Stamps of France: Jean-Jacques Renouard

 JEAN-JACQUES RENOUARD

(24 June 1607 – 5 March 1691)

Jean-Jacques Renouard, seigneur de Villayer, born in Nantes and died in Paris, France, was a member of the French Conseil d'État, which had been delegated special legal authorities by the absolutist reigning King Louis XIV.

In 1653 as the tenant of the Paris City Post, Renouard de Villayer ordered letter boxes to be set up at different places in Paris. Letters, prepaid with a uniform postage of 1 sol, could be put in these boxes and were then delivered inside of the city within the same day.

The receipts (billet de port payé), which were issued for this purpose and had to be attached to the letters as postage, are considered to be early precursors of the postage stamp. There are no examples still existing today. The so-called Petite Poste was an economic failure, but was later successfully imitated in other European cities (for example by the London Penny Post as of 1680).

In 1659, Renouard de Villayer became a member of the Académie française, succeeding Abel Servien.

In 1944, the family coat-of-arms of Renouard de Villayer was depicted on a commemorative stamp by the French post on the occasion of the Day of the Postage Stamp.

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Stamps of France: Saint-Denis Cathedral

CATHEDRAL OF SAINT-DENIS

The Cathedral of Saint-Denis, French: Cathédrale royale de Saint-Denis, or simply Basilique Saint-Denis (previously the Abbaye de Saint-Denis) is a large medieval abbey church in the commune of Saint-Denis, now a northern suburb of Paris. The abbey church was created a cathedral in 1966 and is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Denis. The building is of unique importance historically and architecturally.

Founded in the 7th century by Dagobert I on the burial place of Saint Denis, a patron saint of France, the church became a place of pilgrimage and the burial place of the French Kings, nearly every king from the 10th to the 18th centuries being buried there, as well as many from the previous centuries. It was not used for the coronations of kings, this role being designated to the Cathedral of Reims; however, queens were commonly crowned there.

"Saint-Denis" soon became the abbey church of a growing monastic complex. In the 12th century the Abbot Suger rebuilt portions of the abbey church using innovative structural and decorative features that were drawn from a number of other sources. In doing so, he is said to have created the first truly Gothic building.

The basilica's 13th century nave is also the prototype for the Rayonnant Gothic style, and provided an architectural model for cathedrals and abbeys of northern France, England and other countries.

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Stamps of France: Chartres Cathedral

 CHARTRES CATHEDRAL

The French medieval Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, is a cathedral located in Chartres, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) southwest of Paris, is considered one of the finest examples of the French Gothic style. The current cathedral, mostly constructed between 1193 and 1250, is one of at least five which have occupied the site since the town became a bishopric in the 4th century.

What makes the cathedral special from an artistic viewpoint is its exceptional state of preservation. The majority of the original stained glass windows survive intact, while the architecture has seen only minor changes since the early 13th century. Overall, the building has more than 150 medieval stained glass windows, most of the thirteenth century, providing a magnificent lighting effect inside the temple.

The west front, called Royal Portico, is especially important due to a series of sculptures of the mid-12th century. The main entrance contains a magnificent relief of Jesus Christ glorified. The transept is organized around images of the New Testament, which tell the Last Judgment, while the opposite doorway, is dedicated to the Old Testament and the advent of Christ and stands the impressive quality of the sculptural group dedicated to the Creation.

The interior impresses both by the 37 meters in height that reaches the nave, as the harmony and elegant proportions, although, unfortunately, has already lost most of the original statues (the altarpiece of the Crucifixion was demolished in the 18th century).

Since at least the 12th century the cathedral has been an important destination for travellers - and remains so to this day - attracting large numbers of Christian pilgrims, many of whom come to venerate its famous relic, the "Sancta Camisa", said to be the tunic worn by the Virgin Mary at Christ's birth, as well as large numbers of secular tourists who come to see this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Stamps of France: Beauvais Cathedral

BEAUVAIS CATHEDRAL

The Cathedral of Saint Peter of Beauvais, in French: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Beauvais - is an incomplete Roman Catholic cathedral located in Beauvais, in northern France. It is the seat of the Bishop of Beauvais. In some respects, it's the most daring achievement of Gothic architecture, and consists only of a transept of the 16thcentury and choir, with apse and seven polygonal apsidal chapels, from the 13th century.

At first, the cathedral was going to be a symbol of French unity and a masterpiece of architecture. But as the project moved forward, people fell out of favor, money became tight, and priorities changed. Later the cathedral project was reinvigorated.

Under Bishop Guillaume de Grez, an extra 4.9 metres (16 feet) was added to the height, to make it the tallest cathedral in Europe. The vaulting in the interior of the choir reaches 48 metres in height, far surpassing the concurrently constructed Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Amiens, with its 42 metres (138 ft.) nave. But in 1248, the choir section collapsed and the nave was never completed.

However, large-scale Gothic design continued, and the choir was rebuilt at the same height, albeit with more columns in the chevet and choir. The transept was built from 1500 to 1548.

In 1573, the fall of a too-ambitious 153 metres central tower stopped work again. The tower would have made the church the second highest structure in the world at the time, after St. Olaf's church, in Tallinn, Estonia.

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Stamps of France: Amiens Cathedral

AMIENS CATHEDRAL

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens, in French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens, or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral and seat of the Bishop of Amiens. It is situated on a slight ridge overlooking the River Somme in the administrative capital of the Picardy region of France, some 120 km north of Paris.

It is the tallest complete cathedral in France. Its stone-vaulted nave reaching a height of 42.30 metres (138.8 ft.), only surpassed by the incomplete Beauvais Cathedral. It has the greatest interior volume of any French cathedral, estimated at 200,000 cubic metres (260,000 cu yd.).

The cathedral was built between 1220 and c.1270. Although it has lost most of its original stained glass, Amiens Cathedral is renowned for the quality and quantity of early 13th century Gothic sculpture in the main west facade and the south transept portal, and a large quantity of polychrome sculpture from later periods inside the building.

The initial impetus for the building of the cathedral came from the installation of the reputed head of John the Baptist on 17 December 1206. The head was part of the loot of the Fourth Crusade, which had been diverted from campaigning against the Turks to sacking the great Christian city of Constantinople. A sumptuous reliquary was made to house the skull. Although later lost, a 19th century replica still provides a focus for prayer and meditation in the North aisle.

The Amiens cathedral was listed as World Heritage by UNESCO in 1981.

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Stamps of France: Thomas Bugeaud

THOMAS ROBERT BUGEAUD

(15 October 1784 – 18 June 1849)

Thomas Robert Bugeaud, Marquis de la Piconnerie, was born in Limoge and died in Paris, France. He was Marshal of France, Duc d'Isly, General and Administrator in Algeria. He also was a French national hero as a result of his role in conquering Algeria.

Bugeaud served in the army of the French emperor Napoleon I until forced into retirement in 1815. Returning to public life after the July Revolution of 1830, he became a deputy.

Sent twice, in 1836 and 1837, to Algeria on special missions, he returned again in 1841 to undertake the pacification of Algeria as governor-general. His celebrated victory at Isly, in 1844, finally broke the power of Abd al-Kader.

Bugeaud attempted to cooperate with the Arabs, to promote military colonization and to encourage French settlers, but the unpopularity of his policies forced his resignation in 1847.

He was named commander of the troops in Paris by Louis Philippe during the February Revolution of 1848.

Bugeaud's writings were numerous, including his "Œuvres militaires" (Military works), many official reports on Algeria about the war there, and some works on economics and political science.

Battle of Isly

The Battle of Isly was fought on August 14, 1844 between France and Morocco, near the Isly River. The French began a war with Morocco which had refused to recognize its conquest of Algeria.

Marshal Bugeaud, tried to complete the French conquest of Algeria, instigated the battle without a declaration of war in order to force negotiations concerning Moroccan support for the Algerian resistance leader Abd el Kader to conclude on terms favourable to the French.

French forces under Marshal Bugeaud routed a much larger, but poorly organized Moroccan force under Mohammed, son of sultan Abderrahmane of Morocco.

The French defeated the Moroccans at the battle of Isly in North Eastern Morocco. The Moroccans were forced to agree to the Treaty of Tangiers that recognized the French sovereignty over Algeria.

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Stamps of France: Angoulême Cathedral

ANGOULÊME CATHEDRAL

Angoulême Cathedral or Cathédrale Saint-Pierre d'Angoulême, is a religious building of Angoulême, Charente, France, an example of Romanesque architecture and sculpture in France. It's the seat of the Bishop of Angoulême.

A first cathedral was built on the site of a primitive, pre-Christian sanctuary, in the 4th century AD. The edifice was destroyed when the town was taken by Clovis after the Battle of Vouillé, in 507. Another cathedral was consecrated in 560, but this was set on fire by the Vikings/Normans some two centuries later. A third cathedral was then constructed in 1017. However, at the beginning of the 12th century the citizens started to consider it too small for to the wealth of the county. The designer was Bishop Gerard II, one of the most important French figures of the time. Works began about 1110 and finished in 1128.

The church's original appearance was modified in the following centuries. One of the bell towers, for example, was destroyed during the Wars of Religion of the 16th century. Further alterations were made during the restorations by Paul Abadie in 1866-1885, including the addition of the two towers with conical tops, but the façade remains mostly medieval.

The façade is decorated by more than 70 sculptures, organized into two decorative themes: the Ascension and the Last Judgement. Christ is portrayed within aureola, while two tall angels address the apostles to show them the celestial vision. The sculptors portrayed scenes of everyday life.

The interior of the nave is covered with three domes, a transept, and an apsidal choir. At the crossing with the transept is a larger dome, which has replaced the original one destroyed in the Protestant siege of 1568. The semi-circular choir is flanked by small apses and covered by a half dome.

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Stamps of France: Triumphal Arch

 

TRIUMPHAL ARCH

 

The "Arc de Triomphe" (Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle (originally named Place de l'Étoile), at the western end of the Champs-Élysées.

There is a smaller arch, the 'Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel', which stands west of the Louvre. The 'Arc de Triomphe' (Triumphal Arch) honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.

The 'Arc de Triomphe' is the linchpin of the historic axis, the "Axe historique" – a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route which goes from the courtyard of the Louvre, to the Grande Arche de la Défense. The monument was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806. It set the tone for public monuments, with triumphant patriotic messages.

The monument stands 50 metres (164 ft.) in height, 45 m (148 ft.) wide and 22 m (72 ft.) deep. It was the largest triumphal arch in existence until the construction of the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, in 1982. Its design was inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus.

The 'Arc de Triomphe' is so colossal those three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919, marking the end of hostilities in World War I, Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane through it, with the event captured on newsreel.

The monumental arch became a point of departure or passage of the main military parades and demonstrations, and is one of the main tourist sights of Paris.

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Stamps of France: Albi Cathedral

ALBI CATHEDRAL

 

Albi Cathedral, formally the Cathedral of Saint Cecilia, in French: Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile d'Albi, is the most important religious building in Albi, southern France, and the seat of the Archbishop of Albi. First built as a fortress begun in 1287 and under construction for 200 years, it is claimed to be the largest brick building in the world.

The first building dated from the 4th century and in 666 was destroyed by fire. The second is recorded in 920 by the name of Saint Cecilia, the present-day patroness of musicians. It was replaced in the 13th century by a Romanesque cathedral in stone.

The cathedral is built in the Southern Gothic Style. It was constructed almost entirely in brick between 1287 and 1480 in the wake of the Albigensian heresy in the area. Work on the nave was completed about 1330.

Notable architectural features include the bell-tower, added in 1492, which stands 78 metres (256 ft.) tall, and the doorway, added circa 1392. The nave is the widest Gothic example in France at 18 metres (60 feet). The interior lacks aisles which are replaced by rows of small chapels between brick internal buttresses.

The side chapels in the nave received overhead galleries in the 15th century, diminishing their impact. The central chœur is surrounded by a rood screen with detailed filigree stone work and a group of polychrome statues. Below the organ, a fresco of the Last Judgment covered nearly 200 m². The frescoes on the enormous vaulted ceiling comprise the largest and oldest ensemble of Italian Renaissance painting in France. The cathedral organ, work of Christophe Moucherel, dates from the 18th century.

In 2010 the cathedral was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Stamps of France: French Provisional Government Pages

New pages from "Stamps of France" collection. The "1944/46 French Provisional Government" is the new theme on-line. Visit the new pages.

Novas páginas da colecção "Stamps of France". O "Governo Provisório Francês de 1944/1946" é o novo tema agora disponibilizado neste blog. Visite as novas páginas.

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Stamps of France: 1044/46 Provisional Government

PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC

(1944 – 1946)

 

Preamble

Charles de Gaulle (a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II) rejected the armistice concluded by Maréchal Philippe Pétain and Nazi Germany, and had escaped to Britain, exhorted the French to resist in his BBC broadcast "Appeal of 18 June" (Appel du 18 juin), which had a stirring effect on morale throughout France and its colonies, though initially relatively few French forces responded to De Gaulle's call.

The Free French Forces, individuals or military units who joined "Free France", fought Axis and Vichy troops, and served on battlefronts everywhere from the Middle East to Indochina and North Africa. They remained a small force until 1942, by which time an underground anti-Nazi Résistance movement had sprung up in France.

In his efforts to obtain the support of the Résistance, de Gaulle changed the name of his movement to "Forces Françaises Combattantes" (Fighting French Forces) and sent his emissary Jean Moulin to France to try to unify all the various Résistance groups in France under de Gaulle's leadership. Moulin came close to accomplishing this in May 1943 with his establishment of the Conseil Nationale de la Résistance (National Council of the Resistance).

In June 1943 a Comité Français de Libération Nationale (French Committee of National Liberation) was constituted in Algiers, with Giraud and de Gaulle as its joint presidents. But de Gaulle soon outmaneuvered Giraud, whose resignation in the spring of 1944 left de Gaulle in supreme control of the entire French war effort outside of Metropolitan France. More and more Résistance groups were meanwhile acknowledging de Gaulle's leadership.

In August 1944 the Free French 1st Army, under General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, took part in the Allies' invasion of southern France, driving thence northeastward into Alsace before joining in the Western Allies' final thrust into Germany. The Résistance groups, now organized as Forces Françaises de l'Intérieur (French Forces of the Interior), mounted an anti-German insurrection in Paris, and the Free French 2nd Armoured Division under General Jacques-Philippe Leclerc drove into Paris to consummate the liberation. On Aug. 26, 1944, de Gaulle entered Paris in triumph.

The Provisional Government

The Provisional Government of the French Republic (Gouvernement Provisoire de la République Française or GPRF) was an interim government which governed France from 1944 to 1946, following the fall of Vichy France and prior to the Fourth French Republic.

Following the Battle of France in 1940, the state of Vichy France was established under the rule of Philippe Pétain. However, after Operation Overlord (code name for the Battle of Normandy), the liberation of Paris and the fall of the Falaise pocket (the siege of the Allied forces to Nazi Germany in Normandy, in 12-21 August 1944), the Vichy regime dissolved. Then, as the Allied front lines moved through France, jurisdiction was seized by the provisional government under the leadership of Charles de Gaulle, from 1944 to 1946.

With most of the political class discredited and containing many members who had more or less collaborated with the enemy, Gaullism and Communism became the most popular political forces in France.

The GPRF was dominated by the "tripartisme" alliance, between the French Communist Party (PCF), the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO, socialist party) and the Christian democratic Popular Republican Movement (MRP), led by Georges Bidault.

This alliance between the three political parties lasted until the May 1947 crisis during which Maurice Thorez, vice-premier, and four other Communist ministers were expelled from the government, both in France and in Italy. Along with the acceptance of the Marshall Plan, refused by countries that had fallen under the influence of the USSR, this marked the official beginning of the Cold War in these countries.

The provisional government considered that the Vichy government had been unconstitutional and that all its actions had thus been illegal. All statutes, laws, regulations and decisions by the Vichy government were thus made null and void. However, since mass cancellation of all decisions taken by Vichy, including many that could have been taken as well by republican governments, was impractical, it was decided that any repeal was to be expressly acknowledged by the government. A number of laws and acts were however explicitly repealed, including all constitutional acts, all laws discriminating against Jews, all acts against "secret societies" (e.g. Freemasons), and all acts creating special tribunals.

Collaborationist paramilitary and political organizations, such as the Milice and the Service d'ordre légionnaire, were also disbanded.

The provisional government also took steps to replace local governments, including governments that had been suppressed by the Vichy regime, through new elections or by extending the terms of those who had been elected no later than 1939.

Meanwhile, negotiations took place over the proposed new constitution, which was to be put to a referendum. De Gaulle advocated a presidential system of government, and criticized the reinstatement of what he pejoratively called "the parties system".

De Gaulle resigned in January 1946 and was replaced by Félix Gouin (SFIO). Ultimately only the French Communist Party (PCF) and the socialist SFIO supported the draft constitution, which envisaged a form of government based on unicameralism, but this was rejected in the referendum of 5 May 1946.

A new draft of the Constitution was written, which this time proposed the establishment of a bicameral form of government. Léon Blum (SFIO) headed the GPRF from 1946 to 1947.

After a new legislative election in June 1946, the Christian democrat Georges Bidault assumed leadership of the Cabinet.

Despite de Gaulle's so-called discourse of Bayeux of 16 June 1946 in which he denounced the new institutions, the new draft was approved by the French people, with 53% of voters voting in favor (with an abstention rate of 31%) in the referendum held on 13 October 1946.

This culminated in the establishment in the following year of the French Fourth Republic.

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Stamps of France: Louis XIV

LOUIS XIV

(5 September 1638 – 1 September 1715)

 

Louis XIV, known as Louis the Great or "le Roi-Solei" (the Sun King), was born in the Chateau of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, about 19 km of Paris, and died in Versailles, France. He was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. He holds the distinction of being the longest-reigning king in European history, reigning for 72 years and 110 days.

Louis began his personal rule of France in 1661 after the death of his chief minister, the Italian Cardinal Mazarin. Louis continued his predecessors' work of creating a centralized state governed from the capital. He sought to eliminate the remnants of feudalism persisting in parts of France and, by compelling the noble elite to inhabit his lavish Palace of Versailles, succeeded in pacifying the aristocracy, many members of which had participated in the Fronde rebellion during Louis' minority. By these means he consolidated a system of absolute monarchical rule in France that endured until the French Revolution.

During Louis's reign, France was the leading European power and fought three major wars: the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War of the Spanish Succession—and two minor conflicts—the War of Devolution and the War of the Reunions.

Few rulers in world history have commemorated themselves as Louis. He used the arts and court ritual to demonstrate, augment and maintain his control over France. Louis encouraged and benefited from the work of prominent political, military and cultural figures such as Mazarin, Colbert, Turenne and Vauban, as well as Molière, Racine, Boileau, La Fontaine, Lully, Le Brun, Rigaud, Bossuet, Le Vau, Mansart, Charles and Claude Perrault, and Le Nôtre.

It was his great Palace of Versailles, with its gardens, architecture, interior design and works of art that Louis sought to visually represent the absolute power of the monarchy. Under the King's close supervision, Le Brun finalised the decoration of the Hall of Mirrors, which retraced the important accomplishments of Louis's reign.

With his support, Colbert established from the beginning of Louis's personal reign a centralised and institutionalised system for creating and perpetuating the royal image. The King was thus portrayed largely in majesty or at war, notably against Spain. This portrayal of the monarch was to be found in numerous media of artistic expression, such as painting, sculpture, theatre, dance, music, and the almanacs which diffused royal propaganda to the population at large.

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Stamps of France: Louis II

 LOUIS II, PRINCE OF CONDÉ

(8 September 1621 – 11 December 1686)

 

Louis II of Bourbon-Condé, Prince of Condé, was born in Paris and died in Fontainebleau, France. He was a French general and the most famous representative of the Condé branch of the House of Bourbon. Prior to his father's death in 1646, he was styled the Duke of Enghien. For his military prowess he was renowned as le Grand Condé.

The Grand Condé carries the titles of Prince de Condé, Duke de Bourbon, Duke of Enghien, Duke of Montmorency, Duke of Chateauroux, Duke of Bellegarde, Duke of Fronsac, Governor of Berry, Count of Sancerre (1646-1686), Count of Charolais (from 1684), Peer of France, and the first blood prince.

It is on his military character that the Grand Condé's fame rests. Condé was equally brilliant in his first battle and in his last. 

In 1643 his success at the Battle of Rocroi, in which he led the French army to an unexpected and decisive victory over the Spanish, established him as a great general and popular hero in France. Together with the Marshal de Turenne he led the French to victory in the Thirty Years' War.

After the defeat of the Fronde (Franco-Spanish civil war) he entered Spanish service and led their armies against France. He returned to France only after the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, but soon received military commands again.

Condé conquered the Franche-Comté during the War of Devolution and led the French armies in the Franco-Dutch War together with Turenne. His last campaign was in 1675, taking command after Turenne had been killed, repelling an invasion of an imperial army.

He is regarded as one of the premier generals in world history, whose masterpiece, the Battle of Rocroi, is still studied by students of military strategy.

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