France

The grandson of the famous scholar Ausonius, Paulinus was a cultivated country gentleman, who lived to see the final breakdown and disintegration of the Roman way of life. By Charles Johnston.

In 1871 Parisians watched the burning of one of their most ancient palaces; and, Philip Mansel writes, twelve years later, its ruins were sold and demolished.

R.T. Godfrey reflects on the nuances of Faithorne’s large range of prints, which were based both on his own drawings as well as the work of other artists.

John Villiers describes the rich exchange of artistic ideas between Europe and the Far East during the seventeenth, eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. 

‘There is a middle state’, Landor once said, ‘between love and friendship, more delightful than either, but more difficult to remain in.’ Such was the affectionate association that the Duke and Lady Shelley long enjoyed, writes Prudence Hannay

The future French empress was born on June 23rd, 1763.

Long a diplomatic agent for Louis XV, D’Eon spent the last thirty-three years of an ambiguous life in woman's dress. Edna Nixon investigates this bizarre case of early modern espionage.

In 1453 the Duke of Burgundy and his knights dramatically pledged themselves to crusade against the Turkhut with many face-saving qualifications. By Dorothy Margaret Stuart.

F.M.H. Markham profiles Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, the French political theorist and early advocate for a centralised, technocratic society.

The French chanteur was born on May 18th, 1913.