France and the Cult of the Sacred Heart


Book Description

In a richly layered and beautifully illustrated narrative, Raymond Jonas tells the fascinating and surprisingly little-known story of the Sacr -Coeur, or Sacred Heart. The highest point in Paris and a celebrated tourist destination, the white-domed basilica of Sacr -Coeur on Montmartre is a key monument both to French Catholicism and to French national identity. Jonas masterfully reconstructs the history of the devotion responsible for the basilica, beginning with the apparition of the Sacred Heart to Marguerite Marie Alacoque in the seventeenth century, through the French Revolution and its aftermath, to the construction of the monumental church that has loomed over Paris since the end of the nineteenth century. Jonas focuses on key moments in the development of the cult: the founding apparition, its invocation during the plague of Marseilles, its adaptation as a royalist symbol during the French Revolution, and its elevation to a central position in Catholic devotional and political life in the crisis surrounding the Franco-Prussian War. He draws on a wealth of archival sources to produce a learned yet accessible narrative that encompasses a remarkable sweep of French politics, history, architecture, and art.
















L’Humain et l’Animal dans la France médiévale (XIIe-XVe s.)


Book Description

Ce recueil explore les relations mouvantes entre hommes et animaux, aussi bien réels que fantastiques, dans la France médiévale, dans une perspective interdisciplinaire. Les auteurs examinent la façon dont le rapport humain-animal a été imaginé, défini et remodelé dans la pensée, la culture et la production artistique du Moyen Age. La distinction entre l’humain et l’animal, fondamentale dans le texte biblique et la philosophie antique, a été remise en question au cours du XIIe siècle. Ce phénomène transparaît dans la terminologie utilisée pour désigner les animaux, dans leur représentation dans les arts et la littérature, et dans l’évolution de textes fondamentaux comme le Physiologus ou les bestiaires. Les frontières entre le monde humain et animal, fondées sur des critères comme la maîtrise du langage, la capacité à rire ou la responsabilité légale, ont profondément évolué et été remises en cause entre le XIIe et le XVe siècle. This is the first volume that explores the changing relationships between humans and animals, both real and fantastic, in medieval France, from a completely interdisciplinary perspective. The authors examine the way the human-animal rapport was imagined, defined and remodeled in thought, culture and artistic production. The distinction between human and animal, fundamental in the Bible and in Ancient philosophy, was challenged throughout the course of the 12th century. This phenomenon can be traced in changes in the terminology used to designate animals, in their representations in the arts and literature, and in the reworking of fundamental texts such as the Physiologus and the bestiaries. The borders between the human and the animal world, based on criteria such as linguistic ability, the capacity to laugh and even legal responsibility, evolved and were fundamentally reconsidered between the 12th and the 15th century. Irène Fabry-Tehranchi est enseignante en langue et littérature française et médiévale à l’université de Reading. Elle est l’auteur de Texte et images des manuscrits du Merlin et de la Suite Vulgate (XIIIe-XVe s.) (Brepols, 2014). Anna Russakoff est enseignante et co-directrice du département d’Histoire de l’Art à The American University, Paris. Elle est co-éditrice et contributrice de l’ouvrage Jean Pucelle: Innovation and Collaboration in Manuscript Painting (Brepols, 2013).







Recherches sur l'histoire de la France Médiéval


Book Description

This selection of articles by Robert-Henri Bautier deals with the political and institutional history of France between the 6th and 12th centuries, and is above all concerned with the changing extent of the rulers' power from the rise of the Carolingians onwards. A subsequent volume will focus on the Capetians, while a further pair of volumes deal with economic history. The first studies here examine two general topics: the emergence of Paris as the undisputed capital of France, and the ceremony of Royal coronation and consecration. The following articles, on Carolingian France, reconsider the significance of the battle of Roncevaux and the importance of the region of Neustria, then study the decomposition of the Carolingian empire in Southern France and Catalonia. The last group is concerned with various aspects of the re-expansion of central power under the early Capetian kings and, finally, with the evolution of one of the fundamental organs of medieval municipal government, the échevinage. Cette sélection d’articles par Robert-Henri Bautier traite de l’histoire politique et institutionnelle française entre le VIe et le XIIe siècle, et s’intéresse avant tout à l’éntendue territoriale changeante du pouvoir monarchique dès le début de la dynastie carolingienne. Un volume subséquent se concentre sur les Capétiens et deux autres ont pour thème l’histoire économique. Les premières études inclues dans le présent recueil examinent deux sujets d’ordre général: l’avènement de Paris en tant que capitale incontestable de la France et le développement de la cérémonie du couronnement et de la consécration royale. Les études suivantes considèrent à nouveau la signification de la bataille de Roncevaux et l’importance de la région de Neustrie. L’auteur passe ensuite à l’analyse de la désagrégation de l’empire carolingien dans le Midi de la France et en Catalogne. Le dernier groupe d’études concerne divers aspects de la ré




The French Revolution


Book Description

The French Revolution casts a long shadow, one that reaches into our own time and influences our debates on freedom, equality, and authority. Yet it remains an elusive, perplexing historical event. Its significance morphs according to the sympathies of the viewer, who may see it as a series of gory tableaux, a regrettable slide into uncontrolled anarchy—or a radical reshaping of the political landscape.In this riveting new book, Ian Davidson provides a fresh look at this vital moment in European history. He reveals how it was an immensely complicated and multifaceted revolution, taking place in different places, at different times, and in different spheres; and how subsequently it became weighted with political, social, and moral values. Stirring and dramatic—and filled with the larger-than-life players of the period and evoking the turbulence of this colorful time—this is narrative history at its finest.




Salut à la France ; or


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