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The Ile de la Cité is the cradle of Parisian civilization.
It was here that the Parisii tribe lived; the Romans, led by Caesar's lieutenant
Labenius, conquered the Parisii in 52 AD and set up camp. The city was given the
name Lutecia, from the Latin lutum meaning "mud". During the barbarian invasion,
Lutecia's inhabitants, galvanized by the young Sainte Genevicve, took refuge on
the easily defended Ile de la Cité. Clovis, king of the Francs and defeater
of the Romans, made the island his capital. It stayed the area's center of activity
throughout the Middle ages. In the 9th century, the Norman invasions subjected Paris to repeated Viking attacks. One such attack in 885 met with the resistance led by Count Eudes, later king; once again, the defeat was organized on the island. |
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