Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise (, literally ''Saint-Pol on

Ternoise The river Ternoise (; nl, Ternaas) is one of the small chalk streams that flow from the plateau of the southern Boulonnais and Picardy, via the Canche, into the English Channel. The basin of the Ternoise extends to and lies in the southern en ...

''; vls, Sint-Pols-aan-de-Ternas) is a

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 ...

in the

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in northern France. It is the seat of the

canton of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise The Canton of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise is a canton situated in the Pas-de-Calais département and in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography This canton is centred on the town of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise in the arrondissement of Arras. ...

. The population of the town is 4,909 (2019).

History

The

county of Saint-Pol The county of Saint-Pol (or ''Sint-Pols'') was a county around the French city of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise (''Sint-Pols-aan-de-Ternas'') on the border of Artois and Picardy, formerly the county of Ternois. For a long time the county belonged to Fl ...

-sur-Ternoise, usually referred to as just Saint-Pol, was originally a stronghold of the

Counts of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the co ...

and was established as a county in the late 9th century. When the county passed out of the family of the Flemish counts, it remained subject to the Count of Flanders as his

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. W ...

s until 1180. It became subject to France, then

Artois Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: ''Atrecht'') ...

(1237–1329), then France again until it ceased to exist as a county and was annexed to France in 1702. Saint-Pol was first controlled by the Flemish counts, then by the family known as Campdavaine from early in the 11th century. In 1205 the county passed to the

seigneurs ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (o ...

of Châtillon through marriage, and remained with this dynasty until 1360 when it passed to the Luxembourg dynasty. Around 1487 the county passed to the Capetian-Bourbon-Vendôme dynasty through marriage, then to the Longueville-Neuchâtel dynasty from around 1563. In 1702 it came under direct rule of France. In the

Middle Ages 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 ...

, several of the Counts of Saint-Pol were active in the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

. On 7 November 1920, the remains of four unidentifiable, fallen British soldiers disinterred from the battlefields at Aisne, Arras, the Somme and Ypres were brought to the town's chapel. There, Brigadier-General Louis John Wyatt of the North Staffordshire Regiment, aided by Lieutenant-Colonel EAS Gell, selected one to be carried to

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

to be re-buried in the

Tomb of the Unknown Warrior The British grave of the Unknown Warrior (often known as 'The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior') holds an unidentified member of the British armed forces killed on a European battlefield during the First World War.Hanson, Chapters 23 & 24 He was gi ...

. The remaining three bodies were removed and reburied in the military cemetery at Wyatt's headquarters at St Pol.North Staffs Regiment Officer selects the Unknown Warrior, Pursehouse, Richard and Crozier, Danielle, in Bulletin Number 112, a journal of the Western Front Association, December 2018, p.23

Population

Notable people

Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise was the birthplace of

Marie de St Pol Marie de St Pol, Countess of Pembroke (c. 1303 – 1377) was the second wife of Franco-English nobleman Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, and is best known as the founder of Pembroke College, Cambridge. Family and early life Marie was b ...

(c1303-1377), foundress of

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

. Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise was the birthplace of Pierre Repp (1909–1986), humorist and actor. Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise was the birthplace of

Martial Joseph Armand Herman Martial Joseph Armand Herman (29 August 1759, Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise – 7 May 1795, Paris) (guillotined), was a lawyer and a chief judge during the Reign of Terror. His most famous cases were against Marie Antoinette and Georges Danton. As the c ...

(1749-1795), a politician of 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 ...

, and temporary French Foreign Minister. *

Nicolas Aubriot Nicolas Aubriot (born 27 September 1984 in Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise) is a French professional football player. Currently, he plays in the Championnat National for AS Cherbourg Football AS Cherbourg or the Association Sportive de Cherbourg Foot ...

, footballer

History

Population

Notable people

See also