Finistère may have disappeared from the Shipping Forecast, but Finistère, Department 29, France, is very much with us.  This most westerly region of Brittany in mainland France should be a ‘must’ on any visitor’s list of places to see.  Brittany (formerly Bretagne) is an ancient Celtic country that maintained its independence from France until the end of the fifteenth century.  Today the inhabitants of Brittany are fiercely proud of their Breton culture and nowhere is this more evident than in Finistère...

France and England have been inextricably linked almost from time immemorial and  most of us are aware of the main French personalities who have played a part in shaping their country’s fortunes.  Other leaders of France rate barely in line in our history books. There is one King, almost unknown outside of France, who was instrumental in shaping the futures of France and England for many centuries and by his action created the longest war in our histories.

Philippe le Bel (born 1268) is a little known King of France yet he has made a considerable mark on history. He got his nickname, le bel or the fair, for his light hair and good looks but alas not for his character.  Many viewed him as being greedy for wealth and power, cold and insensitive. During his reign, France, which had until then been the area around the Ile de France expanded and he gained control of Lyons, much of Aquitaine and for a short time also governed Flanders.  On his marriage to Jeanne of Navarre in 1284 the Champagne and Brie regions were also brought into the Kingdom.

Many English school children are familiar with the song ‘Sur le pont d’Avignon.’  It was perhaps the first French words some of us learnt.  Today, only 4 arches of this famous bridge and a Tower survive.  It was Philippe who built the Tower in recognition of his success in establishing the papacy outside Rome, an event Philippe had long schemed for.   Over the years he had quarrelled with Pope Boniface VIII, who had sought to protect his priests from the taxes Philippe insisted they pay.  Eventually on the death of Boniface, Philippe had induced the new Pope, Clement V, to reside in Avignon.  As well as the Tower at the entrance to the bridge, he built a magnificent Papal palace, and offered the papacy protection from its enemies. Altogether 7 Popes resided in Avignon, until the papacy returned to Rome in 1378.

Philippe quarrelled with many neighbouring countries including Lombardy and Flanders.  To pay for the wars and his ambitious plans, he set about persecuting the Jews and the Knights Templar throughout France. He confiscated their property and took possession of their valuables.  He also recalled all the coinage, melted it down in order to use the precious metal for his own benefit.  He then issued coins minted of a lesser value.

By 1294 Philippe was seeking to further expand his kingdom and his eyes turned to Guienne (Aquitaine) much of which was still owned by England.  His forces over ran the region but Edward I of England soon raised his army and pushed back Philippe’s troops.  The war between England and France raged until 1303 when Philippe finally conceded England’s right to Aquitaine and to demonstrate his good intentions he married his daughter Isabelle to the Prince of Wales (later Edward II).

As Philippe aged, so he mellowed and towards the end of his reign his subjects came to respect and appreciate him.  He had often taken the wise counsel of his advisors; he strengthened the monarchy by giving it a bureaucratic system, which endured for the next five centuries and steered it away from a reliance on the character of the monarch which, with an incompetent King, could have resulted in collapse.  By 1300 Paris had become the largest city in the world.

In 1314, out hunting one day in the forests around Fontainbleu, he was injured by a wild boar.  He died a few days later.  He was buried in the Basilica of St Denis. 

And that would have been that, except that his daughter had married a future King of England. Because of this connection, England later laid claim to the throne of France and so the hundred years war began.  By the end of the war England had lost its stronghold in France.  It is interesting to consider that if Philippe had not married his daughter into the English monarchy there would never have been a hundred years of war; England would not have attempted to claim the French throne and the Duchy of Aquitaine might still be part of England!

Driving down to the south of France, across the wonderfully varied countryside, the sun’s warmth working its magic after the cold of winter, it is not easy to think of this region of France as being home to bloodthirsty deeds.

However, between the years 1012 and 1020 what appeared to be a new religion emerged in the Limousin region of France and, gaining strength, spread southwards to the Languedoc, a province famed for its tolerance and liberalism. This was the beginning of a sad period in French history...

Charlemagne

Charlemagne’s life is a jumble of fact and fiction. A great king, he was known throughout the western world from the epic poems recounting his noble deeds, some exaggerated or even invented. While legend tells of his heroic exploits bringing Christianity toall four corners of his empire, he was a ruler whose true story and legacy to Europe were probably even more impressive than the romantic myths surrounding him and his knights. Was he, in fact, a thoroughly modern European?

Nothing has been recorded about his birth and early boyhood, though it is generally thought he was born in 742AD, probably on the borders between Germany and France. When his father died, Charlemagne and his brother shared their inherited empire, but within 3 years his brother had died, and Charlemagne at the age of 29 became ruler of a vast realm. He was King of the Franks, and it was the Franks who gave their name to France, despite the Romans having previously conquered Gaul.

Charlemagne became the ruler of western Europe “by the sword and the cross.” During his lifetime of 71 years, he waged ferocious campaigns across Europe to subdue the infidels and enforce Christianity. At the height of his power,  his empire extended across Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium and part of Italy as well as most of France. It was only the French, however, who took Charlemagne to their hearts and he has become inextricably linked with the French nationality. Today most other Europeans know little of him and the debt modern Europe owes him...

They came from out of the mists of ancient times, quietly and peacefully at first, integrating easily to the way of life of the existing population. But hard on their heels came their more aggressive brothers, who battled their way across Europe and finally, finding their place in the sun, settled in France. These people, whose origins remain unclear, had come down from Bohemia and afterwards dominated Europe for over 1,000 years.