Loire
Medieval period

During the Hundred Years' War from 1337 to 1453, the Loire marked the border between the French and the English, who occupied territory to the north. One-third of the inhabitants died in the epidemic of the Black Death of 1348–9. The English defeated the French in 1356 and Aquitaine came under English control in 1360. In 1429, Joan of Arc persuaded Charles VII to drive out the English from the country. Her successful relief of the siege of Orléans, on the Loire, was the turning point of the war.

In 1477, the first printing press in France was established in Angers, and around this time the Chateau de Langeais and Chateau de Montsoreau were built. During the reign of François I from 1515 to 1547, the Italian Renaissance had a profound influence upon the region, as people adopted its elements in the architecture and culture, particularly among the elite who expressed its principles in their chateaus.

In the 1530s, the Reformation ideas reached the Loire valley, with some people becoming Protestant. Religious wars followed and in 1560 Catholics drowned several hundred Protestants in the river. During the Wars of Religion from 1562 to 1598, Orléans served as a prominent stronghold for the Huguenots but in 1568, Protestants blew up Orléans Cathedral. In 1572 some 3000 Huguenots were slaughtered in Paris in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. Hundreds more were drowned in the Loire by Catholics.
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