France

The Maid of Orléans was born on January 6th 1412: she has been an incarnation of French national identity and pride for six centuries.

Robert Pearce asks why Louis-Philippe's 'July Monarchy' was overthrown.

Clovis I died in Paris on November 27th 511, aged 46.

Rachel Hammersley discusses how events in the 1640s and 1680s in England established a tradition that inspired French thinkers on the path to revolution a century later.

Lindsay Pollick reviews changing interpretations.

Mary Queen of Scots left Calais for Scotland on August 14th, 1561, aged 18 years old.

Louis XII came to the throne in 1498 and ruled France for sixteen years. According to Howell Lloyd, he was a 'ruler in transition': images of Louis XII elevated royal power to divine status, paving the way for the ideology of absolutism to flourish in the era of the Sun King.

Richard Cavendish provides an overview of the life of the French monarch who was nicknamed 'the Universal Spider'.

A major battle in the Peninsular War took place on 16 May 1811.