commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
Hauts-de-France
Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost Regions of France, region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its Prefectu ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
in northern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
It is the
chef-lieu
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...
of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of
Ponthieu
Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville.
History
Ponthieu play ...
Abbeville is located on the river Somme, from its modern mouth in the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
. The majority of the town is located on the east bank of the Somme, as well as on an island. It is located at the head of the Abbeville Canal, and is northwest of
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
and approximately from
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. It is also
as the crow flies
__NOTOC__
The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points, rather similar to "in a beeline". This meaning is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver ...
from the and the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
. In the
medieval period
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, it was the lowest crossing point on the Somme and it was nearby that Edward III's army crossed shortly before the
Battle of Crécy
The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King PhilipVI and an English army led by King EdwardIII. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France du ...
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
, it is the historical capital of the
County of Ponthieu
Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville.
History
Ponthieu play ...
and maritime
Picardy
Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France.
Hi ...
.
Quarters, hamlets and localities
*Émonville Park takes its name from one of its owners Arthur Foulc d'Émonville, an amateur botanist, who bought a part of the in order to accommodate a garden and to construct a mansion, which now houses the study and heritage section of the Robert Mallet municipal library. The remains of the priory include the entrance arch, current main entrance of the garden located on ''Place Clemenceau'', as well as some buildings which make up the Saint-Pierre School, including the remarkable Chapel of Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul (now in a very poor state). This place is considered by some to be the origin of Abbeville, because it was the location of the first château of the Counts of Ponthieu, called ''castrum''. It is assumed that this place could have been the location of the farm of Abbatisvilla, dependent upon the Abbey of Saint-Riquier.
*The suburbs of La Bouvaque and Thuison are located to the north of the city. The municipal park of La Bouvaque, bordered by the ''Boulevard de la République'', consists of the La Bouvaque pond and Collart meadows, former settling ponds of the sugar factory. It was in Thuison that the
Carthusian monastery
This is a list of Carthusian monasteries, or charterhouses, containing both extant and dissolved monasteries of the Carthusians (also known as the Order of Saint Bruno) for monks and nuns, arranged by location under their present countries. Also ...
of Saint-Honoré was founded in 1301 by , Bishop of Amiens. This was a property of the
Order of the Temple
, colors = White mantle with a red cross
, colors_label = Attire
, march =
, mascot = Two knights riding a single horse
, equipment ...
, sold to the latter by Gérard de Villars, the last . The sale was confirmed by
Hugues de Pairaud Hugues de Pairaud (also Perraud, Peraudo, Peraut or Desperaut) was one of the leaders of the Knights Templar. He and Geoffroi de Gonneville (the Preceptor of Aquitaine) were sentenced to life imprisonment on March 18, 1314. They were spared the fa ...
, then .
*The suburb of Saint Gilles
*Rouvroy is to the west, and the origin of the name comes from Rouvray (from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''roborem'',
Middle French
Middle French (french: moyen français) is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the 14th to the 16th century. It is a period of transition during which:
* the French language became clearly distinguished from ...
''robre'', meaning "oak") indicates the presence of an oak wood or a remarkable oak.
*Mautort, beside Rouvroy, is a former stronghold located between
Cambron
Cambron () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
Cambron is situated on the D3 road, some west of Abbeville
Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme departme ...
and Abbeville. It is at the origin of the noble name of ''de Mautort'', surviving in the name of the Tillette de Mautort family or, for example, of . The name ''tort'' is attested in
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
with the sense of ''détour'' and ''Mau'' (from the Latin ''malus'', meaning "bad"). The , emblematic of the quarter, was initially a simple chapel of sailors founded in the 11th century and underwent many changes during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries.
*Menchecourt, in the north-west, is known for its sugar factory (closed in 2008 and demolished in 2010) and for its football club.
Transport
Abbeville station
Abbeville is a railway station serving the town of Abbeville, Somme department, in Hauts-de-France, northern France. It is on the Longueau–Boulogne railway and is the terminus of the Abbeville–Eu railway. It is served principally by TER Haut ...
is served by trains on the line between
Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the C ...
and
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
and between
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...
and
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. Abbeville was the southern terminus of the
Réseau des Bains de Mer
The Réseau des Bains de Mer (RBM) was a group of five metre gauge railways centred on Noyelles-sur-Mer, with a total route length of some . It was a part of the ''Chemins de fer départementaux de la Somme''. Three of the lines are still open ...
, the line to
Dompierre-sur-Authie
Dompierre-sur-Authie (, literally ''Dompierre on Authie''; pcd, Dompierre-su-Eutie) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
It is slowly depopulating like most of the countryside towns of this region, with t ...
opened on 19 June 1892 and closed on 10 March 1947.
Abbeville is located just near the
A16 autoroute
The A16 autoroute – also known as ''L'Européenne'' and forming between Abbeville and Dunkirk a part of the larger ''Autoroute des estuaires'' – is a motorway in northern France.
The motorway, which has a total length of , starts at a ju ...
, and is about 1 hour 50 minutes by car from Paris.
Climate
Abbeville has an oceanic climate due to its proximity to the ocean. The summers and winters are temperate and rainy, days of snow are fairly common (18 days of snow per year on average). There are 26 days of storm per year with a maximum in the months of July and August, the rains are frequent and distributed regularly in the year with precipitation totalling and 128 days with precipitation. The sunshine is average (1678 hours of sunshine) because of its position in the north and the oceanic influence also helps to prevent temperatures from being too high with only three days of intense heat (temperature > = 30 °C) and from being too cold with 6 days of heavy frost (temperature = -5 °C). The highest temperature was on 1 July 1952 and the record low is , which occurred during a particularly cold spell on 17 January 1985.
Demography
Demographic evolution
Age structure
The population of the commune is relatively old.
Economy
Abbeville is the seat of the . It manages ports, the
aerodrome
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
and industrial areas of the
arrondissement
An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands.
Europe
France
The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...
of Abbeville.
Abbeville manufactured textiles, and in particular, linens and tablecloths when the Van Robais family created la Manufacture Royale des Rames in 1665; however after the Edict of Nantes was revoked and the subsequent migration of Protestants away from the area, the cloth business succumbed. Also affecting the economy of the town was the closure of the river port on the
Somme River
The Somme ( , , ) is a river in Picardy, northern France.
The river is in length, from its source in the high ground of the former at Fonsomme near Saint-Quentin, to the Bay of the Somme, in the English Channel. It lies in the geolog ...
due to excessive silt. It also has cordage factories, carpet factories, and spinning mills. Finally, it also fabricates locks, has breweries, and produces food and, until 2007, sugar,
Culture, festivals, sport and leisure
Culture
*The , built in 1911, registered as an historic monument in 2003
*The Municipal Conservatory of the Abbevillois (music and dance)
*The
Robert Mallet
Robert Mallet (3 June 1810 – 5 November 1881) was an Irish geophysicist, civil engineer, and inventor who distinguished himself in research on earthquakes and is sometimes called the father of seismology. His son, Frederick Richard Mallet was ...
municipal library: It preserves a Heritage
fonds
In archival science, a fonds is a group of documents that share the same origin and that have occurred naturally as an outgrowth of the daily workings of an agency, individual, or organization. An example of a fonds could be the writings of a poe ...
including being based on collections from the ancient monastic establishments in the vicinity, with 972 manuscripts. Among these, is a Carolingian Gospel book running to 790–800 at the Court of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
.
*The , a certified
Museum of France Museum of France (''Musée de France'') is a title given to the main state museums in France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and ter ...
Futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football.
Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...
Abbevilloise
*
Rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...
club, Sport Nautique Abbevillois, Centre nautique Jean-Raymond-Peltier
*
Rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
club, XV of Abbeville, at stage Imanol Harinordoquy (side of Justice)
*
Cycling
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...
club, the Étoile Cycliste Abbevilloise
* Handball club, the EAL Handball
*
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
club, currently in Nationale 1
*Flying school of aeroplanes and gliders, and ULM school (Ludair), located on the edge of Abbeville and
Buigny-Saint-Maclou
Buigny-Saint-Maclou (; pcd, Bugny-Saint-Maclou) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
The commune is situated on the N1 road, just north of Abbeville.
The Abbeville airport is within the bounda ...
(at the
Aerodrome Abbeville
The Aerodrome Abbeville (french: Aérodrome d'Abbeville) or Abbeville Airport, , is an airport serving Abbeville and located in Buigny-Saint-Maclou, north-northeast of Abbeville, both ''communes'' of the Somme ''département'' in the Picardie ' ...
)
*
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
Field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...
, women's team playing in Nationale 1
*Judo Club Abbevillois
*Grand-Laviers
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
course, north-west of the city,
*
Skatepark
A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairse ...
of Abbeville
*
Boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
Club – Bobo-Lorcy and Benjamin-Leberton rooms
*Automotive Stadium of Abbeville
*
Fencing
Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...
club, Abbevilloise Fencing Association (AAE)
*Sporting club of swimming (SCA swimming)
Abbeville has featured as the departure point for Stage 4 of the 2012 Tour de France and the departure point for Stage 1 of the 2011 Tour de Picardie. The commune has also been on the route of the
Grand Prix de la Somme
The Grand Prix de la Somme (formerly the Tour de la Somme) is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in May in Somme, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It al ...
one-day cycle race. Abbeville will feature as the departure point for Stage 6 of the 2015 Tour de France, on 9 July.
Games
*Chess club, Exchequer of Picardy Maritime (EPM).
*Poker club, (PCA Poker Club Abbeville), a club which has finished first at France's Team Poker Championships (CNEC).
In literature
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
, in his ''
Dictionnaire philosophique
The (''Philosophical Dictionary'') is an encyclopedic dictionary published by the Enlightenment thinker Voltaire in 1764. The alphabetically arranged articles often criticize the Roman Catholic Church, Judaism, Islam, and other institutions. T ...
'' (1769), wrote an article ''Torture'', in which he made an account of the martyrdom of the
Chevalier de La Barre
Chevalier may refer to:
Honours Belgium
* a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown
* a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold
* a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II
* a title in the Belgian nobility
France
* a rank in the French Legion d'h ...
:
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
evoked the trips he made to Abbeville, in his accounts of travel.
André Maurois, in ''Les Silences du Colonel Bramble'' (1918) amusingly described the intact commercial spirit of the inhabitants of Abbeville in the last months of the war.
Also, Andre Maurois, Ni ange ni bete, is situated in Abbeville.
, in his novel ''Déluges'', Éditions Henry, November 2004 (2005 Prix Renaissance), evokes the bombing of 1940 and the floods of the Somme of 2001.
Toponymy
The Romans occupied it and named it ''Abbatis Villa''.
The name of the city is attested in various forms over the centuries: ''Brittania'' (in the 3rd century), ''Abacivo villa'' (6th century), ''Bacivum palatium'', ''Cloie'' and ''Cloye'' (in the 7th century), ''Abacivum villa'', ''Basiu'', ''Haymonis villa'', ''Abbatis villa'', ''Abbevilla'' (in the 11th century), ''Abbavilla'', ''Abedvilla'', ''Abatis villa'', ''Abbasvilla'', ''Abbisvilla'', ''Abbevile'' in 1209, ''Abbevilla in ponticio'' in 1213, ''Abisvil'', ''Abeville'' in 1255, ''Abbeville'' in 1266, ''Abbisville'', ''Abbeville en Pontiu'' (13th century), ''Albeville'', ''Aubeville'' in 1358, ''Albeville'' in 1347, ''Aubbeville'', ''Aubeville'', ''Abevile'' (1383), ''Abbativilla'' and, finally, Abbeville, meaning the "Villa of the Abbé" because it once depended on the .
There are also ''Hableville'' in 1607 and ''Ableville'' in 1643, with transitional addition of an L.
''Abbekerke'' and ''Abbegem'' in
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
.
Heraldry
Abbeville boasted of having never been taken and was called ''Abbeville la pucelle'' ("the virgin"). It was also granted many privileges from the Capetian kings, to reward its loyalty.
Sobriquet
The
blason populaire
Blason populaire is an umbrella genre in the field of folkloristics used to designate any item of any genre which makes use of stereotypes, usually, but not always, negative stereotypes, of a particular group. "These stereotypes are manifested in ...
of the people of Abbeville is ''"chés bourgeois d'Adville"''.
Ponthieu
Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville.
History
Ponthieu play ...
Communauté d'agglomération de la Baie de Somme
The Communauté d'agglomération de la Baie de Somme is a ''communauté d'agglomération'' in the Somme ''département'' and in the Hauts-de-France ''région'' of France. It was formed on 1 January 2017 by the merger of the former Communauté de co ...
of which it has the headquarters.
History
Prehistory
Palaeolithic
The subsoil contains many vestiges of the
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
. This discovery was a founding element of
prehistory
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
as a science.
The name Abbeville has been adopted to name a category of
paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
handaxes
A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a Prehistory, prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history, yet there is no academic consensus on what they were used for. It is made from stone, usually f ...
. Various handaxes were found near Abbeville by
Jacques Boucher de Perthes
Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...
starting in 1838 and he was the first to describe the stones in detail, pointing out in the first publication of its kind, in 1846, that the stones were chipped deliberately by early man, so as to form a tool. These stone tools which are some of the earliest found in Europe, were chipped on both sides so as to form a sharp edge, were known as
Abbevillian
Abbevillian (formerly also ''Chellean'') is a term for the oldest lithic industry found in Europe, dated to between roughly 600,000 and 400,000 years ago.
The original artifacts were collected from road construction sites on the Somme river near ...
handaxes or
biface
A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history, yet there is no academic consensus on what they were used for. It is made from stone, usually flint or ch ...
s, but recently the term 'Abbevillian' is becoming obsolete as the earlier form of stone tool, not found in Europe, is known as the
Oldowan
The Oldowan (or Mode I) was a widespread stone tool archaeological industry (style) in prehistory. These early tools were simple, usually made with one or a few flakes chipped off with another stone. Oldowan tools were used during the Lower ...
chopper. Some of these artifacts are displayed at the Musee Boucher-de-Perthes.
A more refined and later version of handaxe production was found in the Abbeville/Somme River district. The more refined handaxe became known as the
Acheulean
Acheulean (; also Acheulian and Mode II), from the French ''acheuléen'' after the type site of Saint-Acheul, is an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture characterized by the distinctive oval and pear-shaped "hand axes" associated ...
industry, named after
Saint-Acheul
Saint-Acheul is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is not to be confused with Saint-Acheul, a suburb of Amiens after which the Acheulean archaeological culture of the Lower Paleolithic is named.
Geog ...
, today a suburb of
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
.
It retained some importance into the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
.
Antiquity
Although the research of Jacques Boucher de Perthes has highlighted an occupation of the site of Abbeville (''Menchecourt-les-Abbeville'' quarter) from the
Acheulean
Acheulean (; also Acheulian and Mode II), from the French ''acheuléen'' after the type site of Saint-Acheul, is an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture characterized by the distinctive oval and pear-shaped "hand axes" associated ...
era, in Roman times it was a succession of marshes, similar to marsh of ''Saint-Gilles'' which remains today. Further to the north, the entire plateau between the Authie and the Somme was covered in
primary forest
An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological feature ...
. The Romans had to break through this forest massif for the passage of the road from
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
to the village of Ponches on the one hand, and on the other to the west by the road linking the Beauvaisis in
Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the C ...
. The couple Abbeville / Saint-Valery-sur-Somme is the key to the historical enigma of the landing of
Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus (; cy, Macsen Wledig ; died 8 August 388) was Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 383 to 388. He usurped the throne from emperor Gratian in 383 through negotiation with emperor Theodosius I.
He was made emperor in B ...
and his Britto-Roman troops in the spring of 383 AD (St-Valery = Leuconos > Pors Liogan; Abbeville = Talence > Tolente). The road to Paris passes near the Vieux-Rouen-sur-Bresle, which has been identified with the character Himbaldus (Château-Hubault).
Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
In the 7th century, the Benedictine monks of Saint-Valéry,
Saint-Josse
Saint-Josse (), or Saint-Josse-sur-Mer (literally ''Saint-Josse on Sea''), is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.
Geography
Saint-Josse is located 4 miles (6 km) west of Montreuil-sur-Mer on ...
Forest-Montiers
Forest-Montiers is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
The commune is situated on the D32 road, near the N1/A16 autoroute junction, some north of Abbeville.
Population
Places of interest
Fores ...
,
Balance
Balance or balancing may refer to:
Common meanings
* Balance (ability) in biomechanics
* Balance (accounting)
* Balance or weighing scale
* Balance as in equality or equilibrium
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Balance'' (1983 film), a Bulgaria ...
and Valloires cleared the woods that were close to their monasteries. The Frankish king
Dagobert I
Dagobert I ( la, Dagobertus; 605/603 – 19 January 639 AD) was the king of Austrasia (623–634), king of all the Franks (629–634), and king of Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dyna ...
then gave part of the forest of Crécy, the hermitage became the : it is the Act of birth of the abbatial field of Abbeville. The name, Abbeville, comes from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and means "''town'' (or more exactly) ''field of Abbots''" (of Saint-Riquier).
The first historical mention of Abbeville, in the Chronicle of ,Also written as Hariulphe dates to 831 AD. It was a small island in the Somme, inhabited by fishermen who refuged there with their boats and had fortified it against barbarian invasions from the north. The Abbot
Angilbert
Angilbert ( – 18 February 814) was a noble Frankish poet who was educated under Alcuin and served Charlemagne as a secretary, diplomat, and son-in-law. He is venerated as a pre-Congregation saint and is still honored on the day of his dea ...
built a castle to defend this island, which depended on the
Abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The con ...
of
Saint-Riquier
Saint-Riquier () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
The commune is situated northeast of Abbeville, on the D925 and D32 crossroads.
Abbey
Saint-Riquier (originally ''Centula'' or ''Centulum'' ...
. It was an important fort city responsible for the defense of the Somme.
In 992,
Hugh Capet
Hugh Capet (; french: Hugues Capet ; c. 939 – 14 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, ...
fortified the city and gave it to his daughter, Gisèle, on her marriage with Hugh I,
Count of Ponthieu
The County of Ponthieu (, ), centered on the mouth of the Somme, became a member of the Norman group of vassal states when Count Guy submitted to William of Normandy after the battle of Mortemer.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Princip ...
who resided in Montreuil.
High Middle Ages
From the 12th century, the Abbot opened a leprosy hospice, the ''maladrerie des Frères du Val'', moved to
Grand-Laviers
Grand-Laviers (; pcd, Grand-Lavier) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
The commune is situated on the D40 road, some northwest of Abbeville, by the banks of the canalised river Somme. The anc ...
in the following century, before urban sprawl. Then accessible to boats, Abbeville became a port of the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
In fact, sea vessels docked instead at that time in
Grand-Laviers
Grand-Laviers (; pcd, Grand-Lavier) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
The commune is situated on the D40 road, some northwest of Abbeville, by the banks of the canalised river Somme. The anc ...
, but the goods can be brought by large boats into the heart of the city, as evidenced by the suburb "du Guindal". under the dependence of the Abbots of
Saint-Riquier
Saint-Riquier () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
The commune is situated northeast of Abbeville, on the D925 and D32 crossroads.
Abbey
Saint-Riquier (originally ''Centula'' or ''Centulum'' ...
. Subsequently, the silting up of the forced the sea to recede by , but the city continued to be a trading port. Abbeville became the capital of the
Ponthieu
Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville.
History
Ponthieu play ...
and rapidly spread on both banks of the River Somme, right on the slope of the hillsides and left into the marshes.
In 1095, Guy I
Count of Ponthieu
The County of Ponthieu (, ), centered on the mouth of the Somme, became a member of the Norman group of vassal states when Count Guy submitted to William of Normandy after the battle of Mortemer.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Princip ...
founded the Abbey Saint-Pierre of Abbeville and on 24 May 1098, he was dubbed as a
Knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
by
Louis the Fat
Louis VI (late 1081 – 1 August 1137), called the Fat (french: link=no, le Gros) or the Fighter (french: link=no, le Batailleur), was King of the Franks from 1108 to 1137.
Chronicles called him "King of Saint-Denis". Louis was the first member ...
.
On the occasion of the
First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...
, Abbeville was the meeting point of many troops from the northern provinces. Godefroy de Bouillon reviewed them on the current location of the .
With the rapid development of the salt trade (from
Rue
''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of ''Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for its bluis ...
),
woad
''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from ...
(''waide'' in Picard) and industry of wool cloth, the bourgeois increased in number and political importance: They asked for a charter granted in the course of the 12th century and which was confirmed in 1184 by Count
John I of Ponthieu
John I of Ponthieu ( – 1191) was the son of Guy II of Ponthieu and succeeded him as Count of Ponthieu in 1147.
War with Normandy
John attacked Normandy in 1166 and 1168, in response to King Henry II of England's confiscation of the castles at ...
who died in Palestine. To commemorate the event, they built a belfry in 1126. A century later, Jeanne de Dammartin, Countess of Ponthieu (1220–1278), allowed the religious to convert an additional part of forests into cropland, allowing the development of the local economy. Afterwards it was governed by the
Counts of Ponthieu
The County of Ponthieu (, ), centered on the mouth of the Somme, became a member of the Norman group of vassal states when Count Guy submitted to William of Normandy after the battle of Mortemer.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Princip ...
. Together with that county, it came into the possession of the
Alençon
Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people).
History
The name of Alençon is firs ...
and other French families, and afterwards into that of the House of Castile. In 1214, the Abbeville militia took part in the
Battle of Bouvines
The Battle of Bouvines was fought on 27 July 1214 near the town of Bouvines in the County of Flanders. It was the concluding battle of the Anglo-French War of 1213–1214. Although estimates on the number of troops vary considerably among mo ...
.
In the middle of the 13th century, Abbeville was "one of the best cities of the Kings of France". Its port was one of the first of the Kingdom and its considerable trade.
In 1259, the Estates-General of the Kingdom stood at Abbeville and
Henry III of England
Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...
has met with
Louis IX of France
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...
to sign the
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
, which settled the question of the conquests of Philip Augustus.
In 1272,
Ponthieu
Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville.
History
Ponthieu play ...
with Abbeville, passed by marriage to the
Kings of England
This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself King of the Anglo-Sax ...
, but
Philip V Philip V may refer to:
* Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC)
* Philip V of France (1293–1322)
* Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598)
* Philip V of Spain
Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...
took over the city, claiming that
Edward II of England
Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to ...
had not fulfilled its duty of
vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
. Edward II complied with the feudal law, and Abbeville fell under English rule. However many challenges rose between the bourgeois and their new masters.
Late Middle Ages
Throughout the Hundred Years' War, the town was alternately occupied by the English and French causing the inhabitants of the town enormous suffering. They were tested by excessive taxes and terrible epidemics. Over the decades, the region was devastated by
looting
Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...
,
epidemics
An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time.
Epidemics of infectious d ...
and
wolves
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...
. The city thus appealed to the King of France twice, in 1406 and in 1415.
Affected by the , Abbeville resisted the English army, and served as a home base for who refuelled Calais besieged by the English.
In 1360, it was transferred, with the
County of Ponthieu
Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville.
History
Ponthieu play ...
, of which it was the capital, to the Crown of England by the
Treaty of Brétigny
The Treaty of Brétigny was a treaty, drafted on 8 May 1360 and ratified on 24 October 1360, between Kings Edward III of England and John II of France. In retrospect, it is seen as having marked the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years ...
. That same year,
John II of France
John II (french: Jean II; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed ...
stayed there after returning from captivity.
In 1361, Abbeville, again English, poorly welcomed its new masters. Ringois, bourgeois of the city, refusing to take the oath of obedience to
Edward III of England
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...
, was taken to English soil and hurried from the top of the Tower of
Dover Castle
Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some sources say it is the ...
into the sea in 1368. During this period, a revolt of
Jacques
Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...
was defeated by the Abbeville militia in the vicinity of
Saint-Riquier
Saint-Riquier () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
The commune is situated northeast of Abbeville, on the D925 and D32 crossroads.
Abbey
Saint-Riquier (originally ''Centula'' or ''Centulum'' ...
. The soldiers of
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infa ...
captured the city by surprise, but the English recaptured it shortly after and it remained in their possession until 1385.
Like other Picardy cities, it then passed under Burgundian rule at the end of the in 1421. In 1430,
Henry VI of England
Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English thron ...
was received at Abbeville.
In 1435, the city was ceded to Philip the Good, the
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...
Louis XI
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII.
Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...
bought Abbeville to the Duke of Burgundy in 1463 and visited the city on 27 September of the same year. In December, by its letters patent, he confirmed the privileges of the city, attached by his predecessors, but in 1465,
Charles the Bold
Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477.
...
returns on this assignment by taking the lead of the
League of the Public Weal
The War of the Public Weal (French: ''La guerre du Bien public'') was a conflict between the king of France and an alliance of feudal nobles, organized in 1465 in defiance of the centralized authority of King Louis XI of France. It was masterminded ...
.
In 1466, the municipality enacts safety regulations recommending to reduce or not use flammable materials (such as walls in timber or straw roofs) in construction, in order to reduce the risk of fire. However, it clashed with general hostility, and the regulations were finally just applied.
Louis XI failed before Abbeville in 1471, but covered Picardy on the death of the Duke of Burgundy in 1477.
Early modern era
In 1477 it was annexed by King
Louis XI of France
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII.
Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revo ...
, and was held by two illegitimate branches of
the royal family
A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...
in the 16th and 17th centuries, being in 1696 reunited to the crown. In 1480, then 1483, a plague epidemic ravaged Abbeville. Charles VIII visited the town in 1493.
16th century
On 3 October 1514,
Louis XII
Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...
Henry VII of England
Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor.
Henry's mother, Margaret Beauf ...
.
On 23 June 1517,
Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to:
* Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407)
* Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450
* Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547
* Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...
came to Abbeville with the
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infa ...
. In 1523, the English finally fell alongside Charles V in the wars of Francis I and the city had to suffer many frequent requisitions. That same year, an outbreak of
plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
ravaged Abbeville. A further epidemic of plague struck Abbeville in 1582.
In 1531, Francis I performed a new tour in the city. The most serious blows to Abbeville were the series of English raids by the
Duke of Suffolk
Duke of Suffolk is a title that has been created three times in the peerage of England.
The dukedom was first created for William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, William de la Pole, who had already been elevated to the ranks of earl and marquess ...
Wars of Religion
A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...
, the governor, who was
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
was massacred with his family, by the people. In 1568, François Cocqueville, a Protestant leader of war, entered the
Ponthieu
Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville.
History
Ponthieu play ...
with 3,000 soldiers. He plundered and sacked the , towns, churches and castles of Authie and
Saint-Valery-sur-Somme
Saint-Valery-sur-Somme (, literally ''Saint-Valery on Somme''; pcd, Saint-Wary), commune in the Somme department, is a seaport and resort on the south bank of the River Somme estuary. The town's medieval character and ramparts, its Gothic churc ...
region. Chased by the Marshal de Brissac, Cocqueville was captured with several of his own and they were beheaded on the marketplace of Abbeville.
The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre caused no casualties in Abbeville due to the moderation of Léonor d'Orléans, the
Duke of Longueville
Duke of Longueville (''Longueville-sur-Scie'') was a title of French nobility, though not a peerage of France.
History
The title was created in 1505 by King Louis XII of France for his first cousin once removed, François d'Orléans, Count of ...
and governor of
Picardy
Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France.
Hi ...
. However, Abbeville had embraced the Catholic League and suffered from the
Wars of Religion
A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...
, and it was relieved when it was recognised, by Henry IV in April 1594, despite the clergy who persisted in its resistance. Following this, on 18 December 1594, the King of France Henry IV visited Abbeville.
17th century
At the beginning of the 17th century a
plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
epidemic wreaked havoc. More than 8,000 people perished, thus depopulating Abbeville.
On 21 December 1620, King
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...
visited the town. His sister
Henrietta Henrietta may refer to:
* Henrietta (given name), a feminine given name, derived from the male name Henry
Places
* Henrietta Island in the Arctic Ocean
* Henrietta, Mauritius
* Henrietta, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
United States
* Henrie ...
went there several times.
In 1635 and 1636 the town suffered from the
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
against the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. They destroyed many villages located in the surrounding area. Richelieu stayed in the city in October. A plague epidemic raged again during the years 1635, 1636 and 1637.
In 1656, 6,000 soldiers, who had participated in the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, landed in France and took their quarters in Abbeville from where they left to go and reinforce the army of
Turenne
Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (11 September 161127 July 1675), commonly known as Turenne , was a French general and one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. The most illustrious member of the ...
en route to
Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...
. Shortly after, Balthazard FarguesBalthazar de Méalet de Fargues, seigneur of Cincehours, Captain-major of the regiment of Bellebrune sold the place to John of Austria and after meeting the price, he refused to deliver it to him, raising troops for himself who were then spread throughout the
Ponthieu
Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville.
History
Ponthieu play ...
to ransom the inhabitants. Finally stopped, he was tried and hanged at ''Place Saint-Pierre'' on 17 March 1665.
In 1657, Louis XIV came twice to Abbeville with his mother,
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 unti ...
.
By the mid-16th century, the
woad
''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from ...
trade shrank after the promotion of the pastel of the Pays du Midi, and it took to restructuring crafts. Colbert used it, and under
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Ver ...
, the city developed through the installation of Van Robais, manufacturers of sheets and tapestries from the Netherlands who, in 1665, created the (drapery workshops).
In 1685, it suffered a serious blow at the
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Fontainebleau (22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to practice their religion without s ...
, the Protestant temple was destroyed and the persecuted workers who were the majority of skilled labour left the town, including those of Van Robais. The population decreased very strongly and never fully recovered from this exodus of talent.
In 1693 the
Ponthieu
Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville.
History
Ponthieu play ...
became the refuge of a considerable number of
Bretons
The Bretons (; br, Bretoned or ''Vretoned,'' ) are a Celtic ethnic group native to Brittany. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwall and Devon, mo ...
and
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
who had left their country because of , but they almost all perished of misery.
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Ver ...
the country was covered with troops. The city crowded of sick and wounded. In 1708, after the capture of Lille, the troops of the
Duke of Marlborough
General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...
and
Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th and 18th centuries. He ...
came forward frequently at the gates of Abbeville, the farms and villages. The winter of 1709 was terrible; people perished from cold, hunger and misery. At this time industry was quite dark and the State was required to help sheets manufacturers.
In 1717,
Peter the Great
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
passed through Abbeville.
In July 1766, the
Chevalier de La Barre
Chevalier may refer to:
Honours Belgium
* a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown
* a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold
* a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II
* a title in the Belgian nobility
France
* a rank in the French Legion d'h ...
, accused of having, a year earlier, failed to give a due
salute
A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Sco ...
to a religious procession for Corpus Christi by refusing to remove his hat and singing ungodly songs. However, the story is more complex and revolves around a mutilated cross. He was executed on the ''Place du Grand-Marché'' for blasphemy. Subject to the issue, his legs were crushed. The right hand and the determined language, his decapitated corpse was finally delivered to the flames with the ''Dictionnaire philosophique'' of
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
on the same place. Today, a paving stone, engraved with his name and the date of his execution, is visible on the place of execution (''Place Max-Lejeune''), near the town hall. The martyrdom of the Chevalier de La Barre served as Voltaire's banner in his fight against religious fanaticism.
On 2 November 1773, the powder magazine exploded killing 150 people and damaging nearly 1,000 houses.
Administratively, the people of Abbeville formed a whose competence has been confused with that of the delegation of the same name (located in the
Generalitat
Generalitat (, literally in English 'Generality') is the name of two major medieval and early modern political institutions and their modern-day analogues in Kingdom of Spain. The ancient Principality of Catalonia and the Kingdom of Valencia were ...
of
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
). On the eve of the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
, Abbeville was the chef-lieu of a main electoral Bailiwick (without secondary Bailiwick).
Abbeville was fairly important in the 18th century, when the Van Robais Royal Manufacture (one of the first major factories in France) brought great prosperity (but some class controversy) to the town. Voltaire, among others, wrote about it.
Contemporary era
French Revolution
There were no significant excesses during periods of
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
and the Terror.
In 1793, on ''Place Saint-Pierre'' the furniture of the churches was burned, along with images and the feudal titles. The became the Temple of Reason.
On 8 June 1794, a festival was celebrated in honour of the
Supreme Being
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
. Abbeville suffered from famine in 1794 and 1795.
On 5 January 1795, the Hotel of Grutuze, built under Charles VII, attended by the directors of the district, was destroyed by a fire.
In 1797, the , one of the oldest learned societies of France, was created.
In 1798 and 1799, the winter was severe and a part of the town was flooded.
Consulate and Empire
On 18 brumaire year X (9 November 1801), there was a terrible
hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
that caused more than 1,300,000
francs
The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...
worth of damage in the
arrondissement
An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands.
Europe
France
The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...
.
On 29 prairial year XI (18 June 1803),
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
passed through the town for the first time. During the preparations of the expedition he was planning against the United Kingdom, the First Consul often spent time in Abbeville by going to the camp of Boulogne.
In 1813, as part of the reorganisation of the cavalry which had been decimated in Russia, the arrondissement offered the government 43 men mounted and equipped.
Early in 1814, with invasion becoming more imminent every day, the urban
National Guard
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
was reorganised across the whole of the
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
. 30 pieces of artillery were placed on the walls, and to complete the defense system, trees were felled in the vicinity to make 30,000 palisades and 14,000 shields. On 20 February, a column of cavalry forming the vanguard of the 3rd Corps of the Prussian army, commanded by Baron de Geismar, arrived in
Doullens
Doullens (; pcd, Dourlin; former nl, Dorland) is a commune in the Somme department, Hauts-de-France, France.
Its inhabitants are called ''Doullennais'' and ''Doullennaises''.
Geography
Doullens is situated on the N25 road, in the northern ...
, before heading to Abbeville. Immediately, the Abbevillois ran to arms. 800 rifles were made available and a vigorous resistance began when the population learned that this supposed vanguard of the Prussian army had more than 1,500 to 2,000 men in its ranks, both
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n
cuirassier
Cuirassiers (; ) were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers, discarding their lances and adop ...
s commanded by General Röder arrived from Paris and the surrounding countryside, and committed all kinds of excesses during their stay.
On 27 April 1814,
Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...
entered the town and was received with an outpouring of joy. He stayed at the Abbey of Saint-Pierre.
During the
First Restoration
The First Restoration was a period in French history that saw the return of the Bourbon dynasty to the throne, between the abdication of Napoleon I in the spring of 1814 and the Hundred Days, in March 1815. The regime was born following the vict ...
, many distinguished people and about 10,000 British troops passed through Abbeville, to return to their country. The Duke of Berry, accompanied by the and the , stayed there.
On 21 March 1815, King Louis XVIII, who was on the way to exile, spent a night in the town.
In 1815, after the
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
, the town was again put into defence. However, after numerous desertions, the garrison was reduced to 400 men.
July monarchy, Second Republic and Second Empire
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
came to Abbeville three times, as a tourist: In 1835, he stayed there successively from July 26 (after going down to ''L'Écu de Brabant''), then on 4 and 5 August (staying at ''L'Hôtel d'Angleterre''). In August and September 1837, he came to Amiens after having descended the Somme by Steamboat. Finally, in 1849, leaving the city in the rain on 11 September.
In 1847, there was the arrival of the railway in Abbeville with the opening of the Amiens-Abbeville section of the line of the
Longueau–Boulogne railway
The Longueau–Boulogne railway is a French railway which runs from a junction with the Paris-Lille railway at Longueau to the coastal port of Boulogne. A double track railway it is long. Until the start of the Eurostar service from London to Pa ...
. In 1856, the
Abbeville railway station
Abbeville is a railway station serving the town of Abbeville, Somme (department), Somme department, in Hauts-de-France, northern France. It is on the Longueau–Boulogne railway and is the terminus of the Abbeville–Eu railway. It is served princi ...
Amédée Courbet
Anatole-Amédée-Prosper Courbet (26 June 1827 – 11 June 1885) was a French admiral who won a series of important land and naval victories during the Tonkin Campaign (1883–86) and the Sino-French War (August 1884 – April 1885).
Early year ...
(1827–1885), whose victories on land and at sea made him a
national hero
The title of Hero is presented by various governments in recognition of acts of self-sacrifice to the state, and great achievements in combat or labor. It is originally a Soviet-type honor, and is continued by several nations including Belarus, Ru ...
during the Sino-French War (August 1884 to April 1885). Courbet died in June 1885, shortly after the end of the war, at
Makung
Magong ( POJ: ''Má-keng'') is a county-administered city and seat of Penghu County, Taiwan. Magong City is located on Penghu's main island.
Name
The settlement's temple honoring the Chinese Goddess Mazu, the deified form of Lin Monia ...
in the Pescadores Islands, and his body was brought back to France and buried in Abbeville on 1 September 1885 after a
state funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...
at Les Invalides a few days earlier. Abbeville's old Haymarket Square (Place du Marché-au-Blé) was renamed Place de l'Amiral Courbet in July 1885, shortly after the news of Courbet's death reached France, and an extravagant baroque statue of Courbet was erected in the middle of the square at the end of the nineteenth century. The statue was damaged in a devastating German bombing raid during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It was an allied base during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
In 1896, the Socialist
Jules Guesde
Jules Bazile, known as Jules Guesde (; 11 November 1845 – 28 July 1922) was a French socialist journalist and politician.
Guesde was the inspiration for a famous quotation by Karl Marx. Shortly before Marx died in 1883, he wrote a letter ...
came to lecture in Abbeville. In the aftermath, a group of the
French Workers' Party
The French Workers' Party (french: Parti Ouvrier Français, POF) was the French socialist party created in 1880 by Jules Guesde and Paul Lafargue, Karl Marx's son-in-law (famous for having written '' The Right to Be Lazy'', which criticized work ...
and a House of the people are created.
1899, the phone has already arrived in Abbeville but its operation does not any satisfaction.
In 1899, Abbeville industry had a mill, a table linen factory, a rope factory, a factory of weight scales, three smelters, a boiler works, a locksmith for buildings, a wood grinding mill, a distillery, etc.
On 7 July 1907 was the inauguration of the La Barre Monument, gathering many Republicans, delegates from Socialist groups and free-thinkers.
World War I and the conferences of Abbeville
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the town was never occupied by the German troops (as evidenced by the monument built on the Mont de Caubert).
In 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, it served as a military hospital (the 3rd Australian General Hospital). As with Amiens and Beauvais, the town was partially destroyed and the is significant nearby, particularly due to unexploded ordnance still found in the soil.
In 1918, it was the seat of two Anglo-French conferences (conferences of Abbeville): That of 25 March, between Field Marshal Haig and Generals Wilson and
Foch
Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders and Ar ...
, who convened the
Doullens
Doullens (; pcd, Dourlin; former nl, Dorland) is a commune in the Somme department, Hauts-de-France, France.
Its inhabitants are called ''Doullennais'' and ''Doullennaises''.
Geography
Doullens is situated on the N25 road, in the northern ...
conference. During the second conference on 2 May, Foch demanded authority on the Italian front but only obtained a power of coordination. It was at the Conference of Abbeville (1 and 2 May 1918) while the armies weakened that Foch opposite Clemenceau and Lloyd George would have considered a fallback to the south to protect the capital. In the event that the French and British armies were separated and they could no longer defend both access to the ports of the English Channel and Paris, the British army would have then withdrawn and stood on the Somme.
On May 31, 1918,
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
war poet
A war poet is a poet who participates in a war and writes about their experiences, or a non-combatant who writes poems about war. While the term is applied especially to those who served during the First World War, the term can be applied to a p ...
John Allan Wyeth
John Allan Wyeth (May 26, 1845 – May 22, 1922) was an American Confederate veteran and surgeon. Born and raised on a Southern plantation in Alabama, he served in the Confederate States Army and completed his medical studies in New York City a ...
Illinois Army National Guard
The Illinois Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. With the Illinois Air National Guard it forms the Illinois National Guard. National coordination of various state National Guard uni ...
. Lt. Wyeth and his fellow
Doughboys
Doughboy was a popular nickname for the American Infantry, infantryman World War I#Entry of the United States, during World War I. Though the origins of the term are not certain, the nickname was still in use as of the early 1940s. Examples inclu ...
were stationed in nearby Huppy, when German aeroplanes began a bombing raid on Abbeville. At the time, such air raids were a nightly affair and Abbeville was in the process of being evacuated. Lt. Wyeth later versified his memories of the air raid in the sonnet ''Huppy''.
Interwar period
On 3 May 1936, voters in the 1st District of Abbeville did not derogate from a broad popular movement. In the 2nd round, they chose as the MP who, at 27 years old, was the youngest elected to the chamber.
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
arrested a number of both far right and far left activists and put them in custody of a
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...
unit stationed near Abbeville. On 20 May, when the advancing German Army cut off the area (see following), a group of French soldiers carried out a massacre and killed a number of members of the right wing
Verdinaso
Verdinaso (''Verbond van Dietsche Nationaal-Solidaristen'', ), sometimes rendered as Dinaso, was a small authoritarian and fascist political party active in Belgium and, to a lesser extent, the Netherlands between 1931 to 1941.
Verdinaso was foun ...
and
Rexist Party
The Rexist Party (french: Parti Rexiste), or simply Rex, was a far-right Catholic, nationalist, authoritarian and corporatist political party active in Belgium from 1935 until 1945. The party was founded by a journalist, Léon Degrelle,
and of the
Belgian Communist Party
french: Parti Communiste de Belgique
, abbreviation = KPB-PCB
, colorcode =
, leader1_title = Historical leaders
, leader1_name = Joseph JacquemotteJulien LahautLouis Van Geyt
, founder = Julien Lahaut
, founded =
, dissolved =
, merge ...
. Altogether, twenty two suspects of varying political stripe were selected and executed without trial.
In the development of the 1940 Battle of France, the Germans had massed the bulk of their armoured force in Panzer Group von Kleist, which attacked through the comparatively unguarded sector of the Ardennes and achieved a breakthrough at Sedan with
air support
In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movemen ...
. The group raced to the coast of the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
Belgian Army
The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard. ...
, and some divisions of the
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...
in northern France.
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
(17–18 May 1940), then a colonel, launched a counterattack in the region of
Laon
Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
History
Early history
The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. ...
Battle of Montcornet
The Battle of Montcornet, on 17 May 1940 took place during the Battle of France. The French 4e Division cuirassée (Colonel Charles de Gaulle), attacked the German-held village of Montcornet with over 200 tanks. The French drove off the Germans ...
. Without support, the 4th DCR was forced to retreat. The Abbeville massacre took place on 20 May 1940.
Abbeville was taken by the Germans from the
2nd Panzer Division
The 2nd Panzer Division ( en, 2nd Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army, the Heer, during World War II.
Created as one of the original three German tank divisions in 1935, it was stationed in Austria after the Anschluss an ...
Rudolf Veiel
Rudolf Veiel (10 December 1883 – 19 March 1956) was a German general (General der Panzertruppe) during World War II.
Career
Veiel joined the army 1904, and was commissioned as an officer in 1905, serving in the Württemberg cavalry during ...
, also on 20 May 1940. There was another
counter-attack
A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...
with the
Battle of Abbeville
The Battle of Abbeville took place from 27 May to 4 June 1940, near Abbeville during the Battle of France in the Second World War. On 20 May, the 2nd Panzer Division advanced to Abbeville on the English Channel, overran the 25th Infantry Briga ...
. After Laon (24 May), de Gaulle was promoted to temporary general: "On 28 May (...) the 4th DCR attacked twice to destroy a pocket captured by the enemy south of the Somme near Abbeville. The operation was successful, with over 400 prisoners taken and the entire pocket mopped up except for Abbeville (...) but in the second attack the 4th DCR failed to gain control of the city in the face of superior enemy numbers." The Germans were forced back about . The Allied
Aerodrome Abbeville
The Aerodrome Abbeville (french: Aérodrome d'Abbeville) or Abbeville Airport, , is an airport serving Abbeville and located in Buigny-Saint-Maclou, north-northeast of Abbeville, both ''communes'' of the Somme ''département'' in the Picardie ' ...
was used by the German Luftwaffe during most of the war.
After five years, in September 1944, Abbeville was liberated by the Polish 1st Armoured Division (which was attached to the 1st Canadian Army) under General Stanisław Maczek, which entered Abbeville through the suburb of Rouvroy. World War II was not kind to the architecture of the town as the famous 17th-century Gothic Cathedral of St. Vulfran was nearly destroyed. It, along with the town hall with its tower from the 13th century were saved, albeit damaged.
Floods of 2001
In the spring of 2001, the city, like the Somme Valley, had to suffer
flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
s. These lasted several weeks, because of the saturation of the
water table
The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated.
T ...
, the result of a year of exceptional precipitation. The station was inaccessible, the tracks being covered by several centimetres of water.
Military life
Units which have been stationed in Abbeville:
*, 1906
*, 1906
Places and monuments
The city was very picturesque until the early days of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
when it was bombed mostly to rubble in one night by the Germans. The town overall is now mostly modern and rebuilt.
Wulfram of Sens
Saint Wulfram of Sens or Saint Wulfram of Fontenelle (also Vuilfran, Wulfrann, Wolfran; la, Wulframnus; french: Vulfran or ''Vulphran''; c. 640 – 20 March 703) was the Archbishop of Sens. His life was recorded eleven years after he died by t ...
) was constructed from 1488 and into the 16th and 17th centuries, although the original design was not completed. The
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
has only two bays and the
choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
is insignificant. However, the façade is a masterpiece of
flamboyant
Flamboyant (from ) is a form of late Gothic architecture that developed in Europe in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, from around 1375 to the mid-16th century. It is characterized by double curves forming flame-like shapes in the bar-tr ...
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...
, which made the city famous, and is flanked by two Gothic towers. Wulfram, its patron saint who is celebrated on 20 March, was born circa 650 AD, in Milly (
Gâtinais
Gâtinais () or Gâtine () was a province of France, containing the area around the valley of the Loing, corresponding roughly to the northeastern part of the département of Loiret, and the south of the present department of Seine-et-Marne. Unde ...
), and was Lord at the Court of
Chlothar III
Chlothar III (or ''Chlotar'', ''Clothar'', ''Clotaire'', ''Chlotochar'', or ''Hlothar'', giving rise to the name Lothair; 652–673) was the eldest son of Clovis II, king of Neustria and Burgundy, and his queen Balthild. When Clovis died in 657, ...
, Abbot of Fontenelle, Archbishop of Sens in 682, and an evangeliser of Frisia. He died at Saint-Wandrille (Fontenelle Abbey) in 720. The building was classified as a
historical monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...
in 1840.
Theatre
Built in 1911, the is one of the few in the region that boasts an Italian room. Registered as an
historical monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...
in 2003.
Belfry
Classified as a
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
in 2005 and registered as an
historic monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...
in 1926, the is one of the oldest in France, built in 1209. On 20 May 1940, during a bombing, its roof was damaged and it was only in 1986 that it was rebuilt. The belfry is one of the fifty-six
belfries of Belgium and France
The Belfries of Belgium and France are a group of 56 historical buildings designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, in recognition of the civic (rather than church) belfries serving as an architectural manifestation of emerging civic indep ...
registered in 2005 by the
World Heritage Committee
The World Heritage Committee selects the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance ...
of
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
in recognition of its testimony to the rise of municipal power in the region and its architecture. It has housed the of the city since 1954.
Boucher de Perthes Museum
The is partly situated in the now unused bell tower of the 13th century which is inscribed on the World Heritage list. It is a tribute to
Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes
Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes (; 10 September 1788 – 5 August 1868), sometimes referred to as Boucher de Perthes ( ), was a French archaeologist and antiquary notable for his discovery, in about 1830, of flint tools in the gravels of ...
who also has a lycée named after him. The museum features artwork and artifacts from the 16th century onwards, along with other exhibitions that periodically change.
Château de Bagatelle
* Southeast of the town is the from the 18th century. The
folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings.
Eighteenth-cent ...
was built in 1752 by Josse Van Robais. Inscribed as an
historical monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...
in 1926, the regular garden and park were registered as historic monuments in 1946.
Manufacture des Rames
Classified as an
historic monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...
in 1986, the Manufacture des Rames specialised in the production of luxury linen. The building was partly constructed in 1710.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The , situated in the heart of the old town centre, is a collegiate
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
church from the 11th century. The thirty-one stained glass windows were designed by
Alfred Manessier
Alfred Manessier (5 December 1911, Saint-Ouen – 1 August 1993, Orléans) was a non-figurative French painter, stained glass artist, and tapestry designer, part of the new School of Paris and the Salon de Mai.
Biography
Manessier was born am ...
(1911–1993) and were made in Chartres. The church was classified as an
historical monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...
in 1907.
Other churches
*: Steeple classified as an
historical monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...
in 1910, the 18th century pulpit classified as an historical monument in 1909. Many objects inscribed as historical monuments in 1981, statues: Christ on the cross (15th century), God of mercy (16th century), Saint Nicolas (17th century), saint holding a sceptre (18th century), two bishops forming counterparts (, 18th century), Sainte Genevieve and Saint Louis (19th century); two stools of the church (17th century); buffet of organs (18th century); tableaus: the Holy Family (17th century), the Virgin (19th century), funerary stele (19th century).
*The registered as an historical monument in 1926.
*The inscribed as an historical monument in 1993 (façades and roofs).
*.
*The Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Rouvroy, built in brick, and has a .
*The Church of Saint-Jacques, which was built in the
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style by architect . Poorly maintained, the municipal council voted on 7 February 2013 for its demolition, despite a certain wave of protest. The demolition was completed in May of the same year.
historical monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...
in 1983.
*The Menchecourt excavation: An archaeological site of the Lower Paleolithic, classified as an
historical monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...
in 1983.
La Barre Monument
The La Barre Monument was erected in 1907 by public subscription, in commemoration of the martyrdom of the
Chevalier de La Barre
Chevalier may refer to:
Honours Belgium
* a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown
* a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold
* a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II
* a title in the Belgian nobility
France
* a rank in the French Legion d'h ...
. Located near the station, next to the bridge on the Somme canal, the La Barre Monument is an annual rallying point, on the first Sunday of July, for defenders of secularism and freethinkers.
Admiral Courbet
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
, the work of
Alexandre Falguière
Jean Alexandre Joseph Falguière (also given as Jean-Joseph-Alexandre Falguière, or in short Alexandre Falguière) (7 September 183120 April 1900) was a French sculptor and painter.
Biography
Falguière was born in Toulouse. A pupil of the ...
Great War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, ''Les Patrouilleurs'' sculpture due to . Made of stone from
Lavoux
Lavoux () is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France.
See also
*Communes of the Vienne department
The following is a list of the 266 communes of the Vienne department of France
Fr ...
, the sculpture depicts a scene from the trenches. The monument was unveiled in 1923 by
Marshal Foch
Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders and Art ...
.
Parks and public gardens
*The in which is situated the
Robert Mallet
Robert Mallet (3 June 1810 – 5 November 1881) was an Irish geophysicist, civil engineer, and inventor who distinguished himself in research on earthquakes and is sometimes called the father of seismology. His son, Frederick Richard Mallet was ...
municipal library and the service of the municipal archives is named after one of its owners Arthur Foulques d'Emonville, an amateur botanist who had bought a part of the , to accommodate a garden, and to construct a mansion. The main entrance to the garden is a remnant of the priory.
*The Carmel and its gardens
*The is home to many sedentary and migratory birds as well as willow, reed beds, etc.
Other monuments
*The Hotel
Rambures
Rambures () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
Rambures is situated on the D180 and D110 crossroads, some southwest of Abbeville
Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune ...
, of the 18th century, inscribed as an
historic monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...
in 1977.
*The Hotel Buigny inscribed as an historic monument in 1933.
*
Abbeville railway station
Abbeville is a railway station serving the town of Abbeville, Somme (department), Somme department, in Hauts-de-France, northern France. It is on the Longueau–Boulogne railway and is the terminus of the Abbeville–Eu railway. It is served princi ...
, of "seaside regional" style, is built around a frame of wood with red brick cladding, inscribed as an historical monument in 1984.
*The , built in 1909–1910 by Caisse d'Épargne on the plans of the architects Greux and Marchand. The sculptures are of (1876–1929), creator of the war memorial of Abbeville and the Delique Stadium. Registered as an historical monument in 2003.
*In the town centre, a dozen old houses dating from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries were classified as historical monuments or registered as historical monuments between 1924 and 1974.
*The town hall, inaugurated in 1960.
Argos
Argos most often refers to:
* Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece
** Ancient Argos, the ancient city
* Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland
Argos or ARGOS may also refer to:
Businesses
...
, Greece (1993)
* Burgess Hill, England, United Kingdom (1994)
Notable people
* St Vulflagius (died c. 643), also known as 'St Vulphy' or 'St. Wulflagius', hermit priest greatly venerated in Montreuil-sur-Mer.
*
Roger Agache
Roger Agache (August 16, 1926 – September 17, 2011) was a French archaeologist. He was among the first to take part in aerial archaeology in France, and helped to develop a methodology for aerial prospecting.
Early life and education
Agache ...
(1926–2011), archaeologist, considered one of the pioneers of
aerial archaeology
Aerial archaeology is the study of archaeological remains by examining them from a higher altitude. In present day, this is usually achieved by satellite images or through the use of drones.
Details
Aerial Archaeology involves interpretation an ...
Jacques Aliamet
Jacques Aliamet (30 November 1726 in Abbeville – 29 May 1788 in Paris) was a French engraver. His brother François-Germain Aliamet was also an engraver. He perfected drypoint and his several surviving works include engravings after Nicolaes Be ...
(1726–1788), engravers
*
Jacques Firmin Beauvarlet
Jacques Firmin Beauvarlet, a celebrated engraver, was born at Abbeville in 1731. He went to Paris when young, and was instructed in the art by Charles Dupuis and Laurent Cars. His first manner was bold and free, and his plates in that style are p ...
(1731–1797), writer
*
Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier
Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier (28 June 1734 – 6 May 1794) was a celebrated French organist and composer.
He was born in Abbeville. From 1763, he was a member of the Académie des Beaux Arts de Lyon (now École des Beaux-Arts). Then, from ...
(1734–1794),
harpsichordist
A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord. Harpsichordists may play as soloists, as accompanists, as chamber musicians, or as members of an orchestra, or some combination of these roles. Solo harpsichordists may play unaccompanied son ...
, organist and composer
* (1761–1827), general of the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
and the
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
*
Rose Bertin
Marie-Jeanne Rose Bertin (2 July 1747, Abbeville, Picardy, France – 22 September 1813, Épinay-sur-Seine) was a French milliner ('' Marchande de modes''), known as the dressmaker to Queen Marie Antoinette. She was the first celebrated Fr ...
(1737–1813), milliner and dressmaker to Queen Marie Antoinette
* Georges Bilhaut (1882–1963), painter
*
Jacques Boucher de Perthes
Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...
(1788–1868), one of the founders of the study of
prehistory
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
. As a tribute, the museum and the public school bear his name.
*
Philippus Brietius
Philippus Brietius (in French, Philippe Briet) (1601–1668) was a seventeenth-century French Jesuit historian and cartographer.
List of works
*''Acute dicta omnium veterum Latinorum poetarum opus editum ad usum serenissimi Ducis Guisii . . . ...
and scholar
* Alfred Broquelet (1861–1957), painter and lithographer
*
Jacques Buteux
Jacques Buteux (11 April 1600 – 10 May 1652) was a French-born Jesuit who became a missionary in Canada.
Biography
Jacques Buteux was born 11 April 1600 in Abbeville, Picardy, the son of a tanner.
On 2 October 1620 he entered the Society of Je ...
(1600–1652), born in Abbeville,
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
Jesuit in
Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...
* Abbé Pierre Carpentier (1912–1943), priest and resistance figure, deported and beheaded at Dortmund. He was vicar of the parish of Saint Gilles of Abbeville and had much invested in local Scouting. The
Scouts et Guides de France
Scouts et Guides de France (''Scouts and Guides of France'', SGdF) is the largest Scouting and Guiding association in France. It was formed on 1 September 2004 from the merger of two Roman Catholic Scouting organizations: the Guides de France (fo ...
of Abbeville Group bears his name.
*
Louis Cordier Pierre Louis Antoine Cordier (31 March 1777 – 30 March 1861) Annales.org, accessed 20 September 2009 was a French (1777–1861), engineer of the
Corps des mines
The ''Corps des mines'' is the foremost technical Grand Corps of the French State (grands corps de l'Etat). It is composed of the state industrial engineers. The Corps is attached to the French Ministry of Economy and Finance. Its purpose is to e ...
, geologist and mineralogist
* Père Antoine Désiré Mégret (born 1797) Capuchin missionary, founded Abbeville, Louisiana
* Robert Cordier, engraver, active 1629–1653
*Admiral Anatole-Amédée-Prosper Courbet (1827–1885), French admiral; a commemorative monument is located in the square bearing his name
* (born 1939), academic and poet
*
Mickaël Debève
Mickaël Debève (born 1 December 1970) is a French footballer manager and former footballer player who played as a midfielder he is the currently assistant manager Ligue 1 club of Toulouse.
Football career
Born in Abbeville, Debève began his ...
(born 1970), footballer
* (1743–1818), Deputy of the Somme during the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
* Didier Drogba (born 1978), Franco-Ivorian footballer, lived in Abbeville during his childhood. He was also a player for
SC Abbeville
Sporting Club Abbeville Foot Côte Picarde is a French football club based in Abbeville, Picardie. It was founded in 1901. The club currently plays in the Régionale 2, Hauts-de-France, the seventh tier of the French football league system.
Honou ...
.
*Gaston Dufresne (1886–1963), figure of the Resistance (member of France), President of the HLM office (1928–1963), Vice President of the Board of Directors of the , Councillor (1945–1953) and Deputy Mayor (1953–1963). In May 1965, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of cooperative housing society co-founded by Gaston Dufresne (he has launched the construction of housing in accession to the property and contributed to the establishment of 500 of these homes in Abbeville), Max Lejeune, Mayor of Abbeville, inaugurated the street which bears the name of this tireless activist: ''"we wanted his name to remain forever engraved in our city" to keep the memory of "a hard worker hard who always fulfils his task voluntarily"''.''Le Courrier picard'', 23 May 1965
*
Johann Duhaupas
Johann Duhaupas (pronounced yoh-hun doo-uh-paw) (born 5 February 1981) is a French professional boxer who challenged for the WBC heavyweight title in 2015. At regional level he has held multiple heavyweight titles, including the European Union ...
(born 1981), boxer
*
André Dumont André Dumont may refer to:
* André Dumont (geologist)
* André Dumont (politician)
André Dumont (24 May 1764 at Oisemont – 19 October 1838 at Abbeville), was a French parliamentarian, a regicide, a deputy of the National Convention, Pres ...
(1764–1838), several times member of Parliament for the sum under the Revolution, was sub-prefect of Abbeville during the
First Empire First Empire may refer to:
* First British Empire, sometimes used to describe the British Empire between 1583 and 1783
* First Bulgarian Empire (680–1018)
*First French Empire (1804–1814/1815)
* First German Empire or "First Reich", sometimes u ...
Guerlain
Guerlain () is a French perfume, cosmetics and skincare house, which is among the oldest in the world. Many traditional Guerlain fragrances are characterized by a common olfactory accord known as the "Guerlinade" (fr). The house was founded in P ...
Nicolas Jean Hugon de Bassville
Nicolas Jean Hugou de Bassville or Basseville (7 February 174313 January 1793), French journalist and diplomat, was born at Abbéville.
Biography
Early life and career
Bassville was trained for the priesthood, taught theology in a provincial ...
(1743–1793), hero and martyr
sans-culotte
The (, 'without breeches') were the common people of the lower classes in late 18th-century France, a great many of whom became radical and militant partisans of the French Revolution in response to their poor quality of life under the . T ...
*
François-Jean de la Barre
François-Jean Lefebvre de la Barre (12 September 17451 July 1766) was a young French nobleman. He was tortured and beheaded before his body was burnt on a pyre along with Voltaire's '' Philosophical Dictionary'' nailed to his torso. La Barre i ...
(1745–1766), victim of religious intolerance; a commemorates him
* (1481–1503),
Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
schoolboy (regarded as a heretic) executed in the in Paris, for having desecrated the
sacramental bread
Sacramental bread, also called Communion bread, Eucharistic bread, the Lamb or simply the host ( la, hostia, lit=sacrificial victim), is the bread used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist. Along with sacramental wine, it is one of two elemen ...
* (1909–1995), mayor from 1947 to 1988, MP, Minister, Senator
*
Adolphe Leroy
''Adolphe'' is a classic French novel by Benjamin Constant, first published in 1816. It tells the story of an alienated young man, Adolphe, who falls in love with an older woman, Ellénore, the Polish mistress of the Comte de P***. Their illicit ...
Louis XII
Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...
married in Abbeville in 1514
* Stanisław Maczek (1892–1994), Polish general commanding the 1st Armoured Division having released Abbeville in September 1944, made
honorary citizen
Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...
of the city.
*
Robert Mallet
Robert Mallet (3 June 1810 – 5 November 1881) was an Irish geophysicist, civil engineer, and inventor who distinguished himself in research on earthquakes and is sometimes called the father of seismology. His son, Frederick Richard Mallet was ...
, writer
*
Alfred Manessier
Alfred Manessier (5 December 1911, Saint-Ouen – 1 August 1993, Orléans) was a non-figurative French painter, stained glass artist, and tapestry designer, part of the new School of Paris and the Salon de Mai.
Biography
Manessier was born am ...
(1911–1993), representational painter, creator of the stained glass windows of the .
*, marine and privateer from the 14th century, who became famous during the Hundred Years' War
* (1945–2010), historian, specialist of economic history
*
Claude Mellan
Claude Mellan (23 May 1598 – 9 September 1688) was a French draughtsman, engraver, and painter.Brejon de Lavergnée 1996.
Early life and training
Mellan was born in Abbeville, the son of a customs official.Strutt 1746.
His first known p ...
(1598–1688), painter
*
Jean Miélot Jean Miélot, also Jehan, (born Gueschard, Picardy, died 1472) was an author, translator, manuscript illuminator, scribe and priest, who served as secretary to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy from 1449 to Philip's death in 1467, and then to hi ...
(† 1472), private secretary to the Dukes of Burgundy
*
Charles Hubert Millevoye
Charles Hubert Millevoye (24 December 1782 in Abbeville – 12 August 1816 in Paris) was a French poet several times honored by the Académie française. He was a transitional figure between the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries as reve ...
(1782–1816), poet
*
Gabriel Naudé
Gabriel Naudé (2 February 1600 – 10 July 1653) was a French librarian and scholar. He was a prolific writer who produced works on many subjects including politics, religion, history and the supernatural. An influential work on library science ...
, organiser of the
Bibliothèque Mazarine
The Bibliothèque Mazarine, or Mazarin Library, is located within the Palais de l'institut de France, or the Palace of the Institute of France (previously the Collège des Quatre-Nations of the University of Paris), at 23 quai de Conti in the 6 ...
, died in 1653 in Abbeville
*
Henri Padé
Henri Eugène Padé (; 17 December 1863 – 9 July 1953) was a French mathematician, who is now remembered mainly for his development of Padé approximation techniques for functions using rational functions.
Education and career
Pad ...
(1863–1953), mathematician
*
François de Poilly
François Poilly, or François de Poilly, (1623Born in 1622 or 1623 according to the sources. –1693) was a French engraver.
Biography
He was born in Abbeville, the son of a goldsmith who gave him his first drawing lessons. He was apprenticed ...
(1623–1693), engraver
*, Mayor of Reims (from 1849 to 1850), died in 1884 at Abbeville
* Jean-Baptiste Sanson de Pongerville (1782–1870), politician and academician
*
Nicolas Sanson
Nicolas Sanson (20 December 1600 – 7 July 1667) was a French cartographer who served under two kings in matters of geography. He has been called the "father of French cartography."
Life and work
He was born of an old Picard family of Sco ...
, cartographer, advisor to
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...
*
Jérémy Stravius
Jérémy Stravius (born 14 July 1988) is a French swimmer, swimming freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly.
Career
Stravius appeared on the world stage at the 2009 European Short Course Swimming Championships in Istanbul where he was part of the wi ...
(born 1988), swimmer
*
Najat Vallaud-Belkacem
Najat Vallaud-Belkacem (; ar, link=no, نجاة فالو بلقاسم; Riffian-Berber: ⵏⴰⵊⴰⵜ ⴱⵍⵇⴰⵙⵎ; born 4 October 1977) is a former Moroccan-French jurist and politician of the Socialist Party (PS) who was the first Fre ...
(born 1977), politician
See also
*
*
Battle of Abbeville
The Battle of Abbeville took place from 27 May to 4 June 1940, near Abbeville during the Battle of France in the Second World War. On 20 May, the 2nd Panzer Division advanced to Abbeville on the English Channel, overran the 25th Infantry Briga ...
*
*
Ponthieu
Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville.
History
Ponthieu play ...
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Ponthieu
Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville.
History
Ponthieu play ...
*
*Communes of the Somme department
*
*List of World War I memorials and cemeteries in the Somme