The Wisdom of Charlemagne
In a new book about the Carolingian Empire, historian James T. Palmer argues that its founder was more than just a brutal warlord. He was also ‘a savant with a large library and a taste for the obscure.’
French History
10 articles
Public Hangings and the Politics of Virtue
Joe Lonsdale wants public hangings restored. History shows they failed—Western societies became safer after abandoning brutal spectacle justice.
Return of the Jesuits
In the 22nd instalment of ‘Nations of Canada,’ Greg Koabel describes how Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu used their nascent Quebec colony as a means to promote French global power and spread Christianity.
Remembering 9 Thermidor, the End of the Terror
9 Thermidor was a victory over a bloodthirsty tyranny claiming to act in the name of progressive ideals.
France’s Founding Fathers: A Review of ‘House of Lilies’
In a new book, Justine Firnhaber-Baker tells the story of the Capetian dynasty (987–1328), whose rulers stitched a set of medieval duchies and counties into a single kingdom.
Raymond Aron and the Art of Politics
For Aron, politics is the art of living together, the art of the possible, and requires an “acute awareness” of the limitations of our power to influence reality.
The Laurentian Coalition Takes Root
In the 16th instalment of ‘Nations of Canada,’ historian Greg Koabel describes how Samuel de Champlain overcame a decade of frustration by finally establishing a successful French fur-trading monopoly.
Western Europe’s Forgotten Nightmare
In a new book, Rachel Chrastil artfully illuminates the history of the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, in all its senseless horror.
History on Horseback: Napoleon Bonaparte
The French emperor and military commander played a pivotal role in an epochal transformation.
The Great Napoleonic Novel
“It’s a sin to want to die for a nation.”