Historical Figures

• Pierre de Ronsard(1524 – 1585)

  Prince of poets and poet of princes, Pierre de Ronsard is the most emblematic figure of poetic literature during the French Renaissance. Handling the ode in the manner of ancient authors, he participated in the development of the sonnet (fourteen lines). With his friend Joachim du Bellay, he formed

• Pierre Terrail de Bayard (1476 - 1524)

  Born near Grenoble in 1476, Pierre de Terrail, Lord of Bayard, served his apprenticeship as a young nobleman as a page to the Duke of Savoy; then he went into the service of the kings of France. He will become the “Knight without fear and without reproach”. His name has always been synonymous with u

• Pierre Cauchon (1371 - 1442)

  From the prestigious University of Paris, he is a great scholar and a politician:he is a master of arts, licentiate in canon law, doctor of theology, canon of Beauvais in 1409, university rector, defender of Jean sans Peur at the Council of Constance, master of requests to Parliament in 1418. He was

• Pichegru Charles(1761 - 1804)

  Sergeant-major in 1789 and president of the Jacobins club of Besançon, he became major general in 1793. Commandant of the army of the Haut-Rhin then of the North, he conquered Belgium and the Netherlands in 1795. But, rallied to the royalist cause, suspected of treason, he had to resign (1796). In 1

• Philippe Equality Louis Philippe Joseph dOrléans, dit(1747 - 1793)

  Great-grandson of Philippe II, he became Duke of Orléans in 1785 as well as the man richest in France. Great leader of Freemasonry, his ambition is to ascend the throne. Deputy of the nobility to the States General, his fortune enabled him to encourage revolutionary movements such as the October Day

• Philip VI of Valois(1293 - 1350)

  Philippe de Valois is the first king of the so-called branch of Valois. He was the son of Charles de Valois, younger brother of Philippe le Bel. On the death of his first cousin Charles IV called Charles le Bel, in 1328, and in the absence of a surviving male heir, he was recognized as King of Franc

• Philip V the Long(1293 - 1322)

  Philip V of France, known as Philippe le Long is the second son of Philippe IV le Bel and the Queen of Navarre Joan I. He was declared regent of the kingdom on the death of his brother Louis X. He acceded to royalty on the death of the posthumous son of Louis X, after the States General of 1317 wher

• Philip I (1052 - 1108)

  Philip I was the son of Henry I and Anne of kyiv. He was crowned king at the age of seven, but his mother ensured the regency of the kingdom until 1066. He first married Bertha of Holland then Bertrade de Montfort. The repudiation of Bertha of Holland leads to the excommunication of Pope Urban II, w

• Philip IV the Fair(1268 - 1314)

  Philip IV of France, known as Philippe le Bel is the son of Philippe III and Isabella of Aragon. In 1284, he married Jeanne Ière de Navarre, and was himself titled King of Navarre. His reign was marked by disputes with Flanders (Mâtine de Bruges, defeat at Kortrijk). To clean up the finances of the

• Philip III the Bold(1245 - 1285)

  Philip III le Bold was the son of Louis IX and Marguerite de Provence (1221-1295). He was proclaimed king in Tunis on the death of his father, whom he had accompanied on a crusade. He was of a gentle, submissive and versatile character, almost crushed by the strong personalities of his entourage. He

• Philip III the Good(1396 - 1467)

  Duke of Burgundy (1419-1467), son of John the Fearless. The assassination of his father by the Armagnacs immediately pushed him to ally himself with the English, against the Dauphin (by recognizing Henri V as heir to the throne of France); but in 1435 (Treaty of Arras), he reconciled with Charles VI

• Philip II the Bold(1342 - 1404)

  Philippe is the fourth son of King Jean le Bon of France. He earned his nickname alongside his father at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. He received the Duchy of Burgundy in 1363 and won that of Flanders when his father-in-law died without a male heir. He thus inaugurates a matrimonial policy which

• Philip II Augustus(1165 - 1223)

  Philip II succeeded his father Louis VII the Younger at the age of 15. From then on, he fought against his tutors in Flanders and Champagne, and thus made it possible to enlarge the royal domain. In 1189, he left for the third crusade alongside Richard the Lionheart and Frederick Barbarossa. Very il

• Oudinot Nicolas-Charles (1767 -1847)

  Oudinot is the most wounded Marshal of the Empire, he follows Masséna during the second Italian campaign . He was captured in Germany, but continued his feats of arms at the head of his famous grenadiers. He is in Wagram and in Leipzig. When a bullet came crashing down on his Aigle de la Légion dHon

• Oliver V of Clisson (1336 - 1407)

  Olivier de Clisson is a relatively unknown great lord, who remains an important figure in the Hundred Years War. Of Breton origin, he participated in the War of Succession of Brittany, and won the victory of Auray over the troops of the King of France. Subsequently, he broke with his overlord Duke o

• Nominoë(? - 851)

  To deal with the Breton revolts, Louis I appointed Nominoë, chief of Brittany. Nominoë takes an oath to the emperor. The young prince imposed his authority on everyone and ensured peace. On the death of Louis Le Débonnaire (840), Nominoë went into rebellion against Charles the Bald, King of France.

• Ney Michel(1769 - 1815)

  Nicknamed The Brave of the Brave. Close to Bonaparte, Ney covers himself with glory in Elchingen. He is in Jena, Eylau and Friedland. Then he goes to Spain where he is in disagreement with Soult in particular, then he stands out in the rear guard of the Moskva where he is heroic. He is in all the ba

• Jacques Necker(1732 - 1804)

  Coming from a German Protestant family settled in Geneva, he came to Paris in 1747, became a banker and, once he made his fortune, devoted himself to politics. Director General of Finances (1777), he practiced a policy of savings and wanted to reform the tax by creating provincial assemblies, measur

• Napoleon I (1769 - 1821)

  The son of a Corsican family, he graduated from the Brienne school with the rank of artillery lieutenant, he distinguished himself in Toulon where he took over the city from the English. After falling out of favor, he returned to the scene thanks to his victories in Italy. After his return from the

• Napoleon II(1811 - 1832)

  Son of Napoleon I and Marie-Louise. He was proclaimed King of Rome at birth, he was recognized Emperor by the Chambers in 1815, because Napoleon had abdicated in his favour. He was called the eaglet, Marie-Louise took him with her to Austria, but he died at the age of 21 of tuberculosis.