Paris in the Middle Ages Paris in the Middle Ages In the 10th century, Paris was a provincial cathedral city of little political or economic significance, but under the kings of the Capetian dynasty who ruled France between 987 and 1328, it developed into an important commercial and religious center and the seat of the royal administration of the country. The Île de la Cité became the site of the royal palace and the new cathedral of Notre-Dame, begun in 1163. The Left Bank was occupied by important monasteries, including the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Abbey of St Genevieve. In the late 1100s, the
Le Spleen de Paris specific examples leading to an unexpected conclusion may have influenced Baudelaire in his creation of "Le Spleen de Paris"." Aloysius Betrand's "Gaspard de la nuit": Baudelaire himself is quoted as citing this work as an inspiration for "Paris Spleen". Gustave Flaubert: Magazine article "No ideas but in Crowds: Baudelaire's "Paris Spleen"" cites similarities between the writers in that like Baudelaire, Flaubert held the same motives and intentions in that he too wanted "to write the moral history of the men of my generation – or, more accurately, the history of their feelings." Critical reception: The way in which the poem