Editing Bayeux (section)

==History==

===Origins===
<!--[[:fr:Bayeux#Histoire|Translated from the corresponding article on French Wikipedia]]-->
Founded as a Gallo-Roman settlement in the 1st century BC under the name Augustodurum, Bayeux is the capital of the former territory of the [[Baiocasses]] people of Gaul, whose name appears in [[Natural History (Pliny)|Pliny's ''Natural History'']] (iv.107). Evidence of earlier human occupation of the territory comes from fortified Celtic camps, but there is no evidence of any major pre-existing Celtic town before the organization of Gaul in Roman ''[[Civitas|civitates]]''. Any settlement was more likely confined to scattered Druid huts along the banks of the Aure and Drome rivers or on Mount Phaunus where they worshipped. Cemeteries have been found on the nearby Mount Phaunus indicating the area as a Druid centre. Titus Sabinus, a lieutenant of [[Julius Caesar]], subjected the Bessin region to Roman domination. The 5th-century ''[[Notitia provinciarum et civitatum Galliae]]'' mentions [[Suevi]] that had been officially settled here (''[[laeti]]'').<ref>''Laeti Suevorum'', noted in Jean Roemer, ''Origins of the English People and the English Language'', p. 207 note 2.</ref>

The town is mentioned by [[Ptolemy]], writing in the reign of Antoninus Pius, under the name ''Noemagus Biducassium'' (for ''*Noviomagus Badiocassium'' 'New market of the Badiocassi') and remained so until the time of the Roman Empire. The main street was already the heart of the city. Two baths, under the Church of St. Lawrence and the post office in rue Laitière, and a sculpted head of the goddess Minerva have been found, attesting to the adoption of Roman culture. In 1990 a closer examination of huge blocks discovered in the cathedral in the 19th century indicated the presence of an old Roman building. Bayeux was built on a crossroads between [[Lisieux]] and [[Valognes]], developing first on the west bank of the river. By the end of the 3rd century a walled enclosure surrounded the city and remained until it was removed in the 18th century. Its layout is still visible and can be followed today. The citadel of the city was located in the southwest corner, and the cathedral in the southeast. An important city in Normandy, Bayeux was part of the coastal defence of the Roman Empire against the pirates of the region, and a Roman legion was stationed there.

===Middle Ages===
[[File:BayeuxTapestryScene22.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.8|Bayeux (Bagias), depicted in [[Bayeux Tapestry tituli#22|scene 22]] of the [[Bayeux Tapestry]], which is housed in the town]]
The city was largely destroyed during the [[Viking expansion|Viking raids]] of the late 9th century but was rebuilt in the early 10th century under the reign of Bothon. In the middle of the 10th century Bayeux was controlled by [[Hagrold]], a pagan Viking who defended the city against the Franks. The 12th-century poet [[Benoît de Saint-Maure]], in his verse history of the dukes of Normandy, remarked on the "Danish" commonly spoken at Bayeux in the 10th century.<ref>Benoît, ''Chronique'': "Mais a Baiues en a tanz/ Qui ne sevent si daneis non."</ref>

The 11th century saw the creation of five villages beyond the walls to the northeast, evidence of its growth during [[Duchy of Normandy|Ducal Normandy]]. [[William the Conqueror]]'s half brother [[Odo of Bayeux]] completed the cathedral in the city and it was dedicated in 1077. However the city began to lose prominence when William placed his capital at [[Caen]]. When King [[Henry I of England]] defeated his brother [[Robert Curthose]] for the rule of Normandy, the city was burned to set an example to the rest of the duchy. Under [[Richard the Lionheart]], Bayeux was wealthy enough to purchase a [[municipal charter]]. From the end of Richard's reign to the end of the [[Hundred Years' War]], Bayeux was repeatedly pillaged until [[Henry V of England]] captured the city in 1417. After the [[Battle of Formigny]], [[Charles VII of France]] recaptured the city and granted a general amnesty to its populace in 1450. The capture of Bayeux heralded a return to prosperity as new families replaced those decimated by war, and they built some 60 mansions scattered throughout the city, with stone supplanting wood.

===Post-medieval===
The area around Bayeux is called the Bessin, which was the [[bailiwick]] of the province Normandy until the [[French Revolution]]. 
[[File:British troops marching through Bayeux in Normandy, 27 June 1944. B6058.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|British troops marching through Bayeux, 27 June 1944. [[Bayeux Cathedral]] is in the background.]]

During the [[Second World War]], Bayeux was the first city of the [[Operation Overlord|Battle of Normandy]] to be liberated on 7 June by British troops of [[50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division]] with only light resistance. On 16 June 1944 General [[Charles de Gaulle]] made [[First Bayeux speech|the first of two major speeches in Bayeux]] in which he made clear that France sided with the Allies. The buildings in Bayeux were virtually untouched during the Battle of Normandy, the German forces being fully involved in defending [[Caen]] from the Allies. Bayeux nevertheless became an important hub for the allies - military vehicles found difficulty moving through the narrow medieval streets. In late June the [[Royal Engineers]] and [[Royal Pioneer Corps|Pioneer Corps]] built a road around the town, the 'Bayeux Bypass' – to facilitate the flow of traffic.

The [[Bayeux War Cemetery]] with its memorial includes the largest British cemetery dating from the Second World War in France. There are 4,648 graves, including 3,935 British and 466 Germans. Most of those buried there were killed in the invasion of Normandy in 1944.
[[File:Bayeux-centre-ville.jpg|thumb|right|320px|Bayeux city centre (2011)]]

[[The Royal British Legion|Royal British Legion National]], every 5 June at 1530 hrs, attends the 3rd Division Cean Memorial Service and beating retreat ceremony. On 6 June, it holds a remembrance service in [[Bayeux Cathedral]] starting at 1015 hrs, and later at 1200 hrs, the Royal British Legion National holds a service of remembrance at the Bayeux Cemetery. All services are open to the public, all Standards [[The Royal British Legion|RBL]], NVA, [[Royal Navy|RN]], [[British Army|ARMY]], and [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] service and Regimental Associations are welcome to attend and parade. Details can be found at [https://web.archive.org/web/20120326180301/http://www.rblsomme.org/ www.rblsomme.org]

Bayeux is also the home of a memorial to all [[journalist]]s who have lost their lives while reporting. The memorial was designed by Samuel Craquelin, who is a French architect. The memorial lists the names of 1,889 journalists killed between 1944 and 2007. The memorial was established in conjunction with the organisation [[Reporters Without Borders]] and is located in Bayeux because of its historic liberation on 7 June 1944. It was inaugurated on 2 May 2007.<ref name=bayeux>{{cite web |url=http://en.rsf.org/the-french-town-of-bayeux-and-03-05-2007,21777 |title=The French town of Bayeux and Reporters Without Borders inaugurate a journalists memorial on the eve of World Freedom Day |publisher=Reporters Without Borders |date=2007-05-03 |access-date=2013-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109061100/http://en.rsf.org/the-french-town-of-bayeux-and-03-05-2007%2C21777 |archive-date=2014-01-09}}</ref>