StendhalMarie-Henri Beyle (bɛl; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (UKˈstɒ̃dɑːl, USstɛnˈdɑːl,_stænˈ-; stɛ̃dal, stɑ̃dal), was a 19th-century French writer. Best known for the novels Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black, 1830) and La Chartreuse de Parme (The Charterhouse of Parma, 1839), he is highly regarded for the acute analysis of his characters' psychology and considered one of the early and foremost practitioners of realism. A self-proclaimed egotist, he coined the same characteristic in his characters' "Beylism".
High Middle AgesThe High Middle Ages, or high medieval period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1350. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 1500 (by historiographical convention). Key historical trends of the High Middle Ages include the rapidly increasing population of Europe, which brought about great social and political change from the preceding era, and the Renaissance of the 12th century, including the first developments of rural exodus and urbanization.
Battle of PaviaThe Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–1526 between the Kingdom of France and the Habsburg Empire of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor as well as ruler of Spain, Austria, the Low Countries, and the Two Sicilies. The French army was led by King Francis I of France, who laid siege to the city of Pavia (then part of the Duchy of Milan within the Holy Roman Empire) in October 1524 with 26,200 troops.
VoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet (fʁɑ̃swa maʁi aʁwɛ; 21 November 1694 - 30 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, philosopher (philosophe) and historian. Known by his nom de plume M. de Voltaire (vɒlˈtɛər,_voʊl-; also USvɔːl-; vɔltɛːʁ), he was famous for his wit, in addition to his criticism of Christianity—especially of the Roman Catholic Church—and of slavery. Voltaire was an advocate of freedom of speech, freedom of religion and separation of church and state.
TournaiTournai or Tournay (tʊərˈneɪ ; tuʁnɛ; Doornik ˈdoːrnɪk; Tornai; Tornè tɔʀnɛ; Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by road southwest of the centre of Brussels on the river Scheldt, and is part of Eurometropolis Lille–Kortrijk–Tournai, In 2022, the municipality of Tournai had an estimated population of 68,518 people. Tournai is one of the oldest cities in Belgium and has played an important role in the country's cultural history.
Louis XIVLouis XIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 1638 1 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great (Louis le Grand) or the Sun King (le Roi Soleil), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any sovereign. Although Louis XIV's France was emblematic of the Age of Absolutism in Europe, the King surrounded himself with a variety of significant political, military, and cultural figures, such as Bossuet, Colbert, Louvois, Le Brun, Le Nôtre, Lully, Mazarin, Molière, Racine, Turenne, Condé, and Vauban.
ArtoisArtois (ɑːrˈtwɑː , aʁtwɑ; Artesië; English adjective: Artesian) is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: Atrecht), Saint-Omer, Lens, and Béthune. It is the eponym for the term Artesian. Artois occupies the interior of the Pas-de-Calais département, the western part of which constitutes the former Boulonnais. Artois roughly corresponds to the arrondissements of Arras, Béthune, Saint Omer, and Lens, and the eastern part of the arrondissement of Montreuil.
Prince-bishopA prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to Prince of the Church itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the Bishop of Urgell, Catalonia, who has remained ex officio one of two co-princes of Andorra, along with the French president. In the West, with the decline of imperial power from the 4th century onwards in the face of the barbarian invasions, sometimes Christian bishops of cities took the place of the Roman commander, made secular decisions for the city and led their own troops when necessary.
French Wars of ReligionThe French Wars of Religion refers to the period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease directly caused by the conflict, and it severely damaged the power of the French monarchy. One of its most notorious episodes was the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572. The fighting ended with a compromise in 1598, when Henry of Navarre, who had converted to Catholicism in 1593, was proclaimed King Henry IV of France and issued the Edict of Nantes, which granted substantial rights and freedoms to the Huguenots.
RoussillonRoussillon (UKˈruːsɪjɒn , USˌruːsiːˈjoʊn , ʁusijɔ̃; Rosselló rusəˈʎo; Rosselhon ruseˈʎu) is a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the region of Northern Catalonia or French Catalonia (the former used by Catalan-speakers and the latter used by French-speakers), corresponding roughly to the present-day southern French département of Pyrénées-Orientales (with Roussillon, Conflent, and Fenouillèdes) in the former region of Languedoc-Roussillon (today Occitanie).
