Reims, France

Reims (English traditionally Rheims) is a city of northern France, 144 km (89 miles) east-northeast of Paris. Its history can be traced back to the period of the Roman Empire.

Reims played a very important role in French history, as it was the place where the kings of France were crowned. Thus, the Cathedral of Reims, damaged by the Germans during the First World War but restored since, played the same role in France as Westminster Abbey did in England. It was there that was kept the Holy Ampulla ("Sainte Ampoule") containing the Saint Chrême (chrism), which allegedly was brought by a white dove (the Holy Spirit) at the baptism of Clovis in 496, and was used for the anointing, the most important part of the coronation of French kings.

Reims is often considered the capital of Champagne, an old province of France made world-famous by its Champagne sparkling wine, although in reality it is only the largest city of Champagne, but not its capital, being only a sous-préfecture of the Marne département.

At the 1999 census, there were 187,206 inhabitants (Rémois) in the city proper (commune) of Reims, while there were 291,735 inhabitants in the whole metropolitan area (French: aire urbaine).

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Department of Time Travel: Visiting Joan of Arc's France

Written by marysoderstrom on

From: marysoderstrom.blogspot.com

As part of the preparations for the trip we’re going to take to France in May, we rented The Messenger, a film about Joan of Arc on Saturday. It was shelved with the French films at the local art video store, and so we were a bit surprised to discover that it was in English with John Malkovich and Dustin Hoffman in prominent roles. A lot of blood too, and rather light on the historical context, but 130 minutes which passed quickly.

And of course we started poking around to find out just what the real story was. I went riffling through the Shakespeare to discover what I suspected: that Henry V takes place slightly before Joan’s amazing rallying of the French forces. Two of my most memorable movie experiences have been seeing two versions of that play, one directed by Kenneth Branagh (1989) and the other by Laurence Olivier (1944.) Both are masterfully done, and both show how the time in which a play is produced or a movie is made influences how the story is told.

A story like Joan's with its various interpretations underlines the point that what you see depends up on where you sit. That is a lesson which bears remembering at all times, not just when trying to figure out what happened in the century before the Age of Exploration began.

This week I've got find a book or two that will help fill in the gaps in our knowledge of the period. One thing I think we’ll not do, though, is go looking for the video game Jeanne d'Arc. According to one review, the game uses historical characters and then gives them magical powers. Wasn’t that what Joan thought she was doing anyway?

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