by Helen Kain | Mar 14, 2026 | Carousel People & Ideas, Fascinating People, France
On the hill above the Seine, not far from the old Roman roads that once crossed the Left Bank, stood a monastery dedicated to Saint Genevieve. Nearby lay the small royal domain of a regional nobleman whose authority extended little farther than the lands surrounding...
by Helen Kain | Mar 14, 2026 | Carousel People & Ideas, Fascinating People, France
On Christmas Day in the year 800, a Frankish king knelt in prayer inside the ancient basilica of St Peter in Rome. As he rose, Pope Leo III placed a crown upon his head and proclaimed him emperor. For the first time in more than three centuries, a ruler in Western...
by Helen Kain | Mar 14, 2026 | Carousel People & Ideas, Fascinating People, France
In the early sixth century, a church stood on a hill overlooking the small city of Paris. Within it lay the tomb of a king whose decisions would reshape the future of Western Europe. His name was Clovis I, and during his lifetime the lands that had once been Roman...
by Helen Kain | Mar 14, 2026 | Carousel People & Ideas, Fascinating People, France
On the hill above the Left Bank of Paris once stood a great abbey dedicated to a young woman who had never ruled a kingdom, commanded an army, or held official power. For centuries, however, the people of the city believed their survival had depended on her. Her name...
by Helen Kain | Mar 14, 2026 | France, The Continental Thread
When the roof of Notre-Dame de Paris caught fire in April 2019, the images traveled around the world almost instantly. People watched the flames climb through the timber framework, watched the spire collapse, and wondered — for a moment — whether something...
by Helen Kain | May 22, 2025 | England, France, Italy, Living Ideas
When I first began touring great houses, I was drawn, as so many are, to their sheer beauty, scale, extravagance, carved ceilings, formal gardens, and stories of noble families and royal guests. Whenever visitors came to stay with us in Cape Cod, we took a day trip to...
