France

  • The Sad Life of Louis-Charles

    Born March 27, 1785 to King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette, Louis-Charles should have had a charmed life.  He was the second son and named the Duke of Normandy until the death of his older brother, upon which he became the Dauphin or heir to the throne.  Madame de Rambaud was his governess and she cared for him as if he were her own.  Although he had a governess, Louis-Charles was still close to his mother.  He was described as a bright, good looking child, “…his blue eyes, aquiline nose, elevated nostrils, well-defined mouth, pouting lips, chestnut hair parted in the middle and falling in thick curls…

  • More Magic Beans- This History of Chocolate

    That most delicious of desserts that we all crave.  It was rightly named as “food of the gods” by the ancients.  However, the chocolate the pre-Olmec cultures were making was nothing like the chocolate we eat today.  It was consumed as a beverage, and was quite bitter.  The peoples making this drink were living in Mesoamerica prior to the cultures of the Olmecs, Mayan and Aztecs.  Anthropologists from the University of Pennsylvania have found cacao residue on pottery found in Honduras from as early as 1400 BCE.  Some sources place the discovery of chocolate even earlier at 1900 BCE.  Anthropologists surmise native peoples found the cacao plants in the tropical…

  • Edgar the Ætheling-  The Boy Who Wasn’t King

    England in the 11th century was not always a great place to be if you were royalty. Young Edgar was the grandson of Edmund Ironside, king of England, and great grandson of the infamous Æthelred the Unready, also king of England.  So you would think Edgar would be next in line?  Well, not exactly.  There was a little problem named Cnut the Great. Cnut was the son of Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark.  In the summer of 1015, Cnut mounted an invasion of England and fought with Edmund for the throne of England.  It was a year or so of battles, and ultimately Edmund lost and ceded all of England north…

  • Louise of Savoy- The King’s Mother Part II

    As we discussed in Part I, Louise of Savoy was a huge influence on her son and instrumental in bringing him to the throne of France.  (Please see here for this post:  http://www.historynaked.com/louise-savoy-kings-mother-part/ ).  So in 1515, Francis ascended the throne of France, but he went off to enjoy the pleasures of being king and left the governing in the capable hands of his mother.  Louise was prepared for the job as she watched Anne of Beaujeu run the country in her youth.  Ambassadors and other notables of the court knew to go to her and treated her as if she was the crowned queen.  However, she was always careful…

  • Louise of Savoy- The King’s Mother Part I

    The royal line of France is somewhat of a tangle because of their insistence on Salic Law, which said the crown could not be claimed through the line of female descent.  (For more on why this was enforced, see this post:  http://www.historynaked.com/tour-de-nesle-affair-medieval-soap-opera/ )  This did not stop French history from being full of powerful and strong women.  They just remain ostensibly behind the scenes.  Louise of Savoy was one such woman. Born on September 11, 1476 at Pont-d’Ain, Louise was the daughter of Duke Philip II of Savoy and Princess Marguerite of Bourbon.  Louise is described as vivacious and tall with light brown hair and blue eyes.  Louise’s mother died…