The Minion Duel in the Heart of the Mara
On April 27, 1578, at dawn, six young courtiers met at the Parisian horse market (today's Place des Vosges)....
Catherine de Medici – The Unlucky Queen
Was Catherine de Medici (or in Italian Caterina de' Medici) a terrible monster as Alexandre Dumas the Elder and others made her out to be? Yigal Liberant...
Jacques-Louis David – Painter of the French Revolution
Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), like almost everything in the French Revolution, is the prototype of the revolutionary artist – the young and enthusiastic radical...
Marie Antoinette's Manchurian
In the spirit of our series of posts about the crisis that gave rise to the French Revolution, “A Reason to Party,” it is appropriate to recall one of the great party girls –...
What really caused the outbreak of the French Revolution?
The French Revolution – from a new perspective on the occasion of the 231st anniversary of the estimated date of the founding of the “Association of Friends of the Constitution” at the Dominican monastery on Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris...
A duel that lasted 19 years
It's been a while since we've mentioned a duel here, and we won't do so this time either. Instead, we'll talk about a duel that's so unique...
Alexis de Tocqueville – Prophet of Liberalism and Democracy
213th birthday of Alexis-Charles-Henri Clairel de Tocqueville, the joy of every classical liberal (de Tocqueville was born on July 29, 1805). Everything...
Bernadotte – the French private who became King of Sweden
Sweden is one of the last remaining monarchies, but few know that its royal dynasty is entirely French and descends from a man who began as...
Game of Thrones began where the Capetian dynasty ended.
701st anniversary of Jean I, King of France and Navarre. If you haven't heard of him, shame on you, because this monarch was the pinnacle of royalty...
A journey into the medical journal of Louis XIV
When asked the opinion of the Russian ambassador Yakov Dolgorukov about the Sun King, it was summed up in the sentence: “Smells like an animal.” Not terribly diplomatic...
Bluebeard, the devilish companion of Joan of Arc
https://youtu.be/UhEPEdMEKlE לפני בדיוק 577 שנים, ז’יל דה רה (Gilles de Rais), אשר שמו המלא הוא ז’יל מֹונְמוֹרַנְסִי-לָאוְוָאל, מרשל של צרפת,...
The End of Marie-Antoinette (When Abyssal Hatred Meets Misogyny)
Today (October 16, 2017), 224 years ago, at 12:15 p.m., Marie-Antoinette was beheaded in Revolution Square (later - Place de la Révolution...
Michel de Montaigne The Journey to the Essays
“Do not read it like children – for amusement, nor like the ambitious – to be educated. No, read it to live.” Gustav...
Gaspard de Coligny – Martyr or Murderous Warmonger?
Today (August 24), we marked the 445th anniversary of St. Bartholomew's Day and the same anniversary as Gaspard II de Coligny, Lord of St....
Things you didn't know about Louis XIII
A summary, courtesy of John Shemyakin and your faithful servant, of the character of Louis XIII, as depicted in Emile Mann's book, On the Life of...