French Roman Catholics
The Catholic Church in France is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope in Rome. Established in the 2nd century in unbroken communion with the bishop of Rome, it is sometimes called the "eldest daughter of the church" (French: fille aînée de l'Église).
8 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
Germaine de Staël
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas, works and life of Germaine de Stael (1766-1817), a literary critic, author, opponent of Napoleon and developer of Romanticism.
16 November 2017
Featuring: Catriona Seth, Alison Finch, Katherine Astbury
Culture18th-century philosophersWriters from ParisFrench Roman CatholicsFrench women philosophersConversationalistsFrench feministsFrench women novelists19th-century French philosophersFrench literary critics18th-century French women writersWomen in the French RevolutionFrench salon-holders19th-century French letter writersPeople of the First French EmpireFrench travel writers19th-century French novelists, 19th-century French women writersRomantic philosophers, Converts to Roman Catholicism from CalvinismLouis Pasteur
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and work of Louis Pasteur, microbiologist, developer of vaccines, saviour of the French beer and wine industries and preserver of milk.
18 May 2017
Featuring: Andrew Mendelsohn, Anne Hardy, Michael Worboys
ScienceMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyRecipients of the Copley MedalForeign associates of the National Academy of SciencesHonorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesFrench Roman CatholicsMembers of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesMembers of the French Academy of SciencesMembers of the Académie FrançaiseÉcole Normale Supérieure alumniMembers of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and ArtsForeign members of the Royal SocietyGrand Cross of the Legion of Honour19th-century French chemistsFrench scientists with disabilitiesLouis XIV: The Sun King
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and reign of the French king who built Versailles and took on the personal rule of his kingdom, becoming known as an absolute monarch.
25 May 2023
Featuring: Catriona Seth, Guy Rowlands, Penny Roberts
Marguerite de Navarre
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Marguerite, Queen of Navarre (1492 – 1549), author of the Heptaméron, a major literary landmark in the French Renaissance.
23 November 2023
Featuring: Sara Barker, Emily Butterworth, Emma Herdman
Marie Antoinette
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Austrian princess who, while still a child, married the future Louis XVI of France only to face hostility and death under the French Revolution.
8 November 2018
Featuring: Catriona Seth, Katherine Astbury, David McCallam
HistoryFrench Roman CatholicsWomen in the French RevolutionNobility from ViennaDaughters of kingsQueens consort of FranceRoyal reburialsNavarrese royal consortsBurials at the Basilica of Saint-DenisPeople of the War of the First CoalitionFrench people executed by guillotine during the French Revolution, Executed French womenDaughters of emperors, Austrian Roman Catholics, Austrian princessesDauphines of France, Dauphines of ViennoisMontesquieu
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas of the French political philosopher (1689-1755) whose work on liberty and republicanism, banned at home, influenced the US constitution.
14 June 2018
Featuring: Richard Bourke, Rachel Hammersley, Richard Whatmore
HistoryFellows of the Royal SocietyEnlightenment philosophersPhilosophers of lawFrench Roman CatholicsFrench political philosophersMembers of the Académie FrançaiseFrench philosophers of historyMembers of the Prussian Academy of Sciences18th-century French male writers18th-century French philosophersContributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772)French political writersNapoleon and Wellington
Melvyn Bragg discusses the comparative histories of Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington, two titans of nineteenth century history.
25 October 2001
Featuring: Andrew Roberts, Mike Broers, Belinda Beaton
HistoryFrench Roman CatholicsPeople excommunicated by the Catholic ChurchFrench deistsRoyal reburialsLeaders who took power by coupPeople of the War of the First CoalitionPeople of the First French EmpireMonarchs who abdicatedMonarchs taken prisoner in wartimeKnights of the Golden Fleece of Spain, Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of HungaryTocqueville: Democracy in America
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Alexis de Tocqueville and his study of the American democratic system, written as an example to France of how democracy might develop there.
22 March 2018
Featuring: Robert Gildea, Susan-Mary Grant, Jeremy Jennings
HistoryPhilosophers of lawWriters from ParisUniversity of Paris alumniFrench Roman CatholicsNatural law ethicistsFrench political philosophersMembers of the Académie FrançaiseFrench philosophers of historyFrench male non-fiction writersHistorians of the French Revolution19th-century French philosophersKnights of the Legion of HonourFrench political scientistsFrench political writers19th-century French male writersEconomic sociologistsFrench philosophers of culture, French sociologists