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Vikings TV Series Characters: History & Legend
The History Channel's Vikings (2013-present) is historical fiction drawing on characters and events from the Viking Age (c. 790 - c. 1100 CE) and focusing primarily on the legendary Viking leader Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons. Created and...

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Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) was a French post-impressionist artist. Although he struggled for recognition in his own lifetime and often lacked confidence in his work, the artist's unique style, use of light and colour, and his interest in geometric...

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Berthe Morisot
Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) was a French impressionist painter. She was admired by fellow artists, had multiple works exhibited by the Paris Salon, and had her paintings shown in seven of the eight independent impressionist exhibitions in...

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Charles the Simple
Charles the Simple (Charles III of France, l. 879-929 CE, r. 893-923 CE) was king of West Francia (roughly modern-day France) toward the end of the period of Viking raids in the region. His epithet `the simple' refers to his habit of being...

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Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) was a French impressionist painter. Capable of painting in many different styles, even in the same painting, Renoir was certainly prolific, creating over 6,000 paintings in a long career. He had a preference...

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Map of the Frankish Kingdoms AD 511
The founder of the Merovingian Frankish kingdom was Clovis. He followed an aggressive policy of conquest to build up the kingdom over much of modern France, but his death in 511 saw his realm chopped up into several smaller kingdoms. It...

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French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion (1562-1598) were a series of eight conflicts between Protestant and Catholic factions in France lasting 36 years and concluding with the Protestant King Henry IV (r. 1589-1610) converting to Catholicism in the...

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Revolt of the Parlements
The Revolt of the Parlements of 1787-1788, was the climax of a power struggle between the royal authority of King Louis XVI of France (r. 1774-1792) and the Parlement of Paris, the most powerful of France's thirteen parlements, or high judicial...

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Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) was a Dutch post-impressionist artist whose paintings are amongst the most popular and recognizable in history. His dramatic brushwork, exuberant palette, and mastery at capturing moments in time and light revolutionised...

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Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (l. 1757-1834), more commonly known in the United States as simply Lafayette, was a French aristocrat, military officer, and politician. He was a major figure in both the...