crusader kings 2 imperial administration

At the former Museum of the Colonies, which now houses the National City for Immigration, only the names of Crusaders inscribed on the building’s sidewall, behind some shrubs, offer a semi-visible reminder of the centrality the Crusades once had to national colonial ideas. The model of the Crac des Chevaliers is now in storage, hidden and largely forgotten.

5 To international visitors they signalled France’s primacy in producing and preserving Crusader architecture, as the sites were not only symbols of colonial expansion for France, but also served as proxies for broader imperial claims by other rival powers that were likewise trying to get their hands on medieval remains across the Mediterranean.Īfter the end of the Empire, the exhibitions disappeared silently. 4 For a domestic audience, the exhibitions tried to interweave national and colonial consciousness by creating a narrative in which the Crusades became the first chapter of France’s empire. A publicity campaign through the Colonial Exhibition in 1931, at the Museum of French Monuments and the Museum of the Colonies at Vincennes, accompanied the restoration and acquisition. 3 France had acquired the Crac in 1934 and restored it extensively. Lawrence called ‘perhaps the best preserved and most wholly admirable castle in the world’, the Crac des Chevaliers in Syria. Filled with casts from the Levant, at its centre stood a model of what T. A particular highlight was a new room on the art of the Crusades. Yet despite the new title, the display was not confined to works originating in metropolitan France, but rather explicitly included material that demonstrated the spread of French influence beyond national borders. It was only in the 1930s that it was rebranded as the Museum of French Monuments. The institution was in fact founded as the Museum of Comparative Sculpture, juxtaposing French medieval to ancient and foreign works of art. For a long time, this canon was not limited to the art of the Hexagon. Its history is therefore a microcosm for observing broader transformations in the heritage canon. In contrast to originals, these copies could be ordered on demand, allowing the curators to create an ideal museum, easily adaptable to changing understandings of heritage. 2 Founded in 1879 as a cast collection for the training of architects and the education of the public, the displays always consisted of models and copies. A ‘point of reference for all audiences, permitting them to understand the historic roots of the most contemporary aims in architectural creation and urban policies’, the museum’s own development is less visible. At the Museum of French Monuments, reopened in 2007 as part of the National City of Architecture and Heritage, one can experience the history of French architecture, sculpture, and wall painting in three dimensions.

Visitors keen to see French heritage in a nutshell need not stray far from the Eiffel Tower.

Crusader kings 2 imperial administration