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
CultureFrench travel writers19th-century French novelists, 19th-century French women writersConversationalistsFrench Roman Catholics19th-century French letter writersFrench women philosophersFrench literary criticsWriters from Paris19th-century French philosophersFrench salon-holdersFrench feminists18th-century philosophersConverts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism, Romantic philosophersWomen in the French Revolution18th-century French women writersPeople of the First French EmpireFrench women novelistsLouis 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
ScienceRecipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 1st classMembers of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and ArtsFrench Roman CatholicsMembers of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyMembers of the Académie Française19th-century French chemistsHonorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of SciencesForeign members of the Royal SocietyForeign associates of the National Academy of SciencesÉcole Normale Supérieure alumniMembers of the French Academy of SciencesFrench scientists with disabilitiesGrand Cross of the Legion of HonourRecipients of the Copley MedalLouis 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
HistoryNobility from ViennaAustrian Roman Catholics, Austrian princesses, Daughters of emperorsNavarrese royal consortsFrench Roman CatholicsExecuted French women, French people executed by guillotine during the French RevolutionRoyal reburialsPeople of the War of the First CoalitionQueens consort of FranceDaughters of kingsDauphines of France, Dauphines of ViennoisBurials at the Basilica of Saint-DenisWomen in the French RevolutionDaughters of queens regnantMontesquieu
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
HistoryMembers of the Prussian Academy of SciencesPhilosophers of law18th-century French philosophersFellows of the Royal SocietyFrench Roman CatholicsContributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772)Enlightenment philosophersMembers of the Académie FrançaiseFrench political writersFrench philosophers of historyFrench political philosophers18th-century French male 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
HistoryMonarchs who abdicatedPeople excommunicated by the Catholic ChurchFrench Roman CatholicsGrand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary, Knights of the Golden Fleece of SpainRoyal reburialsPeople of the War of the First CoalitionMonarchs taken prisoner in wartimeFrench deistsPeople of the First French EmpireLeaders who took power by coupTocqueville: 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
HistoryFrench political scientists19th-century French male writersPhilosophers of lawEconomic sociologistsFrench Roman CatholicsNatural law ethicistsFrench sociologistsMembers of the Académie FrançaiseFrench male non-fiction writersUniversity of Paris alumniWriters from ParisHistorians of the French Revolution19th-century French philosophersFrench political writersFrench philosophers of cultureFrench philosophers of historyKnights of the Legion of HonourFrench political philosophers