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France

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France (Latin: Francia) is a country situated in Western Europe, which shares a border with, among others, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Spain.

As one of the most central and biggest powers on the European continent, France's social and political affairs have often been influenced by the Assassin Brotherhood and Templar Order since at least the Middle Ages. It was also notably the country where the Order of the Knights Templar, as a military order, was both founded and disbanded.

History[edit | edit source]

Isu Era[edit | edit source]

During the Isu Era, the Isu built at least two sites containing artifacts near the future location of Paris.[1] After the Great Catastrophe, the Isu were no more and their former slave, the humans, spread across the world.[2]

Classical antiquity[edit | edit source]

During classical antiquity, France was known as Gaul and was populated by various Celtic tribes. Between 58 and 50 BCE, the Roman army led by consul Gaius Julius Caesar fought a revolt led by the Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix.[3] Once defeated, Gaul became a province of the Roman Empire.[4] By the 1st century CE, the Hidden Ones, a secret Brotherhood dedicated to protecting humanity's free will, arrived in Gaul to fight the Order of the Ancients' rising influence and installed at least four bureaus in northern Gaul.[5]

The enclosed content is of ambiguous canonicity.
Aquilus watching over Lugdunum

By 259 CE, the Liberalis Circulum, a group of Hidden Ones active in the Roman Empire, established themselves in the capital of Roman Gaul, Lugdunum. That year, the Hidden One Accipiter led an Alemanni army to Gaul to fight the Romans. He entrusted to his cousin and fellow Hidden One Aquilus the Ankh, a Piece of Eden that could temporarily revive the dead. Aquilus returned to Lugdunum and gave the artifact to his father Lucius.[6]

Later, the senator and Order of the Ancients member Caïus Fulvus Vultur killed Lucius and stole the Ankh, taking it to Rome. Aquilus avenged his father and killed Vultur before taking the Ankh back to his home. However, he and his wife Valeria were arrested soon after by Roman guards.[6]

At the same time, Accipiter negotiated with the Prefect of Lugdunum to spare his city in return for a ransom. Learning of Aquilus' plight, Accipiter tried to save his cousin, but he only managed to rescue Valeria as Aquilus was executed by the guards. Accipiter subsequently entrusted Valeria with the Ankh, telling her to hide it somewhere safe.[7]


During the 3rd century, the presence of Christianity increased in Gaul. Lutetia's bishop Denis found an Apple of Eden in an Isu temple under the village of Catolacus and used it to convert the local population to Christianity. After the Romans executed him, an unknown person used the Apple to create a false memory of Denis carrying his own head to his final resting place in Catolacus. Feeling polluted by the Apple, Denis' successor made a special lantern to house it and returned it to the Isu temple.[8] Centuries later, Denis was canonized as a saint, Catolacus became known as Saint-Denis, and a basilica was built atop Denis' final resting place, which coincided with the Isu temple's entrance.[9]

In 423, after Emperor Honorius' death and with the western Roman Empire's influence waning, the Gallic Hidden Ones decided to leave the province to join their brethren in Cologne. They sealed the Lutetia bureau and hid its key in the bureaus of Champlieu, Gisacum, and Diodurum. However, some Hidden Ones elected to remain in Gaul, staying in the region long after the western Empire's collapse.[5]

Middle Ages[edit | edit source]

Kingdom of Francia[edit | edit source]

In 481 CE, the Kingdom of Francia was established in Gaul by the Merovingian dynasty, five years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. In 496, King Clovis was anointed in the cathedral of Reims, establishing the tradition for all of his successors.[10] In 630, King Dagobert I founded the Abbey of Saint-Denis, which became one of the most important of its kind in France, with its abbots serving as advisors of the monarchy and the Basilica of Saint-Denis becoming the royal necropolis.[11]

Ragnar Lothbrok during the Siege of Paris

By 800, the kingdom became a part of the Carolingian Empire. Its king, Charlemagne, who was also a secret Order of the Ancients leader,[12] was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III to thwart the Byzantine Empire's power. Decades later, when the Carolingian Empire was divided, the former Gaul became known as West Francia.[13]

During the 9th century, Francia became the target of the Viking expansion across Europe. The capital Paris sustained an invasion led by the legendary Swedish king Ragnar Lothbrok in 845, resulting in the plunder and occupation of the city, which only came to an end when King Charles the Bald gave the invaders 7,000 livre in silver and gold.[14]

By 886, a secretive group of religious zealots known as the Bellatores Dei believed that Francia had fallen into apostasy and sought to restore the state to order through Christian fanaticism. Led by Isidore Mercator, they searched to influence the troubled Emperor Charles the Fat, who ruled over the Carolingian Empire. To ensure their control, the Bellatores planned to kill Charles' wife Richardis, who had great influence over him.[15] The Bellatores also tried to excavate the Hidden Ones' bureaus in northern Francia but were stopped by the Hidden One Abbo Cernuus.[5]

During this period, Frankish Rebels composed of former soldiers and freedom fighters were led by Pierre to fight Charles' rule.[16] They allied with the Viking Elgring Clan, which had settled in Melun. The Bellator Engelwin killed their jarl Sinric in his sleep and left his corpse to be taken by animals.[17] To avenge his brother's death, the jarl Sigfred planned a siege on Paris and sent his niece, Toka Sinricsdottir, to find other allies to assist them.[18] Among their allies were Rollo but also the jarlskona Eivor Varinsdottir of the Raven Clan, who wanted to make a truce with Francia to not invade England.[17] Allying with the clan and the rebels, Eivor began to hunt the Bellatores, killing Engelwin.[19] She also killed the Bellator Euphrasia, saving Richardis in the process and gaining the queen as an ally.[20]

Paris burning during the Elgring clan's attack

Eivor attempted a truce with both the Count of Paris Odo and King Charles, but after they refused, the Vikings decided to besiege Paris. Odo defended his city with the Bellatores Ebels and Gozlin.[21] The Vikings stormed Paris, and Eivor killed Ebels while Gozlin was left for dead. As Sigfred and his clan began to slaughter civilians,[22] Eivor decided to stop the siege by again attempting to make a truce with Odo. The count refused to surrender, so Eivor bested him in a duel and Odo accepted the truce, just as Charles arrived with his army. He made peace with Sigfred, granting him lordship over Rouen and Amiens and giving him an abundance of treasure. This deal enraged Odo after all the lives lost during the siege,[23] while Sigfred disappeared, leaving Toka as the leader of the Elgring clan.[24]

In 887, Odo tasked Eivor to investigate Richardis' welfare and assassinate Charles, who had gone mad. In his Villa of Amiens, Charles was influenced by Gozlin to kill Richardis through a trial by fire, but it proved unsuccessful due to "divine intervention" in the form of a downpour of rain and the arrival of Eivor, who killed Gozlin.[25] After fighting Charles, Eivor locked him in his villa, sparing his life at Richardis' request.[26] Later, Toka and Odo made a truce, and after Charles was deposed from the throne, Odo became the new king of Francia, breaking the influence of the Carolingian dynasty.[27]

Rise and fall of the Templars[edit | edit source]

The Temple in Paris

In 1129, the Council of Troyes officialized the foundation of the Order of the Knights Templar, the public façade of the Templar Order, formed from the remains of the Order of the Ancients.[12] As a military order, the Templars became a powerful and wealthy faction, building strongholds across Europe and the Middle East.[28] Their headquarters, the Temple, was built in Paris in 1240, becoming a city inside the city.[29]

During the 13th century, the French Assassins, the reformed Hidden Ones, also installed their headquarters in Paris, across the underground complex of the Sainte-Chapelle.[30] By the dawn of the 14th century, the Assassins planned to eliminate the Templars once and for all. In 1305, the Mentor Guillaume de Nogaret poisoned Pope Benedict XI to place Clement V as his puppet. As a counselor of King Philip IV of France, Nogaret manipulated the pope and the king into disbanding the Templars by accusing them of heresy.[31]

In 1307, King Philip ordered the arrest of all Templars in France, and Assassins disguised as Flemish mercenaries stormed the Temple. During the attack, Grand Master Jacques de Molay tasked his his advisor to hide a Sword of Eden and his Codex in his secret vault. The advisor did so before he was killed by the Master Assassin Thomas de Carneillon.[32]

Jacques de Molay burning at the stake

Following his arrest, de Molay was imprisoned in Chinon, where he hid the Heart of the Sword inside his cell's walls.[10] He also instructed his nine most trusted lieutenants to ensure the Order's continued survival by turning it into a secret organization once more.[33] In 1314, the Grand Master was burned at the stake in Paris before Philip and Clement. During his final moments, the Templar cursed them, prophesizing that they would die within the year, which ended up coming true.[32]

Hundred Years' War[edit | edit source]

Main article: Hundred Years' War

From 1337 to 1453, France became involved in the Hundred Years' War against England, as the Houses of Valois and Plantagenet fought for control of the French throne. England repeatedly led expeditions onto French soil, which took a huge toll on the economy and the nation's morale. In response, the French built the Bastille in the late 14th century to defend Paris from the English threat, playing a vital role in internal conflicts.[34]

During the latter stages of the conflict, France was divided in three between the Eglish-Burgundy alliance and the House of Valois. Northern France and Burgundy were controlled respectively by the Templars John of Bedford and Philip III of Burgundy, while the south of France was ruled by the Dauphin Charles. The Templar Georges de la Trémoille served as Charles' Grand Chambellan and plotted to unite France under the Templar banner by controlling the young prince.[10]

However, Charles' mother-in-law, Queen Yolande of Aragon, was the secret Mentor of the French Brotherhood and tasked her Assassins to find the young woman prophetized to save France by rallying its forces against the English. In 1429, they found her in Jeanne d'Arc, a peasant who possessed an unusually high concentration of Isu DNA. Wielding de Molay's Sword of Eden and the Heart, she led French soldiers to victory, liberating Orléans from a siege and escorting Charles to Reims to be crowned. However, she failed to liberate Paris and, in 1430, she was captured by Templars at the siege of Compiègne. They recovered the Sword of Eden and framed Jeanne for witchcraft. In 1431, as she was about to be burned in Rouen, the Assassins saved her when Jeanne's follower Fleur voluntarily took her place on the stake to die with the Heart. The real Jeanne's survival was kept a secret and she passed away in obscurity.[10]

Renaissance[edit | edit source]

Paris during the Renaissance

During the Renaissance, France was ruled by King Louis XII from his capital in Paris, though he was drawn away from the throne by his military conquests. During his absence, he left his foreign ministers in command, not knowing that they were working for the Borgia.[35] The Assassins killed some of the traitorous advisors while attempting to rescue one of their captive Brothers,[36] and eliminated the rest a few years later, after the Templars had persuaded Louis that the Assassins were behind Marseille's threats of secession from France.[37]

In the early 1500s, a French army, under the command of the Templar and Baron Octavian de Valois, was employed by Cesare Borgia, the Captain General of the Papal Armies, in order to help unite Italy under the Papal banner. The French troops became engaged in skirmishes with Bartolomeo d'Alviano's mercenaries in Rome,[38] and were eventually driven out of the city following Octavian's death.[39]

Age of Enlightenment[edit | edit source]

Overlook of Port-au-Prince, Saint-Domingue

During the Age of Enlightenment, France, in competition with Spain and Great Britain, sought to build up its colonial empire by capturing territories in Africa and, to a lesser extent, the West Indies.[40] The French colony of Saint-Domingue became the world's leading sugar producer at the expense of its enslaved population, who were forced to work on plantations. Many slaves who managed to escape from their masters ended up organizing rebellions against the colonists,[41] culminating in the Haitian Revolution at the end of the 18th century that saw Saint-Domingue gain its independence from France.[42]

In the mid-18th century, France fought in the Seven Years' War against Great Britain for global hegemony. Despite being supported by the Assassins throughout the conflict, the Templar-backed Britain ultimately emerged victorious, resulting in a near-complete loss of French influence in North America.[43]

France later exacted retribution on the British by aiding the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolutionary War: the Marquis de Lafayette served as George Washington's aide-de-camp from 1777, and the French Navy, under Admiral De Grasse, was instrumental in securing victory.[44]

French Revolution[edit | edit source]

Main article: French Revolution
Paris during the Revolution

Eventually, numerous troubles in their homeland led to the French having their own revolution in 1789,[45][46] and control of France ultimately fell to Napoleon Bonaparte, a skilled military Commander in possession of an Apple of Eden. From 1804 to 1815, Napoleon ruled over France and Western Europe as an Emperor.[47]

In 1848, a period of civil unrest and loss of work led laborers to revolt against the government. In June, people joined the riots against the French government, including the parents of a young Pierrette Arnaud. However, the riots were unsuccessful as Arnaud's parents, along with others, were killed and buried in unmarked graves.[48]

Orsini Affair[edit | edit source]

Main article: Orsini affair

On 14 January 1858, Emperor Napoleon III and his wife arrived at the theater opera of Rue le Peletier and were attacked by a collection of bombers, led by Italian rebel Felice Orsini,[49] who was aided and equipped by the mysterious figure known as the "Magus."[50][51][52][53] Although the Emperor and his wife survived with little injuries, hundreds of civilian casualties occurred as a consequence. Unknown to most, the Assassin Simeon Price, trained by the Parisian Brotherhood,[54] and the acrobat Pierrette Arnaud stopped another bomb from exploding at the theater.[49] As a result, Orsini and his cohorts were executed while tensions grew between France and England, which pushed harsher government laws on its people.[55]

Belle Époque[edit | edit source]

Paris during the Belle Époque

After the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, France enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity which would last until 1914. Dubbed the "Belle Époque", Paris underwent technological advances which led to an increase in size and economic power, as well as the improvement of life quality.[56]

In 1889, the construction of the Eiffel Tower was completed, with the landmark becoming the symbol of France's new engineering prowess and of the Époque itself.[56]

20th century[edit | edit source]

During World War II, France was invaded by Nazi Germany, whose occupation lasted from 1940 to 1944. Following the successful landing operation in Normandy by the United States on 6 June 1944, Allied forces began working to liberate France and the rest of Europe from the Axis powers, and were ultimately successful.[57]

Modern times[edit | edit source]

Despite the Templars' Great Purge in 2000, which nearly annihilated the Assassin Brotherhood worldwide,[58] both the Assassins and Templars continue to maintain an active presence in France during the 21st century. In 2014, an Abstergo Industries laboratory in Paris was attacked by an Assassin team led by Gavin Banks, resulting in the destruction of its Phoenix Project samples and the original Shroud of Eden.[59][60]

By 2017, Nathalie Chapman had a secret bunker in the Gorges du Pont-du-Diable, where she stored an Animus Omega. After convincing the Japanese Assassin Tomo Sakagawa to help her learn more about Project BLUEBIRD, Chapman brought Tomo to the bunker and had him relive Alekseï Gavrani's memories in the Animus. After discovering Chapman's true intentions to start her own version of Project BLUEBIRD by brainwashing her patients with the Animus and an Apple of Eden, Tomo informed his mentor Hajime Shimada, who subsequently took over the bunker.[61] Tomo continued to relive Gavrani's memories there until a Bleeding Effect-induced manic episode caused him to inadvertently destroy the facility and kill Hajime, leaving him to stop Chapman's plans by himself.[62]

Appearances[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Assassin's Creed: UnityIt Belongs in a Museum
  2. Assassin's Creed: Revelations
  3. Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy
  4. Discovery Tour: Ancient Egypt [citation needed]
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Assassin's Creed: ValhallaThe Siege of ParisHidden
  6. 6.0 6.1 Assassin's Creed 2: Aquilus
  7. Assassin's Creed 3: Accipiter
  8. Assassin's Creed: ValhallaSiege of ParisNotes from Eivor's travels: "Ancient Stone Tablet 2"
  9. Assassin's Creed: UnityDead Kings
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Assassin's Creed: Heresy
  11. Assassin's Creed: UnityDead KingsDatabase: Abbey of Saint Denis
  12. 12.0 12.1 Assassin's Creed: ValhallaThe Poor Fellow-Soldier
  13. Assassin's Creed: ValhallaThe Siege of ParisDatabase: Francia
  14. Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Blood Brothers
  15. Assassin's Creed: ValhallaThe Siege of ParisThe Queen's Gambit
  16. Assassin's Creed: ValhallaThe Siege of ParisDatabase: Frankish Rebels
  17. 17.0 17.1 Assassin's Creed: ValhallaThe Siege of ParisWarlord of Melun
  18. Assassin's Creed: ValhallaThe Siege of ParisStrangers Bearing Gifts
  19. Assassin's Creed: ValhallaThe Siege of ParisThe Rot in the Slums
  20. Assassin's Creed: ValhallaThe Siege of ParisSister of Sorrow
  21. Assassin's Creed: ValhallaThe Siege of ParisDark Before Dawn
  22. Assassin's Creed: ValhallaThe Siege of ParisThe Siege of Paris (memory)
  23. Assassin's Creed: ValhallaThe Siege of ParisThe Count of Paris
  24. Assassin's Creed: ValhallaThe Siege of ParisSkal!
  25. Assassin's Creed: ValhallaThe Siege of ParisFire and Faith
  26. Assassin's Creed: ValhallaThe Siege of ParisMadness of King Charles
  27. Assassin's Creed: ValhallaThe Siege of ParisVictory
  28. Assassin's Creed: RevelationsAbstergo Files – File.0.02\Hst_Beginning
  29. Assassin's Creed: UnityDatabase: Temple
  30. Assassin's Creed: UnityRebirth
  31. Assassin's Creed: UnityDatabase: Journal of Thomas de Carneillon, October 12, 1307
  32. 32.0 32.1 Assassin's Creed: UnityThe Tragedy of Jacques de Molay
  33. Assassin's Creed: RevelationsAbstergo Files – File.0.06\Hst_VoxInExcelso
  34. Assassin's Creed: UnityDatabase: 21. Medieval
  35. Assassin's Creed: Project LegacyContracts: "Destructive Criticism"
  36. Assassin's Creed: Project LegacyContracts: "Destructive Criticism"
  37. Assassin's Creed: RevelationsMediterranean Defense: "By Any Other Name"
  38. Assassin's Creed: BrotherhoodGatekeeper
  39. Assassin's Creed: BrotherhoodAu Revoir
  40. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
  41. Assassin's Creed IV: Black FlagFreedom Cry
  42. Assassin's Creed: InitiatesEseosa's Codex
  43. Assassin's Creed: Rogue
  44. Assassin's Creed III
  45. Assassin's Creed: Initiates
  46. Assassin's Creed: UnityThe King's Correspondence
  47. Assassin's Creed IIGlyphs
  48. Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy – Chapter 2
  49. 49.0 49.1 Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy – Chapter 15
  50. Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy – Chapter 12
  51. Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy – Chapter 14
  52. Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy – Chapter 16
  53. Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy – Chapter 19
  54. Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy – Chapter 13
  55. Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Magus Conspiracy – Chapter 18
  56. 56.0 56.1 Assassin's Creed: UnityDatabase: 19. Belle Époque
  57. Assassin's Creed: UnityDatabase: 20. WW2
  58. Assassin's Creed: The FallIssue #3
  59. Assassin's Creed: SyndicateJack the RipperDatabase: Assassin Intel 4
  60. Assassin's Creed: SyndicateDatabase: Reconstructed Data 007
  61. Assassin's Creed: BloodstoneBook 1
  62. Assassin's Creed: BloodstoneBook 2


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