istoryworld
Events relating to france
St Bruno and six companions retire to Chartreuse, in the French Alps, and establish the Carthusian order
Benedictine monks, wishing to return to the early ideals of the order, form a community at Cîteaux which becomes the Cistercian order
The chansons de geste, performed by professional minstrels in castles and manors, celebrate the exploits of Charlemagne and his paladins
Peter Abelard teaches philosophy at Notre Dame until an affair with one of his pupils, Héloïse, brings his career to a dramatic end
St Bernard establishes a new monastery at Clairvaux, from which he presides over the rapid expansion of the Cistercian order
The troubadours of Provence develop a new form of love poetry in French, introducing courtly love
A popular French poem, the Chanson de Roland, turns a minor disaster in one of Charlemagne's campaigns into a tale of epic heroism
The full flowering of the Romanesque style is seen in the nave of the abbey church at Vézelay, in France
The new abbey church of St Denis is consecrated near Paris, introducing the style of architecture later known as Gothic
A new form of pious devotion is seen in Chartres, with people painfully dragging wagons of stone to enlarge the cathedral
The second crusade is led east by two kings, Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany
In feudal France and Germany Charlemagne is by now venerated as a saint
The biblical kings and queens in the west porch of Chartres cathedral are a striking early example of Gothic sculpture
Henry II, coming to the throne of England, is king or feudal overlord of an unbroken swathe of territory from the Tweed to the Pyrenees
Chrétien de Troyes and other French authors turn the stories of Arthur and his knights into a romance of courtly love
Thomas Becket, having offended the king by his firm stand as archbishop of Canterbury, flees to a monastery near Paris
The first known mystery play, the Mystery of Adam, takes place outside a church somewhere in France
Thomas Becket, in France, suspends the English bishops who have participated in the coronation of the 'Young King'
After an apparent reconciliation with Henry II, Thomas Becket leaves France and returns to Canterbury
The heresy of the Cathars (meaning 'pure' ones) is now so well established in southern France that they have bishops of their own
The French king, Philip II, takes Normandy from the English, and follows this success by taking Anjou a year later
The murder of the pope's legate to Toulouse provokes the Albigensian crusade, which aims to wipe out the Catharist heresy
Nearly 200 windows make Chartres cathedral the most magnificent display of early stained glass
Gregory IX sends Dominican friars to root out the remains of the Catharist heresy in France, thus launching the Inquisition
Construction begins in Paris on the Sainte Chapelle, designed to house relics acquired by Louis IX, the king of France
