Editing Arras (section)

===Medieval and early modern period===

====Before the Middle Ages====
[[File:Saintvedast.jpg|thumb|The ordination of Saint Vaast]]
In the 4th&nbsp;century, ''Nemetacum'' was renowned for its arts and crafts as well as textiles trade throughout the whole empire. Between 406 and 407, the city was taken and destroyed by Germanic invaders. In 428, the [[Salian Franks]] led by [[Clodion le Chevelu]] took control of the region including the current [[Somme (department)|Somme]] department. Roman General [[Flavius Aetius|Aetius]] then chose to negotiate for peace and concluded a treaty (''fœdus'') with Clodion that gave the [[Franks]] the status of «[[foederati]]» fighting for Rome.

The town's people were converted to Christianity in the late 4th&nbsp;century by Saint Innocent, who was killed in 410 during a barbarian attack on the town. In 499, after the conversion of [[Clovis I]] to [[Catholicism]], a [[diocese]] (''évêché'' in French) was created in Arras, the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Arras]], and given to [[Vedast|Saint Vaast]] (also known as ''Saint Vedast'' in [[English language|English]]), who remains the diocesan [[patron saint]]. [[Vedast|Saint Vaast]] then established an episcopal see and a monastic community. It was suppressed in 580 to found the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Cambrai]], from which it would reemerge 5&nbsp;centuries later.

====Early Middle Ages====
In 667 Saint Aubert, bishop of [[Bishopric of Cambrai|Cambrai]], decided to found the [[St. Vaast's Abbey|Abbey of Saint Vaast]], which developed during the [[Carolingian]] period into an immensely wealthy [[Benedictine]] abbey. The modern town of Arras initially spread around the abbey as a grain market. During the 9th&nbsp;century, both town and abbey suffered from the attacks of the [[Vikings]], who later settled to the west in [[Normandy]]. The abbey revived its strength in the 11th&nbsp;century and played an important role in the development of medieval painting, successfully synthesizing the artistic styles of Carolingian, [[Ottonian]] and English art.<ref name="Vauchez">"Arras." ''Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages''. Ed. André Vauchez.</ref>

====High Middle Ages====
[[File:Jehan Bodel - Li congié.jpg|thumb|"Li congié" by Jean Bodel, a [[trouvère]] that lived in Arras in the 12th&nbsp;century]]
[[File:Arras 002.JPG|thumb|Arras: [[tapestry]] representing ''God's conversation with Noah'']]

In 1025, a Catholic council was held at Arras against certain [[Manichaean]] (dualistic) heretics who rejected the sacraments of the Church. In 1093, the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Arras|bishopric of Arras]] was refounded on territory split from the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Cambrai|Diocese of Cambrai]]. In 1097 two councils, presided over by [[Lambert of Arras]], dealt with questions concerning monasteries and persons consecrated to God. In this time, Arras became an important cultural centre, especially for the group of poets who came to be known as [[trouvère]]s. One particular society of such poets was later called the ''[[Puy d'Arras]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sarah B. Sherrill |first=Encyclopaedia Iranica |title=CARPETS v. Flat-woven carpets: Techniques and structures |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/carpets-v |access-date=2022-11-06 |pages=850–858 |language=en-US}}</ref>

====The wool industry and trade====
The town was granted a commercial charter by the French crown in 1180 and became an internationally important location for banking and trade. The [[wool]] industry of Arras, established in the 4th&nbsp;century, became of great importance during the Middle Ages. Already in the 3rd&nbsp;century Romans had lauded the quality of wool from Tournai and Arras. By the 11th&nbsp;century Arras was the leading city and trading hub of the wool industry. This prominence would eventually shift towards areas north of Arras, and cities such as [[Lille]], [[Douai]] and [[Saint-Omer]], followed by [[Ypres]] and eventually [[Bruges]] would become the centres of the wool industry and trade. However, by the 14th&nbsp;century Arras still was renowned and drew considerable wealth from the cloth and wool industry, and was particularly well known for its production of fine [[tapestry|tapestries]]—so much so that in English and [[Italian language|Italian]] the word ''Arras'' (''Arazzi'' in Italian) was adopted to refer to tapestries in general.<ref name="Vauchez"/> The patronage of wealthy cloth merchants ensured that the town became an important cultural centre, with major figures such as the poet [[Jean Bodel]] and the [[trouvère]] [[Adam de la Halle]] making their homes in Arras.

====Late Middle Ages====
The ownership of the town was repeatedly disputed along with the rest of Artois. During the Middle Ages, possession of Arras passed to a variety of feudal rulers and fiefs, including the [[County of Flanders]], the [[Duke of Burgundy|Duchy of Burgundy]], the Spanish branch of the [[House of Habsburg]] and the French crown. In 1430, [[Joan of Arc]] (''Jeanne d'Arc'' in French), was imprisoned in the region of Arras. The town was the site of the [[Congress of Arras]] in 1435, an unsuccessful attempt to end the [[Hundred Years' War]] that resulted in the Burgundians breaking their alliance with the English. After the death of Duke [[Charles the Bold]] of Burgundy in 1477, King [[Louis XI of France]] took control of Arras but the town's inhabitants, still loyal to the Burgundians, expelled the French. This prompted Louis XI to besiege Arras in person and, after taking it by assault, he had the town's walls razed and its inhabitants expelled, to be replaced by more loyal subjects from other parts of France. In a bid to erase the town's identity completely, Louis renamed it temporarily to ''Franchise''. In 1482, the [[Treaty of Arras (1482)|Peace of Arras]] was signed in the town to end a war between Louis XI and [[Maximilian I of Austria]]; ten years later, the town was ceded to Maximilian. It was eventually bequeathed to the Spanish Habsburgs as part of the [[Spanish Netherlands]].<ref>"Arras." ''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary''. (2007).</ref><ref>"Arras." ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. 2008.</ref>

====Renaissance====
{{Main|French Renaissance}}
[[File:Braun Arras UBHD.jpg|thumb|Arras in 1572]]
[[File:The entry of King Louis XIV and Queen Maria-Theresa in Arras on 30 July 1667 (by Adam Frans van der Meulen).jpg|thumb|The entry of King [[Louis XIV]] and Queen Maria Theresa in Arras on 30 July 1667]]
Arras remained under Habsburg rule from 1493 until 1640 when it was captured by the French. The Spanish ceded it by the peace treaty in 1659 and it has since remained French. The [[Union of Arras]] was signed here in January 1579 by the Catholic principalities of the [[Low Countries]] that remained loyal to King [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] of [[Habsburg]]; it provoked the declaration of the [[Union of Utrecht]] later the same month.