Mes racines françaises

Perhaps I should further clarify to the Frenchness that has consumed my life so everyone understands just how funny and awesome my android is.

First things first.  My computer at my old job liked to be French.  A couple of years ago, it suddenly decided English was too hard, so converted EVERY SINGLE WORD to French.  Interestingly, I don't speak French so it was a tad disconcerning for me.  A call to the IT department quickly confirmed that yes, indeed, it was in French even though the language was set to English. Several more calls and remote logins resulted in no results so after a few months of French, they switched out my hard drive.

The new hard drive helped for awhile, but then it started changing all of the spelling and grammar to French.  This ended with all documents on my computer having so many red and green lines, it was like Christmas everyday!  Some more work on it, a few visits by some stinky outside IT guy with questionable social skills and suddenly French became the exception instead of the rule.

That, however, occurred after everyone decided my plight (mon sort) was hysterical so began IMing and emailing me in French. Hardy har har bitches (Har Har hardy, chiennes)!

That brings me to phase 2 in the French Revolution. 

A couple of years ago, I got the idea in my head to log onto Ancestry.com and research my family tree.  It was easy getting started as one of my mom's cousins had done a lot of research so that took me back quite aways before our lineages split.  That's where my lineage got interesting.

I stared at the computer screen, unhappy with the results.  "I'm French." I told Linda, with defeat ripe in my voice.  She laughed.

"No, you don't understand.  I'm not only French, my people RULED FRANCE."

More laughing.

Apparently my family is from the House of Bourbon:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Bourbon.  They *thankfully* split a few generations prior to the whole Marie Antoinette "Let them eat cake" fiasco, which is why I am here, and her head is bured as an accessory to her body.  Good job picking that bride, Louise XVI.  And yes, Bourbon is named after the area it was made, which was in turned named after the House of Bourbon. 

Prior to that there are relatives in the House of Orleans and more importantly House of Capet (more commonly referred to as House of France).

Going further back and outside of the tree, my relatives include:

Vaclav II of Bohemia, descendent of Vaclav I (Wenceslaus I) of "Good King Wenceslaus" Carolling fame

Louis IX aka "Saint Louis"...basically anything named Louis is named after this ancestor.  St. Louis, all places in Brazil named Sao Luis, Lake Saint-Louis in Quebec, Cathedral Saint Louis in Versailles, hospitals, Basillicas, etc.

Marie Capet, Countess of Champagne

Adelaide of Maurienne, who according to Wikipedia has a fable written about her:
Adélaide is one of two queens in a legend related by William Dugdale. As the story goes, Queen Adélaide of France became enamoured of a young knight, William d'Albini, at a joust. But he was already engaged to Adeliza of Louvain and refused to become her lover. The jealous Adélaide lured him into the clutches of a hungry lion, but William ripped out the beast's tongue with his bare hands and thus killed it. This story is almost without a doubt apocryphal.

Còsimo di Giovanni degli Mèdici: de facto ruler in Florence, Italy who was responsible for hiring Michelozzo Michelozzi who created the Palazzo Medici.  He commissioned The David from Donatello, who was a close personal confident, and also hired Brunellescia to complete the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore.

Emperor Heinrich VII, of the Holy Roman Empire: A widely respected and admired German Emperor who reinvigorated the Imperial Cause in Italy. Henry is the famous alto Arrigo in Dante's Paradiso, in which the poet is shown the seat of honor that awaits Henry in Heaven. Henry in Paradiso xxx.137f is "He who came to reform Italy before she was ready for it". Dante also alludes to him numerous times in "Purgatorio" as the savior who will bring imperial rule back to Italy, and end the inappropriate temporal control of the Church.

Richard I of England: A.k.a. Richard the Lionhearted