France

France By: kmcmanaway Dream of a king in great power who had slaves that serve him with no sleep. There are many different ways that someone can think, in categories, about the Renaissance. Some categories are rulers, places, society, and food. Then there come are France, Spain and Great Britain, the powers of the Renaissance. There are many subjects under this topic such as Francis 1, and Joan of Arc. First of all, there were a great deal of artists and sculptors that had careers born and loved by their rulers in this period. Exploration started in this period also. A ruler that enjoyed architecture and the arts is King Louis XIV. King Louis XIV “encouraged French exploration of North America” (Ngcheorg-lum 11). Louis XIV built the Palace of Versailles, which is his brilliant court.

Next, Louis XIV’s theory of ruling was absolute monarchy. At a time he declared that he would be his own prime minister. He had leading motives in his ideas in increasing the land across Europe. He also neglected opportunities to have empires in the Americas and India. His first war was fought for two years in Belgium.

Then, there are artists and sculptors. One of them is Jean Goujon who was the first to achieve great distinction as a sculptor. He sculptured the nymphs helping decorate the Fountain of Innocents (Sculpture). An artist is Leonardo da Vinci. He was a man who painted for a living. The Mona Lisa and the Last Supper were a few famous paintings of his.

Francis I was a very well known ruler in this time period (Francis). A relative of his was Louis XIV. Louis only had one daughter while a ruler. Since he did not have any sons to take the throne after he died. Francis took power because he had an arranged marriage with Louis’ daughter.

Francis I was known as a true Renaissance prince at the time (Francis). Also he ruled from 1515 to 1547. Francis was known for as well as bringing well-known artists to France. Such as Leonardo da Vinci, and Benvenuto Cellini. Cellini was a goldsmith. He made the Neptune Fountain that is in Berlin, Germany.

After that, there is Joan of Arc. Joan was once a peasant girl (Joan). She had a couple other names she went by. Such as Maid of France and Maid of Orleans. At the age of seventeen inspired a French army to break English siege over the French city of Orleans, and she won other important wins in other victories.

Finally, Joan was born in the village of Domremy, in the Meuse River valley around 1412 (Joan). She was a daughter of a wealthy tenant farmer. She also learned life skills for the period of time from her mother (Joan). Also she was mostly in the church praying. At the age of thirteen she claims that she saw a heavenly vision. It supposed that St. Michael told her to be a good girl.

In conclusion, France was a world power in during the Renaissance. Also that there was a hand full of figures that were with France in the Renaissance. Some of the figures were Louis XIV, Joan of Arc, Francis I, and other artists. Then France was a major part of the Renaissance and wars in Europe. That is most of what you can learn about the Renaissance from a middle school student.

Works Cited

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2012. Web. 8 Mar. 2012. []. "**Francis I.**" //Compton's by Britannica//. //Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition//. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2012. Web. 8 Mar. 2012. []. "**Joan of Arc.**" //Compton's by Britannica//. //Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition//. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2012. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. [].

"**Louis, kings of France.**" //Compton's by Britannica//. //Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition//. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. [].

Ngchelong-lum, Roseline. //Countries of the World: France//. Milwaukee: Gareth Stevens Publishing, 1999. Print.

"**sculpture.**" //Compton's by Britannica//. //Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition//.