The Trinitarians , formally known as the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives ( Latin : Ordo Sanctissimae Trinitatis et Captivorum ; abbreviated OSsT ), is a mendicant order of the Catholic Church for men founded in Cerfroid , outside Paris , in the late 12th century. From the very outset, a special dedication to the mystery of the Holy Trinity has been a constitutive element of the order's life.
96-461: Papal documents refer to the founder only as Brother John, but tradition identifies him as John de Matha , whose feast day is celebrated on 17 December. The founding-intention for the order was the ransom of Christians held captive by Muslims , a consequence of crusading and of piracy along the Mediterranean coast of Europe. Between the eighth and the fifteenth centuries medieval Europe
192-648: A Parliament and a constitutional Charter , usually known as the " Charte octroyée " ("Granted Charter"). His reign was characterized by disagreements between the Doctrinaires , liberal thinkers who supported the Charter and the rising bourgeoisie , and the Ultra-royalists , aristocrats and clergymen who totally refused the Revolution's heritage. Peace was maintained by statesmen like Talleyrand and
288-438: A centralized state governed from the capital of Paris. He sought to eliminate the remnants of feudalism still persisting in parts of France and, by compelling the noble elite to regularly inhabit his lavish Palace of Versailles , built on the outskirts of Paris, succeeded in pacifying the aristocracy, many members of which had participated in the earlier " Fronde " rebellion during Louis' minority. By these means he consolidated
384-545: A revolt led by Eleanor and three of their four sons, Henry had Eleanor imprisoned, made the Duke of Brittany his vassal, and in effect ruled the western half of France as a greater power than the French throne. However, disputes among Henry's descendants over the division of his French territories, coupled with John of England 's lengthy quarrel with Philip II , allowed Philip to recover influence over most of this territory. After
480-792: A long-standing dispute over the rights to Gascony in the south of France, and the relationship between England and the Flemish cloth towns, led to the Hundred Years' War of 1337–1453. The following century was to see devastating warfare, the Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War , peasant revolts (the English peasants' revolt of 1381 and the Jacquerie of 1358 in France) and the growth of nationalism in both countries. The losses of
576-836: A new order dedicated in honour of the Blessed Trinity for the redemption of Christian captives. The Order was fully approved in 1209; its first monastery was established at Cerfroid north of Paris (at the site of Felix’s old hermitage), and the second in Rome at the Church of San Tommaso in Formis . Christian slaves were first rescued by the Order in 1201. In 1202 and 1210, John travelled to Tunisia himself and brought back countless Christian slaves. Before his death, Trinitarian tradition says he met Francis of Assisi and introduced Francis to
672-639: A part of France. West Frankish kings were initially elected by the secular and ecclesiastical magnates, but the regular coronation of the eldest son of the reigning king during his father's lifetime established the principle of male primogeniture , which became codified in the Salic law . During the Late Middle Ages , rivalry between the Capetian dynasty, rulers of the Kingdom of France and their vassals
768-451: A stream with a red and blue cross between its antlers. John disclosed to Felix the plans inspired by the vision during his first Mass of succouring captive Christians under slavery, and Felix offered his help to carry it out. They set out for Rome in the severe winter of 1197, to obtain the Pope's approval. On 17 December 1198, they obtained the preliminary approval of Pope Innocent III for
864-716: A superpower from 1643 until 1815; from the reign of King Louis XIV until the defeat of Napoleon in the Napoleonic Wars . The Spanish Empire lost its superpower status to France after the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees (but maintained the status of Great Power until the Napoleonic Wars and the Independence of Spanish America ). France lost its superpower status after Napoleon 's defeat against
960-578: A system of absolute monarchy in France that endured 150 years until the French Revolution . McCabe says critics used fiction to portray the degraded Turkish court, using "the harem, the Sultan court, oriental despotism, luxury, gems and spices, carpets, and silk cushions" as an unfavorable analogy to the corruption of the French royal court. The king sought to impose total religious uniformity on
1056-484: Is also sponsored by the Trinitarians . Saint-Jean-de-Matha is a village in the province of Quebec. In 1865 American poet John Greenleaf Whittier composed an anti-slavery poem entitled "The Mantle of St. John De Matha". Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. It
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#17328009808871152-593: Is blue and the longitudinal shaft red. It is worn by Tertiaries as well as members of the Confraternity of the Blessed Trinity (or other Trinitarian associations that make use of the scapular) after investment with this scapular. It is a sign of consecration to the Holy Trinity and of fraternity. John of Matha John of Matha , OSsT (1160–1213) was a French Catholic priest and cofounder of
1248-844: The Americas as well as in Africa , India , Korea and the Philippines . In 2000 the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life approved "The Trinitarian Way" rule of life which would guide all the lay groups associated with the Trinitarians: the Third Order Secular, the Trinitarian Movement, Confraternities, etc. There have been tertiaries of
1344-623: The British , Prussians and Russians in 1815 . Following the French Revolution , which began in 1789, the Kingdom of France adopted a written constitution in 1791, but the Kingdom was abolished a year later and replaced with the First French Republic . The monarchy was restored by the other great powers in 1814 and, with the exception of the Hundred Days in 1815, lasted until the French Revolution of 1848 . During
1440-556: The Capetian dynasty on the throne. With its offshoots, the houses of Valois and Bourbon , it was to rule France for more than 800 years. The old order left the new dynasty in immediate control of little beyond the middle Seine and adjacent territories, while powerful territorial lords such as the 10th- and 11th-century counts of Blois accumulated large domains of their own through marriage and through private arrangements with lesser nobles for protection and support. The area around
1536-489: The Crusades , during which so many Christians were in danger of falling into the hands of Muslims, witnessed the rise of religious orders vowed exclusively to this pious work. Most of the story of John of Matha's life is based on legends that circulated after his death. It is reasonably certain that he was born to noble parents Euphemius and Martha at Faucon-de-Barcelonnette , on the borders of Provence on 23 June 1169. He
1632-694: The Duke of Richelieu , as well as the King's moderation and prudent intervention. In 1823, the Trienio Liberal revolt in Spain led to a French intervention on the royalists' side, which permitted King Ferdinand VII of Spain to abolish the Constitution of 1812 . However, the work of Louis XVIII was frustrated when, after his death on 16 September 1824, his brother the Count of Artois became king under
1728-655: The Franco-Dutch War , 1672–1678) brought further territorial gains ( Artois and western Flanders and the free County of Burgundy , previously left to the Empire in 1482), but at the cost of the increasingly concerted opposition of rival royal powers, and a legacy of an increasingly enormous national debt . An adherent of the theory of the "Divine Right of Kings" , which advocates the divine origin of temporal power and any lack of earthly restraint of monarchical rule, Louis XIV continued his predecessors' work of creating
1824-643: The Frangipani family , who became benefactors of the Order of Friars Minor . John of Matha died on 17 December 1213 in Rome, in the house of Thomas In Formis on the Caelian Hill . John founded the Trinitarians to visit slave markets, buy Christian slaves, and set them free in the name of the Holy Trinity. To do this, the Order needed large amounts of money, so they placed their fundraising efforts under
1920-561: The House of Plantagenet , who also ruled the Kingdom of England as part of their so-called competing Angevin Empire , resulted in many armed struggles. The most notorious of them all are the series of conflicts known as the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) in which the kings of England laid claim to the French throne. Emerging victorious from said conflicts, France subsequently sought to extend its influence into Italy , but after initial gains
2016-585: The Hundred Days . When a Seventh European Coalition again deposed Napoleon after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the Bourbon monarchy was once again restored. The Count of Provence - brother of Louis XVI, who was guillotined in 1793 - was crowned as Louis XVIII , nicknamed "The Desired". Louis XVIII tried to conciliate the legacies of the Revolution and the Ancien Régime, by permitting the formation of
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#17328009808872112-598: The Industrial Revolution that was beginning in Britain, the rising middle class of the cities felt increasingly frustrated with a system and rulers that seemed silly, frivolous, aloof, and antiquated, even if true feudalism no longer existed in France. Upon Louis XV's death, his grandson Louis XVI became king. Initially popular, he too came to be widely detested by the 1780s. He was married to an Austrian archduchess, Marie Antoinette . French intervention in
2208-612: The Jansenists , a group that denied free will and had already been condemned by the popes. In this, he garnered the friendship of the papacy, which had previously been hostile to France because of its policy of putting all church property in the country under the jurisdiction of the state rather than that of Rome. In November 1700, King Charles II of Spain died, ending the Habsburg line in that country. Louis had long planned for this moment, but these plans were thrown into disarray by
2304-624: The July Revolution . The King abdicated, as did his son the Dauphin Louis Antoine , in favour of his grandson Henri, Count of Chambord , nominating his cousin the Duke of Orléans as regent. However, it was too late, and the liberal opposition won out over the monarchy. On 9 August 1830, the Chamber of Deputies elected Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans as "King of the French": for the first time since French Revolution,
2400-677: The Loire , the Seine , and other inland waterways increased. During the reign of Charles the Simple (898–922), Vikings under Rollo from Scandinavia settled along the Seine, downstream from Paris, in a region that came to be known as Normandy . The Carolingians were to share the fate of their predecessors: after an intermittent power struggle between the two dynasties, the accession in 987 of Hugh Capet , Duke of France and Count of Paris, established
2496-586: The Order of the Most Holy Trinity , initially dedicated to ransoming Christians who had been captured by marauders from North Africa. Between the eighth and the 15th centuries, Medieval Europe was in a state of intermittent warfare between the Christian kingdoms of Southern Europe and the Muslim polities of North Africa, Southern France, Sicily and portions of Spain. According to James W. Brodman,
2592-610: The Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives since the beginnings of the Order though they were not known by that name. Lay confreres were admitted already in 1198 by the permission of Pope Innocent III . Statutes attributed to William the Scotsman, the third Minister General of the Order (1217–1222), give some idea of the primitive organization of the Trinitarian Fraternity. In the 1203 contract between
2688-597: The Third Republic , the French monarchy has not restored. Before the 13th century, only a small part of what is now France was under control of the Frankish king; in the north there were Viking incursions leading to the formation of the Duchy of Normandy ; in the west, the counts of Anjou established themselves as powerful rivals of the king, by the late 11th century ruling over the " Angevin Empire ", which included
2784-646: The War of the Polish Succession from 1733 to 1735. Large-scale warfare resumed with the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). But alliance with the traditional Habsburg enemy (the " Diplomatic Revolution " of 1756) against the rising power of Britain and Prussia led to costly failure in the Seven Years' War (1756–63) and the loss of France's North American colonies. On the whole,
2880-740: The War of the Three Henrys in which Henry III assassinated Henry de Guise , leader of the Spanish-backed Catholic League , and the king was murdered in return. After the assassination of both Henry of Guise (1588) and Henry III (1589), the conflict was ended by the accession of the Protestant king of Navarre as Henry IV (first king of the Bourbon dynasty ) and his subsequent abandonment of Protestantism (Expedient of 1592) effective in 1593, his acceptance by most of
2976-862: The conquest of Algeria . The absolutist tendencies of the King were disliked by the Doctrinaire majority in the Chamber of Deputies , that on 18 March 1830 sent an address to the King, upholding the rights of the Chamber and in effect supporting a transition to a full parliamentary system. Charles X received this address as a veiled threat, and in 25 July of the same year, he issued the St. Cloud Ordinances , in an attempt to reduce Parliament's powers and re-establish absolute rule. The opposition reacted with riots in Parliament and barricades in Paris, that resulted in
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3072-506: The kingdom of England . It was only with Philip II of France that the bulk of the territory of Western Francia came under the rule of the Frankish kings, and Philip was consequently the first king to call himself "king of France" (1190). The division of France between the Angevin (Plantagenet) kings of England and the Capetian kings of France would lead to the Hundred Years' War , and France would regain control over these territories only by
3168-860: The patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary , the Mother of God . In gratitude for her assistance, John of Matha honored Mary with the title of "Our Lady of Good Remedy." Devotion to Mary under this ancient title is widely known in Europe and Latin America , and the Catholic Church celebrates her feast day on 8 October. Our Lady of Good Remedy is often depicted as the Virgin Mary handing a bag of money to John of Matha. In 1655, his relics were translated from Rome to Madrid . His cultus
3264-444: The 17th century under Louis XIV . Throughout the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries, France was Europe's richest, largest, most populous, powerful and influential country. In parallel, France developed its first colonial empire in Asia, Africa, and in the Americas. In the 16th to the 17th centuries, the First French colonial empire stretched from a total area at its peak in 1680 to over 10,000,000 square kilometres (3,900,000 sq mi),
3360-448: The 18th century saw growing discontent with the monarchy and the established order. Louis XV was a highly unpopular king for his sexual excesses, overall weakness, and for losing New France to the British. The writings of the philosophes such as Voltaire were a clear sign of discontent, but the king chose to ignore them. He died of smallpox in 1774, and the French people shed few tears at his death. While France had not yet experienced
3456-471: The American War of Independence was also very expensive. With the country deeply in debt, Louis XVI permitted the radical reforms of Turgot and Malesherbes , but noble disaffection led to Turgot's dismissal and Malesherbes' resignation in 1776. They were replaced by Jacques Necker . Necker had resigned in 1781 to be replaced by Calonne and Brienne , before being restored in 1788. A harsh winter that year led to widespread food shortages, and by then France
3552-418: The Ancien Régime were the result of years of state-building, legislative acts (like the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts ), internal conflicts and civil wars, but they remained a confusing patchwork of local privilege and historic differences until the French Revolution brought about a radical suppression of administrative incoherence. For most of the reign of Louis XIV (1643–1715), ("The Sun King"), France
3648-452: The Bald with the Treaty of Verdun (843). A branch of the Carolingian dynasty continued to rule until 987, when Hugh Capet was elected king and founded the Capetian dynasty . The territory remained known as Francia and its ruler as rex Francorum ('king of the Franks') well into the High Middle Ages . The first king calling himself rex Francie ('King of France') was Philip II , in 1190, and officially from 1204. From then, France
3744-414: The Bishop of Arles and St. John de Matha, reference is made to affiliates of the convent. There were Trinitarian Confraternities, of the Redemption, and of Our Lady of Remedy aggregated to the Order. The first known Statutes of the Trinitarian Third Order were published in 1584, and were approved by the General of the Order, Father Bernard Dominici. The first Rule of Life for the Third Order attached to
3840-477: The Catholic establishment (1594) and by the Pope (1595), and his issue of the toleration decree known as the Edict of Nantes (1598), which guaranteed freedom of private worship and civil equality. France's pacification under Henry IV laid much of the ground for the beginnings of France's rise to European hegemony. France was expansive during all but the end of the seventeenth century: the French began trading in India and Madagascar , founded Quebec and penetrated
3936-400: The Catholic majority and a Protestant minority, the Huguenots , which led to a series of civil wars, the Wars of Religion (1562–1598). The Wars of Religion crippled France, but triumph over Spain and the Habsburg monarchy in the Thirty Years' War made France the most powerful nation on the continent once more. The kingdom became Europe's dominant cultural, political and military power in
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4032-412: The Discalced Trinitarians was approved by Pope Leo XII on 6 June 1828. The Glory of the Most Holy Trinity and the ransom of Christian Captives. Along with the Order's mission of ransoming Christian captives, each Trinitarian Community served the people of its area by performing works of mercy; redemption and mercy are at the center of the Trinitarian charism. Our Lady of Good Remedy is the patroness of
4128-419: The French monarchy maintained a significant degree of autonomy, namely through its policy of " Gallicanism ", whereby the king selected bishops rather than the papacy. During the Protestant Reformation of the mid 16th century, France developed a large and influential Protestant population, primarily of Reformed confession; after French theologian and pastor John Calvin introduced the Reformation in France,
4224-450: The French monarchy was effectively abolished by the proclamation of the French First Republic . The role of the King in France was finally ended with the execution of Louis XVI by guillotine on Monday, January 21, 1793, followed by the " Reign of Terror ", mass executions and the provisional " Directory " form of republican government, and the eventual beginnings of twenty-five years of reform, upheaval, dictatorship, wars and renewal, with
4320-455: The French victory at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, the English monarchs maintained power only in southwestern Duchy of Aquitaine . The death of Charles IV of France in 1328 without male heirs ended the main Capetian line. Under Salic law the crown could not pass through a woman (Philip IV's daughter was Isabella , whose son was Edward III of England ), so the throne passed to Philip VI , son of Charles of Valois . This, in addition to
4416-400: The King of France continued to use the title "King of Navarre" through the end of the monarchy). France in the Middle Ages was a decentralised, feudal monarchy. In Brittany and Catalonia (the latter now a part of Spain), as well as Aquitaine , the authority of the French king was barely felt. Lorraine , Provence and East Burgundy were states of the Holy Roman Empire and not yet
4512-408: The King was designated as the ruler of the French people and not the country. The Bourbon white flag was substituted with the French tricolour , and a new Charter was introduced in August 1830. The conquest of Algeria continued, and new settlements were established in the Gulf of Guinea , Gabon , Madagascar , and Mayotte , while Tahiti was placed under protectorate . However, despite
4608-423: The League of Augsburg") had just concluded. The reign (1715–1774) of Louis XV saw an initial return to peace and prosperity under the regency (1715–1723) of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans , whose policies were largely continued (1726–1743) by Cardinal Fleury , prime minister in all but name. The exhaustion of Europe after two major wars resulted in a long period of peace, only interrupted by minor conflicts like
4704-416: The North American Great Lakes and Mississippi , established plantation economies in the West Indies and extended their trade contacts in the Levant and enlarged their merchant marine . Henry IV's son Louis XIII and his minister (1624–1642) Cardinal Richelieu , elaborated a policy against Spain and the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) which had broken out in Germany. After
4800-501: The Order and companion of John of Matha at Cerfroid, near Paris. In Cerfroid the first Trinitarian community was established and it is considered the mother house of the whole Order. Among the earliest recruits were some Englishmen, and the first to go on the special mission of the order were two English friars, who in 1200 went to Morocco and returned to France with 186 liberated Christian captives. The first generation of Trinitarians could count some fifty foundations. In northern France,
4896-402: The Order of the Most Holy Trinity. Devotion to Mary under this ancient title is widely known in Europe and Latin America. Her feast day is celebrated on 8 October. The Scapular of the Holy Trinity is a devotional scapular associated with the Confraternity of The Holy Trinity and the Third Order Secular of the Most Holy Trinity. It is a white scapular with a cross of which the transverse shaft
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#17328009808874992-399: The Order. Louis IX installed a house of their order in his château of Fontainebleau. He chose Trinitarians as his chaplains, and was accompanied by them on his crusades. The Master of the Trinity was taken captive together with Louis IX after the Battle of Al Mansurah . The rule initially was the Augustinian , supplemented by regulations of an austere character. The habit was white, with
5088-408: The Spanish territory of Roussillon after the crushing of the ephemeral Catalan Republic and ushered a short period of peace. The Ancien Régime , a French term rendered in English as "Old Rule", or simply "Former Regime", refers primarily to the aristocratic, social and political system of early modern France under the late Valois and Bourbon dynasties. The administrative and social structures of
5184-498: The Trinitarian Order and it declined significantly. During the last decades of the nineteenth century, the Trinitarians began to grow slowly in Italy and Spain. Its members dedicated themselves to fostering and promoting devotion to the Holy Trinity, evangelising non-Christians, assisting immigrants , educating the young, and to parish work. Today the Trinitarian family is composed of priests, brothers, women (cloistered nuns and active sisters) as well as committed laity . Members of
5280-457: The Trinitarian family include the Trinitarian religious; the Trinitarian contemplative nuns; the Trinitarian Sisters of Valence ; the Trinitarian Sisters of Rome , Valencia, Madrid, Mallorca, and Seville; the Oblates of the Most Holy Trinity; the Third Order Secular (tertiaries) and other Trinitarian laity. All are distinguished by the cross of red and blue which dates from the origins of the Order. Trinitarians are found throughout Europe and in
5376-418: The Trinitarians were known as "Mathurins" because they were based in the church of Saint-Mathurin in Paris from 1228 onwards. Ransoming captives required economic resources. Fundraising and economic expertise constituted important aspects of the Order's life. The Rule's requirement of "the tertia pars", or setting aside one-third of all income for the ransom of Christian captives, became a noted characteristic of
5472-456: The century of war were enormous, particularly owing to the plague (the Black Death , usually considered an outbreak of bubonic plague ), which arrived from Italy in 1348, spreading rapidly up the Rhône valley and thence across most of the country: it is estimated that a population of some 18–20 million in modern-day France at the time of the 1328 hearth tax returns had been reduced 150 years later by 50 percent or more. The Renaissance era
5568-438: The country, repealing the Edict of Nantes in 1685. It is estimated that anywhere between 150,000 and 300,000 Protestants fled France during the wave of persecution that followed the repeal, (following " Huguenots " beginning a hundred and fifty years earlier until the end of the 18th century) costing the country a great many intellectuals, artisans, and other valuable people. Persecution extended to unorthodox Roman Catholics like
5664-514: The crown unrivalled power in senior ecclesiastical appointments, France was deeply affected by the Protestant Reformation 's attempt to break the hegemony of Catholic Europe. A growing urban-based Protestant minority (later dubbed Huguenots ) faced ever harsher repression under the rule of Francis I's son King Henry II . After Henry II's death in a joust, the country was ruled by his widow Catherine de' Medici and her sons Francis II , Charles IX and Henry III . Renewed Catholic reaction headed by
5760-416: The death of both king and cardinal, the Peace of Westphalia (1648) secured universal acceptance of Germany's political and religious fragmentation, but the Regency of Anne of Austria and her minister Cardinal Mazarin experienced a civil uprising known as the Fronde (1648–1653) which expanded into a Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659) . The Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659) formalised France's seizure (1642) of
5856-402: The end of the Hundred Years' War: Prior to the French Revolution , the Catholic Church was the official state religion of the Kingdom of France. France was traditionally considered the Church's eldest daughter (French: Fille aînée de l'Église ), and the King of France always maintained close links to the Pope, receiving the title Most Christian Majesty from the Pope in 1464. However,
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#17328009808875952-418: The initial reforms, Louis Philippe was little different from his predecessors. The old nobility was replaced by urban bourgeoisie, and the working class was excluded from voting. Louis Philippe appointed notable bourgeois as Prime Minister , like banker Casimir Périer , academic François Guizot , general Jean-de-Dieu Soult , and thus obtained the nickname of "Citizen King" ( Roi-Citoyen ). The July Monarchy
6048-405: The kingdom of France. Charles the Bald was also crowned King of Lotharingia after the death of Lothair II in 869, but in the Treaty of Meerssen (870) was forced to cede much of Lotharingia to his brothers, retaining the Rhône and Meuse basins (including Verdun , Vienne and Besançon ) but leaving the Rhineland with Aachen , Metz , and Trier in East Francia . Viking incursions up
6144-501: The late 17th century by Louis XIV . The resulting exodus of Huguenots from the Kingdom of France created a brain drain , as many of them had occupied important places in society. Jews have a documented presence in France since at least the early Middle Ages . The Kingdom of France was a center of Jewish learning in the Middle Ages, producing influential Jewish scholars such as Rashi and even hosting theological debates between Jews and Christians. Widespread persecution began in
6240-435: The later years of Charlemagne 's rule, the Vikings made advances along the northern and western perimeters of the Kingdom of the Franks . After Charlemagne's death in 814 his heirs were incapable of maintaining political unity and the empire began to crumble. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 divided the Carolingian Empire into three parts, with Charles the Bald ruling over West Francia , the nucleus of what would develop into
6336-456: The leadership of St. John Baptist of the Conception, a movement at Valdepeñas (Ciudad Real) known as the Spanish Discalced Trinitarians at the very end of the sixteenth century. Far-reaching periods of growth and development followed this rebirth, and at the beginning of the 18th century there were still 250 houses. In succeeding centuries, European events such as revolution, government suppression and civil war had very serious consequences for
6432-426: The life of the Catholic Church. Its twenty-fifth session dealt with regulars and nuns and the reform of religious orders . Reforming interests and energies manifested themselves among Trinitarians in France with the foundation at Pontoise , north of Paris, during the last quarter of the sixteenth century. Reform-minded Trinitarians in Spain first established the movement known as the Recollection and then, under
6528-479: The lower Seine became a source of particular concern when Duke William of Normandy took possession of the Kingdom of England by the Norman Conquest of 1066, making himself and his heirs the king's equal outside France (where he was still nominally subject to the Crown). Henry II inherited the Duchy of Normandy and the County of Anjou , and married France's newly single ex-queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine , who ruled much of southwest France, in 1152. After defeating
6624-418: The mid 15th century. What is now eastern France (Lorraine, Arelat) was not part of Western Francia to begin with and was only incorporated into the kingdom during the early modern period . Territories inherited from Western Francia: Acquisitions during the 13th to 14th centuries: Acquisitions from the Plantagenet kings of England with the French victory in the Hundred Years' War 1453 Acquisitions after
6720-405: The name of Charles X . Charles X was a strong reactionary who supported the ultra-royalists and the Catholic Church . Under his reign, the censorship of newspapers was reinforced, the Anti-Sacrilege Act passed, and compensations to Émigrés were increased. However, the reign also witnessed the French intervention in the Greek Revolution in favour of the Greek rebels, and the first phase of
6816-441: The number of French Protestants ( Huguenots ) steadily swelled to 10 percent of the population, or roughly 1.8 million people. The ensuring French Wars of Religion , and particularly the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre , decimated the Huguenot community; Protestants declined to seven to eight percent of the kingdom's population by the end of the 16th century. The Edict of Nantes brought decades of respite until its revocation in
6912-534: The order and its rule approval with his letter Operante divine dispositionis clementia, issued on 17 December 1198. Soon after papal approbation, the Trinitarian ministry to Christian captives was incorporated into the Order's title: Order of the Holy Trinity and of Captives . In addition to the Order's purpose of ransoming Christian captives, each local community of Trinitarians served the people of its area. And so, their ministry included hospitality, care of
7008-563: The powerful dukes of Guise culminated in a massacre of Huguenots (1572), starting the first of the French Wars of Religion , during which English, German, and Spanish forces intervened on the side of rival Protestant and Catholic forces. Opposed to absolute monarchy, the Huguenot Monarchomachs theorized during this time the right of rebellion and the legitimacy of tyrannicide . The Wars of Religion culminated in
7104-486: The red and blue cross depicted above on the breast. Through the centuries, the Trinitarian Rule underwent several revisions, notably in 1267 and in 1631. It has been complemented by statutes and constitutions . The thirteenth century was a time of vitality, whereas the following centuries brought periods of difficulty and even decline in some areas. The Council of Trent (1545–1563) was a major turning-point in
7200-654: The second-largest empire in the world at the time behind the Spanish Empire . Colonial conflicts with Great Britain led to the loss of much of its North American holdings by 1763. French intervention in the American Revolutionary War helped the United States secure independence from King George III and the Kingdom of Great Britain , but was costly and achieved little for France. France through its French colonial empire , became
7296-447: The sick and poor, churches, education, etc. Eventually, the Trinitarians also assumed the work of evangelization . Brother John's founding intention expanded quickly beyond the three initial foundations (Cerfroid, Planels, Bourg-la-Reine ) into a considerable network of houses committed to the ransom of Christian captives and the works of mercy conducted in their locales. Trinitarian tradition considers St. Felix of Valois co-founder of
7392-555: The task of ransoming Christian captives from the Moors. Before entering upon this work, he thought it needful to spend some time in retirement, prayer, and mortification; having heard of the holy hermit Felix of Valois , who lived in a great wood near Gandelu in the Diocese of Meaux , he went to him and requested instruction in the practice of perfection. One day while walking with Felix, John had another vision —a white stag appeared at
7488-413: The threat of capture or kidnapping, either by Muslim pirates or coastal raiders, or during one of the region's intermittent wars, was a continual concern for residents of Catalonia , Languedoc , and other coastal provinces of mediaeval Christian Europe. Raids by Muslim bands and armies was a near-annual occurrence. The redemption of captives is listed among the corporal works of mercy . The period of
7584-738: The throne would end up recreating the grand multi-national Empire of Charles V ; of the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and the Spanish territories in Italy, which would also grossly upset the power balance. However, the rest of Europe would not stand for his ambitions in Spain, and so the long War of the Spanish Succession began (1701–1714), a mere three years after the War of the Grand Alliance (1688–1697, a.k.a. "War of
7680-641: The various Napoleonic Wars . Following the French Revolution (1789–99) and the First French Empire under Napoleon (1804–1814), the monarchy was restored when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the House of Bourbon in 1814. However the deposed Emperor Napoleon I returned triumphantly to Paris from his exile in Elba and ruled France for a short period known as
7776-532: The way for France to undertake the long Italian Wars (1494–1559), which marked the beginning of early modern France. French efforts to gain dominance resulted only in the increased power of the House of Habsburg . Barely were the Italian Wars over, when France was plunged into a domestic crisis with far-reaching consequences. Despite the conclusion of a Concordat between France and the Papacy (1516), granting
7872-464: The will of King Charles, which left the entire Spanish Empire to Louis's grandson Philip, Duke of Anjou , (1683–1746). Essentially, Spain was to become a perpetual ally and even obedient satellite of France, ruled by a king who would carry out orders from Versailles. Realizing how this would upset the balance of power, the other European rulers were outraged. However, most of the alternatives were equally undesirable. For example, putting another Habsburg on
7968-597: Was ordained a priest at the age of 32 in December 1192. According to Trinitarian tradition, John celebrated his first Mass on 28 January 1193. During that Mass, he had a vision of Christ holding by the hand two chained captives, one a Moor , the other a Christian (the Crusades were in full force at the time). The Christian captive carried a staff with a red and blue cross. After the Mass, John decided to devote himself to
8064-540: Was a powder keg ready to explode. On the eve of the French Revolution of July 1789, France was in a profound institutional and financial crisis, but the ideas of the Enlightenment had begun to permeate the educated classes of society. On September 3, 1791, the absolute monarchy which had governed France for 948 years was forced to limit its power and become a provisional constitutional monarchy. However, this too would not last very long and on September 21, 1792,
8160-482: Was an almost annual occurrence. The redemption of captives is listed among the corporal works of mercy. The period of the Crusades , when so many Christians were in danger of falling into the hands of Muslims, witnessed the rise of religious orders vowed exclusively to this pious work. The Order of the Trinitarians (Order of the Holy Trinity and Captives) was founded by St. John de Matha after his vision of Christ with two captives around 1193. Pope Innocent III granted
8256-530: Was approved in 1665, and his feast day on the current General Roman Calendar is 17 December. Traditional Catholics that observe the Extraordinary Form of the Mass still observe his old feast day on 8 February. The Order of the Most Holy Trinity is active on five continents and in many countries. DeMatha Catholic High School located in Hyattsville, Maryland , US is named after him. It
8352-533: Was baptised as John, in honour of John the Baptist . His father Euphemius sent him to Aix-en-Provence , where he learned grammar, fencing, riding, and other skills fit for a young nobleman. It is said that while there, he gave the poor a considerable part of the money his parents sent him, and he visited the hospital every Friday to assist the penniless sick. He studied theology at the University of Paris and
8448-519: Was beset by corruption scandals and financial crisis. The opposition of the King was composed of Legitimists , supporting the Count of Chambord , Bourbon claimant to the throne, and of Bonapartists and Republicans , who fought against royalty and supported the principles of democracy. The King tried to suppress the opposition with censorship, but when the Campagne des banquets ("Banquets' Campaign")
8544-511: Was continuously ruled by the Capetians and their cadet lines under the Valois and Bourbon until the monarchy was abolished in 1792 during the French Revolution . The Kingdom of France was also ruled in personal union with the Kingdom of Navarre over two time periods, 1284–1328 and 1572–1620, after which the institutions of Navarre were abolished and it was fully annexed by France (though
8640-575: Was defeated by Spain and the Holy Roman Empire in the ensuing Italian Wars (1494–1559). France in the early modern era was increasingly centralised; the French language began to displace other languages from official use, and the monarch expanded his absolute power in an administrative system, known as the Ancien Régime , complicated by historic and regional irregularities in taxation, legal, judicial, and ecclesiastic divisions, and local prerogatives. Religiously, France became divided between
8736-499: Was in a state of intermittent warfare between the Christian kingdoms of southern Europe and the Muslim polities of North Africa, Southern France, Sicily and portions of Spain. According to James W. Brodman, the threat of capture, whether by pirates or coastal raiders, or during one of the region's intermittent wars, was a continuous threat to residents of Catalonia , Languedoc , and the other coastal provinces of medieval Christian Europe. Raids by militias, bands, and armies from both sides
8832-425: Was noted for the emergence of powerful centralized institutions, as well as a flourishing culture (much of it imported from Italy ). The kings built a strong fiscal system, which heightened the power of the king to raise armies that overawed the local nobility. In Paris especially there emerged strong traditions in literature, art and music. The prevailing style was classical . The Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts
8928-708: Was one of the most powerful states in Europe from the High Middle Ages to 1848 during its dissolution. It was also an early colonial power , with colonies in Asia and Africa, and the largest being New France in North America centred around the Great Lakes. The Kingdom of France was descended directly from the western Frankish realm of the Carolingian Empire , which was ceded to Charles
9024-666: Was repressed in February 1848, riots and seditions erupted in Paris and later all France, resulting in the February Revolution . The National Guard refused to repress the rebellion, resulting in Louis Philippe abdicating and fleeing to England. On 24 February 1848, the monarchy was abolished and the Second Republic was proclaimed. Despite later attempts to re-establish the Kingdom in the 1870s, during
9120-654: Was signed into law by Francis I in 1539. Largely the work of Chancellor Guillaume Poyet , it dealt with a number of government, judicial and ecclesiastical matters. Articles 110 and 111, the most famous, called for the use of the French language in all legal acts, notarised contracts and official legislation. After the Hundred Years' War, Charles VIII of France signed three additional treaties with Henry VII of England , Emperor Maximilian I , and Ferdinand II of Aragon respectively at Étaples (1492), Senlis (1493) and Barcelona (1493). These three treaties cleared
9216-490: Was the dominant power in Europe, aided by the diplomacy of Cardinal Richelieu's successor as the King's chief minister, (1642–61) Cardinal Jules Mazarin , (1602–1661). Cardinal Mazarin oversaw the creation of a French Royal Navy that rivalled England's , expanding it from 25 ships to almost 200. The size of the French Royal Army was also considerably increased. Renewed wars (the War of Devolution , 1667–1668 and
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