The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Paris, France.
The Parisii and the Roman Lutetia 250-225 BCE The Parisii, a Celtic tribe, found a town, called Lucotecia, on the Île de la Cité.Combeau, Yvan, Histoire de Paris, p. 6 53 BCE Julius Caesar addresses an assembly of leaders of the Gauls in Lucotecia, asking for their support.Fierro, Alfred, Histoire et dictionnaire de Paris, p. 537 52 BCE The Parisii are defeated by the Roman general Titus Labienus at the Battle of Lutetia. A Gallo-Roman garrison town, called Lutetia, is founded on the left bank of the Seine.Combeau, Yvan, Histoire de Paris, p. 8 Between 14 and 37 CE The sailors of Lutetia erect the Pillar of the Boatmen in honor of the Roman god Jupiter. Between 40 and 11 CE Construction of the Forum of Lutetia Between 100 and 200 CE Construction of the baths, the amphitheater and the theater of Lutetia 3rd century CE Lutetia gradually becomes known as Civitas Parisiorum, the "City of the Parisii", then simply "Paris". c. 250 CE Arrival of Christianity in Paris; execution by Romans of Bishop Saint Denis on Montmartre, the "Mountain of Martyrs". 275-276 The settlement on the left bank is ravaged by Germanic tribes. About 300 CE A rampart is built around the Île de la Cité. 358 CE The Roman commander Julian the Apostate resides in Paris during the winter, when not fighting the Germanic tribes. 360 CE Julian is proclaimed Roman Emperor by his soldiers. 365-366 The Emperor Valentinian I resides briefly in Paris. 385 Saint Martin of Tours visits Paris, and according to tradition heals a leper at the north gate of the town.Fierro, Alfred, Histoire et dictionnaire de Paris, p. 538 451 Paris is threatened by the Huns. Saint Genevieve persuades the Parisians not to abandon the city, and the Huns attack Tours instead. 464 The city is blockaded by Childeric I, King of the Franks.
The Middle Ages Frankish Paris
486 Clovis I, King of the Franks, negotiates with Saint Genevieve the submission of Paris to his authority. About 502 Burial of Saint Genevieve atop the hill on the left bank which now bears her name. A basilica, the Basilique des Saints Apôtres, is built on the site and consecrated on 24 December 520. It later becomes the site of the Basilica of Saint-Genevieve, which after the French Revolution becomes the Panthéon. 511 Clovis I, the king of the Franks, makes Paris his capital.Sarmant, Thierry, Histoire de Paris (Some sources give the date 508) About 540–550 Construction of the Saint-Étienne cathedral, predecessor to Notre-Dame de Paris, begins. 543 Founding of the Basilica of Saint-Vincent, by Childebert I, the King of Paris. The Basilica becomes the burial place for the first French kings, beginning with Childebert.Combeau, Yvan, Histoire de Paris, p. 15 576 Saint Germain, the Bishop of Paris, is buried at the Abbey of Saint-Vincent, which thereafter is known as the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.Fierro, Alfred, Histoire et dictionnaire de Paris, p. 539. 577 King Chilperic I has the Roman amphitheater repaired, and theatrical events are performed there. 585 A fire destroys most of the buildings on the Île de la Cité. 614 Council of Paris meets under King Chlothar II, who issues his Edict of Paris on 18 October. 639 King Dagobert I is buried in the abbey of Saint-Denis, which becomes the main necropolis for French kings. about 680 The city stops minting gold coins and replaces them with silver coins. 775 Consecration of the new Basilica of Saint-Denis, attended by the Emperor Charlemagne 820 Mention is made in documents of what is the oldest known street in Paris, rue Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois (1st arrondissement). 845 Siege of Paris — The first attack on the city by the Vikings, who burn the city. King Charles the Bald gives them 7000 pounds of silver to go away. 846 Council of Meaux–Paris — The church council opened at Meaux because of the siege but ended in Paris in February 846. 856 28 December – The Vikings return and burn the city again. 857 Vikings led by Björn Ironside almost destroy Paris, and burn all its churches, except those that pay a ransom: Saint-Étienne (now Notre-Dame cathedral), Saint-Denis and Saint-Germain-des-Prés. 861 The Vikings burn Paris and the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The Abbey is pillaged again in 869. 870 King Charles the Bald orders the construction of two bridges, the Grand Pont and the Petit Pont, ostensibly to block the passage of the Vikings up the Seine. 885 24 November – Gozlin, the Bishop of Paris, repairs the city wall and reinforces the bridges; the city resists an attack by the Vikings. 886 6 February – The Petit pont washes away, allowing the Vikings to lay siege to the city and pillage the surrounding region. September – The Carolingian Emperor Charles the Fat pays the Vikings 700 pounds of silver to depart. 887-889 The Vikings attack Paris again in May 887 and June–July 888, but thanks to strengthened defenses the city is not captured. 978 October – Siege of Paris by the Holy Roman Emperor Otto II. The Parisians block the supplies of the invaders from going up the Seine. An army led by Hugh Capet arrives and the siege is finally lifted on 30 December. 988 Hugh Capet, elected King of the Franks in 987, resides in Paris for a time, and returns again in 989, 992 and 994–995.Fierro, Alfred, Histoire et dictionnaire de Paris, p. 542. 996 Hugh Capet dies in Paris and is buried in the Basilica of Saint-Denis.
11th century
c. 1014 Construction of a new nave of the church of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, begun by Abbot Morard. 1021 Students begin arriving in Paris to study at the episcopal school of Notre-Dame. 1060 Reconstruction of the Saint-Martin-des-Champs Priory. The church is consecrated in 1067.
12th century
1100s The Holy Innocents' Cemetery in Paris is established, becoming home to mass graves. 1100 The celebrated scholar Abélard begins teaching at the school of Notre-Dame. 1112 King Louis VI gives special privileges to the Basilica of Saint-Denis, raising the status of Paris over Orléans as the capital of the Capetian Kings.Fierro, Alfred, Histoire et dictionnaire de Paris, p. 543 1113 Construction begins of a new Grand Pont, later called the pont au Change, completed in 1116. The Petit Pont is also rebuilt. 1116 The scholar Abélard begins what becomes a legendary romance with the nun Héloïse in about 1116. In 1117 is punished for his relationship by castration. He retires to the monastery of Saint-Denis and then to Saint-Ayoul, but later returns to Paris and to Héloïse. c. 1120 Teachers and students begin taking up residence on the left bank, around the montagne Sainte-Geneviève, since the cloister of Notre-Dame is not large enough to house them all. This is the beginning of the Latin Quarter and the future University of Paris. 1131 13 October – Death of Philippe, the eldest son of king Louis VI, who died the day after being thrown from his horse, which panicked when he encountered a pig. As a result, it is forbidden to let pigs go freely on the city streets. 1132 The Bishop of Paris punishes the teachers and students on the montagne Sainte-Geneviève for the growing number of conflicts between the students and the townspeople. Abbot Suger begins the reconstruction of the Basilica of Saint-Denis in the new Gothic style. The new Basilica is consecrated on 11 June 1144, and becomes a model for cathedrals and churches across Europe. 1134 King Louis VI grants to the merchants of Paris the right to seize the property of their debtors and to form associations, the first steps toward a municipality.Fierro, Alfred, Histoire et dictionnaire de Paris, p. 544 1137 A new market is installed at Champeaux, which gradually replaces the market on the place de Grève and becomes the central market of Les Halles. 1139 Establishment of the Templars in the old Temple, near the church of Saint-Gervais. 1146 First mention in documents of the corporation of butchers in the city. 1147 The Templars occupy their new building in Paris, in the presence of king Louis VII and of the Pope. When he departs for the Crusades, the king leaves the royal treasury in the care of the Templars, and the regency with Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis. 21 April – Pope Eugene III consecrates the new church of Saint-Pierre-de-Montmartre. 1163 21 April – Consecration of the choir of the abbey church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés by Pope Alexander III. Beginning of the reconstruction of the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris in the Gothic style. 1170 King Louis VII confirms the privileges of the corporation of water merchants, whose water-bearers carry water from the Seine to residences. 1176 First mention in documents of the Fair of Saint-Germain. Half of the profits were reserved for King Louis VII. 1180 Founding of the collège des Dix-Huit by Messire Josse de Londres, an Englishman. This was the first college in Paris, established for eighteen poor clerical students in a room within the Hôtel-Dieu.H. Denifle, Chartularium universitatis Parisiensis, Volume 1, Paris, 1899, pp. 49-50 (n° 50). Translated in French from Latin. 5 February – King Philip Augustus (Philippe Auguste) arrests the leaders of the Jewish community, and requires them to pay 15,000 silver marcs. 1182 Philip Augustus expels the Jews from the Île de la Cité, and their synagogue is turned into a church. They are allowed to return in 1198, in return for paying heavy taxes.Fierro, Alfred, Histoire et dictionnaire de Paris, p. 546. 19 May – Consecration of the altar of the cathedral of Notre Dame. 1183 Two market buildings are constructed at the small hamlet Les Champeaux meaning ("little fields"), the beginning of Les Halles. 1186 Philip Augustus orders the paving of the major streets of the city with cobblestones (pavés). 1190 Philip Augustus departs for the Third Crusade. Six Paris merchants are assigned to act as a council of the regency in his absence, each with a key to the treasury. Before departing, he orders the construction of the first wall around the entire city. The wall on the right bank is finished in 1208, and on the left bank between 1209 and 1213. He also begins construction of the fortress of the Louvre on the right bank.Fierro, Alfred, Histoire et dictionnaire de Paris, p. 547 1197 March – A flood destroys all the bridges over the Seine; the King is forced to abandon his palace on the Île de la Citè and move to the hill of Sainte-Geneviève.
13th century
1200 Battles between the sergeants of the Provost of Paris and students, which cause the death of five students. When the Paris students threaten to leave the city, Philip Augustus grants the students the right to be judged exclusively by the tribunal of the Bishop of Paris. This marks the beginning of the legal status of the University of Paris. 1202 Completion of the Louvre fortress. The Abbot of Saint-Geneviève purchases the clos Garlande on the Left Bank and builds houses in the neighborhood for students. 1207 Pope Innocent III limits the number of chairs of theology at the university to eight, to maintain control over the university. 1209 The second college of the university is founded; the Collège des pauvres écoliers de Saint-Honoré, for thirteen students without funds. 1210 Pope Innocent III permits the teachers of the university to form a corporation, and in 1212 gives them a degree of independence from the authority of the Bishop of Paris.Fierro, Alfred, Histoire et dictionnaire de Paris, p. 549. Ten Amauriciens, students of the scholar Amaury de Chartres, are condemned for heresy and burned at the stake outside of Paris, beyond the rampart gate porte des Champeaux, for making too much of the works of Aristotle. 1215 – The University of Paris is chartered by Pope Innocent III.Meunier, Florian, Le Paris du Moyen Age, p. 28 1219 16 November – Pope Innocent III prohibits the teaching of Roman, or civil law, at the university; only canon law can be taught.