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Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine (l. c. 1122-1204 CE) was one of the most impressive and powerful figures of the High Middle Ages (1000-1300 CE) – male or female – whose influence shaped the politics, art, medieval literature, and perception of women...

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Louis XVI Educating His Son in the Tower of the Temple
As a prisoner in the Tower of the Temple, King Louis XVI of France still made sure to educate his son, the dauphin Louis-Charles (Louis XVII of France) on history and geography. Image by unknown author. Museum of the French Revolution, Vizille...

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Examination of Louis the Last
A depiction of the examination of King Louis XVI of France during his trial on 26 December 1792, with a description that read "the examination of Louis the Last". Illustration by Éléonore Sophie Rebel in Histoire-musée de la république Française...

Definition
French Revolution
The French Revolution (1789-1799) was a period of major societal and political upheaval in France. It witnessed the collapse of the monarchy, the establishment of the First French Republic, and culminated in the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte...

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Louis XVI on the Scaffold
At around 10 am on 21 January 1793, King Louis XVI of France was executed at the age of 38. This engraving depicts the executioner, Charles-Henri Sanson's attempt to bind the king's hands. Louis had begun to resist until his confessor, the...

Definition
Eighth Crusade
The Eighth Crusade of 1270 CE was, like the Seventh Crusade (1248-1254 CE), led by the French king Louis IX (r. 1226-1270 CE). As previously, the idea was to attack and defeat the Muslims first in Egypt and then either reconquer or negotiate...

Definition
Women's March on Versailles
The Women's March on Versailles, also known as the October March or the October Days, was a defining moment in the early months of the French Revolution (1789-1799). On 5 October 1789, crowds of Parisian market women marched on Versailles...

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Montpellier during the French Reformation
At the dawn of the French Wars of Religion (1562-1598), Montpellier in southern France had a significant Protestant minority that controlled the city's institutions. The Edict of Nantes in 1598 ended the wars and Protestants retained territorial...

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Trial of Louis XVI
The trial of King Louis XVI of France, on 26 December 1792, engraving by Reinier Vinkeles, c. 1793-96. Louis himself can be seen prominently in the lower right, holding a sheet of paper from which he reads his defense. He is flanked by his...

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Louis XVII and Antoine Simon
Louis-Charles de France (Louis XVII of France) and his jailor, the cobbler Antoine Simon; later royalist writers told of the abuses inflicted by Simon. Engraving by Yan' Dargent, from Histoire de la Révolution by Adolphe Thiers, Ed. 1866...