Editing Arras (section)

====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.