Arras
Encyclopedia
- Please do not confuse with Arras in AlbaniaArras, AlbaniaArras is a municipality in the Dibër District, Dibër County, northeastern Albania....
, for other uses see Arras (disambiguation)Arras (disambiguation)Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.Arras may also refer to:-People and places:* Harry Arras , American character actor* Wim Arras , Belgian cyclist...
Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois
Artois
Artois is a former province of northern France. Its territory has an area of around 4000 km² and a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras , Saint-Omer, Lens and Béthune.-Location:...
region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard
Picard language
Picard is a language closely related to French, and as such is one of the larger group of Romance languages. It is spoken in two regions in the far north of France – Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy – and in parts of the Belgian region of Wallonia, the district of Tournai and a part of...
dialect. Unlike many French words, the final "s" in the name should be pronounced.
Foundation
Arras was founded on the hill of Baudimont by the Belgic tribe of the AtrebatesAtrebates
The Atrebates were a Belgic tribe of Gaul and Britain before the Roman conquests.- Name of the tribe :Cognate with Old Irish aittrebaid meaning 'inhabitant', Atrebates comes from proto-Celtic *ad-treb-a-t-es, 'inhabitants'. The Celtic root is treb- 'building', 'home' The Atrebates (singular...
, who named it Nemetacum or Nemetocenna in reference to a nemeton (sacred grove) that probably existed there. It was later renamed Atrebatum by the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, under whom it became an important garrison town.
Medieval and early modern period
The townspeople were converted to Christianity in the late 4th century by Saint Diogenes, who was killed in 410 during a barbarian attack on the town. Around 130 years later, St. VedastVedast
Saint Vedast or Vedastus, also known as Saint Vaast or Saint Waast and Saint Gaston in French, Saint Vedast or Vedastus, also known as Saint Vaast (in Flemish, Norman, and Picard) or Saint Waast (also in Picard and Walloon) and Saint Gaston in French, Saint Vedast or Vedastus, also known as Saint...
(also known as St. Vaast) established an episcopal see in the town and a monastic community, which developed during the Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
period into the immensely wealthy Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Abbey of St. Vaast
St. Vaast's Abbey
The Abbey of St. Vaast was a Benedictine monastery situated in Arras, département of Pas-de-Calais, France.-History:The abbey was founded in 667. Saint Vedast, or Vaast was the first bishop of Arras and later also bishop of Cambrai, and was buried in the old cathedral at Arras...
. The modern town of Arras initially grew up around the abbey as a grain market. Both town and abbey suffered during the 9th century from the attacks of the Vikings, who later settled to the west in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
. The abbey revived its strength in the 11th century and played an important role in the development of medieval painting, successfully synthesising the artistic styles of Carolingian, Ottonian
Ottonian
The Ottonian dynasty was a dynasty of Germanic Kings , named after its first emperor but also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin. The family itself is also sometimes known as the Liudolfings, after its earliest known member Liudolf and one of its primary leading-names...
and English art.
In 1025 a Catholic council was held at Arras against certain Manichaean (dualistic) heretics who rejected the sacraments of the Church. In 1097, two councils, presided over by Lambert of Arras, dealt with questions concerning monasteries and persons consecrated to God. In this time, Arras became an important cultural center, especially for the group of poets who came to be known as trouvère
Trouvère
Trouvère , sometimes spelled trouveur , is the Northern French form of the word trobador . It refers to poet-composers who were roughly contemporary with and influenced by the troubadours but who composed their works in the northern dialects of France...
s. One particular society of such poets was later called the Puy d'Arras
Puy d'Arras
The Puy d'Arras, called in its own day the Puy Notre-Dame, was a medieval poetical society formed in Arras for holding contests between trouvères and pour maintenir amour et joie . The term puy is Old French for "place of eminence", from Latin podium...
.
The town was granted a commercial charter by the French crown in 1180 and became an internationally important location for banking and trade. The wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
industry of Arras, established in the 4th century, became of great importance during the Middle Ages. By the 14th century it had gained renown and considerable wealth from the cloth and wool industry, and was particularly well known for its production of fine tapestries
Tapestry
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven on a vertical loom, however it can also be woven on a floor loom as well. It is composed of two sets of interlaced threads, those running parallel to the length and those parallel to the width ; the warp threads are set up under tension on a...
—so much so that in English and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
the word "arras" (in Italian, "arazzi") was adopted to refer to tapestries in general. The patronage of wealthy cloth merchants ensured that the town became an important cultural centre, with major figures such as the poet Jean Bodel
Jean Bodel
Jean Bodel, who lived in the late twelfth century, was an Old French poet who wrote a number of chansons de geste as well as many fabliaux. He lived in Arras....
and the troubadour
Troubadour
A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages . Since the word "troubadour" is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz....
Adam de la Halle
Adam de la Halle
Adam de la Halle, also known as Adam le Bossu was a French-born trouvère, poet and musician, whose literary and musical works include chansons and jeux-partis in the style of the trouveres, polyphonic rondel and motets in the style of early liturgical polyphony, and a musical play, "The Play of...
making their homes in Arras.
The ownership of the town was, however, repeatedly disputed along with the rest of Artois. During the Middle Ages, possession of Arras passed to a variety of feudal rulers and fiefs, including the County of Flanders
County of Flanders
The County of Flanders was one of the territories constituting the Low Countries. The county existed from 862 to 1795. It was one of the original secular fiefs of France and for centuries was one of the most affluent regions in Europe....
, the Duchy of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...
, the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg and the French crown. The town was the site of the Congress of Arras
Congress of Arras
The Congress of Arras was a diplomatic congregation established in Arras in 1435 between representatives of England, France, and Burgundy. Toward the close of the Hundred Years' War, both the Congress and Treaty of Arras represented diplomatic failures for England and major successes for...
in 1435, an unsuccessful attempt to end the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
that resulted in the Burgundians breaking their alliance with the English. After the death of Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy in 1477, King Louis XI of France
Louis XI of France
Louis XI , called the Prudent , was the King of France from 1461 to 1483. He was the son of Charles VII of France and Mary of Anjou, a member of the House of Valois....
took control of Arras but the town's inhabitants, still loyal to the Burgundians, expelled the French. This prompted Louis XI to besiege Arras in person and, after taking it by assault, he had the town's walls razed and its inhabitants expelled, to be replaced by more loyal subjects from other parts of France. In a bid to erase the town's identity completely, Louis renamed it temporarily to Franchise. In 1482, the Peace of Arras
Treaty of Arras (1482)
The Treaty of Arras was signed at Arras on 23 December 1482 by King Louis XI of France and Archduke Maximilian I of Habsburg as heir of the Burgundian Netherlands in the course of the Burgundian succession crisis....
was signed in the town to end a war between Louis XI and Maximilian I of Austria; ten years later, the town was ceded to Maximilian and was bequeathed to the Spanish Habsburgs as part of the Spanish Netherlands.
The Union of Atrecht
Union of Atrecht
The Union of Arras was an accord signed on 6 January 1579 in Arras , under which the southern states of the Netherlands, today in Wallonia and the Nord-Pas-de-Calais régions in France and Belgium, expressed their loyalty to the Spanish king Philip II and recognized his Governor-General, Don Juan...
(the Dutch name for Arras) was signed here in January 1579 by the Catholic principalities of the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
that remained loyal to king Philip II
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
of Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
; it provoked the declaration of the Union of Utrecht
Union of Utrecht
The Union of Utrecht was a treaty signed on 23 January 1579 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, unifying the northern provinces of the Netherlands, until then under the control of Habsburg Spain....
later the same month.
Modern period
During the First World War, Arras was near the front and a long series of battles fought nearby are known as the Battle of ArrasBattle of Arras (1917)
The Battle of Arras was a British offensive during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British, Canadian, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and Australian troops attacked German trenches near the French city of Arras on the Western Front....
. A series of medieval tunnels beneath the city, linked and greatly expanded by the New Zealand Tunnelling Company, became a decisive factor in the British forces holding the city. The city, however, was heavily damaged and had to be rebuilt after the war. In the Second World War, during the invasion of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
in May 1940, the town was the focus of a major British counter attack
Battle of Arras (1940)
The Battle of Arras took place during the Battle of France, in the early stages of World War II. It was an Allied counterattack against the flank of the German army, that took place near the town of Arras, in north-eastern France. The German forces were pushing north toward the channel coast, in...
. The town was occupied by the Germans and 240 suspected French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
members were executed in the Arras citadel.
In September 1993 Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
and Arras became twin towns, and a square in the new Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
Buttermarket development was named Arras Square to mark the relationship.
Main sights
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
town hall (rebuilt in a slightly less grandiose style after the war) and the 19th-century cathedral.
The original cathedral of Arras, constructed between 1030 and 1396, was one of the most beautiful Gothic structures in northern France. It was destroyed in the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
Many of Arras's most notable structures, including the museum and several government buildings, occupy the site of the old Abbaye de Saint-Vaast. The abbey's church was demolished and rebuilt in fashionable classical style in 1833, and now serves as the town's cathedral. The design was chosen by the one-time Abbot of St Vaast, the Cardinal de Rohan, and is stark in its simplicity, employing a vast number of perpendicular angles. There is a fine collection of statuary within the church and it houses a number of religious relics.
Two buildings in Arras are listed as UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Sites:
- the belfryBell towerA bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
of the town hall, as part of the Belfries of Belgium and FranceBelfries of Belgium and FranceThe Belfries of Belgium and France is a group of 56 historical buildings designated by UNESCO as World Heritage Site, in recognition of an architectural manifestation of emerging civic independence in historic Flanders and neighbouring regions from feudal and religious influences, leading to a...
group, since 2005 - the citadelCitadelA citadel is a fortress for protecting a town, sometimes incorporating a castle. The term derives from the same Latin root as the word "city", civis, meaning citizen....
, as part of the "Fortifications of VaubanFortifications of VaubanFortifications of Vauban consists of 12 groups of fortified buildings and sites along the western, northern and eastern borders of France. They were designed by Vauban , and were added in 2008 to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites....
" group, since 2008
The Vimy Memorial
Vimy Memorial
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is a memorial site in France dedicated to the memory of Canadian Expeditionary Force members killed during the First World War. It also serves as the place of commemoration for First World War Canadian soldiers killed or presumed dead in France who have no known...
is a memorial just north of the town honouring a major World War I battle, the Battle of Vimy Ridge, which marked the first time Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
fielded an entire army of her own. Four Canadian divisions fought there on Easter weekend 1917. The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the broader Allied offensive in April known as the Battle of Arras
Battle of Arras (1917)
The Battle of Arras was a British offensive during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British, Canadian, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and Australian troops attacked German trenches near the French city of Arras on the Western Front....
. Vimy was the only victory the Allies would enjoy during their 1917 spring offensive. The Basilica of Notre Dame de Lorette
Notre Dame de Lorette
Notre Dame de Lorette is the name of a ridge, basilica, and French national cemetery northwest of Arras at the village of Ablain-Saint-Nazaire...
cemetery, overlooking the nearby village of Ablain-Saint-Nazaire
Ablain-Saint-Nazaire
Ablain-Saint-Nazaire is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.-Geography:A farming village located 8 miles north of Arras, on the D57 road. It was rebuilt after being destroyed during World War I...
, likewise stands before one of France's largest World War I necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
es. Part of an extensive network of tunnels dug in World War I by British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
soldiers can be visited at the Carrière Wellington
Carrière Wellington
The Carrière Wellington is a museum in Arras, northern France. It is named after a former underground quarry which was part of a network of tunnels used by forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the First World War...
museum in the suburbs.
Arras holds a Christmas Market
Christmas Market
A Christmas market, also known as Christkindlmarkt, Christkindlesmarkt, Christkindlmarket, and Weihnachtsmarkt, is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent...
every year from 27 November – 24 December. Around 60 exhibitors offer a wide selection of arts and crafts, as well as local delicacies like chocolate rats, Atrébate beer and Coeurs d'Arras – heart-shaped biscuits which come in two flavours; ginger and cheese. Entertainment includes cooking lessons with chefs, craft demonstrations, a merry-go-round and heated shelters. It also offers also native products from Vietnam, Morocco, Indonesia, Africa and gourmet regional specialities from different parts of France: Auvergne, Savoie, Holland, South-Western France and Nord-Pas-de-Calais.
The Main Square Festival
Main Square Festival
The Main Square Festival is a music festival located in Arras, France. The festival takes place in early July.Until 2010 the Festival was held on the Grande Place in Arras...
is held in Citadelle Vauban, attracting tens of thousands of attendees and playing host to major acts such as The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
, Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
and The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
.
Points of interest
- Jardin botanique FloralpinaJardin botanique FloralpinaThe Jardin botanique Floralpina is a private botanical garden specializing in alpine plants. It is located at 59, Avenue du Mémorial des Fusillés, Arras, Pas de Calais, Nord-Pas de Calais, France. It is open on the last Sunday in May and by appointment....
, a private botanical gardenBotanical gardenA botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
specializing in alpine plantAlpine plantAlpine plants are plants that grow in the alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. Alpine plants grow together as a plant community in alpine tundra.-Alpine plant diversity:...
s
Transport
Gare d'Arras
Gare d'Arras is a railway station serving the town Arras, Pas-de-Calais department, northern France. It is situated on the Paris–Lille railway, is the origin of the Arras-Dunkirk railway and accessible from LGV Nord.-Services:-References:* *...
railway station is served by a purpose-built branch of the LGV Nord
LGV Nord
The LGV Nord is a French 333-kilometre long high speed rail line, opened in 1993, that connects Paris to the Belgian border and the Channel Tunnel via Lille....
high speed railway, with regular TGV
TGV
The TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
services to Paris. There are also regular trains to Lille, Amiens, Dunkerque and several regional destinations. The A1 motorway connects Arras with Lille and Paris, the A26
A26 autoroute
The A26 is a long French motorway connecting Calais and Troyes. It is also known as the Autoroute des Anglais as it is the main route from the Dover-Calais ferries and the Channel Tunnel to most parts of France and often contains large numbers of British cars, particularly during the summer...
with Calais and Reims.
Notable people
Arras was one of the centers of trouvère poetry, and trouvères from Arras include:- Adam de la HalleAdam de la HalleAdam de la Halle, also known as Adam le Bossu was a French-born trouvère, poet and musician, whose literary and musical works include chansons and jeux-partis in the style of the trouveres, polyphonic rondel and motets in the style of early liturgical polyphony, and a musical play, "The Play of...
(c.1240–88) - Andrieu Contredit d'ArrasAndrieu Contredit d'ArrasAndrieu Contredit d'Arras was a trouvère from Arras and active in the Puy d'Arras. "Contredit" is probably a nickname. He wrote mostly grand chants, but also a pastourelle, a lai, and a jeu-parti with Guillaume li Vinier....
(† c.1248) - Audefroi le Bastart (fl. c1200–1230)
- Dame MargotDame Margot (trouvère)Dame Margot was a trouvères from Arras, in Picardy, France. One extant work of hers is jeu parti, a debate song, in which she debates Dame Maroie. This song, "Je vous pri, dame Maroie," survives in two manuscripts, which each give separate and unrelated melodies. In another jeu parti she is a...
- Dame MaroieDame MaroieDame Maroie was a trouvères from Arras, in Picardy, France. She debates Dame Margot in a jeu parti, or debate song, "Je vous pri, dame Maroie." This song survives in two manuscripts, which each give separate and unrelated melodies...
- Gaidifer d'AvionGaidifer d'AvionGaidifer d'Avion was an Artesian trouvère from Avion. He entered the Church and was associated with the poets of the so-called "School of Arras".Gaidifer was well-connected to contemporary poets...
- Guillaume le VinierGuillaume le VinierGuillaume le Vinier was a French trouvère and poet. He was the older brother of Gilles le Vinier. He wrote over thirty essays, many accompanied by melodies, including jeu parti and partimen with Andrieu Contredit d'Arras.-References:...
(fl. c1220–45; †1245) - Jacques le Vinier
- Jehan BretelJehan BretelJehan Bretel was a trouvère. Of his known oeuvre of probably 97 songs, 96 have survived. Judging by his contacts with other trouvères he was famous and popular...
(c1200–1272) - Jehan le Cuvelier d'ArrasJehan le Cuvelier d'ArrasJehan le Cuvelier d'Arras was a trouvère associated with the so-called "school of Arras". He may be the same person as Johannes Cuvellarius from Bapaume, a suburb of Arras, who is mentioned in documents of 1258. He was the respondent in nine jeux partis and judge of six; he also composed six...
(fl. c1240–70) - Jehan ErartJehan ErartJehan Erart was a trouvère from Arras, particularly noted for his favouring the pastourelle genre. He has left behind eleven pastourelles, ten grand chants, and one serventois....
(† c1259) - Mahieu de GantMahieu de GantMahieu de Gant was a Flemish trouvère from Ghent associated with the so-called "school of Arras". He has been conflated with Mahieu le Juif, but the same manuscript that contains both their works clearly distinguishes them...
- Moniot d'ArrasMoniot d'ArrasMoniot d'Arras was a French composer and poet of the trouvère tradition. He was a monk of the abbey of Arras in northern France; the area was at the time a center of trouvère activity, and his contemporaries included Adam de la Halle and Colin Muset. His songs were all monophonic in the tradition...
(fl c1250–75) - Robert de CastelRobert de CastelRobert de Castel was a trouvère active in and around Arras in the late thirteenth century. He is mentioned in the Congés of Baude Fastoul, written in 1272, which place him Arras at that date...
- Robert de la PiereRobert de la PiereRobert de la Piere was a trouvère of the so-called "school" of Arras. In his time Robert's bourgeois family was prominent in Arras, though the earliest known member is only recorded in 1212. Robert served as a magistrate in 1255, as attested by one surviving document in the municipal archives...
Arras was the birthplace of:
- Matthias of ArrasMatthias of ArrasMatthias of Arras was a French architect, famed for his work on St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague....
(1290?–1352), architect - Antoine de FévinAntoine de FévinAntoine de Févin was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was active at the same time as Josquin des Prez, and shares many traits with his more famous contemporary.-Life:...
(c.1470–1511 or 1512), composer - Charles de l'ÉcluseCharles de l'ÉcluseCharles de l'Écluse, L'Escluse, or Carolus Clusius , seigneur de Watènes, was a Flemish doctor and pioneering botanist, perhaps the most influential of all 16th century scientific horticulturists....
(1526–1609), doctor and pioneering botanist - Philippe RogierPhilippe RogierPhilippe Rogier was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active at the Habsburg court of Philip II in Spain...
(c. 1561–1596), composer - Maximilien RobespierreMaximilien RobespierreMaximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. He largely dominated the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with his...
(1758–1794), French revolutionary leader - Joseph le BonJoseph le BonJoseph Le Bon was a French politician.He was born at Arras. He became a priest in the order of the Oratory, and professor of rhetoric at Beaune. He adopted revolutionary ideas, and became a curé of the Constitutional Church in the department of Pas-de-Calais, where he was later elected as a député...
(1765–1795), politician - Eugène François VidocqEugène François VidocqEugène François Vidocq was a French criminal and criminalist whose life story inspired several writers, including Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac...
(1775–1857), one of the first modern private investigators - Gabriel HanotGabriel HanotGabriel Hanot was a French association football player and journalist .He made 12 appearances for the France national football team, with his debut coming on 8 March 1908 against Switzerland. He made another 10 appearances for them up to World War I...
(1889–1968), journalist - Violette LeducViolette LeducViolette Leduc was a French author.She was born in Arras, Pas de Calais, France, the illegitimate daughter of a servant girl, Berthe. In Valenciennes, the young Violette spent most of her childhood suffering from poor self-esteem, exacerbated by her mother's hostility and overprotectiveness...
(1907–1972), author - Jean-Christophe NovelliJean-Christophe Novelli-Life:Born in Arras, Northern France, in 1961, in a family with Italian roots, Jean-Christophe Novelli left school at age 14 and worked in a bakery before, at the age of 20, becoming a personal chef to the Rothschild family....
(born 1961), chef and restaurateur - Benoît Assou-EkottoBenoît Assou-EkottoBenoît Pierre David Assou-Ekotto is a French-born Cameroonian footballer who plays for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur as a left back.-RC Lens:...
(born 1984), footballer
See also
- Battle of ArrasBattle of ArrasThe name Battle of Arras refers to a number of battles which took place near the town of Arras in Artois, France:*Battle of Arras , a clash between the French and the Spanish...
, for a list of battles so named. - St. Vaast's AbbeySt. Vaast's AbbeyThe Abbey of St. Vaast was a Benedictine monastery situated in Arras, département of Pas-de-Calais, France.-History:The abbey was founded in 667. Saint Vedast, or Vaast was the first bishop of Arras and later also bishop of Cambrai, and was buried in the old cathedral at Arras...
- Lion and Sun#Other (non-Iranian) variants
External links
- Information and pictures about Arras (in French)
- Demographic statistics of Arras
- Fortifications of Arras
- "In and around Arras" pages 45–47 Discover Pas-de-Calais
- Inside the amazing cave city that housed 25,000 Allied troops under German noses in WWI
- "Rebuilding Arras after WW1: old and new ideas" on the website "Remembrance Trails of the Great War in Northern France"
- Article on Arras War Memorial/Sculptor Felix-Alexandre DesruellesFélix-Alexandre DesruellesFélix-Alexandre Desruelles was a French sculptor who was born in Valenciennes in 1865 and died in La Fléche in 1943. He was a member of the Institut et l’Académie des Beaux-Arts.-The war memorial at Arras:...