Miniatures of French history by Hilaire Belloc
"Miniatures of French history" by Hilaire Belloc is a collection of historical vignettes written in the early 20th century. The work offers vivid, scene-driven retellings of pivotal moments from ancient Gaul through the Middle Ages, highlighting how faith, warfare, and leadership forged French identity. Each miniature blends legend and chronicle to illuminate decisive turns in religion, statehood, and culture. The opening of Miniatures of French history moves from the founding of Marseilles—Phocean
Greeks, guided by the priestess Aristarché and the choice of the Ligurian princess Gyptis, secure a hidden harbor—through Julius Caesar’s defeat of the Atlantic Veneti by disabling their great ships at sea. It then shifts to sacred history in the death of St. Martin and the enduring cult at Tours, and to the baptism of Clovis at Rheims under St. Remigius, aligning Frankish arms with the Catholic Church. Next come Charles Martel’s stand at Tours against Abdul Rahman as the check to Islamic expansion, the Pyrenean ambush of Charlemagne’s rearguard at Roncesvalles and the rise of the Roland legend, and the Viking siege of Paris, where Count Eudes and Bishop Gozlin hold out while a feeble emperor buys peace—prefiguring Eudes’s ascent. The crowning of Hugh Capet at Noyon follows, marking France’s self-assertion apart from the Empire, before a Pyrenean vignette (“The Torrent”) evokes the early Reconquista along the Aragon. The section closes with William of Normandy seeking the French king’s blessing for his English venture, refused, and then amassing ships and men for the coming crossing. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Belloc, Hilaire, 1870-1953 |
|---|---|
| Title | Miniatures of French history |
| Original Publication | New York: Harper & Brothers, 1926. |
| Credits | Carol Brown, Tim Lindell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | DC: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: France, Andorra, Monaco |
| Subject | France -- History |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 78114 |
| Release Date | Mar 4, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 5261 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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