Short answers, pulled from the story.
Senlis is a commune in the northern French department of Oise, in the Hauts-de-France region. It sits 40 kilometers north of Paris, 44 kilometers from Beauvais, and 79 kilometers from Amiens, on the river Nonette between the forests of Chantilly and d'Ermenonville to the south and d'Halatte to the north.
In 987, Archbishop Adalbero of Reims convened an assembly in Senlis and asked those gathered to choose Hugh Capet as king of France. Capet was subsequently elected king by his barons and crowned at Noyon, launching the Capetian dynasty that would define French monarchy for centuries.
Senlis Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Gothic church and a French national monument. Construction spanned from 1153 to 1519. Its 78-meter spire dates from the 13th century and is visible across the plain of Valois. The southern portal was completed in the 16th century by Martin Chambiges, and the transepts were rebuilt between 1530 and 1556 after a fire destroyed them.
German forces occupied Senlis in early September 1914. Mayor Eugène Odent and six civilian hostages, including a tanner, a carter, and a cafe waiter, were executed by the Germans. The Train Station and Courthouse were also burned down. French forces liberated the town later that same year, and in 1931 the main street of Senlis was named after Odent.
Senlis has served as a film location for dozens of productions, beginning with D.W. Griffith's Coeurs du monde in 1918, starring Lillian Gish. Later films include Cartouche (1961) with Jean-Paul Belmondo, Peau d'âne (1970) with Catherine Deneuve, La Reine Margot (1994) with Isabelle Adjani, and Séraphine (2008) with Yolande Moreau.
The Treaty of Senlis was signed in 1493 by King Charles VIII of France, son of Louis XI, and Maximilian I of Austria, Duke of Burgundy. It was concluded in Senlis during a period of recovery following the devastation of the Hundred Years' War.