| Notes |
- The Capetian kings preside over a French civilization which is a
glittering source of inspiration within a rapidly developing Europe.
Monasteries are powerful forces in that development, and France is
the home of the most significant new departures in monasticism. In the
11th century the reforms of Cluny offer an example widely copied
throughout the west. In the late 12th century the two most influential
new orders have their origins on French soil - the Carthusians in the
Chartreuse region, the Cistercians at Cîteaux.
In intellectual matters Paris has a commanding reputation by the
12th century, with teaching carried out in schools attached to the
cathedral of Notre Dame and to monasteries in the city. Early in the
century Abelard employs his dialectic skills to stimulating and often
controversial effect at both Notre Dame and Sainte-Geneviève.
In 1231 pope Gregory IX licences the Sorbonne, Paris's university,
as an independent institution. It soon becomes Europe's most famous
centre of education, attracting theological students from all over
western Christendom. Thomas Aquinas teaches there from 1257.
France enjoys a similar lead in artistic fields. The Gothic style
of architecture has its origins here, first in the royal church at St
Denis and then in Chartres. Many of the greatest examples of Gothic
cathedrals are in other French cities. Pioneering developments in
sculpture and stained glass form part of the same burst of creativity.
Meanwhile French vernacular literature invents and elaborates the
medieval theme of romance, in poems such as the chansons de geste and
in the lyrics of the troubadours of Provence.
|
1220 - 1260 (40 years)
d. 31 May 1246, France