Champagne () was a
province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
in the northeast of the
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...
, now best known as the
Champagne wine region for
the sparkling white wine that bears its name in modern-day France. The
County of Champagne, descended from the early medieval kingdom of
Austrasia
Austrasia was the northeastern kingdom within the core of the Francia, Frankish Empire during the Early Middle Ages, centring on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had ...
, passed to the French crown in 1314.
Formerly ruled by the
counts of Champagne, its western edge is about 160 km (100 miles) east of Paris. The cities of
Troyes,
Reims
Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...
, and
Épernay are the commercial centers of the area. In 1956, most of Champagne became part of the French administrative
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
of
Champagne-Ardenne, which comprised four departments:
Ardennes,
Aube
Aube ( ) is a French departments of France, department in the Grand Est region of northeastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube (river), Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019), ,
Haute-Marne, and
Marne. From 1 January 2016, Champagne-Ardenne merged with the adjoining regions of
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
and
Lorraine to form the new region of
Grand Est
Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...
.
Etymology
The name ''Champagne'', formerly written ''Champaigne'', comes from French meaning "open country" (suited to military maneuvers) and from
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''campanius'' meaning "level country" or "plain" which is also the derivation of the name of the Italian region of
Campania
Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...
. The toponym dates back to the Renaissance describing its vast
chalk lined flat landscape.
History
In the
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...
, the province was famous for the
Champagne fairs, which were very important in the economy of the Western societies. The
chivalric romance
As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of high medieval and early modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalri ...
had its first beginnings in the county of Champagne with the famous writer
Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes (; ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on King Arthur, Arthurian subjects such as Gawain, Lancelot, Perceval and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's chivalric romances, including ''Erec and Enide'' ...
who wrote stories of the
Round Table
The Round Table (; ; ; ) is King Arthur's famed table (furniture), table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status, unlike co ...
from the
Arthurian legends.
A few counts of Champagne were
French kings with the comital title merging with the French crown in 1314 when
Louis I, king of Navarre and count of Champagne, became king of France as Louis X. Counts of Champagne were highly considered by the
French aristocracy.
References
External links
{{Authority control
Geography of Aisne
Geography of Ardennes (department)
Geography of Aube
Geography of CĂ´te-d'Or
Geography of Haute-Marne
Geography of Haute-SaĂ´ne
Geography of Meuse (department)
Geography of Seine-et-Marne
Geography of Vosges (department)
Geography of Yonne
History of Hauts-de-France
History of ĂŽle-de-France
History of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
History of Aisne
History of Ardennes (department)
History of Aube
History of CĂ´te-d'Or
History of Haute-Marne
History of Haute-SaĂ´ne
History of Meuse (department)
History of Seine-et-Marne
History of Vosges (department)
History of Yonne