Nantes originated as a city in Roman times and has been a part of France since the Sixteenth Century. It was later an important industrial center. The following views of Nantes begin in the Chateau of the Dukes of Brittany. The first two images of the chateau are from Google Earth.
There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >, After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.2163832,-1.5490949,3a,60y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1seK6htfv6c-cMLlD2Xq2E7A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656The city of Angers is also of Roman origin, and also has a 13th Century castle. This image of the castle is from Google Earth.
The following two images, from Google Earth, are of St. Maurice Cathedral in Angers. Many cathedrals are built in the form of a cross, as shown. The long part of the cathedral is called the nave, and the two parts of the crosspiece are the transepts.
This is Angers.
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.470325,-0.5543136,3a,60y,84.27h,102.12t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1smQR3Uc4RvM2jbzwj6JzqMg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Le Mans has an especially well-preserved medieval area in town. It is known for auto racing, the endurance race "24 Hours of Le Mans. It is the French version of the Indianapolis 500. In 1955 there was a terrible crash at the race that killed over eighty people. So many words associated with cars are French words, chassis, garage, coupe, sedan, chauffeur, carburetor, transmission, gasoline.
Notice the supporting pillars outside the walls of Le Mans cathedral. These are called buttresses and are to support much of the weight of the roof so that the walls of the cathedral do not need to be as massive. This makes possible large stained glass windows because, without these buttresses, the walls would have to be more massive, to support the roof, and the large windows would not be possible. This style of architecture is called Gothic.
The first image is from Google Earth.
https://www.google.com/maps/@48.0084346,0.1989581,3a,75y,26.19h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1siaagjjYnvs10WaM3_gIxEA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DiaagjjYnvs10WaM3_gIxEA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D18.21727%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
Tours is another ancient city that was also important in medieval times. It has a 12th Century cathedral. The Battle of Tours was one of the most important battles ever. Spain was under Moslem control, the Umayyad Caliphate ruled on in Spain after having been replaced by the Abbassids in the Middle East. We saw this in the posting on this blog, "When The Moors Ruled Spain" May 2017. The Moors also conquered into France until a decisive battle with the Catholics near Tours. The Catholics ultimately regained control of Spain.
The leader on the French Catholic side was Charles Martel, whose tomb is at the Basilica St. Denis in Paris, as we saw in the compound posting on this blog, "America And The Modern World Explained By Way Of Paris", December 2015. Charles Martel began a new dynasty in France, the Carolingian Dynasty. The most famous member of the Carolingian Dynasty was his grandson, Charlemagne, who was the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire that would last a thousand years. The name of the Carolingian Dynasty lives on today in America's states of North and South Carolina.
France is said to have "Three Races of Kings". The Franks were first united by Clovis I, who was baptized as a Catholic. His name was later shortened to "Louis", which was the reginal name of so many French kings. This began the Merovingian Dynasty, which was the First Race of Kings. Charles Martel began the Carolingian Dynasty, which was the Second Race of Kings.
The Carolingian Empire split into West Francia, Middle Francia and, East Francia. Middle Francia didn't last. West Francia basically became France and East Francia became Germany. As we saw in the compound posting on this blog, "America And The Modern World explained By Way Of Paris" December 2015, both Napoleon and Hitler thought that they were putting the Franks back together. Napoleon from the French side and Hitler from the German side.
The Third Race of Kings was only in West Francia, now France, was begun by Hugh Capet. Every king afterward was known as a Capetian king because the two successive ruling houses, the House of Valois and the House of Bourbon, were cadet branches of the House of Capet. The final ruling house, the House of Orleans, was a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon.
As this image from Google Earth shows, Tours Cathedral also has buttresses outside to support the weight of the roof.
Anyway, here is Tours.
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.3954401,0.6936415,3a,60y,73.94h,93.87t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sWMlWDQcWbnJSt757D_rF2w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
Orleans was once a much more important city than it might seem to be today. The American city of New Orleans is named for it. Like much of western France, Orleans was a Protestant stronghold in the wars of religion following the Reformation. The French monarchy was overthrown in the French Revolution of 1789, but made a limited comeback after the time of Napoleon. That was the House of Bourbon.
But that was replaced in 1830, by popular support, by the House of Orleans. The French monarchy was finally ended by the revolutions which swept Europe in 1848, but the last French king was of the House of Orleans.
Another cadet branch of the French monarchy, that we saw in our visit to "Scotland", was the House of Guise. It never held royal power in France but one of it's would-be princesses, Mary of Guise, became queen of Scotland by marriage.
This view of Orleans Cathedral is from Google Street View.
The following scenes are of the oldest part of Orleans.
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.9023424,1.9040237,3a,60y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1seVfnKMhx4khHDCyI7A4Rdg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Like Reims, the city of Chartres is best-known for it's cathedral. Chartres Cathedral, from the 13th Century, is one of the few best-known cathedrals in the world. There is a unique blue color in it's outstanding stained glass windows that has not been replicated anywhere else. A deep blue is also the heraldic color that represents France. The French Revolutionaries of 1789 wanted to destroy Chartres Cathedral, but fortunately did not succeed.
Quebec was founded before the French Revolution and it's flag shows the heraldic blue that represents France, the fleur-de-lis royal symbol, and the cross representing the church. Credit to Wikipedia article "Quebec".
Successive scenes in stained glass windows may tell a story. In English cathedrals, the story is read top to bottom. In French cathedrals, the story is read bottom to top.
Here is Chartres, beginning in the cathedral. The first scene is from Google Street View.
https://www.google.com/maps/@48.4478264,1.4878716,3a,75y,48.1h,102.18t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipMSsaLKBenN4Hx2esRmsxX0r0j7OlximP-dv8Qg!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMSsaLKBenN4Hx2esRmsxX0r0j7OlximP-dv8Qg%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya91.99262-ro-0-fo100!7i8000!8i4000
Poitiers is another French city that began in ancient times, ruled by the Gauls and then the Romans, and then became important in medieval times. The first image, from Google Earth, is of the older part of Poitiers.
https://www.google.com/maps/@46.5833411,0.3441811,3a,60y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1stnz8m9tLm5GBsBbyuJvx4g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
La Rochelle is a coastal city that began with the Romans and became important in the Middle Ages. The older part of La Rochelle, in this image from Google Earth, has striking red roofs.
https://www.google.com/maps/@46.1616371,-1.1488185,3a,60y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sKtv7JoQRyIjhSCdWyxoYgQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Like most of the other cities here, Limoges began in ancient times, found another life in medieval times, and yet another in modern times.
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.8292374,1.2664788,3a,60y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1smCPsNDbZNOMf02W_Tpac9A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Finally, Bordeaux is the center of France's wine country. The older part of the city also has red roofs, first image from Google Earth.
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