Editing Cambrai (section)

==History==
===Antiquity===
[[File:Peutinger Casaromago.jpg|thumb|left|An extract from the Peutinger table showing Camaraco (Cambrai) northeast of Sammarobriva (present-day [[Amiens]])]]
Little is known with certainty of the beginnings of Cambrai. ''Camaracum'' or ''Camaraco'', as it was known to the Romans, is mentioned for the first time on the [[Tabula Peutingeriana|Peutinger table]] in the middle of the 4th century. It became the main town of the Roman province of the [[Nervii]], whose first Roman capital had been at ''Bagacum'', present-day [[Bavay]].{{cn|date=February 2024}}

In the middle of the 4th-century, [[Franks|Frankish]] raids from the north threatened Bavay and led the Romans to build forts along the Cologne to Bavay to Cambrai road, and thence to Boulogne. Cambrai thus occupied an important strategic position.{{cn|date=August 2024}}

In 430, the [[Salian Franks]] under the command of [[Clodio]] the Long-Haired took the town. In 509, [[Clovis I|Clovis]] undertook to unify the Frankish kingdoms<ref group=b>p.12-14</ref> by getting rid of his relatives.

===Middle Ages===
Cambrai began to grow from a rural market into a real city during the [[Merovingian]] times, a long period of peace when the bishoprics of Arras and Cambrai were first unified (probably owing to the small number of clerics left at the time) and were later transferred to Cambrai, an administrative centre for the region. Successive bishops, including [[Gaugericus]] (in French Géry), founded abbeys and churches to host relics, which contributed powerfully to giving Cambrai both the appearance and functions of a city.<ref group=b>p.16</ref>

[[File:Traité de Verdun 843.png|thumb|right|Following the [[Treaty of Verdun]], Cambrai found itself as a "median" border city of the kingdom of Lothair I with the western lands of Charles the Bald]]

When the [[Treaty of Verdun]] in 843 split [[Charlemagne]]'s empire into three parts, the county of Cambrai fell into [[Lothair I|Lothaire]]'s kingdom. However, upon the death of [[Lothair II]], who had no heir, king [[Charles the Bald]] tried to gain control of his kingdom by having himself consecrated at [[Metz]]. Cambrai thus reverted, but only briefly, to the [[West Francia|Western Frankish Realm]]. In 870 the town was destroyed by the Normans.<ref>1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, "Cambrai"</ref>

[[File:Beffoi de Cambrai.JPG|thumb|left|The belfry of Cambrai, the old bell tower of the Church of Saint Martin, symbol of communal freedoms]]

In the Middle Ages the region around Cambrai, called Cambrésis, was a county. Rivalries between the count, who ruled the city and county, and the bishop, ceased when in 948 [[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto I]] granted the [[Archdiocese of Cambrai|bishop]] with temporal powers over the city.<ref group=b>p.29-30</ref> In 1007, Emperor [[Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry II]] extended the bishop's temporal power to the territory surrounding Cambrai. The bishops then had both spiritual and temporal powers. This made Cambrai and Cambrésis a church principality, much like [[Liège]], an independent state which was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The spiritual power of the bishop was exercised over a vast diocese, which stretched on the right bank of the Scheldt to [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]], Brussels and Antwerp.<ref>Pierrard 1978, p.112</ref> In 954, the [[Hungarians|Magyars]] under [[Bulcsú (chieftain)|Bulcsú]] besieged Cambrai, which resisted all their attacks.<ref>{{citation |first1=Albert |last1=D'Haenens |title=Les incursions hongroises dans l'espace belge (954/955). Histoire ou historiographie ? |id=Cahiers de civilisation médiévale |year=1961 |volume=4, 4–16 |pages=423–440 |url=http://www.persee.fr/articleAsPDF/ccmed_0007-9731_1961_num_4_16_1204/article_ccmed_0007-9731_1961_num_4_16_1204.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924151319/http://www.persee.fr/articleAsPDF/ccmed_0007-9731_1961_num_4_16_1204/article_ccmed_0007-9731_1961_num_4_16_1204.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-09-24 }}</ref>

In 958 one of the first [[Communes of France|communal]] uprisings in Europe occurred in Cambrai. The inhabitants rebelled against Bishop Bérenger's power and abuses. The rebellion was severely repressed, but the discontent flared up again in the 10th and 11th centuries. Between 1077 and 1215, the [[Bourgeoisie|burghers]] had a charter franchise on at least four occasions. Each time, these were eventually withdrawn by the combined efforts of the bishops and emperors. In 1227, following another period of unrest, the burghers of Cambrai finally had to give up their charters and accept the bishop's authority. However, the ''Loi Godefroid'' promulgated by the bishop, in fact or in law, left the people a number of freedoms won in the management of communal affairs.<ref>Pierrard, 1978, p.100</ref>

Cambrai is also known for its Irish [[Cambrai Homily|homily]].

====Economic activity====
[[File:Cambrai - Cameracvm vulgo Cambray - Kamerijk (Atlas van Loon).jpg|thumb|right|alt=Plan of Cambrai drawn in 1649|Plan of Cambrai drawn in 1649, depicting the outline of the 11th century walls]]
In the [[Middle Ages]], the city grew richer and larger thanks to its weaving industry which produced woollen cloth, linen and [[cambric]]. Cambrai, and in particular the drapery, experienced an economic decline from the 15th century.<ref group="b" name="p.98"/> Cambrai then belonged to a commercial [[Hanseatic League|hansa]] of seventeen low country cities whose aim was to develop trade with the fairs in [[Champagne, France|Champagne]] and [[Paris]]. By the 11th century the city walls had reached the circumference they would keep until the 19th century.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

====Music history====
[[File:DufayBinchois.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Dufay (left) in conversation with [[Gilles Binchois]]]]
Cambrai has a distinguished musical history, particularly in the 15th century. The [[Old Cambrai Cathedral|cathedral]] there, a musical centre until the 17th century, had one of the most active musical establishments in the Low Countries; many composers of the [[Burgundian School]] either grew up and learned their craft there, or returned to teach. In 1428, Philippe de Luxembourg claimed that the cathedral was the finest in all of Christianity, for the fineness of its singing, its light, and the sweetness of its bells. [[Guillaume Dufay]], the most famous European musician of the 15th century, studied at the cathedral from 1409 to 1412 under Nicolas Malin and [[Richard Loqueville]], and returned in 1439 after spending many years in Italy. Cambrai cathedral had other famous composers in the later 15th century: [[Johannes Tinctoris]] and [[Johannes Ockeghem|Ockeghem]] went to Cambrai to study with Dufay.<ref group=b>p.93-94.</ref> Other composers included [[Nicolas Grenon]], [[Alexander Agricola]], and [[Jacob Obrecht]]. In the 16th century, [[Philippe de Monte]], [[Johannes Lupi]], and [[Jacobus de Kerle]] all worked there.

===Early Modern era===
[[File:Maison des Canonniers Cambrai.JPG|thumb|right|The "gunners' house" in Cambrai is an example of 17th-century Flemish architecture]]
[[File:Map of Cambrai 1710.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Plan of Cambrai in 1710|Plan of Cambrai in 1710]]

As the economic centre of northern Europe moved away from [[Bruges]], the area became poorer, with an associated period of cultural decline.{{cn|date=January 2024}} However, the city's neutrality and its position between the possessions of the [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg Empire]] and [[France]] made it the venue of several international negotiations, including the [[League of Cambrai]], an alliance engineered in 1508 by [[Pope Julius II]] against the [[Republic of Venice]], concluding in the {{Interlanguage link multi|Treaty of Cambrai (1508)|fr|3=Traité de Cambrai|lt=Treaty of Cambrai}}.{{cn|date=January 2024}} The alliance collapsed in 1510 when the Pope allied with Venice against his former ally [[France]]. The conflict is also referred to as the [[War of the League of Cambrai]] and lasted from 1508 to 1516. Cambrai was also the site of negotiations in 1529, concluding in the [[Paix des Dames]], which led to France's withdrawal from the [[War of the League of Cognac]].{{cn|date=January 2024}}

In 1595, the city was taken by the Spanish in the eighth and last [[French Wars of Religion]]{{cn|date=February 2025}}.<!---probably returned in a treaty in 1598 but can't locate details right now-->

In December 1623, the community of nuns of the [[English Benedictine Congregation]] was founded at Cambrai.<ref>{{Cite ODNB|title=Gascoigne, Catherine (1601–1676), abbess of Cambrai|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-68225|access-date=2021-02-16|year=2014|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/68225|isbn=978-0-19-861412-8|last1=Rhodes|first1=J. T.}}</ref> Expelled in 1793 as a result of the French Revolution, its successor community in 1838 was [[Stanbrook Abbey]], near [[Malvern, Worcestershire|Malvern]] and later [[Wass, North Yorkshire|Wass]] in Yorkshire.

In 1630, [[Cardinal Richelieu|Richelieu]], wishing to counter the power of the Emperor and Spain, renewed the alliance of France with the [[Dutch Republic|United Provinces]]. The main effort of France had to focus on the [[Spanish Netherlands]], and a sharing plan was established with the Dutch, with France to receive the Hainaut, Cambrésis, Artois, a large part of Flanders and Luxembourg and the County of Namur.<ref>Pierrard, 1978, pp.207–208</ref> [[Thirty Years' War#French intervention and continued Swedish participation (1635–1648)|War]] was declared against Spain in 1635: It was followed by a [[Franco-Spanish War (1635–59)|long series of wars]] which, compounded by subsistence and epidemics, caused crises which would bruise the [[Cambrésis]].<ref group=b name="Trenard145">pp.144–145</ref>

[[Cardinal Mazarin|Mazarin]] tried unsuccessfully, in 1649, to seize the city, which was being besieged by [[Henri, Count of Harcourt|Henri de Lorraine-Harcourt]] and the [[Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne|Vicomte de Turenne]]. A Spanish regiment, which came from [[Bouchain]], succeeded in entering the city and the siege was lifted. In 1657, the Vicomte de Turenne captured Cambrai. Again 4,000 horsemen under the command of [[Louis, Grand Condé|Condé]], in the service of the Spain, manage to penetrate, and Turenne abandoned the city.<ref group=b>pp.145–146</ref>

In 1666, in the greatest secrecy, [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] prepared new conquests by making plans of the Spanish fortifications, and then began the [[War of Devolution]]. The [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle]] from 1668 allowed the [[Kingdom of France]] to obtain a large number of strongholds, but Cambrai was not a part of them, nor were [[Bouchain]], [[Valenciennes]] or [[Condé-sur-l'Escaut]].

====The annexation by France====
In 1672, [[Franco-Dutch War|hostilities]] resumed against the Protestant Republic of the Netherlands and continued in the following years. In 1676, [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]], in an effort to "safeguard the tranquility of his borders for ever" ("''assurer à jamais le repos de ses frontières''"), focused most of his efforts against Spain and occupied [[Condé-sur-l'Escaut|Condé]] and [[Bouchain]]. On 17 March 1677, the French troops [[Siege of Valenciennes (1676–77)|stormed Valenciennes]] and moved toward Cambrai, the strongest place of the Netherlands,<ref group=b>p.147</ref> which was reached on 20 March.<ref>Pierrard, 1978, p.217</ref> On 22 March, Louis XIV was in the city in person.<ref group=b>p.149</ref> On 2 April, the French invested in a part of the place. By 5 April, the city surrendered, given the same benefits as Lille in 1667,<ref group="b" name="p.150"/> but the Spanish garrison took refuge in the [[citadel]] and the siege continued until 17 April. After [[Siege of Cambrai (1677)|29 days of siege]] the king made his entry into the city, on 19 April, Easter Monday.<ref group=b>p.151</ref> Louis XIV named the Marquis de Cesen as governor, and appointed 14 new [[Alderman|aldermen]] while keeping the same [[Prévôt|provost]].

===The French Revolution===
<!--[[File:A Thanksgiving Service Attended by Canadian Troops Being Held in the Cambrai Cathedral.jpg|thumb|Canadian Soldiers at a Thanksgiving ceremony at Cambrai Cathedral WWI]]-->

The city suffered from the [[French Revolution|Revolution]]: [[Joseph Le Bon]], sent by the [[Comité de salut public]], arrived in Cambrai in 1794.{{cn|date=February 2025}} He was to set up an era of "terror", sending many to the [[guillotine]], until he was tried and executed in 1795.{{cn|date=February 2025}} One of his most famous victims was [[François III Maximilien de la Woestyne, 3rd Marquess of Becelaere]].

Most of the religious buildings of the city were demolished in that period: in 1797, the [[Old Cambrai Cathedral|old cathedral]], which had been dubbed the "wonder of the low countries", was sold to a merchant on 6 June 1796 who left only the tower,<ref group=d>p.410</ref> after exploiting the cathedral as a stone quarry. The main tower was left standing until 1809, when it collapsed<ref group=d>p.424</ref> in a storm. However the cathedral's archives have been preserved (they are now at the Archives Départementales du Nord in [[Lille]]) and a [[Cambrai Cathedral|new cathedral]] was later provided.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

===19th century===
[[File:Boulevard Faidherbe Cambrai.JPG|thumb|right|The Boulevard Faidherbe, built in 1898 on the site of the ramparts]]

The [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870 widely spared Cambrai. It also showed the futility of the fortifications, which the city obtained permission to demolish, at its expense, in 1892.<ref group=b>p. 238</ref> The outer boulevards were constructed and off to the location of the walls, between 1894 and the beginning of the 20th century. The appearance of the city was radically transformed, and the works stimulated the city's economy.<ref group=b>p. 245</ref>

===20th century===
[[File:LL 16 - Cambrai - Vue générale vers la Place d'Armes.JPG|thumb|left|The ''Place d'Armes'', on a market day before the First World War]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1974-029-09, Frankreich, Cambrai, Flüchtlinge.jpg|thumb|left|Refugees at Cambrai in September 1918]]
In 1914, the German army occupied the city. This occupation, which lasted for four years, was marked by scenes of looting, requisitions and arrests of hostages. From 20 November to 17 December 1917, the vicinity of the town of Cambrai was the theatre of the [[Battle of Cambrai (1917)|Battle of Cambrai]], which saw the massive use of [[tank]]s for the first time.

In 1918, the Germans burned the city centre before leaving, destroying the city hall and the municipal archives. In total, more than 1,500 buildings were totally destroyed, of the 3,500 which consisted of Cambrai. The centre was to be rebuilt, a task which was entrusted to the architect {{Interlanguage link multi|Pierre Leprince-Ringuet|fr}}.<ref group=b>p.264</ref><ref group=b>p.266</ref>

[[World War II]] also struck Cambrai. The city was bombed by the [[Luftwaffe]] on 17 May 1940, during the [[Battle of France]], before falling the next day at the same time as [[Saint-Quentin, Aisne|Saint-Quentin]]. The remains of the [[Ninth Army (France)|9th French Army]] and [[Henri Giraud|General Giraud]] were taken prisoner by the Germans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://souvenirfrancaisarras.com/node/70|title=La bataille d'Arras : 20–24 mai 1940}}, Marcel Dégardin, Souvenir Français Arras</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://la-guerre-au-jour-le-jour.over-blog.com/article-10463976.html|title=18 mai 1940 – La seconde guerre mondiale au jour le jour|date=18 May 2007 }}</ref>

From 27 April until 18 August 1944, 18 [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] air raids were directed against the railway tracks, killing 250 people and destroying 1,700 buildings,<ref group=b>p.275</ref> or more than 50% of the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/bombardements-de-cambrai-soixante-dix-ans-plus-tard-les-ia13b45101n2096868|title=Bombardements de Cambrai: soixante-dix ans plus tard, les habitants témoignent|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303025315/http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/region/bombardements-de-cambrai-soixante-dix-ans-plus-tard-les-ia13b45101n2096868|archive-date=2015-03-03}}</ref> The first American tanks entered the city on 2 September.

After the war, the priority again was reconstruction. A municipality of the "union of the left" was elected in 1945, led by {{Interlanguage link multi|Raymond Gernez|fr}} who would remain at the head of the city until 1981, promoting moderate socialism.<ref group=b>p.285</ref> As early as 1947, the city submitted to a development project of the Ministry of Reconstruction. The municipality gave priority to the construction of houses: The ''Maison du Cambrésis'' [House of le Cambrésis], later ''Maison Familiale'' group, an [[HLM]] cooperative society, contributed substantially to the reconstruction of the city.<ref group=b>p.279</ref> The population of the city increased, while the surrounding area tended to be depopulated. At the same time, the city lost industrial jobs and moved towards the tertiary sector, but it was public administrations which provided the bulk of jobs.<ref group=b>p.280-284</ref>