Paris

GENERAL BACKGROUND

History of Paris

Paris is named for the Parisii, a Celtic tribe (collectively known in France as Gauls) that lived in the area prior to the Romans arrival. They built a settlement on the Île-de-la-Cité. Rather than surrender it to the invaders, the Parisii burned it to the ground. A Roman city called Lutetia, a translation of the forgotten Gallic term, was built on its ashes in the 1st Century. 

Lutetia soon spread to the Left Bank as well, but was destroyed by barbarian attacks at the twilight of the western Roman Empire. The small settlement that was left limped on and the now-Christian Gauls renamed it Paris in the 4th century. It later became the capital of the Frankish Kingdom. After losing this status for a few centuries, Paris again became the Frankish capital in the 10th century under the Capetian dynasty.

Paris soon became a thriving medieval city, with several guilds and busy ports. Main streets were paved and the city walls were extended. The University of Paris was established on the Left Bank in 1200, sparking the Left Bank’s reputation as the academic center of France.

Paris again lost its status as the capital city during the Hundred Years’ War between England and France, when Paris was occupied by Burgundian forces allied to the English in 1419. John Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford, was installed as regent. A decade later Joan of Arc attempted to free Paris but failed. King Charles VIII finally returned to Paris less than two decades after it was taken and reclaimed the city as the capital of France.

With the monarchy returned to the city several improvements were made. New palaces, churches, and bridges were built, many in the Gothic style but several also in the newer Italian renaissance style (although keeping to a French aesthetic). New mansions were constructed for nobles desiring to be near the king, and for the growing bourgeois as well.

In many ways Paris is a hidden city, lying low on the banks of the Seine. It is said that Paris is surrounded by a “sea of cereals,” vast tracts of farmland worked by peasants who have little desire to venture into the city that lies at the heart of them. Once travellers are within a few miles of the city they’ll understand why. Already they can hear the noise of hundreds of thousands of people echoing across the grains, and carried with it is the smell of raw sewage, la boue de Paris.

The roads into the city can be quite treacherous. Highwaymen frequent the main roads, often disguised as fellow travellers to lull unsuspecting victims into a false sense of security. Some of these highwaymen are bands of ex-soldiers. Dirty and starving, these men have learned that robbing a lone carriage is more profitable than risking blade or bullet for the paltry wages that the military pays (as pillaging is an accepted practice, such soldiers have gained work experience for their criminal activities). 

Once one crests the high ground, Paris is revealed in all of its Gothic glory. While still roughly adhering to its medieval boundaries, the city has replaced many of its timber-framed buildings with new ones made of brick and stone, built primarily in the Gothic style of clustered columns, flying buttresses, pointed arches, ribbed vaults. Walls surround the main city, with several suburbs lying just beyond them. 

The first thing that they are likely to notice is the Seine which winds through Paris on its northwestward track toward the la Manche (the English Channel). The Seine is the lifeblood of Paris, enabling the capital to be a port city while sitting comfortably within French borders (goods are shipped back and forth with Rouen by riverboat, where oceangoing vessels dock). Unfortunately, it is also where most of the city’s garbage and sewage is dumped, giving the river an unpleasant stench, making it almost undrinkable without filtering through sand. The river lanes are also congested; many a boat crew has been robbed by thieves as they crawled along the Seine in a flotilla of slow-moving riverboats. 

The city itself is largely thought of in three sections. The Île-de-la-Cité is the center of Paris and the most ancient part of the city. It is a large island in the Seine connected to either side by a series of bridges. It is also connected to one of the newest parts of Paris, the Ile Saint-Louis, which is currently being shored up and developed. 

To the north of the Île-de-la-Cité is the Right Bank (Parisians have given up trying to come up with a more accurate name for the banks on either side of the twisting Seine), which is being enlarged on its west end by a new wall still under construction. This is the largest part of Paris, anchored on one side by the Tuileries Palace and by the Bastille on the other.

South of the Île de Cité is the smaller Left Bank. Its medieval wall now cuts through it, as the lower part of the city has absorbed suburbs such as St. Germaine Fair.

Paris, like all cities, has undergone a great deal of growth through the centuries. Many parts of modern Paris were only farmland, small villages, and countryside in the Seventeenth Century. 

Paris of the 17th Century was just beginning to expand on the Left Bank and it was during this time that the smaller islands at the centre of the city were being developed. The city did have paved roads as Louis. XIII paved the old fashioned dirt roads with stone. There were no street signs and even house numbers were rare. In fact, where house numbers could be found, they did not follow any logical order. In some areas the streets could be identified by signs carved into the stone on corner buildings, but even these guidelines were not always found by the pedestrian within the city.

The language spoken in the streets and regional differences made for an almost multi-lingual metropolis by today's standards. It was only during the 17th Century that the first French language dictionaries were being prepared and French was spoken differently in the various parts of the country. As Paris was, and has always been, the true centre of French culture and society, accents from all parts of France could be found in the city. Modern communications have greatly reduced regional differences in spoken languages, but this was certainly not the case in the 17th Century. In addition, the lower classes often spoke an entirely different (often not understandable) dialect. Fully a tenth of the population of the city was destitute in a way that is difficult for modern readers to understand. They lived in rags in the streets with no hope for employment. This element was forced to criminal activities for survival and the thieves and vagabonds of the period spoke their own dialect, somewhat like the Cockney slang of a later period. This dialect, Argot, evolved rapidly and incorporated many foreign and slang terms. It became a secret language for the criminal classes and only characters choosing to learn it by use of a language Skill could hope to understand the jargon.

Like any city, Paris had rich and poor districts and sections that were devoted to particular trades. The following sections will give a sort of 'walking tour' of many of the more important and interesting sections and locales within the city as it was in the 17th Century.

Paris 1615

ILE DU PALAIS

Connected to both banks by bridges, Ile du Palais was the location of four important groups of buildings. Two of these were palaces which attracted their share of small palaces and wealthy townhouses to the neighbourhood. It was quite common for the nobility and rich merchants to build near royal palaces as such locations were seen as 'fashionable' for obvious reasons.

The bridges to any of the islands of Paris frequently had tolls. Such tolls were used for a variety of purposes, ranging from financing royal hospitals, raising money for specific projects as a form of taxation, or even for the building, repair or upkeep of the bridge itself. The tolls were subject to change and, at times, were only applied to the traffic going to an island and not leaving the island so as not to unfairly burden island residents as they left the island for the central market and other areas throughout the city.

Ile du Palais

Notre-Dame

The major cathedral of the city, Notre-Dame exercised tremendous influence through the power of the Church in a Catholic society. In the 17th Century Church power was centred here. The city was crowded with monasteries of various orders and the university was also run by the Church. In a time when royal power was paramount over the power of the other temporal lords, the Church still remained largely beyond the power and authority of the crown.

Notre-Dame. Hotel  Dieu can be seen to the left of it.

Hotel-Dieu

A large, government sponsored hospital, Hotel-Dieu rapidly grew in size throughout the century. It filled several blocks along the river and even added small buildings as annexes across the river by the end of the century. There were facilities here to treat several thousand patients, all at government expense.

Le Palais

Also known as the Palace of Justice, Le Palais was the central courts and official offices for the legal authority of the city. It housed the Ministry of Justice and was the centre for the, as yet unestablished, police forces. Military units and militia fulfilled police functions at this time and received their instructions from the Ministry of Justice.

Palais Dauphine

As with all the palaces of Paris, Palais Dauphine served more than one function. Though intended as the residence of the Crown Prince or Dauphine, it also served as the headquarters and offices for various parts of the royal bureaucracy.

Le Palais, Palais Dauphine and Pont Neuf

Pont Neuf

Of all the bridges connecting Ile du Palais to the rest of the city, Le Pont Neuf is by far the most interesting. It was lined with shops, primarily those of booksellers. This would be the source of unusual books on virtually any subject or maps to the best knowledge of the time. As Paris was somewhat short of pleasant areas to stroll in the 17th Century, the entire neighbourhood became quite popular as a place for short excursions. The crowds attracted pickpockets and other criminal elements which prompted the stationing of a company of troops permanently at the bridge (making up the first unofficial police station in Paris).

On the right bank at the foot of Le Pont Neuf was a district of cheap taverns much frequented by army recruiters. Potential enlistees were encouraged to join the army with great show of rich provisions and fine uniforms, much like similar areas anywhere in Europe right through the end of the nineteenth century. It was also in this neighbourhood that one would find the H8tel des Mousquetaires where D'Artagnan had his lodgings. This was a popular residence for those members of the King's (or the Black) Musketeers.
It is worthy of note that members of this regiment usually had the financial ability to maintain residences outside of their official barracks. Officers of most regiments followed similar customs.

ILE ST.-LOUIS

This island, connected to Ile du Palais, was originally owned and administered by the Church at Notre-Dame. It was a barren mudflat until the 17th Century, at which time the Church agreed to sell its rights to a group of developers. Early in the century the island was developed, over a period of only a few years, into a rich and fashionable neighbourhood that attracted many of the wealthiest families of Paris. The developers received rentals on all property on the island for a period of years, more than adequately repaying their investment.

Pont Marie

This bridge connected Ile St.-Louis with the Right Bank. It had five arches and was lined with houses that had shops on the ground floor. As the island was a fashionable and expensive area of residence, these tended to be shops of a similar nature.

Ile St Louis and Pont Marie

QUAI ST. BERNARD

This is the area on the Left Bank around Pont de la Tournelle which connects Ile St.-Louis with the Left Bank (right side of the map). In the area are several interesting and important locales.

Jardin des Plantes

This area of open fields was converted in 1635 as a government sponsored park for the growing of useful and medicinal herbs. The intention was to aid in the education of physicians and apothecaries (or chemists) in the useful nature of such plants, which would normally be hard to find within the environs of a city.

The Saltpetriere

The name 'saltpetriere' means literally 'saltpeter' or gunpowder. This was the location of a major military gunpowder factory and arsenal throughout parts of the century. The Armory had been the site of several serious explosions at the beginning of the 17th Century and it was seen as great wisdom to move the production of gunpowder away from the crowded Right Bank to the farmlands of the less well-developed Left Bank. 

Quai St.-Bernard

The area along the shore was actually a wealthy area, which was probably an extension of the development of Ile St.-Louis just across Pont de la Tournelle. This was also the most popular area for swimming in the Seine, which was still quite legal in the 17th Century.

Jardin de Plantes, Quai St Bernard and Salpetriere

HOTEL DES INVALIDES

This was a large set of structures, virtually a palace, built to house retired and wounded veterans of the Royal Army. There were facilities here for some four thousand such retirees.

THE LATIN QUARTER

This sizable area included the University and a large number of monasteries and other educational facilities. It truly was a separate city within a city as the Church and the University had great authority in civil matters throughout the district. The Church retained life and death authority in law and the area was administered by the Church and the University, which was controlled in great part by the Church. Latin was, indeed, the official language of the quarter as foreigners were extremely common studying at the various colleges that made UP the University and helped make it the foremost center of learning of Europe of the time.

The University

The University was composed of, as it is today, a wide variety of colleges specializing in almost every imaginable area of study. The Sorbonne and other well known colleges made up parts of the University, which was established in the Middle Ages under Church auspices.

Latin truly was the lingua franca of the area since students, and instructors, came from all over Europe to the University. Experts could be found here in virtually every field of knowledge. The University of Paris recognized only the authority of the Pope as its superior and granted little authority to the crown.

Quartier Latin and University

PALAIS DU LUXEMBOURG

This palace was built by the widow of Henry IV and was never the residence of either Louis X l l l or Louis XIV. It, with its grounds, simply made up one more of the many royal palaces within the city.

Palais de Luxembourg

LE MARAIS

This sizable district on the Right Bank was a marsh in medieval times. Despite its name (meaning 'marsh'), the area had long since been drained and included some of the more fashionable districts of Paris. 

La Bastille

The prison at La Bastille was centred in a working class neighbourhood of the city. It was a tower and fortress within the city wall and served as a Royal Prison. Such prisons were for holding royal prisoners, not the run-of-the-mill thieves and cut-throats. Prisoners were generally well-housed and well-treated, in much the same manner as prisoners at the Tower of London. Despite its fame from the later French Revolution, the Bastille was a symbol of royal power, but not a horrible dungeon for the incarceration of criminals. Its rooms were often more like quality apartments and its inmates could afford fine food and drink.

To be sent to the Bastille required a lettre de cachet which was issued by the King and had to be countersigned by one of the Royal Ministers. Such warrants were not issued for common thieves and were frequently reserved for political prisoners or for prisoners of great power, such a major titled lords.

La Bastille

The Arsenal

This was the original gunpowder factory for the Royal Army, though several major explosions caused the production of gunpowder here to be suspended by early in the 17th Century. It remained a military armoury throughout the period.

L'Arsenal

Place Royale

Originally intended as a working class housing project from its inception under Henry IV. As Paris did not have many public areas of beauty for strolling, the intention was to create an attractive square with thirty-six buildings of four stories. But, Henry IV did not survive to see his project completed and Louis X l l l did not agree with the concept of 'housing projects.'

Place Royale was completed as a luxury housing 'development' and it attracted many of the wealthy and powerful families of France, perhaps due to the attractive layout first designed under Henry IV. It was here that Cardinal Richelieu made his private residence among other notable personages.

Place Royale

LES HALLES

The central produce market for all of Paris, Les Halles was supported by the royal government and maintained with government funds. Always too small and crowded for its intended purpose, the traffic along the narrow streets to and within Les Halles was always monumental.

Les Halles

THE HOTEL DE VILLE

The 'Town Hall' of Paris had great importance from the central position held by Paris in terms of government and society in France. It was here that the Chief Magistrate of the city, the Prevot de Paris, had implemented the penalties of execution he had ordered. Public executions took place in a small square at the front of the Hotel de Ville, and, later, the guillotine of the French Revolution was located here. 

Public executions were regarded as a form of entertainment in the 17th Century throughout Europe and were often accompanied by street vendors of refreshments and the like.

Hotel de Ville

QUAI DE GESVRES

This section of the river bank facing Ile du Palais was the central slaughterhouse and butcher shop of the city. Along the river the mud reeked with the odor of a slaughterhouse and this was a prime area for the purchase of meat.

The Grand Chatelet

This was a prison with a reputation for torture. As with many of the prisons of Paris, it was built upon an old fortress. It was also at the Grand Chatelet that the Prevot of Paris (Chief Magistrate) heard cases and decreed punishments for criminals. In this way it functioned as a central municipal court.

The Grand Chatelet should not be confused with the area along the Quai de Gesvres known as Chatelet, which was the location of the butcher shops. The actual quai or bank area was the area of the Grand Chatelet and it overlooked the slaughterhouses along the river.

Quai de Gesvres and Grand Chatelet

THE ROYAL PALACES

The royal residence varied with the monarch and the period within his reign. 

The Louvre

This was the primary royal palace of the period and it was the residence of Henry IV and Louis XIII.

Louvre

Palais des Tuileries

Frequently the residence of the widowed queen while her son wore the crown and took up residence in the Louvre. It was also the tradition for each king to add sections to the Louvre.

There was also a theatre within the Tuileries at which the Royal Company (Comedie Francaise) presented private entertainments for the royal court.

Tuilleries

Palais-Royal

The various nobles and wealthier merchants all wished to live in proximity to a palace as it guaranteed a well-heeled class of people in residence.

Palais Royale

The Temple

Originally the chapter house of the Knights Templar in Paris, the building is now used as a prison. The name is far more important as applied to the district in which it is located. In this area can be found the banks of the major Italian banking families. As the French national bank was not founded until the beginning of the Eighteenth Century, The Temple is the major banking centre.

Temple