French History Lecture Review

A comprehensive set of 150 question-and-answer flashcards covering French monarchs, statesmen, battles, wars, revolutions, and key political events from ancient Gaul to the 20th century.

Which Merovingian king defeated Visigoth king Alaric II at the Battle of Vouillé?

Clovis I

Who baptized Clovis I into Christianity?

Saint Remigius (Saint Rémy)

At what battle did Clovis I defeat the Romans under Syagrius?

Battle of Soissons

Which Merovingian king’s wife Galswintha was murdered by Fredegund?

Chilperic I

Who arranged the murder of Chilperic I?

Brunhilda, wife of his brother Sigebert

Which Merovingian monarch founded the Abbey of Saint-Denis?

Dagobert I

Which king first made Paris the capital of his realm?

Dagobert I

Which Mayor of the Palace won the battles of Amblève and Vinchy?

Charles Martel

Which Carolingian king lifted the Saracen siege of Narbonne?

Pepin the Short

Which pope asked Pepin the Short to defeat Lombard king Aistulf?

Pope Stephen II

What is the name of the land grant that created the Papal States under Pepin?

The Donation of Pepin

What was Charlemagne’s legendary sword called?

Joyeuse

What was the name of Charlemagne’s pet elephant?

Abul-Abbas

Which Carolingian emperor left three rival sons—Charles II (the Bald), Louis II, and Lothair?

Louis the Pious

Which 911 treaty granted Normandy to the Viking leader Rollo?

Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte

Which king negotiated the Normandy grant with Rollo?

Charles III “the Simple”

Which Robertian count was nicknamed the “Second Maccabeus”?

Robert the Strong

Which ruler succeeded Louis V “the Do-Nothing” and founded the Capetian dynasty?

Hugh Capet

From what garment did Hugh Capet’s dynasty take its name?

The cape (cappa) he habitually wore

Which king’s life was chronicled by Abbot Suger, earning him fame as “Louis the Fat”?

Louis VI

At which battle was Louis VI defeated by Henry I of England?

Battle of Brémule

Which French king burned a church at Vitry, killing about 1,500 people?

Louis VII

Which king of France gave refuge to Archbishop Thomas Becket?

Louis VII

Which Capetian king built a great wall around Paris and has a metro stop named for him?

Philip II Augustus

Under what type of trees did Philip II Augustus hold diplomatic meetings?

Elm trees

Which Capetian king claimed the English throne and led the First Barons’ War?

Louis VIII

Which French king commissioned the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris?

Louis IX

Which treaty in 1229 ended the Albigensian Crusade under Louis IX?

Treaty of Paris (1229)

Which king, involved in the Sicilian Vespers conflict, died on the Aragonese Crusade?

Philip III “the Bold”

Which French king suppressed the Knights Templar and began the Avignon Papacy?

Philip IV “the Fair”

At what battle did Philip IV suffer a major defeat to the Flemings?

Battle of the Golden Spurs (Courtrai)

Which king reinstated Salic Law after the Tour de Nesle affair?

Philip V

Who was the last direct Capetian king of France?

Charles IV

Which Valois king began his dynasty after the childless death of Charles IV?

Philip VI

Which monarch was captured at the Battle of Poitiers and ransomed by the Treaty of Brétigny?

John II "the Good"

Which French king modernised his army with Bertrand du Guesclin?

Charles V

Which French king, tormented by madness, burned dancers at the Bal des Ardents?

Charles VI

Which king was crowned at Reims with the support of Joan of Arc?

Charles VII "the Victorious"

Who was Charles VII’s famous financier later arrested for corruption?

Jacques Cœur

Which king earned the nickname “the Spider” for his intrigues?

Louis XI

Which 1475 treaty between Louis XI and Edward IV ended the Hundred Years’ War?

Treaty of Picquigny

Which monarch died after striking his head on a doorway at Amboise?

Charles VIII

Which treaty allowed Charles VIII to marry Anne of Brittany?

Treaty of Sablé

Which French king divorced Jeanne of France to marry Anne of Brittany?

Louis XII

Which 1509 battle against Venice was won by Louis XII?

Battle of Agnadello

Which French king adopted the salamander as his personal emblem?

Francis I

Which 1515 victory secured Milan for Francis I?

Battle of Marignano

What treaty forced Francis I to renounce claims after his capture at Pavia?

Treaty of Madrid (1526)

Which king died in a jousting accident caused by Gabriel de Montgomery?

Henry II

Which queen regent issued the Edict of Saint-Germain during Charles IX’s minority?

Catherine de Medici

Which last Valois king was assassinated by the monk Jacques Clément?

Henry III

Which Bourbon king promised a “chicken in every pot”?

Henry IV

Who assassinated Henry IV in 1610?

François Ravaillac

Who was the chief minister and close adviser to Henry IV?

Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully

Which king temporarily expelled Cardinal Richelieu before reinstating him?

Louis XIII

Which monarch issued the 1685 Code Noir regulating slavery?

Louis XIV

Which 1685 edict revoked the Edict of Nantes?

Edict of Fontainebleau

Which secret 1670 treaty did Louis XIV sign with Charles II of England?

Secret Treaty of Dover

Who served as tutor and chief minister to Louis XV?

Cardinal André-Hercule de Fleury

Which king or his mistress famously said “Après nous le déluge” after the Seven Years’ War?

Louis XV

Which monarch was rumoured to use children’s blood to cure leprosy?

Louis XV

Which reform-minded minister under Louis XVI tried to abolish the corvée?

Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot

Which 1787 edict of Louis XVI granted civil rights to non-Catholics?

Edict of Versailles

What scandal revealed Louis XVI’s hidden correspondence with Mirabeau?

L’armoire de fer (iron chest) scandal

Which French queen became infamous for the Affair of the Diamond Necklace?

Marie Antoinette

Who was Marie Antoinette’s celebrated dressmaker?

Rose Bertin

What rustic estate within Versailles was created for Marie Antoinette?

The Trianon estate (Hameau de la Reine)

Which French king lived in exile at Hartwell House in England?

Louis XVIII

What ultra-royalist assembly did Louis XVIII dissolve in 1816?

The "Chambre introuvable" (Unobtainable Chamber)

Which king invaded Algeria after the "fly-whisk" incident?

Charles X

What set of decrees by Charles X provoked the July Revolution of 1830?

Ordinances of Saint-Cloud

Which 1825 law under Charles X criminalised sacrilege?

Anti-Sacrilege Act

What body was formed by the Third Estate in a tennis court in June 1789?

The National Assembly

Which revolutionary committee oversaw war and internal security in 1793–94?

Committee of Public Safety

Which 1799 coup overthrew the Directory and created the Consulate?

Coup of 18 Brumaire

Who delivered the “whiff of grapeshot” that saved the Directory on 13 Vendémiaire?

Napoleon Bonaparte

Who led the Conspiracy of the Equals to overthrow the Directory?

Gracchus (François-Noël) Babeuf

Which future emperor escaped the Fortress of Ham disguised as a mason?

Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (Napoleon III)

Who redesigned Paris with grand boulevards under Napoleon III?

Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann

Which caricature by Honoré Daumier depicted Louis-Philippe as a gluttonous giant?

“Gargantua”

Which president sent Marshal MacMahon to crush the Paris Commune?

Adolphe Thiers

Which minister’s ban on the Campagne des Banquets sparked the 1848 Revolution?

François Guizot

Which leader left besieged Paris by hot-air balloon in 1870?

Léon Gambetta

Which general promoted revanchism and nearly toppled the Third Republic in the 1880s?

General Georges Boulanger

Which French president ordered the 1923 occupation of the Ruhr?

Raymond Poincaré

Which French president first acknowledged Vichy France’s role in the Holocaust?

Jacques Chirac

Which prime minister’s 1995 pay-freeze plan triggered massive strikes under Chirac?

Alain Juppé

Which president abolished capital punishment through the Badinter Act?

François Mitterrand

Which president signed the 2021 Quirinal Treaty with Mario Draghi?

Emmanuel Macron

Which constitutional article did Macron invoke to raise the pension age?

Article 49 (49.3) of the French Constitution

What protest movement in high-visibility vests opposed Macron’s policies?

The Yellow Vests (Gilets Jaunes)

Which 52 BC siege saw Caesar encircle Vercingetorix with double fortifications?

Battle of Alesia

Who led the Gauls against Caesar at Gergovia?

Vercingetorix

Which Roman lieutenant attacked the Parisii before the Battle of Gergovia?

Titus Labienus

Which 732 battle was later called the "Highway of the Martyrs"?

Battle of Tours (Poitiers)

Who led the Franks to victory at the Battle of Tours?

Charles Martel

At which First Crusade siege did Firouz open the gates to the crusaders?

Siege of Antioch

Which crusade ended with Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine divorcing?

Second Crusade

Which 1214 battle secured Philip II’s dominance and weakened King John of England?

Battle of Bouvines

The assassination of which papal legate sparked the Albigensian Crusade?

Peter of Castelnau