Documents for "French History: Biographies":

• Égalité, Philippe see Orléans, Louis Philippe Joseph, duc d'.

• Épernon, Jean Louis de Nogaret, duc d' 1554-1642, French nobleman. He distinguished himself during the civil wars at the beginning of the reign of Henry III, and became a favorite of the king. He served Henry III in his dealings with...

• Étampes, Anne de Pisseleu, duchesse d' 1508-1580?, official mistress of Francis I of France from 1526. Intelligent as well as beautiful, she patronized men of letters and used her increasing influence over the king to procure the...

• Aguesseau, Henri François d' 1668-1751, French lawyer. He became procureur général in the Parlement of Paris (1700) and chancellor of France (1717). Because of his opposition to John Law he was briefly exiled...

• Aiglon, L' see Napoleon II.

• Albert II 1958-, prince of Monaco (2005-), grad. Amherst College (B.A., 1981). A member of the long-ruling Grimaldi family, he is the son of Prince Rainier III , upon whose death he succeeded to the throne, and Princess Grace , the former Grace Kelly. The prince, who trained in financial administration in an American investment bank and a French luxury-goods company, is also an avid sportsman who is expert in soccer,...

• Albret, Jeanne d' see Jeanne d'Albret.

• Alençon, François, duc d' see Francis , duke of Alençon and Anjou.

• Alphonse 1220-71, count of Poitiers and of Toulouse, brother of King Louis IX of France. By his marriage to the daughter of Raymond VII , count of Toulouse, he inherited Raymond's lands in 1249. An able administrator, he did much to heal the wounds of the crusade against the Albigenses. During the absence of Louis in the Holy Land,...

• Amboise, Georges d' 1460-1510, French statesman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He became archbishop of Rouen in 1493. In 1498, as an intimate friend of the new king, Louis XII, he became chief minister...

• Ancre, Concino Concini, marquis d' see Concini, Concino.

• Angevin [Fr.,=of Anjou], name of two medieval dynasties originating in France. The first ruled over parts of France and over Jerusalem and England; the second ruled over parts of France and over Naples,...

• Angoulême, Charles de Valois, comte d'Auvergne, duc d' 1573-1650, illegitimate son of King Charles IX of France. He turned against King Henry IV, conspired with Henriette d'Entragues, his half sister, and was imprisoned until 1616. After his release...

• Angoulême, Margaret of see Margaret of Navarre.

• Angoulême, Marie Thérèse Charlotte, duchesse d' 1778-1851, wife of Louis Antoine d'Angoulême; daughter of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. She was imprisoned (1792-95) during the French Revolution. Energetic and ambitious, she exerted...

• Anne de Beaujeu c.1460-1522, regent of France, daughter of the French King Louis XI. With her husband, Pierre de Beaujeu, duc de Bourbon, she acted as regent for her brother, Charles VIII, after the death (1483)...

• Anne of Austria 1601-66, queen of France, daughter of King Philip III of Spain. Married to the French king Louis XIII (1615), she was neglected by her husband and sought the society of the court intriguer, Mme de Chevreuse. Anne's indiscretion, especially her flirtation with the duke of Buckingham, injured her reputation. Her loyalty to Spain and her strong Roman Catholic background made her suspect after France's...

• Anne of Brittany 1477-1514, queen of France as consort of Charles VIII from 1491 to 1498 and consort of Louis XII from 1499 until her death. The daughter of Duke Francis II of Brittany, she was heiress to his duchy. Shortly before her father's death (1488), a French army under Louis de La Trémoille successfully invaded Brittany and secured the duke's promise that Anne...

• Argenson, Marc Pierre de Voyer de Paulmy, comte d' 1696-1764, French statesman and patron of literature; younger brother of René Louis d'Argenson. As secretary of state for war (1743-57), he assisted Maurice de Saxe in reforming the army, especially the artillery, and founded the École militaire. He was also charged with administrative control of the city of Paris. The Champs Élysées and the Place de la...

• Argenson, René Louis de Voyer de Paulmy, marquis d' 1694-1757, French foreign minister (1744-47), brother of Marc Pierre d'Argenson. Well intentioned but impractical, he sought to form a federation of Italian states and to make France the...

• Artagnan, Charles de Batz-Castelmore d' c.1620-1673, French soldier under King Louis XIV. He fell at the siege of Maastricht. Dumas père used memoirs attributed to him for The Three Musketeers and other novels.

• Arthur I 1187-1203?, duke of Brittany (1196-1203?), son of Geoffrey, fourth son of Henry II of England and Constance, heiress of Brittany. Arthur, a posthumous child, was proclaimed duke in 1196, and an...

• Arthur III 1394-1458, duke of Brittany (1457-58), known before 1457 as comte de Richemont, constable of France in the Hundred Years War. He led the coalition that overthrew Georges de La Trémoille , and by the Treaty of Arras (1435) he reconciled Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy and England's former ally, with King Charles VII of France. He captured Paris from the English in 1436 and later...

• Aubusson, Pierre d' 1423-1503, French soldier, a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, and grand master of the Knights Hospitalers (1476-1503). In 1480 he valiantly defended Rhodes against Ottoman Sultan Muhammad II. After the accession (1481) of Sultan Beyazid II , Aubusson gave shelter to Jem, Beyazid's brother. However, he soon sent Jem to France as a virtual prisoner and obtained a truce and a large annual pension from Beyazid in exchange for keeping Jem...

• Augereau, Pierre François Charles 1757-1816, marshal of France. He fought in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars and was a principal in the coup of 18 Fructidor (Sept. 4, 1797). For his heroism in the Italian campaign he...

• Auriol, Vincent 1884-1966, French statesman, first president (1947-54) of the Fourth Republic. A Socialist deputy after 1914, he was finance minister under Léon Blum (1936-37) and minister of justice in the cabinet of Camille Chautemps (1937-38). He refused (1940) to vote plenary powers to Marshal Pétain and was held in custody by the Vichy government. Released in 1941, he worked in the French underground and in 1943 left France to join Gen. Charles de Gaulle. A member of the provisional government...

• Authari d. 590, Lombard king (584-90). Elected by the Lombard dukes to end the anarchy that prevailed in Italy after the murder (572?) of Alboin (see Lombards ), Authari consolidated Lombard power in N Italy...

• Bérégovoy, Pierre 1925-93, French politician. A leader of the Socialist party after 1969, he was an adviser (1981-82) to François Mitterrand , under whose government he held several ministries, including that of economy and finance as well as budget. In 1988, when Mitterrand returned to the presidency, Bérégovoy was given the rank of...

• Babeuf, François Noël 1760-97, French revolutionary, organizer of a communist uprising against the Directory. Of petty bourgeois origin, he was an enthusiastic supporter of the French Revolution. He settled in Paris in 1794 and founded a political journal, the Journal de la liberté de la presse (later the Tribun du peuple ). In it he argued that the Revolution had not gone far enough merely by establishing political equality. He was imprisoned (Feb.-Sept., 1795) for his writings, but emerged an even more violent...

• Balladur, Édouard 1929-, French political leader, b. Turkey. He moved to France as a child and grew up in Marseille. A Gaullist and member of the Rally for the Republic, he served under Premier Georges Pompidou in the 1960s and was finance minister under conservative premier Jacques Chirac from 1986 to 1988. Appointed premier by President François Mitterrand after a center-right victory in 1993 legislative elections, Balladur pursued a crackdown on illegal immigration, privatization of state-owned businesses, and measures to stimulate the flagging...

• Balue, Jean c.1421-1491, French statesman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. A trusted adviser of the French king Louis XI , he saved Paris for the king during the revolt of the League of the Public Weal (1465). Subsequently he conspired with Charles the Bold of Burgundy against Louis and arranged the meeting of the two...

• Barère de Vieuzac, Bertrand 1755-1841, French revolutionary. A member of the Revolutionary National Assembly and of the Convention, he moved from a moderate to a radical stand, voting for the execution of King Louis XVI. He...

• Barante, Amable Guillaume Prosper Brugière, baron de 1782-1866, French statesman and historian. He held numerous administrative and diplomatic posts but retired with the downfall of Louis Philippe (1848). Of his historical works, the best known is a...

• Barbé-Marbois, François, marquis de 1745-1837, French statesman. He held diplomatic posts in Europe and, during the American Revolution, in the United States. After holding a governmental post in Saint-Domingue (Santo Domingo), he...

• Barbazan, Arnaud Guillaume, seigneur de c.1360-1431, French general in the Hundred Years War. He was called le chevalier sans reproche [the knight without reproach]. A leader of the Armagnacs (see Armagnacs and Burgundians ) and a staunch supporter of the dauphin, the future King Charles VII, Barbazan defended (1420) Melun against the English and was held prisoner by them from 1420 to 1430. After his release he fought...

• Barbie, Klaus 1913-91, Nazi war criminal known as the "Butcher of Lyons." As Gestapo chief in Lyons, France (1942-44), he was responsible for the deaths of French Resistance members and thousands of Jews. After the war he secretly served as a U.S. army agent in Germany...

• Barnave, Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie 1761-93, French revolutionary. A member of the States-General of 1789 from Grenoble, he was a brilliant speaker and leader of the Jacobins. After Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette fled to Varennes in 1791, Barnave believed that the king might finally be persuaded to accept a constitutional government, thereby avoiding the impending...

• Barras, Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de 1755-1829, French revolutionary. Although of a noble family, he joined the Jacobins in the Revolution and was a member of the Convention. He participated in the reprisals against counterrevolutionaries in Toulon after the recapture of the city from the British (1793). Having...

• Barre, Raymond 1924-, French politician. He studied at the Institut D'Études Politiques, taught, and then, in 1959, became an economic adviser to the government of Charles de Gaulle. In 1976, he became minister of foreign trade and then succeeded Jacques Chirac as premier, serving from 1976 to 1981. Although he was a right-wing politician who pursued an austere economic program, Barre was a popular leader. He was elected to the national assembly in 1978...

• Barrot, Camille Hyacinthe Odilon 1791-1873, French political leader. An opponent of the Bourbon restoration, he aided the July Revolution (1830), but he was disappointed in the bourgeois monarchy of Louis Philippe. He became a leader of the parliamentary opposition to the July Monarchy and participated in banquets used to spread...

• Bart, Jean 1650-1702, French naval hero, b. Dunkirk. Of a seafaring family, he enlisted in the Dutch navy but entered French service as a privateer at the outbreak of the Dutch War (1672). In 1686 he was...

• Barthélemy, François, marquis de 1747?-1830, French statesman. While minister to Switzerland, he negotiated the Treaties of Basel (1795), which took Prussia and Spain out of the French Revolutionary Wars. Elected to the Directory...

• Barthou, Louis 1862-1934, French cabinet minister and man of letters. He held portfolios in numerous cabinets after 1894 and was briefly premier in July-Aug., 1913. His government was responsible for the law...

• Bassompierre, François, baron de 1579-1646, marshal of France. Under King Henry IV he distinguished himself in the army and as a courtier, and after Henry's death he remained loyal to the queen, Marie de' Medici, during her...

• Bayard, Pierre Terrail, seigneur de c.1474-1524, French military hero, called le chevalier sans peur et sans reproche [the knight without fear or reproach]. He exhibited bravery and genius as a commander in all the important battles...

• Bazaine, Achille François 1811-88, French army officer. He served in Algeria, Crimea, Lombardy, and Mexico, and in the Franco-Prussian War he was given (Aug., 1870) the supreme command by Emperor Napoleon III. Unequal to the task, Bazaine allowed his army, which was entrenched at Metz, to be surrounded by the Prussians. The attempt of...

• Beaufort, François de Vendôme, duc de 1616-69, French courtier and politician; grandson of King Henry IV of France and his mistress Gabrielle d' Estrées. Implicated in the conspiracy of the Marquis de Cinq Mars against Louis XIII's minister Cardinal Richelieu, he fled (1642) to England but returned after Richelieu's death. He was one of the Importants, a clique opposing Richelieu's successor, Cardinal...

• Beauharnais, Alexandre, vicomte de 1760-94, French general, b. Martinique. He fought with the colonials in the American Revolution and, as a supporter of the French Revolution, was a commander in the French Revolutionary Wars. A...

• Beauharnais, Eugène de 1781-1824, French general; son of Alexandre and Josephine de Beauharnais (Empress Josephine ). He served ably in the campaigns of his stepfather, Napoleon I , distinguishing himself at Marengo and Lützen, where he rallied the outnumbered troops, and in the Russian campaign. The emperor made him viceroy of Italy in 1805 and officially adopted him the...

• Beauharnais, Josephine de see Josephine.

• Beaujeu, Anne de see Anne de Beaujeu.

• Belle-Isle, Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet, duc de 1684-1761, marshal of France and diplomat; grandson of Nicolas Fouquet. His support of the claims of Charles of Bavaria (Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII) was in part responsible for France's entry...

• Benedetti, Vincent 1817-1900, French diplomat, b. Corsica, made a count by Napoleon III. He was ambassador to Prussia from 1864 to 1870. In an interview (1870) at Ems with King William I (later German emperor), he...

• Benjamin Constant, Paul Henri see Estournelles de Constant.

• Bernard VII d. 1418, count of Armagnac, constable of France. As father-in-law of Charles d' Orléans he led the Armagnac faction (see Armagnacs and Burgundians ) and from 1415 to 1418 was virtual ruler of France. His oppression of the Parisians, intended to check Burgundian power, caused the betrayal of Paris to John the Fearless of Burgundy; in the...

• Berry, Caroline Ferdinande Louise, duchesse de 1798-1870, wife of the French prince, Charles Ferdinand, duc de Berry; daughter of Francis I of the Two Sicilies. She went into exile from France after the overthrow of King Charles X, her...

• Berry, Charles Ferdinand, duc de 1778-1820, younger son of Charles, comte d'Artois (later Charles X of France). He served in the prince de Condé's army against the French Revolution. His assassination during the reign of King...

• Bertha of the Big Foot see Bertrada.

• Berthier, Louis Alexandre 1753-1815, marshal of France. He served in the American Revolution and in the French Revolutionary Wars, distinguishing himself under Napoleon in Italy, where he served as chief of staff. He was...

• Bertrada d. 783, Frankish queen, wife of Pepin the Short and mother of Charlemagne. She tried without success to reconcile Charlemagne and his brother Carloman. Also called Bertha of the Big Foot or Queen...

• Berwick, James FitzJames, duke of 1670-1734, marshal of France; illegitimate son of King James II of England and Arabella Churchill, sister of the duke of Marlborough. Born and educated in France, he fought in Hungary against the...

• Bidault, Georges 1899-1983, French political leader. An influential columnist (1932-39), he was imprisoned (1940-41) in World War II and then joined the French underground, becoming its leader. A founder of the...

• Billaud-Varenne, Jean Nicolas 1756-1819, French revolutionary. A violent antimonarchist in the Convention, the revolutionary national assembly, he and Jean Marie Collot d'Herbois were the two members of the ultrarevolutionary...

• Blanche of Castile 1185?-1252, queen of Louis VIII of France and regent during the minority (1226-34) of their son Louis IX. A forceful and capable ruler, she checked the coalitions of the great lords and frustrated the attempt (1230) of Henry III of England to regain his father's lands in France. She remained a lifelong adviser to Louis IX, was again regent on his departure (1248) for the Holy Land, and was coregent with her son Alphonse...

• Blanqui, Louis Auguste 1805-81, French revolutionary and radical thinker. While a student in Paris, he joined (1824) a branch of the Carbonari, a revolutionary secret society; thenceforth he was prominent in every...

• Blum, Léon 1872-1950, French Socialist leader and writer. Well established in literary circles, he entered politics during the Dreyfus Affair and rose to party leadership. In 1936 he brought about the coalition of Radical Socialists, Socialists, and Communists in the Popular Front, which won an overwhelming electoral victory. This first...

• Boisguilbert, Pierre le Pesant, sieur de 1646-1714, French economist. A local official of Rouen after 1689, he proposed a radical alteration of the French fiscal system in order to revive the finances of the nearly bankrupt state. Seeing...

• Bonaparte Ital. Buonaparte , family name of Napoleon I , emperor of the French.

• Bonnet, Georges 1889-1973, French politician. He entered politics as a Radical Socialist. A financial expert, he was prominent at international conferences on reparations and other economic questions. He was...

• Boucicaut c.1366-1421, marshal of France and crusader against the Ottoman Turks, whose real name was Jean III le Meingre. Captured by Ottoman Sultan Beyazid I at Nikopol (1396), he was ransomed. He was governor (1401-7) of Genoa, then under French rule, was captured by the English at Agincourt (1415), and died in England. He wrote several ballads and other poems...

• Boufflers, Louis François, duc de 1644-1711, marshal and peer of France. He served under the French commanders François de Créquy and the vicomte de Turenne. King Louis XIV created him a duke in 1694. His best-known exploits are...

• Bouillon, Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de c.1605-1652, French general; son of Henri de Bouillon. Brought up a Protestant, he campaigned in Holland under his uncle Maurice of Nassau. In 1635 he entered the service of France. He rebelled against Cardinal Richelieu in 1641, but after a reconciliation he was given command (1642) of the French forces in Italy. Soon afterward he was arrested in the Cinq Mars conspiracy and, in return for pardon, ceded to France the sovereign principality of Sedan, which his family had held. He embraced Roman Catholicism, went to Rome, and commanded the papal troops. In...

• Bouillon, Godfrey of see Godfrey of Bouillon.

• Bouillon, Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne, duc de 1555-1623, marshal of France, diplomat, and Protestant leader. He served with Henry IV against the Catholic League but fled (1603) to Geneva when he was ordered arrested for his part in a conspiracy against the king. Under Marie de' Medici he returned and entered the council of regency, from which he withdrew...

• Boulanger, Georges Ernest 1837-91, French general and reactionary politician. He served in North Africa and Indochina, and in the Franco-Prussian War. Later, he was briefly commander of French troops in Tunisia. A protégé...

• Bourbaki, Charles Denis Sauter 1816-97, French general of Greek ancestry. In the Algerian campaigns and the Crimean War he gained one of the highest military reputations in Europe. Offered the Greek throne (1862), he declined...

• Bourbon European royal family, originally of France; a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. One branch of the Bourbons occupies the modern Spanish throne, and other branches ruled the Two Sicilies and...

• Bourbon, Charles, duc de 1490-1527, constable of France and governor of Milan. He distinguished himself at the battle of Marignano (1515) in the Italian Wars between King Francis I and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V...

• Bourbon-Parma   Bourbon-Sicily, and Bourbon-Spain: see Bourbon , royal family.

• Bourgeois, Léon 1851-1925, French statesman and social philosopher. He held cabinet posts, notably the premiership (1895-96) and was a delegate to the first and second Hague peace conferences and a member of the...

• Bourmont, Louis Auguste, comte de Ghaisnes de 1773-1846, marshal of France. An émigré, he fought against the French Revolution under the prince de Condé, in the Vendée , and as a leader of the Chouans. Imprisoned in 1800, he escaped (1804) to Portugal, but in 1807 he was reconciled to Napoleon, whom he served in several campaigns. In the Hundred Days he deserted to the Prussians on the eve of...

• Bourrienne, Louis Antoine Fauvelet de 1769-1834, French political figure. He was a friend and for a time (1797-1802) private secretary to Napoleon, who made him a councillor of state. Bourrienne later supported the Bourbon restoration...

• Briand, Aristide 1862-1932, French statesman. A lawyer and a Socialist, he entered (1902) the chamber of deputies and helped to draft and pass the law (1905) for separation of church and state. Made (1906)...

• Brienne, Étienne Charles Loménie de see Loménie de Brienne, Étienne Charles.

• Brinvilliers, Marie Madeleine d'Aubray, marquise de see Poison Affair.

• Brion, Amiral de see Chabot, Philippe de.

• Brissot de Warville, Jacques Pierre 1754-93, French revolutionary and journalist. He began his career by writing numerous pamphlets and books. His Théorie des lois criminelles (1781) was a plea for penal reform. He was imprisoned briefly in the Bastille for writing a seditious pamphlet. Brissot visited the Netherlands, Switzerland, England, and the United States. He was...

• Broglie French noble family of Piedmontese origin, who settled in France in the 17th cent. Victor Maurice, comte de Broglie, 1647-1727, was marshal of France and fought in the wars of King Louis XIV. His son François Marie, duc de Broglie, 1671-1745, marshal of France, fought at Malplaquet (1709), in the War of the Polish Succession, and in the War of the Austrian Succession. King Louis XV conferred on him the ducal title inherited...

• Broussel, Pierre c.1575-1654, councillor of the Parlement of Paris under Louis XIII and Louis XIV. His opposition to the tax program proposed by Cardinal Mazarin made him popular. The uprising after his arrest in 1648 caused his early release and was the start of the first Fronde. In July, 1652, the Parisians chose him provost of the merchants, i.e., virtual mayor. He resigned in September in order to facilitate the reconciliation between the rebels and the court, and he...

• Brunhilda or Brunehaut , d. 613, Frankish queen, wife of Sigebert I of the East Frankish kingdom of Austrasia; daughter of Athanagild, the Visigothic king of Spain. After the murder (567) of her sister Galswintha, who was the wife of Sigebert's brother Chilperic I...

• Bugeaud de la Piconnerie, Thomas Robert 1784-1849, marshal of France, duc d'Isly, general and administrator in Algeria. He served in the army of the French emperor Napoleon I until forced into retirement in 1815. Returning to public...

• Buonaparte see Bonaparte and Napoleon I.

• Cœur, Jacques c.1395-1456, French merchant prince and adviser of King Charles VII, who made him chief of finances and sent him on important diplomatic missions. His reforms restored order to the confused...

• Cachin, Marcel 1869-1958, French Communist leader. An early leader of the Socialist party, he was instrumental in bringing many Socialists into the first French Communist party in 1920. Long the leader of the...

• Cadoudal, Georges 1771-1804, French royalist conspirator. A commander of the Chouans , he led the counterrevolutionists in the Vendée. He fled to England in 1801 after the failure of an attempted assassination...

• Caillaux, Joseph 1863-1944, French statesman. Son of a former cabinet minister, he entered the French civil service as inspector of finance. He later became finance minister in the cabinet of René Waldeck-Rousseau...

• Calonne, Charles Alexandre de 1734-1802, French statesman, controller general of finances (1783-87). Faced with a huge public debt and a steadily deteriorating financial situation, Calonne adopted a spending policy to inspire...

• Cambacérès, Jean Jacques Régis de 1753-1824, French revolutionary and legislator. He was deputy to the National Convention and to the Council of Five Hundred, second consul under Napoleon (1799-1804), and archchancellor of the...

• Cambon, Jules Martin 1845-1935, French diplomat; brother of Pierre Paul Cambon. He served (1891-96) as governor-general of Algeria, where he pursued a conciliatory policy and was largely responsible for the decree...

• Cambon, Pierre Joseph b. 1754 or 1756, d. 1820, French financier and revolutionary. A merchant of Montpellier, he became a member of the Legislative Assembly and the Convention, and he guided the financial policy of...

• Cambon, Pierre Paul 1843-1924, French diplomat; brother of Jules Martin Cambon. Named resident minister to Tunis in 1882, he conceived and organized the new Tunisian protectorate under the bey. As ambassador to Great...

• Canrobert, François Certain 1809-95, marshal of France. After brilliant service in Africa, he returned to Paris and aided Louis Napoleon (later Napoleon III ) in the coup of 1851. He served in the Crimean War and was for a time commander in chief. Later, he distinguished himself in the Italian War of 1859 and in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). He...

• Capetians royal house of France that ruled continuously from 987 to 1328; it takes its name from Hugh Capet. Related branches of the family (see Valois ; Bourbon ) ruled France until the final deposition of the monarchy in the 19th cent. The first historical ancestor was Robert the Strong , count of Anjou and of Blois. His son, Eudes , count of Paris, was elected (888) king after the deposition of the Carolingian king Charles III (Charles the Fat). From 893 to 987 the crown passed back and forth between Carolingians and descendants of Robert the Strong. Eudes's brother, Robert I , was chosen king in 922 but died in 923. The title, waived by his son, Hugh the Great , passed to Robert's son-in-law, Raoul , duke of Burgundy. In 987, Hugh's son, Hugh Capet, became king. His direct descendants remained on the throne until the death (1328) of Charles IV, when it passed to the related house of Valois...

• Carloman 751-71, son of Pepin the Short. He and his brother, Charlemagne , shared the succession to their father's kingdom; Carloman ruled the southern portion. Attempts to end rivalry between the brothers failed, and when Carloman died Charlemagne seized his domain...

• Carloman d. 884, king of the West Franks (France), son of King Louis II (Louis the Stammerer). He became joint ruler with his brother Louis III in 879. His reign was disturbed by revolts in Burgundy, by the loss (879) of Provence to Boso, count of Arles, and by an invasion of the Normans. He became sole ruler at his brother's death (882)...

• Carloman d. 754, mayor of the palace in the kingdom of Austrasia after the death (741) of his father, Charles Martel. Ruling with his brother, Pepin the Short , he carried on successful wars against the dukes of Aquitaine, the Saxons, the Swabians, and the Bavarians. The brothers helped St. Boniface reform the Frankish Church, bringing church and state...

• Carnot, Hippolyte 1801-88, French statesman; son of Lazare Carnot. He shared his father's exile after 1815 and returned to France in 1823. A follower of Claude Henri de Saint-Simon , he participated in the July Revolution of 1830. He came to oppose the July Monarchy and was elected three times as an opposition member of the chamber of deputies. He took part in the radical...

• Carnot, Lazare Nicolas Marguerite 1753-1823, French revolutionary, known as the organizer of victory for his role in the French Revolutionary Wars. A military engineer by training, Carnot became the military genius of the Revolution and was chiefly responsible for the success of the French in the wars. A member of the Legislative Assembly,...

• Carnot, Sadi 1837-94, French statesman, president of the Third Republic (1887-94); son of Hippolyte Carnot. As minister of public works (1880-85) and of finance (1886), he remained untainted by the financial...

• Carolingians dynasty of Frankish rulers, founded in the 7th cent. by Pepin of Landen , who, as mayor of the palace, ruled the East Frankish Kingdom of Austrasia for Dagobert I. His descendants, Pepin of Heristal , Charles Martel , Carloman , and Pepin the Short , continued to govern the territories under the nominal kingship of the Merovingians. In 751, with the knowledge and backing of Pope Zacharias, Pepin the Short deposed the last Merovingian king, Childeric III. To emphasize the importance of the church and to legitimize his reign,...

• Carrier, Jean Baptiste 1756-94, French Revolutionary. An extreme Jacobin, he demanded the establishment of a revolutionary tribunal, and, as a revolutionary representative to Nantes in the Reign of Terror, he instituted...

• Cartouche 1693-1721, nickname of Louis Dominique Bourguignon, French highwayman. His band terrorized the Paris area until his capture. He was broken on the wheel. Cartouche's daring exploits have been...

• Casimir-Perier, Jean Paul Pierre 1847-1907, French president (June, 1894-Jan., 1895). He held several cabinet posts before serving as premier in 1893. He created the ministry of colonies and acted to suppress anarchist...

• Castelnau, Michel de c.1520-1592, French diplomat and soldier. He early attracted the favorable notice of the cardinal of Lorraine (Charles de Guise) and performed important services for Anne, duc de Montmorency, and...

• Catherine de' Medici 1519-89, queen of France, daughter of Lorenzo de' Medici, duke of Urbino. She was married (1533) to the duc d'Orléans, later King Henry II. Neglected during the reign of her husband and that of...

• Catinat, Nicolas 1637-1712, marshal of France. The son of a magistrate, he won promotion by merit rather than by wealth or descent. In the War of the Grand Alliance he commanded against Duke Victor Amadeus II of...

• Caulaincourt, Armand Augustin Louis, marquis de b. 1772 or 1773, d. 1827, French diplomat and general, created duke of Vicenza by Napoleon I. He became (1802) Napoleon's aide-de-camp, and as ambassador to Russia (1807-11) he opposed the...

• Cavaignac, Louis Eugène 1802-57, French general. He participated in the French conquest of Algeria and was promoted to general in 1844. After the outbreak of the February Revolution in 1848, he became governor-general of...

• Cavalier, Jean 1681?-1740, French Protestant soldier, a leader of the Camisards. From his home in the Cévennes region of France, he fled to Geneva (1701) when persecution of the Protestants became intolerable, but he returned when he knew that the Protestants were about to...

• Château-Renault, François Louis Rousselet, marquis de 1637-1716, French vice admiral and marshal. He escorted the deposed king of England, James II, to Ireland (1689), fought against the Anglo-Dutch fleet at Beachy Head (1690), and commanded the...

• Chaban-Delmas, Jacques 1915-2000, French political leader, born Jacques Delmas. He joined (1940) the resistance, using the nom de guerre "Chaban," which he later adopted legally, and was a key figure in the Allied liberation of Paris. He entered (1946) the chamber of deputies as a Radical Socialist but soon joined de Gaulle 's party. From 1947 to 1995 he was mayor of Bordeaux, and he served in several cabinets. He was president of the national assembly from 1958 to 1969, when President Pompidou appointed him premier. He was charged with evading personal income tax laws but received a vote of confidence in May, 1972. Many Gaullists nonetheless considered him too liberal, and Pompidou...

• Chabannes, Antoine de, comte de Dammartin 1408?-1488, French soldier in the Hundred Years War. He served with Joan of Arc, distinguishing himself at the siege of Orléans in 1428-29, fought as a captain of écorcheurs, or armed...

• Chabot, Philippe de also known as Amiral de Brion , 1480-1543, count of Charny and of Buzançois, admiral of France. After a successful campaign (1536) in Savoy and Piedmont, he was, through the intrigues of Anne,...

• Chambord, Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie Dieudonné, comte de 1820-83, Bourbon claimant to the French throne, posthumous son of Charles Ferdinand, duc de Berry. His original title was duke of Bordeaux. His grandfather, Charles X, abdicated in his favor during the Revolution of 1830, and he is known to the legitimists as Henry V, although he never held the...

• Chamillart, Michel 1652-1721, French statesman. He was named controller general of finances (1699), minister of state (1700), and minister of war (1701). To raise funds Chamillart resorted to the sale of offices and...

• Championnet, Jean Étienne 1762-1800, French general in the French Revolutionary Wars. Placed in command of the Army of Rome in 1798, he captured (1799) Naples from the Second Coalition and set up the Parthenopean Republic. However, he got into trouble with the Directory by denouncing the malpractices of one of its agents in Naples; moreover, his harsh rule caused popular discontent, and he was recalled in disgrace...

• Changarnier, Nicolas 1793-1877, French general and politician. He served in Algeria and was briefly (1848) governor-general of Algeria, succeeding Louis Cavaignac. Elected to the constituent assembly in 1848 after the February Revolution , he resigned after the rising of the June Days to head the Paris national guard. Later the regular army troops in Paris were added to his command. A monarchist and Orleanist, Changarnier came to...

• Chanzy, Antoine Eugène Alfred 1823-83, French general. After service in Algeria, Italy, and Syria, he was refused a major command in the Franco-Prussian War because he was distrusted by the emperor Napoleon III. After the fall of the empire he was put in command of the Army of the Loire and opposed the Prussians with great skill. Chanzy was elected to...

• Chaptal, Jean Antoine 1756-1832, French chemist, industrialist, and statesman. He became (1781) professor of chemistry at Montpellier, and during the Revolution he was active in gunpowder production. Later, as minister...

• Charlemagne (Charles the Great or Charles I) [O.Fr.,=Charles the great], 742?-814, emperor of the West (800-814), Carolingian king of the Franks (768-814).

• Charles d'Orléans see Orléans, Charles, duc d'.

• Charles Emmanuel I 1562-1630, duke of Savoy (1580-1630), son and successor of Emmanuel Philibert. He continued his father's efforts to recover territories lost to the duchy, but his reckless, although cunning, diplomacy undermined many of the sound economic and political achievements of the...

• Charles I emperor of the West and Frankish king: see Charlemagne.

• Charles I Frankish king: see Charlemagne.

• Charles I 953-992?, duke of Lower Lorraine (977-91); younger son of King Louis IV of France. He claimed the French throne when his nephew, Louis V of France, died (987) without issue, but he was set aside in...

• Charles II or Charles the Bald, 823-77, emperor of the West (875-77) and king of the West Franks (843-77); son of Emperor Louis I by a second marriage. The efforts of Louis to create a kingdom for Charles were responsible for the repeated revolts of Louis's elder sons that disturbed the latter part of Louis's reign. When Lothair I , the eldest and heir to the imperial title, attempted to reunite the empire after Louis's death (840), Charles and Louis the German marched against their brother and defeated him at Fontenoy (841). Reaffirming their alliance in 842 (see Strasbourg, Oath of ), they signed (843) with Lothair the Treaty of Verdun (see Verdun, Treaty of ), which divided the empire into three parts. The part roughly corresponding to modern France fell to Charles. He was almost continuously at war with his brothers and their sons, with the Norsemen...

• Charles II French king: see Charles II , emperor of the West.

• Charles II (Charles the Bad), 1332-87, king of Navarre (1349-87), count of Évreux; grandson of King Louis X of France. He carried on a long feud with his father-in-law, John II, king of France, procuring the...

• Charles III or Charles the Fat, 839-88, emperor of the West (881-87), king of the East Franks (882-87), and king of the West Franks (884-87); son of Louis the German , at whose death he inherited Swabia (876). He succeeded to the East Frankish or German kingship after the deaths of his brothers Carloman (880) and Louis the Younger (882), with whom he had shared...

• Charles III or Charles the Fat, French king: see Charles III , emperor of the West.

• Charles III (Charles the Simple), 879-929, French king (893-923), son of King Louis II (Louis the Stammerer). As a child he was excluded from the succession at the death (884) of his half brother Carloman and...

• Charles III (Charles the Good), 1361-1425, king of Navarre (1387-1425), count of Évreux; son and successor of Charles II. He settled (1404) his inherited differences with France and later tried to negotiate...

• Charles IV (Charles the Fair), 1294-1328, king of France (1322-28), youngest son of Philip IV, brother and successor of Philip V. Charles continued his brother's work of strengthening the royal power. He also...

• Charles IV 1604-75, duke of Lorraine. He succeeded to the duchy in 1624 but was to lose it several times because of his anti-French policy. In 1633, French troops invaded Lorraine in retaliation for Charles's...

• Charles IX 1550-74, king of France. He succeeded (1560) his brother Francis II under the regency of his mother, Catherine de' Medici. She retained her influence throughout his reign. After 1570, however, Charles...

• Charles Martel [O.Fr.,=Charles the Hammer], 688?-741, Frankish ruler, illegitimate son of Pepin of Heristal and grandfather of Charlemagne. After the death of his father (714) he seized power in Austrasia from Pepin's widow, who was ruling as regent for her grandsons, and became mayor of the palace. He...

• Charles of Blois (Charles of Châtillon) , c.1319-1364, duke of Brittany; nephew of Philip VI of France. He was one of the chief participants in the War of the Breton Succession and was killed at the battle of...

• Charles of Valois 1270-1325, French prince and military leader, third son of Philip III and father of Philip VI. He dominated the reign in France of his nephew Louis X. On the excommunication (1284) of Peter III of Aragón, Pope Martin IV made Charles of Valois king of Aragón and Sicily. Charles, however, was defeated and in 1290 renounced his claim. In return he received Anjou and Maine as part of the...

• Charles the Bad see Charles II , king of Navarre.

• Charles the Bald French king: see Charles II , emperor of the West.

• Charles the Bold 1433-77, last reigning duke of Burgundy (1467-77), son and successor of Philip the Good. As the count of Charolais before his accession, he opposed the growing power of King Louis XI of France by joining (1465) the League of Public Weal. In 1468 he had Louis arrested during their interview at Péronne and compelled him to help in subduing Liège, where Louis had incited a revolt...

• Charles the Fat French king: see Charles III , emperor of the West.

• Charles the Great Frankish king, emperor of the West: see Charlemagne.

• Charles V (Charles the Wise), 1338-80, king of France (1364-80). Son of King John II , Charles became the first French heir apparent to bear the title of dauphin after the addition of the region of Dauphiné to the royal domain in 1349. Regent during his father's captivity in England...

• Charles V (Charles Leopold), 1643-90, duke of Lorraine; nephew of Duke Charles IV. Deprived of the rights of succession to the duchy, he was forced to leave France and entered the service of the Holy Roman...

• Charles VI (Charles the Mad or Charles the Well Beloved), 1368-1422, king of France (1380-1422), son and successor of King Charles V. During his minority he was under the tutelage of his uncles (particularly Philip the Bold , duke of Burgundy), whose policies drained the royal treasury and provoked popular uprisings in France and in Flanders. Charles freed himself of this influence in 1388, took as his counselor his...

• Charles VII (Charles the Well Served), 1403-61, king of France (1422-61), son and successor of Charles VI. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years War. Although excluded from the throne by the Treaty of Troyes , Charles took the royal title after his father's death (1422) and ruled S of the Loire, while John of Lancaster, duke of Bedford , who was regent for King Henry VI of England, controlled the north and Guienne (Aquitaine). Vacillating and easily influenced by corrupt favorites, particularly Georges de La Trémoille , Charles waged only perfunctory warfare against the English. He was prodded into action by the siege of Orléans (1429) in which Joan of Arc helped save the city from the English. After the capture of Orléans, Charles was crowned (1429) at Reims. He reverted to his earlier inactivity until 1433, when La Trémoille was replaced by more...

• Charles VIII 1470-98, king of France (1483-98), son and successor of Louis XI. He first reigned under the regency of his sister Anne de Beaujeu. After his marriage (1491) to Anne of Brittany , he freed himself from the influence of the regency and prepared to conquer the kingdom of Naples , to which his father had acquired a claim through Charles, duke of Maine, from René of Naples. Urged by Ludovico Sforza , he invaded (1494) Italy; after a triumphal march through Pavia, Florence, and Rome, he took (Feb., 1495) Naples. A league against him, formed by Milan, Venice, Spain, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian...

• Charles X 1757-1836, king of France (1824-30); brother of King Louis XVI and of King Louis XVIII, whom he succeeded. As comte d'Artois he headed the reactionary faction at the court of Louis XVI. He left...

• Charlotte Elizabeth see Elizabeth Charlotte of Bavaria.

• Chartres, Robert d'Orléans, duc de see Orléans , family.

• Chaumette, Pierre Gaspard 1763-94, French Revolutionary. A member of the Cordeliers , he collaborated with Jacques Hébert to eliminate the royalists and to introduce (1793) the cult of Reason. Chaumette was general procurator (1792-94) and a chief leader of the Commune of Paris. Although he instituted social and moral...

• Chautemps, Camille 1885-1963, French politician. A Radical Socialist leader, he was premier in 1930 and in 1933-34, when the Stavisky Affair (in which he was not directly implicated) cau