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O31 S271 OT 21V9E 30 09 GL OF Oo8 head. The Frank Chlodwig (Clovis, Louis) took po e ion of the whole of Gaul after defeating the Romans, 486, the Germans, the Ripuarian Franks, and the Alemanni. He became a Christian, 496. He divided his kingdom between his four sons—a custom carried on in the next dynasty. The Frankish kings finally became rots faineants, and were entirely ruled by the Maires du palais, one of whom, Charles Martel, repulsed the Saracens at Poitiers, 732, thus saving Europe. His son, Pépin le Bref, took the crown, 752, and was ancestor of the Caroling i ans, 752-987. His son was Charlemagne, 768-814, who became sole master of France. Charlemagne’s son, Louis le Débonnaire, 814-40, was not the man to carry on his work. His sons revolted against him, and after his death, by the Treaty of Verdun, 843, divided the empire into Germany, France and Lorraine, with Charles le Chauve, 843-77, as King of France. In $77, by the Edict of Kiersy-sur-Oise, Charles allowed his va als’ land and offices to become hereditary, thus establishing Feudalism. The later Caroling i an kings were too weak to repel the North men, who had already appeared at the end of Charlemagne’s reign and had sailed up the rivers, plundering and burning. The lords called to the throne Charles le Gros, 884, King of Germany, thinking he would have more power than the lawful heir; but under his reign the North men came as far as Paris. Charles bribed the North men to retreat, and was dethroned for his cowardice. Charles le Simple, 896-923, the restored Caroling i an king, gave by the Treaty of St. Claire-sur-Epte, 912, the province since called Normandy to the North men. Cape tians.—The barons, who had brought the Caroling i ans to the throne, had taken their provinces one by one, administered them, and usurped most of the royal functions. Hugh Capet began the third dynasty, that of the Cape tians, 987-1792. Louis VI. 1108-37, one of the strongest kings of the line, helped the Communes to win their franchise, established order in his demesne, and encouraged local forces to fight in his army. The reign of Louis VII. 1137-80 was unfortunate. He went on the Second Crusade, 1147, with Conrad, Emperor of Germany, against the advice of his minister, Suger, after whose death he repudiated his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor married 1152, Henfy II., future King of England, who thus became po e or of her dominions, ' By Philip August us. 1180-1223, the throne of France was much strengthened. He went on the Third Crusade with Frederick Barb a ro a and Richard Coew de Lion, whom he encouraged in revol' against his father, Henry II. They tool St. Jean-d’Acre together, but disagree afterwards, and Philip went back t France, and plotted with King John o England to take Normandy. After th death of Richard I., Philip Augustu confiscated Normandy, Anjou, an Poitou, 1204, and won the battle o Bouvines, 1214. In the S. the religiou war of the Albigenses ended in Simo: de Montfort’s taking Toulouse from it count, Amaury. After the death o Louis VIII. 1223-6 his widow, Blanch of Castille, was regent until 1236, anc with the aid of the poet Count Thibau of Champagne, repre ed the nobles she prepared the union of several prov inces to the crown, and carefully edu cated her son Louis IX, 1226-70, one ¢ the finest figures of Fr. history. He le the two last Crusades, 1248, 1270 an died of the plague at Tunis.; Poitou and Toulouse to the crown; hi son, Philip IV. le Bel, 1285-1314, adde Navarre and Champagne. After war with England he married | hi daughter Is a belle to the son of Edward | of England, a marriage which led late to the Hundred Years’ War. Increase expenses of administration led him t raise new taxes on salt (the gabelle rivalry between the kings of ag ane See HunprED Yrars WAR. struggle ended with the Fr. Charles VII. 1422-61, under whort royal authority, though his means were not always straight and he was feared rather than loved. He crushed the great nobles, strengthened the Parliament of Paris, established provincial parliaments, encouraged printing and industry. The chief incident of his reign was his long struggle with Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, a most dangerous rival. Charles the Bold was killed before Nancy, 1477; whereupon the king added Burgundy, Maine, Anjou, Provence, Guyenne, etc., to the crown, and ruled them with an iron hand. Charles VIII. 1483-98 was thirteen when he ascended the throne. In 1491 the king married Anne of Britt any, heire of that province. By the Treaty of Etaples he bought off invasion by Henry VIII. of England. Finally, he made an epoch in history by setting off to the conquest of Naples, which he claimed as heir of the house of Anjou. This was the beginning of the Italian wars, 14941544. On his return Naples shook off Fr. domination. Louis XII. 1498-1515, the new ‘father of his people,’ enforced the Ordonnance de Blois, by which the baillis, prevots, and senechaux had to have a degree in law, instituted Parlements in Provence and Normandy, diminished the taxes, and yet increased the finances. The peasant’s property was protected; agriculture and the king resumed the Italian wars, and besides Naples claimed Milan. Milan was conquered twice, and La Trémouille left to govern it. Naples was subjugated with help of Ferdinand of Aragon, but French and Spanish disagreed, France was defeated at Cerignola and Garigliano, 1503, and Naples was lost again. Louis XII. foolishly joined the League of Cambrai against the Venetians. The allies, Pope Julius II., the Swi , Fer- ' dinand of Aragon, Henry VIII., and Maximilian formed the Holy League, 1511, against him. Louis XII. was Victorious at Ravenna, 1512, but was again forced to make great conce ions to his neighbors. The kingdom was at last at peace when he died without sons. { His cousin and son-in-law, Francis I.,: 1515-46, succeeded. The Holy League had formed again, and the king commenced his reign by the victory of _Marignano, 1515. The coronation of Charles V. of Austria as emperor, a dignity which Francis I. also coveted, was the signal of a long European war, the field of battle being again Italy. War was declared in 1521; finally the king himself was beaten and taken risoner at Pavia, 1525, by Charles Y. © Treaty of Cambrai, 1529, negotiated between Louise of Savoy and Margaret of Austria, gave Europe a few years’ a Vex peace, during which Francis I. gave his mind to art and the organization of his kingdom. When war began again, for the fourth time, he made alliance with Soliman, Emperor of the Turks, 1541, and with the Protestants of Germany. Peace was made with Charles V. at Crépy, 1544, and with Henry VIII. at Ardres, 1546, but in 1551 war began again under Henry II. 1546-59, who also became the ally of the Turks and the Ger. Prot. princes. Francis of Guise conquered the three bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun, and won the battle of Rentz over Charles V. After that emperor’s abdication his son, Philip II., defeated the French at St. Quentin, 1557, but Guise arrived in haste, took Calais, 1558, and finally the Peace of CateauCambrésis, 1559, ended the first period of war with the house of Austria. Francis II. 1559-60, who had married Mary Stewart, reigned only one year. Francis I. and Henry II. had been the allies of the Ger. Prot. princes against the emperor, but would not tolerate heresy at home. The Protestants, however, were becoming numerous in France, At their head were many nobles, including Admiral Coligny. At the head of the extreme Catholics were the Guises. Between these parties were the Politiques among whom was Catherine de’ Medici, widow of Henry II., mother of the three kings, Francis II., Charles IX., and Henry III. Under the young king, Francis II., the Guises governed. Catherine de’ Medici, regent for her son, Charles IX. 1560-74, seemed in her ambition and cunning to favor all parties alike. She sent Mary Stewart back to Scotland and a embled the usele Colloque de Poi y, in which Catholic and Prot. doctors were to discu the different points of faith. It did not prevent eight sanguinary Religious Wars, 1562-94. In the first war Antoine de Bourbon died, leaving the kingdom of Navarre to his young son, Henry of Béarn, later Henry IV. Catherine de’ Medici had arranged Henry of Navarre’s marriage with her daughter, Marguerite, and when all the Protestants were in Paris for the marriage feast, the Ma acre of St. Bartholomew, Aug. 24, 1572, took place; Coligny and many others were killed. The ma acres went on in the provinces, and the Protestants who had escaped began the fourth war. Henry III. 1574-89, was little able to face the situation. Henry of Guise defeated the Protestants, headed by Henry of Navarre and the. Duke of Alencgon, the king’s brother, at the battle of Dormans. The queen, neverthele , signed the Treaty of Loches in favor of the Protestants. The Catholics, greatly incensed, formed La Ligue. Henry III. had no son, and the Ligueurs wished Henry of Guise to succeed. Henry III., who disliked Guise as a rival, favored Henry of Navarre, and the eighth war, named Guerre des Trois Henris, began. Henry of Navarre won at Coutras, Guise at Vimory and Auneau, and besieged Paris; after the day of Barricades, 1588, the king called the States-General at Blois. As they also were in favor of Guise, Henry III. caused him to be murdered. This act increased Henry’s unpopularity; Paris and other towns shut their gates against him. He and Henry of Navarre had their camp at St. Cloud, and were besieging Paris when Henry III. was murdered. The House of Bourbon 1589-1792.— Henry of Navarre, who became Henry IV. 1589-1610, was abandoned by the royal army, and went to Dieppe to meet reinforcements sent by Queen Elizabeth of England. He won the battles of Arques, 1589, and Ivry, 1590. The people were utterly weary of civil war; Henry saying that ‘Paris was well worth ‘a Ma ,’ avowed himself a Catholic. The Ligue was di olved and the great Wars of Religion finished. The king signed the Edict of Nantes, 1598, giving the Protestants rights of public worship in cities and places where worship had been held in 1596-7, and in additional cities: full liberty to dwell anywhere in the royal dominions; admi ion without distinction of religion to universities, colleges, and hospitals; permi ion to establish schools and rights of burial in consecrated ground, together with the right of having six Protestants among the sixteen councillors of the ‘Chamber of the Edict’ in the Parlement of Paris. In 1598 he signed the Peace of Vervins with the Spanish. The territorial unity of France was restored, and absolute monarchy came to its climax. Henry was full of great schemes when he was murdered by Franco is Ravaillac. Louis XIII. 1610-43 was practically under tutelage till 1617, when Concini, the favorite of the queen-mother, was murdered. His personal influence was overshadowed by the genius of his great minister Richelieu, 1624-42, whose double aim was (1) to centralize and unify all France under the crown, and (2) to establish France as the dominant power in Europe. He took La Rochelle, but by the Peace of Alais granted religious freedom. Abroad he had to combat the allied houses of Spain and Austria. In diplomatically during the early periods. of the Thirty Years’ War, 1618-48, and in 1635 made France join openly in the ‘French’ or fourth period. He and Louis XIII. drove the Spanish from Picardy, 1636, and took Arras, Artois,!arms. D (1/4) d (1/4)