Erik Satie was a French composer and pianist, born on May 17th, 1866 and by all accounts, he was thought of as a talentless musician in his formative years. At least that’s how Georges Mathias, his professor of piano at the Paris...

We describe Manet's masterpiece "Bar at the Folies-Bergere" in the context of 1880's paris.

She may be the most famous person to ever get burned at the stake, but do you really know everything there is to know about Joan of Arc?

Napoleon is truly one of the most outstanding men of all time - his life includes so much vivid detail. He went from bullied Corsican outsider to Emperor of the French, all in under 35 years. He instilled fear in the heart of Europe -...

We visit the Gardens of Versailles to look at the extraordinary work of Andre Le Nortre, and Absolute Monarchy through the lens of Garden designing.

Fighting among Eleanor and Henry II's sons continues, this time against each other rather than united against their father. Eleanor remaines in prison, only emerging ocassionally when her presence is politically convenient to Henry II....

Marguerite Alibert’s story is one of gritty survival followed by a lucrative life of sex work. Alibert was a formidable woman who pulled herself up from a world of poverty to mingle among France’s elite, accomplishing her goal of...

The Art and Science of "Seeing" La Rue Montorgueil by Claude Monet "If only we could pull out our brain and use only our eyes." Pablo Picasso

John again challenges the rule of his brother Richard I but is quickly defeated by his mother's forces. Richard is captured on his way back through Europe but Eleanor secures his release. Eventually, Eleanor is able to convince her two...

Richard I appoints Eleanor to rule in his stead while he quells a revolt in Normandy. Unlike the tentative authority Eleanor had as Queen of France and England, this time she is given the same power to rule as Richard has. Eleanor...

On May 2nd, 1808, Spanish citizens rose up against the occupying French forces. The next day, the French struck back at dawn. Hundreds of Spanish citizens were rounded up and shot. When Ferdinand VII regained power, Goya requested...

Despite the annimosity between Eleanor and her ex-husband, Louis VII, the daughters of Eleanor and Louis VII are betrothed to the elder sons of Eleanor and Henry II. Their eldest surviving son is raised with his father in England while...

As Henry, the eldest son of Eleanor and Henry II reaches his late teen years, he becomes increasingly incensed that his father is not allowing him to rule the lands of his inheritance. When Henry II promises castles in Anjou to his...

The marriage between Elearnor and Louis VII falls apart. Eleanor wants to join her uncle Raymond, Prince of Antioch's crusade to Aleppo while Louis wants to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Raymond is beheaded by Nur ad-Din and Eleanor...

Madame du Barry, the mistress of the French King Louis XV, divided opinion in the court at the Palace of Versailles during the later 18th century. In part two of this four-part series, learners will hear about her first time at royal...

Francisco Goya's series of aquatint prints, The Disasters of War are hard to look at. Rather than focus on the bombastics of usual war art, he depicts the suffering of regular people - the starving, assaults, executions. He does not...

John I and Phillip II of France continue to battle on and off. Arthur, Duke of Brittany and Geoffrey's son, rebels and attempts to take more territory. Eleanor is captured but John's forces set her free and capture Arthur and Hugh IX of...

Madame du Barry, the mistress of the French King Louis XV, divided opinion in the court at the Palace of Versailles during the later 18th century. In part four of this four-part series, learners will hear about life after her banishment...

In the 1100s, Aquitaine (now a region in western France) was a lively and highly covetted area for the French crown. In 1137, the Duke of Aquitaine dies, leaving his teenage daughters in control. A marriage between his eldest daughter,...

Madame du Barry, the mistress of the French King Louis XV, divided opinion in the court at the Palace of Versailles during the later 18th century. In part one of this four-part series, learners will hear about the future Madame du...

On Christmas day, 1145, Louis VII announces his intent to start a crusade to return the town of Odessa to Christianity and Eleanor decides to join him. A lack of competant and organized leadership from Louis VII and Eleanor along with...

Madame du Barry, the mistress of the French King Louis XV, divided opinion in the court at the Palace of Versailles during the later 18th century. In part three of this four-part series, learners will hear about how her kindness won her...

Eleanor and her second husband, Henry II combine their territories to become what is known today as the Angevin Empire, stretching from the Carcassonne in the South of France to Northumbria in the North of England. Eleanor has more...

A marriage between Eleanor's sister, Petronilla and the already married Raoul I of Vermandois triggers hostilities between Louis VII's and Theobault II, the brother of Raoul's first wife. This tension culminates in Louis VII burning of...