FRANCE MEDIAEVAL AND MODERN BY ARTHUR H ASS ALL, M. A. STUDENT OF CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD OXFORD AT THE CLARENDON PRESS PREFATORY NOTE To Mr. H. W. C. Davis and to Mr. C. E. Freeman I would express my sincere thanks for their kind and searching revision of the proof-sheets of this volume. Like all students of French History I must acknowledge a debt to the History of France by the late Dean Kit chin Clarendon Press, 3 vols. and to the History of Franc by J. R. Morcton Macdonald Methuen Co., 3 vols, My acknowledgements are also due to Messrs. Bartholomew and C. Grant Robertson for permission to make use of the map of France 1814-1914 in their Historical Atlas of Modern Europe IjSg-igiq Oxford University Press. 1 1 ASS ALL LIST OF MAPS Empire of Charlemagne .... fating page ic France at the Accession of Philip Augustus . 4 PAGE zt France by the Treaty of Bretigny . . . ,, 54 France in 1429 . . . . . . ,, 67 France, 1610-1715 . , , . . . ,, 130 Europe in 1810 ....,.,, 236 France, 1814-1871 ...... ff 244 Roman Gaul The Merovingians, THE history of France from the Norman Conquest to the battle of Waterloo is to some extent the history of the rivalry of the English and French monarchies, though from the death of Henry II of France in 1559 to the opening of the war of the League of Augsburg in 1689, the two countries were for the most part at peace. From the accession of Charles of Spain to the Imperial throne as the Emperor Charles V to the present day with the exception of the period from the opening of the Seven Years War to the outbreak of the Revolution France has always regarded the leading Power in Germany, whether Austria or, since 1866, Prussia, with suspicion if not with actual animosity. In both cases she has had justification. The possessions of England in France down even to the reign of the English Queen Mary were a sufficient cause for exasperation, and after 1688 the colonial rivalry of the two Powers rendered hostilities frequent. Then shortly after the accession of the Emperor Charles V projects arose for the partition of France between him and Henry VIII, while during the Religious Wars in France the continued hostility of the Habsburg line in Spain, followed by the attempt of the Emperor in the Thirty. Years War to subject Europe to his sway, necessarily called forth the fiercest opposition in France. Till 1756 the two countries were frequently at war, and after the outbreak of hostilities in 1792 the French Government endeavoured to crush Austria a policy pursued by Napoleon with consider able success. 1832.8 K 2 Roman Gaul The Merovingians, 481-757 From 1815 to 1914 peace between France and Austria was only once broken, but after 1866, when Prussia became the leading German Power, the old antagonism between France and Germany burst out with greater violence than ever. In this hostility to Germany France is fully justified. The battle of Bouvines on July 27, 1214, was one of the most decisive battles fought in Europe in the Middle Ages. The battles of Ivry, of Valmy, and of Verdun have each had a determining influence in the history of France. The battle of Bouvines, however, has a special interest of its own, for it was due to that victory of Philip Augustus that the kingdom of France was firmly established, that the consolidation of her long-divided provinces under an absolutist monarchy was secured, and that the seal was set upon the predominance of the House of Capet. This victory was won over German princes co-operating with rebellious French vassals. In the history of France six of her monarchs stand out prominently Philip Augustus, Philip IV, Louis XI, Henry IV, Louis XIV, and Napoleon. Other kings such as St. Louis, and ministers such as Suger, Sully, Richelieu, Mazarin, Choiseul, Vergennes, Carnot, Talleyrand, Thiers, Delcass6, and Clemenceau, are also to be numbered among those who at critical epochs in the history of France per formed services for their country which have been fully recognized... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.