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Trama e riassunto di La storia di Parigi
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About 8 h 40 min to read.A chi è rivolto
This book will delight travelers who like to know who lived behind a doorway, readers who enjoy kings, saints and rebels, and anyone who wants to walk Paris with its stories in mind.
Che cos’è questo libro
Why would a small island in a river grow into the capital of a great nation? Thomas Okey answers with a merchant's eye. Look for trade, he says, and look for safety from enemies, and you find where cities begin.
The Story of Paris appeared in 1906, in a series on medieval towns. Okey tells the life of Paris from a Gallic tribe to the Third Republic, following its kings and leaning on legend. The second half becomes a walking guide, from Notre Dame to the royal tombs of St. Denis.
In questo riassunto
- 1Trade and defense chose the island for ParisFree
- 2Roman Lutetia received its first saints
- 3Clovis and his heirs soaked early France in blood
- 4Paris held firm against the Norman fleet
- 5Philip Augustus and St. Louis made medieval Paris
- 6Gothic art and a great university rose together
- 7Kings, rebels and a peasant girl tested the city
- 8Printing, art and massacre marked the sixteenth century
- 9Absolute kings emptied the treasury and Paris paid
- 10Revolution and Napoleon made modern Paris, and you can walk it
Punto chiave 1 di 10
Trade and defense chose the island for Paris
Okey opens with a gentle joke. Medieval scribes traced every city to a Trojan prince, so Paris was founded by Paris himself, the man who carried off Helen. Okey prefers a plainer rule. Look for the merchant, he says.
The islands of the Seine lie near where the Marne, the Oise and the Yonne join the main river. Before Roman roads, trade meant water. The largest island, the Cité, sat inside a natural moat of deep water. The Parisii, a Gallic tribe of sailors and merchants, were perfectly placed to profit.
Rome soon noticed. Julius Caesar made Lutetia a permanent camp. In 52 B.C. the Gauls rose against him, and his lieutenant Labienus crossed the Seine by night. At dawn the Gauls saw Roman legions drawn up on the plain. Rome then brought its roads, its law and its schoolmasters. A city begins where trade and defense meet.
That’s 1 of 10 key points.
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Go deeper: the whole of La storia di Parigi
About 8 h 40 min to read.Questions about La storia di Parigi
What is The Story of Paris by Thomas Okey about?
It tells the history of Paris from the Gallic island settlement and Roman Lutetia through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the absolute monarchy, the Revolution and the Third Republic, then guides the reader through its main streets and buildings.
Is The Story of Paris a guidebook or a history?
It is both. The first part is a narrative history told through kings, saints, rebels and builders, and the second part is a walking guide that takes you to the places where the stories happened.
When was The Story of Paris written?
Okey wrote it for a series on medieval towns. It appeared in 1906 as a revision of his earlier work, and a second edition followed in 1911 with updates for demolished buildings and changes in the Louvre.
Why does Okey say the history of Paris is the history of its kings?
He follows the view that Paris, France and its rulers cannot be separated, since the capital created the state around it. So the book is organized around reigns, from Clovis and the Capetians to Louis XVI and Napoleon.
Is The Story of Paris worth reading before a trip?
Yes for many travelers, because each chapter links sights to scenes, such as the Norman siege, the Sainte Chapelle and the Bastille. You see a street name and remember who walked there, which makes the city richer.
Cite this edition
Okey, Thomas. The Story of Paris. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-story-of-paris.
Okey, T. (2026). The story of Paris. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-story-of-paris (Original work published 1906)
Okey, Thomas. The Story of Paris. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-story-of-paris.
@book{okey2026story,
author = {Okey, Thomas},
title = {The Story of Paris},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-story-of-paris},
note = {First published 1906}
}
