administrative region Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

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 ...

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 ...

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.Artois (

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

area) separated Picardy from French Flanders.

Middle Ages

From the 5th century, the area formed part of the Frankish Empire and, in the feudal period, it encompassed the six countships of

Boulogne 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 ...

, Montreuil, Ponthieu,

Amiénois The County of Amiens (also: ''Amiénois'') was a feudal state centred on the city of Amiens, northern France, that existed from the 9th century until 1077 when the last count became a monk and the county reverted to the French crown. In 1185 the cou ...

, Vermandois and Laonnois.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888–987 In accordance with the provisions of the 843 Treaty of Verdun, the region became part of West Francia, the later Kingdom of France. The name "Picardy" derives from the Old French ''pic,'' meaning "

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

", the characteristic weapon used by people from this region in ancient times. The term "Picardy" was first used in the early 13th century, during which time the name applied to all lands where the Picard language was spoken including territories from Paris to the Netherlands. In the Latin Quarter of Paris, people identified a "Picard Nation" (''Nation Picarde'') of students at Sorbonne University, most of whom actually came from Flanders. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. History of Picardy. During the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

, Picardy was the centre of the Jacquerie peasant revolt in 1358. Beginning in 1419, the Picardy counties (

Boulogne 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 ...

, Ponthieu, Amiens, Vermandois) were gradually acquired by the

Burgundian Burgundian can refer to any of the following: *Someone or something from Burgundy. *Burgundians, an East Germanic tribe, who first appear in history in South East Europe. Later Burgundians colonised the area of Gaul that is now known as Burgundy (F ...

duke

Philip the Good Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonge ...

, acquisitions confirmed by King

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious (french: le Victorieux) or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII inherited the throne of F ...

at the 1435

Congress of Arras The Congress of Arras was a diplomatic congregation established at Arras in the summer of 1435 during the Hundred Years' War, between representatives of England, France, and Burgundy. It was the first negotiation since the Treaty of Troyes and rep ...

. In 1477, 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 ...

led an army and occupied key towns in Picardy. By the end of 1477, Louis would control all of Picardy and most of Artois.

Modern era

In the 16th century, the ''government'' (military region) of Picardy was created. This became a new administrative region of France, separate from what was historically defined as Picardy. The new Picardy included the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

'' département'', the northern half of the

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.Oise ''département''. In 1557, Picardy was invaded by Habsburg forces under the command of Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy.''A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East'', Vol. II, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), 518 After a seventeen-day siege,

St. Quentin Saint Quentin ( la, Quintinus; died 287 AD) also known as Quentin of Amiens, was an early Christian saint. Hagiography Martyrdom The legend of his life has him as a Roman citizen who was martyred in Gaul. He is said to have been the son of a ...

would be ransacked, while Noyon would be burned by the Habsburg army. In the early 18th century, an infectious disease similar to English sweat originated from the region and spread across France. It was called ''Suette des picards'' or

Picardy sweat The Picardy sweat was an infectious disease of unknown cause and one of the only diseases that bears resemblance to the English sweating sickness. The Picardy sweat is also known as the miliary fever, ''suette des Picards'' in French, and ''picar ...

.

Sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...

was introduced by

Napoleon I 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 ...

during the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century in order to counter the United Kingdom which had seized the sugar islands possessed by France in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. The

sugar industry The sugar industry subsumes the production, processing and marketing of sugars (mostly sucrose and fructose). Globally, most sugar is extracted from sugar cane (~80% predominantly in the tropics) and sugar beet (~ 20%, mostly in temperate cli ...

has continued to play a prominent role in the economy of the region. One of the most significant historical events to occur in Picardy was the series of battles fought along the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

during World War I. From September 1914 to August 1918, four major battles, including the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

, were fought by British, Commonwealth, French and German forces in the fields of Northern Picardy.

Picardy today

In 2009, the Regional Committee for local government reform proposed to reduce the number of

French regions France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (french: régions, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collecti ...

and cancel additions of new regions in the near future. Picardy would have disappeared and each department would have joined a nearby region. The Oise would have been incorporated in the Île-de-France, the Somme would have been incorporated in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Aisne would have been incorporated in the Champagne-Ardenne. The vast majority of Picards were opposed to this proposal and it was scrapped in 2010 (see newspaper: "Courrier Picard"). Today, the modern region of Picardy no longer includes the coastline from Berck to Calais, via Boulogne (Boulonais), that is now in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region but does incorporate the ''pays'' of Beauvaisis, Valois, Noyonnais, Laonnois, Soissonnais, Omois among other departments of France. The older definition of Picardy survives in the name of the

Picard language Picard (, also , ) is a ''langue d'oïl'' of the Romance language family spoken in the northernmost part of France and Hainaut province in Belgium. Administratively, this area is divided between the French Hauts-de-France region and the Belgian ...

which applies not only to the dialects of Picardy proper but also to the Romance dialects spoken in the

Nord-Pas de Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (); pcd, Nord-Pas-Calés); is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-C ...

''

région France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (french: régions, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collect ...

'', north of Picardy proper, and parts of the Belgian

province of Hainaut Hainaut (, also , , ; nl, Henegouwen ; wa, Hinnot; pcd, Hénau), historically also known as Heynowes in English, is a province of Wallonia and Belgium. To its south lies the French department of Nord, while within Belgium it borders (clock ...

.

Geography

Eclusier-Vaux (Somme), belvédère de Vaux

Between the 1990 and 1999 censuses, the population of Oise increased 0.61% per year, almost twice as fast as France as a whole. Meanwhile the

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

barely grew with a 0.16% growth per year. Today, 41.3% of the population of Picardy live inside the Oise department. Picardy stretches from the long sand beaches of the Somme estuary in the west to the vast forests and pastures of the Thiérache in the east to

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France * Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department ** US Chantilly, a football club * Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States *Chantilly, Miss ...

and Pierrefonds near the Paris Area and vineyards of the border with Champagne to the south.

Administration

The president of the regional council prior to its abolition in 2015 was Claude Gewerc, a Socialist who had been in office since 2004. That year he defeated longtime UDF incumbent Gilles de Robien. Since 2008, the mayor of the city of Amiens, the regional capital, has been Socialist

Gilles Demailly The Gilles are the oldest and principal participants in the Carnival of Binche in Belgium. They go out on Shrove Tuesday from 4 am until late hours and dance to traditional songs. Other cities, such as La Louvière and Nivelles, have a traditio ...

. He defeated longtime mayor Gilles de Robien of the New Centre party.

Language and culture

Historically, the region of Picardy has a strong and proud cultural identity. The Picard (local inhabitants and traditionally speakers of the

Picard language Picard (, also , ) is a ''langue d'oïl'' of the Romance language family spoken in the northernmost part of France and Hainaut province in Belgium. Administratively, this area is divided between the French Hauts-de-France region and the Belgian ...

) cultural heritage includes some of the most extraordinary Gothic churches (Amiens and Beauvais cathedrals or

Saint-Quentin basilica The Basilica of Saint-Quentin (french: Basilique Saint-Quentin), formerly the Collegiate Church of Saint-Quentin (french: Collégiale Saint-Quentin) is a Catholic church in the town of Saint-Quentin, Aisne, France. There have been religious bui ...

), distinctive local cuisine (including ''ficelle picarde'', ''flamiche aux poireaux'', ''tarte au maroilles''), beer (including from Péronne's de Clercq brewery) and traditional games and sports, such as the ''longue paume'' (ancestor of tennis), as well as ''danses picardes'' and its own bagpipes, called the ''pipasso''. The villages of Picardy have a distinct character, with their houses made of red bricks, often accented with a "lace" of white bricks. A minority of people still speak the

Picard language Picard (, also , ) is a ''langue d'oïl'' of the Romance language family spoken in the northernmost part of France and Hainaut province in Belgium. Administratively, this area is divided between the French Hauts-de-France region and the Belgian ...

, one of the

languages of France Of the languages of France, French is the sole official language according to the second article of the French Constitution. French, a Gallo-Romance language, is spoken by nearly the entire population of France. In addition to French, several ...

, which is also spoken in Artois (

Nord-Pas de Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (); pcd, Nord-Pas-Calés); is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-C ...

''région''). " P'tit quinquin", a Picard song, is a symbol of the local culture (and of that of Artois). Picardy is arguably the birthplace of Gothic architecture, housing six of the world's greatest examples of Gothic cathedrals, which span the history of Gothic architecture in its entirety. Amiens Cathedral, standing as the largest cathedral in Europe, which according to John Ruskin is the "Pantheon of Gothic architecture", could house

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

twice over. It was built in as little as 50 years. Picardy also holds the tallest transept in the history of the Gothic period; this transept is located in Saint-Pierre cathedral in Beauvais, Oise. The Museum of Picardy in Amiens, built between 1855 and 1867, houses a vast array of great works, spanning the centuries and ranging from archaeology from ancient Greece and Egypt to modern works of Pablo Picasso. The museum was closed until the end of 2019 for building work. Although Picardy is one of the least-known regions in France, its influence from art and most certainly architecture is vivid throughout the world.

Major cities

* Abbeville * Amiens *

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...

* Compiègne * Péronne * Creil * Laon * Saint-Quentin * Soissons * Senlis

In popular culture

* The song " Roses of Picardy" is a ballad written in 1916 during World War I. In 1927, the song title was used as the title of the silent British film of the same name. * Picardy is one of the minor characters in the Japanese manga series '' Hetalia: Axis Powers''.

Notes

References

*

External links

Picardy: the other north of France
- Official French website *
Official regional council website

photos from Southern Picardy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Picardy (Region) Former regions of France Hauts-de-France NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union Former provinces of France

History

Middle Ages

Modern era

Picardy today

Geography

Administration

Language and culture

Major cities

In popular culture

See also

Notes

References

External links