France: Wars, Raids and Crusades

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EuroDocs > History of France: Primary Documents > France: Sources by Topic > France: Wars, Raids and Crusades



Roman and Carthaginian Campaigns

In Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, we learn that the colony of Massalia was founded by Ionian Greeks from Phocaea.
In this account of the founding, the Phocaeans defeated the Carthaginians in a naval battle.
See a Greek transcription of such naval conflicts
(ca 431 BC; English translation)
Livy and Polybius’ accounts of Hannibal’s campaign during the Second Punic War
Livius.org
(2nd century BC; English transcription)
Julius Caesar's account of the Siege of Massilia, during which time the Massiliots violated their falsified treaty of surrender and burned the Romans' siege works.
From Perseus Digital Library
(49 BC; English translation)
Gaius Julius Caesar reports a critical battle in his conquest of Gaul
Selection from Caesar’s Gallic War compiled by Livius
(1st century BC; English translation)

Northmen and Viking Raids

”A few passages taken from the Annals of St. Bertin, the poem of Abbo on the siege of Paris, and the Chronicle of St. Denis, which show something of the character of the Northmen's part in early French history, first as mere invaders and afterwards as permanent settlers.”
Medieval Sourcebook in cooperation with Fordham University
(843-912 ; English transcription)
Frankish annals relating the relationships between the Carolingians and the Holy Roman Church a well as the raids of Scandinavian warrior bands. One of the earliest manuscripts to speak on the Rus’.
HaithiTrust
(882; facsimile; Latin)
Wars of the City of Paris - Abbo Cernuus was an eyewitness of the siege by the Vikings.
See also, Three Sources on the Ravages of the Northmen in Frankland, in English.
(890-896; Latin PDF)

Crusades

Leo IV's proclamation to the Frankish army
Medieval Sourcebook in cooperation with Fordham University
(847; English translation)
Online database of primary documents from the Crusades
From the Medieval Sourcebook in cooperation with Fordham University
(1093-1270 ; English transcriptions)
  • 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)
Beginning with the First Crusade and continuing on through the Sixth.
(1098-1249; English translation)
19th century Digitized book collection of Crusade Historians
Münchener DigitalisierungsZentrum
(French and Latin facsimiles with German interface)
By Geoffrey of Villehardouin, who participated in the Crusades
From Myriobiblos
(12th century; English translation)
  • ROBERT of Clari on the Sack of Constantinople
Latin Clergy Urge Conquest of Constantinople
The Sacred Relics of Constantinople
From Myriobiblos
(12th century; English translation)
Ekkehard... a well-known German historian had completed a history of the world in the year 1101 when he determined to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. On his return he entirely rewrote the particulars of his history relating to the First Crusade.
From the Internet History Sourcebook
(12th century, English translation)
Account by Odo of Deuil. Following the call of Pope Eugnius IV for a crusade, at Christmas time 1145, the French king, Louis VII, revealed to his courtiers his designs to go to the aid of the Latins in the East.
The Fiasco at Damascus
From the Internet History Sourcebook
(1145; English translation)
Four primary accounts. "On July 4, 1187, the Crusader army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem suffered a crushing defeat in the hills a few miles to the west of the Sea of Galilee."
From Society for Medieval Military History
(1187; English translations)
"Richard's punishments for criminal crusaders, is interesting as showing the discipline that was to be preserved on the ships going to Jerusalem. "
Part of the Avalon Project
(1189; English)
By Innocent III
In cooperation with Fordham
(1215; English translation)
by Edward Fairfax. An excerpt taken from the book about the famed crusader.
Made available by Liber Gentium
(17th century; English transcription)

Other Medieval Conflicts

Charles the Great... returned from a military expedition into Spain... While his army was marching through the passes of the Pyrenees, his rear - guard was attacked and annihilated by the Basque inhabitants of the mountains, in the valley of Roncesvaux.
Made available by Internet Medieval Sourcebook
(circa 1040; English translation)

Faits d'armes (Deeds of Arms)

Accounts of French, Scot and English tournaments and battles
(14-15th century)
A source for the Franco-Flemish War and the County of Flanders, as well as the Crusades.
(1308; French and Latin facsimile)

Hundred Years’ War

Continuation of Guillaume de Nangis. Includes reliable first hand accounts, with a terrible famine, the backdrop of the Hundred Years' War, the Battle of Crecy, the Peasant's War and the siege of Calais.
(1358-1359; French; facsimile).
Excerpted accounts of the Hundred Years' War.
Provided by the Internet Medieval Sourcebook.
(1369-1410; English translations)
From the Rise of Capetian France through the Hundred Years' War.
(Transcriptions and translations)
Othon de Grandson, knight and poet, distinguished himself both through his verses and through his heroic deeds during the Hundred Years War...In addition, Othon de Grandson's poetry introduced Valentine's Day to a broader public; it had previously been celebrated primarily in Anglo-Saxon regions.
From e-codices
(early 15th century; French facsimile)
(1412-1431; mostly English translations)
The trial of Joan of Arc
(1431; French facsimile)
A contemporary chronicle of Joan of Arc's life by Christine de Pisan.
(ca. 1429; facsimile and original French transcription with English translation)
(1429; English)

Wars of the Roses

(mid to late 15th century; French and English facsimiles)
This memoir, by one of the advisors of the French king Louis XI, offers an interesting perspective on the Wars of the Roses and on Edward IV’s 1475 French campaign.
(late 15th century; English translation)

Wars of Religion

Documents from the Wars of Religion to the Edict of Tolerance.
Reproduced on the Ministry of Culture's Archim imagebank.
(ca. 1540-1788; photo facsimiles)
Texts from the time of the Wars of Religion.
Growing collection of over 2,100 political pamphlets from the holdings of BYU Special Collections.
(1547-1626; facsimiles)

Third Civil War

Memoirs on the third civil war and of the latest troubles in France under the reign of Charles IX.
Part of the 16th century Swiss prints collection of the e-rara.ch database.
(1570; French-language facsimile)

Thirty Years’ War

Written by Friedrich Schiller.
Available in multiple formats from Project Gutenberg.
(1618-1648; English translation)
Peace Treaty ending the Thirty Years War.
From the Avalon Project.
(24 October 1648, English translation)

Spanish War of Succession

From the journals of British Admiral Sir George Rooke, recounting battles against the French and Spanish horses.
Digitized by David Stewart of Hillsdale College.
(17-23 October 1702; transcriptions)

French Revolution

Large compilation of primary documents. Topics include Ancien Régime, the push for reform, Estates General, Paris insurrection, remaking the nation, creating a state religion, fate of the king, Revolutionary war, growing radicalism, Reign of Terror, Thermidor and beyond.
(1748-1801; English translations)
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)
A collection of over 520 pamphlets from the French Revolution.
From the Ball State University Digital Media Repository.
(1779-1815; French facsimiles)
Read about the project here.
Browse by topic.
(June 1788 - December 1804; French facsimiles)
300 digitized pamphlets.
(1788-1789; French facsimiles)
Use left-hand sidebar to browse by topic, author, year, or to perform an advanced search.
(1789-1848; French facsimiles)
Pamphlet by Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès arguing for the empowerment of common people. English excerpts available here.
(January 1789; French)
Drawing of Bastille when it was seized with a diagram of the floorplan.
(July 14, 1789; English)
”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)
A digital version of key research resources of the French Revolution.
Major portions include parliamentary archives and images of the revolution.
A collaboration between Stanford University Libraries and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
(1789-1794; searchable and browseable database of documents [facsimiles and transcriptions] and pictorial images)
Newspaper of Jean-Paul Marat, example of revolutionary populism, nearly 700 issues.
Search by keywords or browse by month.
(Sept. 1789 - Sept. 1792; French-language transcriptions from the ARTFL Project)
Collection of literary and satirical pamphlets held at Emory University.
(1789-1799; transcriptions)
Documents of the Revolution from the Ministry of Culture's Archim imagebank.
(1789-1802; photo facsimiles)
Contains over 600 documents about events leading up to, during, and after the revolution.
Browse English translations of the documents.
A joint project of George Mason University and City University of New York.
(1789-1796; image facsimiles, maps, timeline, English translations)
Scroll to "The French Revolution" section.
(1789-1804; translations)
Documents from the French Revolution.
(1789-1801; French transcriptions, English translations, facsimiles, and audio)
A project of the Center for History & New Media, George Mason University and the Department of History, University of California, Los Angeles for the American Historical Review.
Contains 42 images from the French Revolution, along with commentary essays and scholarly debates.
(1789-1793; facsimile images, essays)
"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)
Response of the Parisians to M. de Bouillé, counter-revolutionary figure and aid to the Royal family who fled after their arrest.
From the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
(1791; French reproduction)
Declaration of the Prussian King and the Holy Roman Emperor in support of French aristocracy at the outbreak of the French revolution.
(August 27, 1791; German with English translation)
Proclamation by the Duke of Brunswick threatening harm to French citizens if French royal family is harmed. Helped spur the Revolution.
From Hanover Historical Texts Collection.
(1792; English translation)
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)
These stories, written in 1825 from memory, include the French Revolution, 1809 and 1812-1814 campaigns.
From The War Times Journal
(1792-1814; English)
”Edgeworth recorded the event and we join his narrative as he and the fated King enter the carriage to begin their journey.”
EyeWitness to History
(1793; English transcription)
Provided by the Internet Modern History Sourcebook.
(1793; transcription)
Speech by Maximilien Robespierre justifying extreme measures in the French Revolution. Also available in French.
(February 5, 1794; English translation)
From the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
(1799; facsimile book)
A collection of primary documents from the Internet Modern History Sourcebook.
(Late 18th to early 19th centuries; transcriptions and translations)
Volume I includes the French Revolution.
Part of the Carlyle Letters Online assembled by Duke University Press.
(1812-1857; database of searchable English transcriptions)
Includes proclamation reacting to the overthrow of the Orleanist monarchy, decrees from provisional government to workingmen, Proclamation of Second Republic, and Napolean III's campaign manifesto.
From Hanover Historical Texts Collection.
(1848; English translations)
On the life of the lieutenant general of the French army, active 1799-1848. He was involved in many battles during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, including the Battle of Essling and the Siege of Antwerp.
(1891; English translation)

Napoleonic Wars

See also, France: Napoleon

These stories, written in 1825 from memory, include the French Revolution, 1809 and 1812-1814 campaigns.
From The War Times Journal
(1792-1814; English)
The Curzon Project offers digital images of political cartoons from the period of the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars. A selection of 1400 prints has been made, of both British and Continental European publications, focusing on changing representations of Napoleon and on British fears of invasion during the period 1793-1805.
(1793-1805; English interface; multilingual facsimiles)
"General Savary saw action during much of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, having been aide-de-camp to the famous General Desaix, and then to Napoleon, eventually serving the later as Chief of Intelligence." Accounts include the Egyptian, 1805, 1809, and 1813 campaigns.
From the War Times Journal
(1798-1813; English translation)
Treaty between France and Austria during the Napoleonic Wars.
(February 9, 1801; English)
Treaty between France and England during Napoleonic Wars.
(1802; English)
Digitized manuscripts printed in English during the time of Napoleon
From the National Library of Scotland
(1803-1815; English facsimiles)
"...The French 74 gun ship of the line Redoutable engaged the British 100 gun warships Victory and Temeraire, nearly capturing Nelson's own flagship (HMS Victory) before being beaten by the combined firepower of the British ships."
From The War Times Journal
(1805; English translation)
"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)
These accounts "cover only the period of the peninsular campaign and insurrection, during which Suchet held almost all of Eastern Spain – the only French Marshal of the wars to enhance his status as a result of service in Spain."
From the War Times Journal
(1809-1811; English translation)
Treaty between Napoleonic France and Austria. Austria surrendered territory. Also known as the Treaty of Vienna.
(October 14, 1809; English translation)
By Baron Lejeune. This battle took place when France invaded Russia.
From The War Times Journal
(1812; English translation)
  • EyeWitness to History - Napoleon
Firsthand accounts of historic events
The Battle of Waterloo
Napoleon Exiled to St. Helena
In cooperation with EyeWitness to History
(1815; English transcription)
A collection of primary documents from the Internet Modern History Sourcebook.
(Late 18th to early 19th centuries; transcriptions and translations)



Crimean War

Treaty ending the Crimean War.
Agreement between Austria, France, Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, Sardinia, and Turkey about peace, borders, war prisoners, and trade between countries.
Includes agreements about Black Sea and Danube use as well as territorial changes.
Modern Russian translation also available here.
(30 March 1856; Old Russian transcription; modern Russian translation)

Franco-Prussian War

Account of Bismarck's attempt to provoke France into war.
(1870; English translation)
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)
Ended the Franco-Prussian War
(1871; French transcription)

World War I

"The Rainbow Book:" German White Book, Austro-Hungarian Red Book, English Blue Book, French Yellow Book, Russian Orange Book, Serbian Blue Book and Belgian Grey Book: The Negotiations Leading to War.
Ed. Max Beer (Bern: Wyss, 1915)
A chronological combination of significant documents from the diplomatic archives of the various belligerent countries.
(29 June - 4 September 1914; facsimile of 2nd edition)
Documenting events from before Sarajevo until after Versailles.
(pre-1914 to post-1918; translations and transcriptions)
Diplomatic documents related to the outbreak of World War I.
(1913-1914; English translations)
Database of firsthand accounts
EyeWitness to History
(1914-1921; English transcription, photographs)
A collection of primary documents from the Internet Modern History Sourcebook.
(1914-1918; transcriptions and translations)
(1914-1918; images, French facsimiles)
Diplomatic documents concerning the negotiations preceeding the outbreak of the First World War.
(4 September 1914; French-language facsimile)
An archival research resource containing a vast collection of rare magazines by and for servicemen and women of all nations during the First World War.
(1914-1919; facsimiles; English interface)
Once the United States had entered the war, La Motte’s unsparing view of the devastation of war was suppressed by the pervasive national propaganda effort of the home front, and the publishers withdrew the book.
(1915; English transcription)
"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)
The Treaty of Versailles was the peace settlement signed after World War One had ended in 1918. The treaty was signed at the vast Versailles Palace near Paris - hence its title - between Germany and the Allies.
(1918; video; English)

Franco-Turkish War

Ended the Franco-Turkish War
(1921; French facsimile)

World War II

A collection of documents related to WWII.
From the Avalon Project.
(1938-1947; transcriptions and translations)
Footage selected by British Pathé related to France during World War II.
Compiled by British Pathé
(English interface; videos)
  • Voices of the 20th Century
Audio clips of WWII
Britain's declaration of war on Germany
D-Day
Iwo Jima
Surrender of Germany
In cooperation with EyeWitness to History
(1939-1945; audio)
A collection of primary documents from the Internet Modern History Sourcebook.
(1939-1945; transcriptions and translations)
Database of firsthand accounts
EyeWitness to History
(1939-1946; English transcription, photographs)
Official (mainly U.S.) government histories, source documents, and other primary references.
(1939-1945; English transcriptions and translations)
Photos of internment camps in France during World War II.
A part of the Archim national cultural and historical database.
(1939-1944; translations)
Radio address a few months before the German attack on France.
(29 January 1940; English translation)
Part of the Avalon Project.
(25 June 1940; English translation)
Prison letters of a trade unionist prior to his execution.
An example of French resistance during the early Vichy regime.
(1940-1941; French transcriptions)
Online access to the reports of the prefects of the Vichy government, one of the main sources for the history of Occupied France.
(1940-1944; French and German-language transcriptions)
Swiss newspaper report displaying the anti-semitic sentiments of Europe
From the archives of JTA
(5 November 1942; English transcription)
Encyclopaedia Britannica's guide to the Normandy invasion of 1944.
(1943-1944; transcriptions, audio, video, images, commentaries)
Documents of the Eisenhower Library.
(1943-1944; facsimiles and photos)
On June 6, 1944, allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France to fight Nazi Germany
From the Smithsonian
(1944; English; video)
Photographic collection of documents relating to D-Day.
(1944; images and French-language descriptions)
Daily battle communiques from Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Europe (SHAEF).
Searchable database with full-text facsimiles.
(6 June 1944 to 8 May 1945; text-searchable facsimiles)
Speech by Charles de Gaulle in celebration of the allied seizure of Paris. Also in original French
(August 25, 1944; English translation)

Modern Wars

Scroll down to France.
A collection of primary documents from the Internet Modern History Sourcebook.
(1945 to the present; transcriptions and translations)
The First Indochina War began as a rebellion by Vit Minh forces against the French colonial government.
From the Wilson Digital Archive
(1947-1954; English)
Documents regarding French nuclear development, as well as assistance provided by the United States.
Part of the Wilson Center's Digital Archive of the Cold War.
(1957-1975; English transcriptions and facsimiles)
Collected primary documents from the end of the Cold War.
(1980's; English)

EuroDocs > History of France: Primary Documents > France: Sources by Topic > France: Wars, Raids and Crusades



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