In praise of the Loire – cradle of civilisation, and wonderful wines

Rivers are the cradles of civilisation and the Loire is an outstanding example. It is one of the head-waters of modern France. By the 7th century, the region had emerged from the Dark Ages and was building on Roman traditions to lay foundations that would endure. St Martin, Clovis: we are at the beginning of a recognisably French history.

War is both an expression of civilisation and its curse — but also, occasionally, its saviour. In 732, that nascent French history was in danger of eradication until one of the most important battles in European history took place at Tours, near the Loire. Charles Martel defeated a powerful invading force from Muslim Spain. If he had lost, there would have been little else to impede a Muslim advance. As Gibbon speculated: ‘Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford, and her pulpits might demonstrate to a circumcised people the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Mohammed.’

That was not the end of the fighting. The Loire watered the rich pastures of Touraine, which aroused the covetousness of kings and magnates. That was especially true of the Angevin period. We think of the Angevins as rulers of England, who also made serious inroads into Scotland, Wales and Ireland. They regarded England as only a part of their empire — though historians are still arguing as to whether ‘empire’ is a fair description of an agglomeration of territories with little administrative coherence, which were held together only by the military prowess of warrior monarchs.

To follow on from the existential struggle between Muslim and Christian, there was a later episode with piquant current parallels. In the late 14th century, the Earls of Douglas were the greatest Scottish aristocratic house, whose landholdings were of a kingly dimension.