France: Letters and Correspondence

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EuroDocs > History of France: Primary Documents > France: Sources by Topic > France: Letters


According to Eric Goldberg, Sidonius is "the single most important surviving author from fifth-century Gaul."
(5th century; English translation)
De Litteris Colendis. This letter illustrates Charlemagne's concern to promote learning in his empire.
From Fordham
(750; English transcription)
This treaty between Charles the Great or Charlemagne (†814) and Offa, the greatest of the Mercian kings (†796), is of interest as showing the character of the intercourse between England and the Continent.
Click "next" to read their letters.
(795; English translation)
Scanned facsimile of Hildebert of Lavardin's book of poems (Latin facsimiles).
See also transcriptions of letters Hildebert sent (English and Latin transcriptions).
(1056-1133; Latin facsimiles, English and Latin transcriptions)
Beginning with the First Crusade and continuing on through the Sixth.
(1098-1249; English translation)
  • Hanover Historical Text -- Crusade Letters
Anselme of Ribemont, Anselme of Ribemont, Letter to Manasses II, Archbishop of Reims (1098)
Stephen, Count of Blois and Chartres, Letter to his wife, Adele (1098)
Daimbert, Godfrey and Raymond, Letter to the Pope (1099)
Aymeric, Patriarch of Antioch, Letter to Louis VII of France (1164)
Letter from the East to Master of Hospitalers (1187)
The Duke of Lorraine, Letter to the Archbishop of Cologne (1197)
More available HERE
(1098-1229; English translation)
(1173; Latin transcription and English translation of letter)
Item #2. "In the letter, just three lines long, the King of France, Philip IV, tells his agents at the court of the Pope in Rome to assist ‘William le Walois of Scotland, knight’, in the business that he has to carry out."
From History Extra
(7 November 1300; English transcription and facsimile)
King of England and of France, and lord of Ireland
(1399-1413; facsimile with English translations)
(mid to late 15th century; French and English facsimiles)
Part of the Digital Collections at the Brigham Young University Library.
(1592-1597; facsimiles)
Digitized letters of 17th century political figures across Europe
Compiled by Acta Pacis Westphalicae
(1636-1648; German, French, and Swedish transcriptions with German commentary)
Digitized letters of 17th century political figures
Compiled by Acta Pacis Westphalicae
(1636-1648; French, Latin, and German transcriptions with German commentary)
Click on "Inventory" then on "Correspondence and Autographs" for large collection of letters of the Napoleonic era.
Part of Brown University's digital collection hosted at RIAMCO: Rhode Island Archival & Manuscript Collections Online and Brown University Library Center for Digital Initiatives.
(1651-1913, mostly 1789-1821; facsimiles)
Edited by J.H. Robinson.
From Hanover Historical Texts Collection.
(26 August 1664; English translation)
Letters between King Louis XIV and his Naval Secretary Pontchartrain.
Reproduced on the Ministry of Culture's Archim imagebank.
(1703-1714; photo facsimiles)
The Duchess of Orleans was married to the king's brother, the much younger Duchess of Bourgogne to the king's grandson. Here the obsessive concern with manners is well-evidenced.
From the Internet History Sourcebook
(1704; English translation)
A collection of correspondence to and from Voltaire, as well as three pages of poetry written by Voltaire.
Many of the letters are either to or from Frederick the Great, King of Prussia from 1740-1786.
From the Digital Library of the University of Southern California.
(1742-1777; photo facsimiles)
Includes the “Conspiracy of Equals” of Babeuf during the French Revolution, the Paris Commune, the first workers government ever (including primary documents and a photo gallery), The Resistance (1940-45) with letters from the Manouchian group of foreign communists killed by the Nazis and The Algerian Independence War (1954-60) including the reaction of the French Left.
(1750-1979; English and French)
Click on "Inventory" then on "Correspondence and Autographs" for large collection of letters of the Napoleonic era.
Part of Brown University's digital collection hosted at RIAMCO: Rhode Island Archival & Manuscript Collections Online and Brown University Library Center for Digital Initiatives.
(1651-1913, mostly 1789-1821; facsimiles)
”As tensions grew and violence erupted, Jefferson traveled to Versailles and Paris to observe events first-hand. He reported his experience in a series of letters to America's Secretary of State, John Jay.”
EyeWitness to History
(July 1789; English transcription)
"And On The Proceedings In Certain Societies In London Relative To That Event In A Letter Intended To Have Been Sent To A Gentleman In Paris."
From Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library.
(1790; English transcription)
Letter from the officers of M. Bouillé's army to their comrades in France, pleading for the liberation of the King.
From the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
(1791; French reproduction)
The trial of Louis XVI and the revolution of May 31st, as reported in great detail by the correspondence between Blad (deputy at the National Convention) and the municipality of Brest.
Published between 1890-1900.
From the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
(1792-1793; French facsimile)
Secret letter from Marie Antoinette to the Marquis de Bouillé, a counter-revolutionary figure who tried to aid the escape of the Royal family.
From the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
(8 August 1792; French transcription)
Treaties, speeches, diplomatic correspondence, etc.
From the Napoleon Series.
(1796-1815; English translations)
(20 April 1814; English translation)
Selections from Napoleon's correspondence.
(1797-1815; French and English-language transcriptions)
"Louis-Nicolas Davout came to fame in 1804 as Napoleonic France's youngest Marshal, and from that time on he remained one of the most successful and feared military commanders of his time."
From The War Times Journal
(1806; French and English transcriptions)
Volume I includes the French Revolution.
Part of the Carlyle Letters Online assembled by Duke University Press.
(1812-1857; database of searchable English transcriptions)
To mark the bicentenary of Waterloo, this Digital Library collection presents a sample of such material, encompassing military drill-books, manuscript letters, hand-coloured engravings, battlefield plans, printed mementos and tourist reminiscences.
From the Cambridge Digital Library
(1815; facsimiles)
Regarding the death of Napoleon and the island of St. Helena.
Part of the Avalon Project.
(30 July 1821; English transcription)
With links to 17 digitized books on the war, including memoirs by a diplomat, an army nurse, a French minister, a field marshal, and letters from figures such as Bismarck.
(1870-1871; English)
Extracts from the diary of Elizabeth Ashe, who served for the Red Cross. The terse, vidi sentences of the letters picture...the scenes of suffering and the opportunities for service as they present themselves to the writer.
(1917-1919; English facsimile)
"In the following letters, written in such modesty and simplicity, are given the four stories with the daily trails, fears, hopes, and achievements of the writers.. The value of these records from an historical point of view is great."
(1917-1919; English facsimile)
With contemporary film, photos, letters, and broadcasts.
(1917-1939; English interface)
Prison letters of a trade unionist prior to his execution.
An example of French resistance during the early Vichy regime.
(1940-1941; French transcriptions)




EuroDocs > History of France: Primary Documents > France: Sources by Topic > France: Letters



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Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA.
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