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Eighteen year-old Vercingetorix (the leader of the Gauls) was forced to surrender to Caesar in the city of Alesia, and was beheaded by the Romans after six years of imprisonment in Rome.
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Five centuries after the Romans attack against the Gauls, the barbaric leader of the Huns, Attila, lead his army toward Paris. The citizens of Paris wanted to flee but were convinced to stand their ground by a pious shepherdess named Geneviève. Attila and the Huns ended up changing course towards Orleans, resulting in the Parisians dubbing Genviève Saint-Geneviève, the Patron Saint of Paris.
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Clovis was the leader of the Franks, a Germanic people who conquered the Gaul. He was 15 when he was elected leader of France, and married a Christian princess from Reims named Clotilde, who wanted him to convert to Christianity; he refused. During the battle of Tolbiac, Clovis was close to losing, so he prayed to Clotilde's god and promise to convert to Christianity if he won the battle. He won the battle and was baptized in Reims with 3,000 of his soilders.
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Charles Martel, the Prime Minister or "Mayor of the Palace", took control of the French kingdom just in time to defend the French from the invading Arabs. The main issue with the Arab invasions was the conflict of religion; if the Arabs succeeded in conquering France, the French citizens would have been forced to convert to Islam, but thanks to the efforts of Charles Martel, the Arabs were pushed back into Spain and Christianity was saved.
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Charlemagne was the greatest of the Carolingian Kings and succeeded in creating a huge empire via countless military expeditions. Charlemagne was crowned king on Christmas day in the year 800, and contributed to French (and world) civilization by building roads and schools, founding cities, training the clergy, and becoming a patron of the arts and literature.
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William the Conqueror was the duke of Normandy and defeated the British king Harold in the Batlle of Hastings, resulting in William being crowned the new king of England. This however caused repercussions centuries in the future, seeing as English decendants of William ended up owning almost half of France.
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King Louis IX, or "the best king of France", was one of the greatest crusaders of France and went on two Crusades, but passed away on his second Crusade due to the plague before he could get to Jerusalem. These Crusades, however, continued for two hundred years, and bled lords and nobles dry and caused them to sell their land to fund their expeditions, dissolving the feudal system. The Crusades never liberated the Holy Land, but it did encourage trade and unite the West and East.
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At the beginning of the fourteenth century, King Edward III of England decided to continue the conflict between France and England to seize the French throne, which resulted in a war that lasted for more than 100 years. Two major battles were the Battle of Crécy and the Battle of Azincourt, both of which the English won. In 1422, King Charles VI signed a treaty that gave France to the King of England. The war ended, however, with the French driving the English out of their land once and for all.
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The English had control over France and the current French heir to the throne was too scared to fight back until young, pious Joan of Arc stepped up and convinced him to let her lead an army into battle against the English. He consented and the young girl lead the French army into the Battle of Orleans and emerged victoriously. She wanted to continue to liberate France but was captured in the battle of Compiègne and sold to the English, who burned her at the stake in Rouen for being a "witch".
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The majority of France had realized the importance of central government under a monarch after the Hundred Years War, but the Duke of Burgundy and the Duke of Brittany disagreed with this philosophy and refused to be controlled by the king, King Louis XI. King Louis XI received helped from the Swiss and defeated Charles the Bold, the duke of Burgundy in the Battle of Nancy. The Duke of Brittany was not as unafraid, but his duchy remained ununified until Charles III married its duchess, Anne.
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François I continued military expeditions to Italy to claim duchies, and in the process, he became exposed to Italian art. He coerced Italian artists and architects to liven up previously constructed French castles and the untouched countryside. François I commissioned the construction of Fontainebleau and the Château de Chambord in the Loire Valley and was also a great patron of French art and literature and founded many schools and libraries.
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Calvin spread Martin Luther's doctrine of Protestantism throughout France, but sadly this religious ideology was not accepted by the Catholic Church. The French citizens who did, however, ascribe to Protestantism were called Huguenots. One such Huguenot was Henry of Navarre, the rightful heir to the throne; despite his royal blood, it took him five years to become king due to the Catholic Church's opposition to his religious beliefs. Rekligiou swars ensued, so he converted to appease the Church.
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When Henry of Navarre was finally coronated, he created the Edict of Nantes, which allowed religious tolerance to the Huguenots.
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King Louis XIV built the Palace of Versailles from taxpayer dollars, and had an exceptionally brilliant court, leading him to be nicknamed the Sun King.
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The French people were fed up with the absolute monarchy of Louis XVI and his court's extravagant spendings. The unfairness of the French Parlement lead to the underrepresentation of the third estate, and the King's fear of his people infuriated the French citizens. The revolution began when a group of citizens stormed the Bastille and freed all of the king's political prisoners. The Revolution continued for ten years, had many leaders and movements, and resulted in thousands of deaths.
