France
-
Death of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di Ser Piero da Vinci (Leonardo, son of Mr Piero of Vinci) was born in Vinci on 15th April 1452. His father was Messer Piero Frousino di Antonio da Vinci, a wealthy notary and gentleman of the area. His mother was a local peasant girl, Caterina. For the first few years of his life, Leonardo lived with his mother in Anchiano, but at the age of five went to live with his father, uncle and grandparents. His father had recently married a 16 year old girl, Albeira who died a few years later. His father married again, this time to a 20 year old, Francesca Lanfredini, Leonardo was 16…
-
Founding of New Orleans
La Nouvelle-Orléans (New Orleans) was founded May 7, 1718, by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of French Louisiana Governor Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, on land inhabited by the Chitimacha.The first known residents of the New Orleans area were the Native Americans of the Woodland and Mississippian cultures. The expeditions of De Soto and La Salle passed through the area, but there were few permanent non-native settlers before 1718.Louisiana was claimed for Fran [...]
-
THE SONG OF ROLAND
The song of Roland (La Chanson de Roland) is a poem written in the 8th century about King Charlemagne and the battle of Roncevaux in 778. It tells of Charlemagne’s fight with the Muslims in Spain and the Muslim king Marsilla. There is one last city left to fall, the city of Saragossa. Marsilla is aware of Charlemagne’s huge army and fearing he is about to lose he decides to strike a deal with the Emperor. Marsilla sends out his messengers to Charlemagne and his army of Franks and offers all his treasure and a promise of his conversion to Christianity if only they leave the city and return to…
-
Catherine de’ Medici
Catherine de’ Medici was a divisive figure during her own time and on into the modern period. There are many even now who believe she practiced witchcraft or Satanism. Whether or not this is true, she was a pivotal figure at a time with France was being torn apart with the wars of religion. She was born Caterina Maria Romula di Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence, Italy to Lorenzo II de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino, and Madeleine de la Tour d’Auvergne, Countess of Boulogne. Her mother died of childbed fever after she was born, and her father followed soon after. This left young Caterina in the care of her grandmother…
-
THE BATTLE OF CRECY
Known as one of the most decisive battles in English history and The Hundred Years war, Crecy has come to be known as a military revolution in its massive use of the longbow and the ultimate demise of the age of chivalry. Previous battles had been fought mostly by the infantry and mounted knights. Battles before had adhered to chivalric code that had mostly kept the knights protected. Crecy was a game changer. Edward III had inherited an England at war. He was fighting on two fronts, Scotland and Aquitaine in south west France. The battle of Dupplin Muir (moor) in Scotland proved to be a crucial turning point for…
