had with a rival Arian church leader. Moreover, book 5 also introduces Childebert II, the son of recently slain King Sigibert, and of the still living Brunhilda. Childebert is taken along with Brunhilda under the protection of King Gunthram, brother and sometime rival of King Chilperic.

The young Childebert betrays his alliance with his adoptive uncle King Gunthram, the king who had protected Childebert and his mother after his father Sigibert's death. Now Childebert forms an alliance with his uncle, King Chilperic, who had often been an enemy of King Sigibert. Later, King Chilperic is murdered under mysterious circumstances in AD 584.

Fredegund assumes regency for her young son Clothar II. In the future Clothar will be king of all Franks until his death in 619, but that is beyond Gregory's narrative which end in roughly AD 593. Fredegund and her son are under the protection of King Gunthram. She remains in power until her death in AD 597. Also in this book is the rebellion of Gundovald and its failure. Gundovald claimed to be a lost illegitimate son of dead King Chlothar I. Many of the Frankish nobles and the Byzantine emperor Maurice gave some support to this rebellion; however, it is swiftly crushed by King Guntram.

“Many evil things were done at this time” as Gregory writes in Book VIII. It begins with the travels of King Guntram to Paris and Orleans and describes numerous confrontations between the king and some bishops. Meanwhile, king Guntram becomes ill and fears for his life. Gregory comments that the king's illness is a just punishment because he is planning to send a great number of bishops into exile. Fredegund gives two poisoned daggers to two clerics and sends them away with the order to assassinate King Childebert and Brunehild. However, the two clerics are arrested by Childebert, tortured and executed. Meanwhile, Fredegund is also behind the assassination of bishop Praetextus of Rouen while he is praying in his church. King Guntram orders his army to march against Arian Septimania and Spain without success and blames his army commanders for having allowed atrocities and random destruction.

The Treaty of Andelot is signed in AD 587 between King Guntram, Brunhilda, and King Childebert II. The treaty is a close pact of alliance, wherein Childebert is formally adopted as Guntram's heir. Brunhilda also formally allies with Guntram and comes under his protection.

Around 589, Basina the daughter of King Chilperic I and Clotilda, daughter of King Charibert lead a brief revolt from a nunnery. The 18 Bishops of Tours are named and described. Book Ten ends with a summary of Gregory's previous written works.

On October 10, 732, the Battle of Poitiers was fought in an area between the cities of Poitiers and Tours, near the village of Moussais-la-Bataille about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Poitiers. The location of the battle was close to the border between the Frankish realm and then-independent Aquitaine. The battle pitted Frankish forces under Charles Martel against an army of the Umayyad Caliphate led by ‘Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, Governor-General of al-Andalus (Seville and Cordoba). The Franks were victorious, ‘Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi was killed, and Charles subsequently extended his authority in the south. Ninth-century chroniclers, who interpreted the outcome of the battle as divine judgment in his favour, gave Charles the nickname Martellus ("The Hammer"). The Battle of Poitiers was one of the great turning points of history. It stopped what had seemed an unstoppable Islamic drive north into the heart of Europe. First had come the lightening invasion across the Mediterranean, then the conquest of all Spain in 711, and then the move further north over the Pyrenees into southern France. The battle not only marked the end of the northern spread of Islam in Europe, it also marked the ascent of a new dynasty in France: the Carolingians.

 

 

 

He was heavily built, sturdy, and of considerable stature, although not exceptionally so, since his height was seven times the length of his own foot. He had a round head, large and lively eyes, a slightly larger nose than usual, white but still attractive hair, a bright and cheerful expression, a short and fat neck, and he enjoyed good health, except for the fevers that affected him in the last few years of his life. Towards the end, he dragged one leg. Even then, he stubbornly did what he wanted and refused to listen to doctors, indeed he detested them, because they wanted to persuade him to stop eating roast meat, as was his wont, and to be content with boiled meat.Charles was temperate in eating, and particularly so in drinking, for he abominated drunkenness in anybody, much more in himself and those of his household; but he could not easily abstain from food, and often complained that fasts injured his health. He very rarely gave entertainments, only on great feast-days, and then to large numbers of people. His meals ordinarily consisted of four courses, not counting the roast, which his huntsmen used to bring in on the spit; he was more fond of this than of any other dish. While at table, he listened to reading or music. The subjects of the readings were the stories and deeds of olden time: he was fond, too, of St. Augustine's books, and especially of the one titled "The City of God". Einhard, Life of Charlemagne

The 12th century and Eleanor of Aquitaine
The world of feudalism, the Crusades, and Courtly Love
"In democracy your vote counts, in feudalism your Count votes."

PART TWO: Vezelay one of the most extraordinary French cities of Eleanor's era.

 

RECOMMENDED READING

MOVIES: If you want to enjoy the best motion picture version of Eleanor ever made, rent Lion in Winter with Katherine Hepburn at her Academy-Award-winning best, Peter O'Toole as Henry, Anthony Hopkins as Richard, and a young Timothy Dalton as King Philip of France. The cast is spectacular. Katharine and Peter maneuver and shout as Eleanor and Henry did in real life; it is all so good you can't believe it. When you watch it, remember that it deals with a moment in Eleanor's long life during which Henry has locked her up so that he won't have to share power with her. The movie portrays Eleanor as a woman without power, languishing in Henry's luxurious jail. But that situation was just one in her long life. After Henry dies in 1189, Eleanor is back in the driver's seat as her son Richard goes off to a Crusade and leaves England in her hands.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED GENERAL BOOK ON MIDDLE AGES:

This week we begin studying the period that is known as the "Middle Ages" and I know many of you will want to have some general history of the Middle Ages to give you background beyond that which we have time to study in class. There is such a book and I am happy to tell you that it is available in a nice paperback edition. The chapters on Eleanor and Courtly Love are excellent.

Friedrich Heer, The Medieval World, first published in 1961 and still the best one-volume history of the Middle Ages that I know. Paperback - 384 pages (October 1998, ISBN: 1566491975, $18.95).

MARIE COUNTESS OF CHAMPAGNE
Marie of France (1145 – 11 March 1198) was a French princess who became Countess of Champagne by marriage to Henry I, Count of Champagne. She was regent of the county of Champagne three times: during the absence of her spouse between 1179 and 1181; during the minority of her son Henry II, Count of Champagne in 1181–1187; and finally during the absence of her son between 1190 and 1197. Marie's birth was hailed as a "miracle" by Bernard of Clairvaux, an answer to his prayer to bless the marriage between her mother Eleanor of Aquitaine and her father, Louis VII. She was just two years old when her parents led the Second Crusade to the Holy Land. Not long after their return in 1152, when Marie was seven, her parents' marriage was annulled. Custody of Marie and her younger sister, Alix, was awarded to their father, since they were at that time the only heirs to the French throne. Both Louis and Eleanor remarried quickly; Eleanor married King Henry II and became Queen of England. Louis remarried first Constance of Castile (d. 1160) and then Adele of Champagne on 13 November 1160. Marie had numerous half-siblings on both her mother's and father's side, including the eventual kings Philip II of France and John and Richard I of England.

TROYES AND THE COUNTY OF CHAMPAGNE

Troyes is a small city, the préfecture (capital) of the northeastern Aube département in France and is located on the Seine river. It is around 150 km (93 mi) south-east of Paris. Troyes has been in existence since the Roman era, as Augustobona Tricassium, which stood at the hub of numerous highways, primarily the Via Agrippa which led north to Reims and south to Langres and eventually to Milan;[1] other Roman routes from Troyes led to Poitiers, Autun and Orléans.[2] It was the civitas of the Tricasses,[3] who had been separated by Augustus from the Senones. Of the Gallo-Roman city of the early Empire, some scattered remains have been found, but no public monuments, other than traces of an aqueduct. By the Late Empire the settlement was reduced in extent, and referred to as Tricassium or Tricassae, the origin of French Troyes ("three").  In the twelfth century, the strategic location of the town led to its development of huge trade fairs with visitors from all regions of Europe meeting with merchants from south of the Alps representing the great city-states of Italy. Troyes was at the center of an exploding new trade web in which valuable merchandise traveled from Asia to Turkey and then west in Italian ships to Venice, Pisa, Genoa and other Italian ports.  Then the merchandise was carried on land over the Alps to France, then north and then finally to Troyes where the Italians would meet their northern European buyers.  For about 100 years, the great Champagne trade fairs turned the small city of Troyes into one of the great active centers of northern Europe.

Presiding over this great cultural scene was the glamourous brilliant Marie, Countess of Champagne.  Marie is now seen as one of the most important patrons of the new Courtly Love.  She moved among some of the most brilliant and powerful people of her age. Her mother was Eleanor of Aquitaine.  Her father was Louis VII, King of France.  her close friend was the greatest writer of Courtly Love literature, Chretien de Troyes.  We will read some of Marie's own poetry and discuss this fascinating culture.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BOOK

NEXT WEEK CHRISTMAS VACATION FOR THREE WEEKS