Horsing around, in regal fashion
Why was the reign of Louis XIV considered France’s “Golden Age?” Keep reading and might find out. Louis’ period comprises dozens of key dates in the history of Paris (hint: the birth of modern France, the notion of divine right monarchy)…
What is the Paris Timeline app? Here’s the bumph:
Entertaining, informative, opinionated: David Downie’s Paris: Time Line brings Paris alive.
Created by the author of “Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light,” the app was inspired by that critically acclaimed collection of essays.
When, where, what and who: David Downie’s Paris Time Line features key dates, places, events and people in Paris’s 2,000+ years of history. It’s all you need to explore the City of Light on site or in an armchair, from the time when Paris was a pre-Roman settlement of mud huts, to the kaleidoscopic megalopolis of the present day.
Fully illustrated with hundreds of historic images or contemporary photos, this GPS-driven app tells you where to go to see Paris’s history alive today or documented in the streets, monuments, churches, museums, parks, and gardens of the city.
While you roam the streets of Paris, David Downie’s Paris Timeline will help you discover what you’re looking at, when it was built or came into being, and what historical or contemporary figures are associated with the site.
Sort and discover Paris by date or place. But you can also search for people by name — “Napoleon” for example — or by event-driven term —“Impressionism” for instance.
This app is executable on your hand-held device. You won’t have roaming charges to pay in Paris unless you choose to exit the app to browse the Web or use interactive maps.
Buy the Paris Timeline app now.
Buy “Paris, Paris” the book now from Indie Bound or Amazon.
Take a Paris, Paris Tour with David Downie and Alison Harris
Role Model to this Day
Paris Timeline Sampler #2 Louis XIV and his reign, 1643-1661
Louis XIV’s reign (1643-1715) corresponds to France’s “Golden Age” (le Grand Siècle). Louis is 5 years old when his father Louis XIII dies; his mother Anne of Austria becomes Regent (1643-1651) aided by her favorite (and possibly more), Cardinal Mazarin (governs 1643-1661).
Did you say Mazzarino?
Mazarin’s real name is Mazzarino: from the Papal States in Italy, he may well be Louis XIV’s father. The prospect, still controversial, makes nationalistic French squirm.
A putatively peace-loving, pious, celibate cardinal Mazarin instigates multiple wars, persecutes other Christians, and enjoys female company. His authoritarian style leads to the Fronde Revolt (1648-1653): Paris’s Parliamentarians attempt to wrest power from him. Civil war erupts. The royal family flees. This trauma marks Louis XIV: he dislikes Paris, distrusts Parisians and resolves to move the royal seat to Versailles.
La Fronde! En garde, Louis!
In 1654 when Louis turns 16 he is ushered into the mysteries of sex by a Parisian lady, Madame de Beauvais, his mother’s all-knowing chamber maid. Her real name: Catherine Bellier. Of humble origins, she rises to fame and fortune, and with her husband, the happy cuckold, builds one of the most splendid mansions in the Marais (the Hôtel de Beauvais, 68 Rue François Miron).
Buy the Paris Timeline app now.
Buy “Paris, Paris” the book now from Indie Bound or Amazon.
Take a Paris, Paris Tour with David Downie and Alison Harris
