Editing Picardy

{{About|the French region||Picardy (disambiguation)}}
{{Refimprove|date=April 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->
| official_name          = Picardy
| native_name            = Picardie
| native_name_lang       = fr
| settlement_type        = [[Regions of France|Region of France]]
| image_skyline          =
| image_caption          =
| image_flag             = Flag of Picardie.svg
| flag_size              = 120px
| image_shield           = BlasonPicardie.svg
| shield_size            =
| image_blank_emblem     =
| blank_emblem_size      = 75px
| image_map              = Picardielocation.svg
| map_caption            =
| motto                  =
| coordinates            = {{Coord|49|30|N|2|50|E|region:FR-S_type:adm1st|display=ti}}
| subdivision_type       = Country
| subdivision_name       = {{flag|France}}
| extinct_title          = Dissolved
| extinct_date           = 1 January 2016
| seat_type              = [[Prefectures in France|Prefecture]]
| seat                   = [[Amiens]]
| parts_type             = [[Departments of France|Departments]]
| parts_style            = list
| parts                  = 3
| p1                     = [[Aisne]] (02)
| p2                     = [[Oise]] (60)
| p3                     = [[Somme (department)|Somme]] (80)
| leader_party           = [[Socialist Party (France)|PS]]
| leader_title           = [[President of the Regional Council (France)|President]]
| leader_name            = [[Claude Gewerc]]
| area_footnotes         =
| area_total_km2         = 19399
| area_land_km2          =
| area_water_km2         =
| population_footnotes   =
| population_total       = 1,932,422
| population_as_of       = 2016
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym     = Picards
| timezone1              = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset1            = +01:00
| timezone1_DST          = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset1_DST        = +02:00
| demographics_type1       = Gross Regional Product
| demographics1_footnotes  = <ref>{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tgs00003/default/table?lang=en |title=EU regions by GDP, Eurostat |access-date=18 September 2023}}</ref>
|demographics1_title1     = Total
|demographics1_info1      = €51.729 billion
| demographics1_title2     = Per capita
|demographics1_info2      = €26,800
| blank_name_sec2        = [[First level NUTS of the European Union#France|NUTS Region]]
| blank_info_sec2        = FR2
| website                = [http://www.cr-picardie.fr/ cr-picardie.fr]
| iso_code               = FR-S
| footnotes              =
}}

'''Picardy''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɪ|k|ər|d|i}}; [[Picard language|Picard]] and {{langx|fr|link=no|Picardie}}, {{IPA|fr|pikaʁdi|lang|Fr-Picardie.ogg}}, {{IPA|pcd|piˈkaʀdi|label=Picard:}}) is a historical and cultural territory and a former [[regions of France|administrative region]] located in northern [[France]]. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained its first official recognition in the 13th century through the nation of Picardy at the University of Paris and entered French administration in the 14th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sartre |first=Josiane |author-link= |date=2012 |title=Châteaux "brique et pierre" en Picardie: Quatre siècles d'architecture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B__CiIHdgA4C&dq=Picardie+administration+fran%C3%A7aise+xive+siecle&pg=PA62 |location= |publisher=[[Nouvelles Editions Latines]] |page=62 |language=fr |isbn=978-2-7233-9574-8}}</ref> Unlike regions such as [[Normandy]], [[Brittany]], or [[Champagne (province)|Champagne]], Picardy was never established as a duchy, county, or principality, and its boundaries fluctuated over the centuries due to the political instability in the area it covered. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of [[Hauts-de-France]].<ref name="reform law">{{cite French law |number or usual name=n° 2015-29 |date in French=16 janvier 2015 |full name=relative à la délimitation des régions, aux élections régionales et départementales et modifiant le calendrier électoral |language=French |lower case= |URL=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do;jsessionid=9FECBA9D9314D1D2C093CF793C886ED5.tpdila21v_1?idSectionTA=JORFSCTA000030109623&cidTexte=JORFTEXT000030109622&dateTexte=29990101}}</ref>

The first geographic description of Picardy appeared in the late central Middle Ages, including the bishoprics of Amiens, Beauvais, Arras, Tournai, and Thérouanne. In the late Middle Ages, it also encompassed Saint-Quentin, Douai, Abbeville, Béthune, Clermont, and other towns like Noyon, Valenciennes, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Hesdin, and Laon. At that time, Picardy was divided into Upper and Lower Picardy: Upper Picardy was closer to Île-de-France, while Lower Picardy, which Barthélemy the Englishman referred to as Hainaut, was closer to Flanders and Brabant.

During the ''[[ancien régime]]'', Picardy was generally defined by thirteen traditional regions, still divided into Upper and Lower Picardy: the former grouping inland areas and the latter, coastal areas. It was divided between the governments of Picardy and Île-de-France. The government of Picardy covered the northern half of Upper Picardy, while the government of Île-de-France held the southern half, including towns such as Beauvais, Noyon, and Laon. This description of Picardy, seen in 19th and 20th-century records from the Society of Antiquaries of Picardy and the Historical Society of Upper Picardy, extended from Senlis to Calais, from Soissons and Laon to Abbeville and Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Historians and geographers like [[Robert Fossier]], [[Albert Demangeon]], and [[Philippe Pinchemel]] replaced the idea of the ''ancien régime'' Picardy with the notion of an ethnic Picardy, identified particularly by the [[Picard language]]. This ethnic Picardy would include places like Senlis and Soissons, which popular tradition historically associated with Picardy due to their dialect, with the northern boundary marked by the linguistic border with [[Flemish dialects|Flemish]], thus extending to Calais and Tournai. In the 20th century, geographer Albert Demangeon demonstrated the existence of a geographic Picardy through what he called the "Picard plain," a vast chalk plain stretching from Beauvais to Arras, from Cambrai and Laon to Abbeville and the Boulogne region.

From 1972 to 2015, a region of the same name was created, bringing together the three departments of [[Somme (department)|Somme]], [[Oise]], and [[Aisne]], thus encompassing most of Picardy as defined in the Ancien Régime.

Today, Picardy, in its various definitions, is largely contained within the Hauts-de-France region and spread across its five departments. Part of the linguistic Picardy is in the [[Wallonia]] region of [[Belgium]], in the [[Hainaut Province]], and a small portion of the historic Beauvaisis is in the northern part of the Val-d'Oise department, around Beaumont-sur-Oise and L'Isle-Adam.

==History==
[[File:Carte de Picardie.svg|thumb|left|Map of the historical extent of Picardy]]
The historical [[provinces of France|province]] of Picardy stretched from [[Senlis]] to [[Calais]] via the main parts of the [[Oise]] and [[Aisne]] departments, the whole of the [[Somme (department)|Somme]] department and the west of the [[Pas-de-Calais]] department. The province of [[Artois]] ([[Arras]] area) separated Picardy from [[French Flanders]].

=== Middle Ages ===
From the 5th century, the area formed part of the [[Francia|Frankish Empire]] and, in the feudal period, it encompassed the six countships of [[County of Boulogne|Boulogne]], [[Montreuil, Pas-de-Calais|Montreuil]], [[Ponthieu]], [[County of Amiens|Amiénois]], [[Vermandois]] and [[Laon]]nois.<ref name="dunbabin4">Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888–987</ref> In accordance with the provisions of the 843 [[Treaty of Verdun]], the region became part of [[West Francia]], the later [[Kingdom of France]].

The name "Picardy" derives from the Old French ''pic,'' meaning "[[Pike (weapon)|pike]]", the characteristic weapon used by people from this region in ancient times.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/picardy |title=picardy {{!}} Origin and meaning of picardy by Online Etymology Dictionary |website=www.etymonline.com |language=en |access-date=18 March 2020 |archive-date=1 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501172930/https://www.etymonline.com/word/Picardy |url-status=dead}}</ref> The term "Picardy" was first used in the early 13th century,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.eupedia.com/france/picardy.shtml |title=Eupedia |last=Maciamo |website=Eupedia |language=en |access-date=18 March 2020}}</ref> during which time the name applied to all lands where the [[Picard (language)|Picard]] language was spoken including territories from Paris to the [[Netherlands]].<ref name="PlanholClaval1994">{{cite book |author1=Xavier De Planhol |author2=Paul Claval |title=An Historical Geography of France |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C19glZh7zfoC&pg=PA172 |access-date=25 March 2012 |date=17 March 1994 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-32208-9 |page=172}}</ref> In the [[Latin Quarter]] of Paris, people identified a "Picard Nation" (''Nation Picarde'') of students at [[Sorbonne University]], most of whom actually came from [[County of Flanders|Flanders]].<ref name="britannica">
Encyclopædia Britannica Online. History of Picardy.
</ref>
During the [[Hundred Years' War]], Picardy was the centre of the [[Jacquerie]] peasant revolt in 1358.

Beginning in 1419, the Picardy counties ([[county of Boulogne|Boulogne]], [[county of Ponthieu|Ponthieu]], [[county of Amiens|Amiens]], [[county of Vermandois|Vermandois]]) were gradually acquired by the [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundian]] duke [[Philip the Good]], acquisitions confirmed by King [[Charles VII of France]] at the 1435 [[Congress of Arras]]. In 1477, King [[Louis XI of France]] led an army and occupied key towns in Picardy.{{sfn|Potter|1993|p= 37}} By the end of 1477, Louis would control all of Picardy and most of [[County of Artois|Artois]].{{sfn|Potter|1993|p= 39}}

=== Modern era ===
In the 15th century, the ''government'' (military region) of Picardy was created. This became a new administrative region of France, separate from what was historically defined as Picardy. The new Picardy included the [[Somme (department)|Somme]] ''[[département]]'', the northern half of the [[Aisne]] ''département'' and a small fringe in the north of the [[Oise]] ''département''.

In 1557, Picardy was invaded by Habsburg forces under the command of [[Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy]].<ref name="Tucker518">''A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East'', Vol. II, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), 518</ref> After a [[Battle of St. Quentin (1557)|seventeen-day siege]],<ref name="Tucker518" /> [[Saint-Quentin, Aisne|St. Quentin]] would be ransacked,<ref name="Tucker518" /> while [[Noyon]] would be burned by the Habsburg army.<ref>George A. Rothrock, The Huguenots: A Biography of a Minority, (Nelson-Hall, Inc., 1979), 48.</ref>

In the early 18th century, an infectious disease similar to [[English sweat]] originated from the region and spread across France. It was called ''Suette des picards'' or [[Picardy sweat]].<ref name="Hecher1844">{{cite book |author=T. F. C. Hecher |title=The epidemics of the Middle ages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vMfGlF2oOdQC&pg=PA315 |access-date=25 March 2012 |year=1844 |publisher=G. Woodfall and Von |pages=315–318}}</ref>

[[Sugar beet]] was introduced by [[Napoleon I]] during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] in the 19th century in order to counter the United Kingdom which had seized the sugar islands possessed by France in the [[Caribbean]]. The [[sugar industry]] has continued to play a prominent role in the economy of the region.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.french.co.uk/france/regions/picardy/ |work=French.co.uk |title=Picardie}}</ref>

One of the most significant historical events to occur in Picardy was the series of battles fought along the [[Somme (river)|Somme]] during [[World War I]]. From September 1914 to August 1918, four major battles, including the [[Battle of the Somme]], were fought by British, Commonwealth, French and German forces in the fields of Northern Picardy.<ref name="Philpott2010">{{cite book |author=William Philpott |title=Three Armies on the Somme: The First Battle of the Twentieth Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8MXGNxVINkAC |access-date=25 March 2012 |date=5 October 2010 |publisher=Random House Digital, Inc. |isbn=978-0-307-26585-2 |pages=3–4}}</ref>

=== Picardy today ===

[[File:Pierre Puvis de Chavannes - "Ludus Pro Patria" - Walters 3716.jpg|right|thumb|This painting by [[Pierre Puvis de Chavannes]] recalls the "Golden Age" in the history of the province of Picardy.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[The Walters Art Museum]] |url=http://art.thewalters.org/detail/20168 |title=Ludus Pro Patria}}</ref> The Walters Art Museum.]]
In 2009, the Regional Committee for local government reform proposed to reduce the number of [[Regions of France|French regions]] and cancel additions of new regions in the near future. Picardy would have disappeared and each department would have joined a nearby region. The Oise would have been incorporated in the [[Île-de-France (region)|Île-de-France]], the Somme would have been incorporated in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Aisne would have been incorporated in the Champagne-Ardenne. The vast majority of Picards were opposed to this proposal and it was scrapped in 2010 (see newspaper: "Courrier Picard").

Today, the modern region of Picardy no longer includes the coastline from Berck to Calais, via Boulogne (Boulonais), that is now in the [[Nord-Pas-de-Calais]] region but does incorporate the ''pays'' of [[Beauvaisis]], Valois, Noyonnais, Laonnois, Soissonnais, Omois among other [[departments of France]]. The older definition of Picardy survives in the name of the [[Picard language]] which applies not only to the dialects of Picardy proper but also to the [[Romance languages|Romance]] dialects spoken in the [[Nord-Pas de Calais]] [[région|region]], north of Picardy proper, and parts of the [[Belgium|Belgian]] [[province of Hainaut]].

==Geography==
[[File:Eclusier-Vaux (Somme), belvédère de Vaux.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Landscape in Picardy]]
Between the 1990 and 1999 censuses, the population of [[Oise]] increased 0.61% per year, almost twice as fast as France as a whole.  Meanwhile the [[Aisne]] department lost inhabitants, and the [[Somme (department)|Somme]] barely grew with a 0.16% growth per year. Today, 41.3% of the population of Picardy live inside the [[Oise]] department.

Picardy stretches from the long sand beaches of the Somme estuary in the west to the vast forests and pastures of the [[Thiérache]] in the east to [[Chantilly, Oise|Chantilly]] and [[Pierrefonds, Oise|Pierrefonds]] near the Paris Area and vineyards of the border with [[Champagne (province)|Champagne]] to the south.

==Administration==

The president of the regional council prior to its abolition in 2015 was [[Claude Gewerc]], a [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist]] who had been in office since 2004. That year he defeated longtime [[Union for French Democracy|UDF]] incumbent [[Gilles de Robien]].

Since 2008, the mayor of the city of [[Amiens]], the regional capital, has been [[Socialist Party (France)|Socialist]] [[Gilles Demailly]]. He defeated longtime mayor [[Gilles de Robien]] of the [[New Centre]] party.

== Language and culture ==
[[File:Péronne - Porte de Bretagne 3561.jpg|thumb|Distinctive brick building style demonstrated on a monument in the [[Somme (department)|Somme]], Picardy]]

Historically, the region of Picardy has a strong and proud cultural identity. The Picard (local inhabitants and traditionally speakers of the [[Picard language]]) cultural heritage includes some of the most extraordinary Gothic churches (Amiens and Beauvais cathedrals or [[Saint-Quentin basilica]]), distinctive [[Picardy cuisine|local cuisine]] (including ''[[ficelle picarde]]'', ''[[flamiche|flamiche aux poireaux]]'', ''tarte au maroilles''), beer (including from Péronne's de Clercq brewery) and traditional games and sports, such as the ''longue paume'' (ancestor of tennis), as well as ''danses picardes'' and its own bagpipes, called the ''[[pipasso]]''.

The villages of Picardy have a distinct character, with their houses made of red bricks, often accented with a "lace" of white bricks. A minority of people still speak the [[Picard language]], one of the [[languages of France]], which is also spoken in [[Artois]] ([[Nord-Pas de Calais]] ''région''). "[[P'tit Quinquin (song)|P'tit quinquin]]", a Picard song, is a symbol of the local culture (and of that of Artois).

Picardy is arguably the birthplace of Gothic architecture, housing six of the world's greatest examples of Gothic cathedrals, which span the history of Gothic architecture in its entirety. [[Amiens Cathedral]], standing as the largest cathedral in Europe, which according to [[John Ruskin]] is the "Pantheon of Gothic architecture", could house [[Notre-Dame de Paris]] twice over. It was built in as little as 50 years. Picardy also holds the tallest [[transept]] in the history of the Gothic period; this transept is located in [[Beauvais Cathedral|Saint-Pierre cathedral]] in Beauvais, Oise.

The [[Musée de Picardie|Museum of Picardy]] in Amiens, built between 1855 and 1867, houses a vast array of great works, spanning the centuries and ranging from archaeology from ancient Greece and Egypt to modern works of [[Pablo Picasso]]. The museum was closed until the end of 2019 for building work.

Although Picardy is one of the least-known regions in France, its influence from art and most certainly architecture is vivid throughout the world.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.picardietourisme.com/en/mots_clefs_de_picardie/en/gothic_art_in_picardy.aspx |title=Gothic Art in Picardy |publisher=Picardy Tourist Office |location=80011 AMIENS Cedex 1 |access-date=14 April 2014}}</ref>

==Major cities==
[[File:Amiens quartier saint leu canaux 200503.jpg|thumb|[[Amiens]]]]
* [[Abbeville]]
* [[Amiens]]
* [[Beauvais]]
* [[Compiègne]]
* [[Péronne, Somme|Péronne]]
* [[Creil]]
* [[Laon]]
* [[Saint-Quentin, Aisne|Saint-Quentin]]
* [[Soissons]]
* [[Senlis]]

== In popular culture ==
* The song "[[Roses of Picardy]]" is a ballad written in 1916 during World War I. In 1927, the song title was used as the title of the [[Roses of Picardy (film)|silent British film]] of the same name.
* Picardy is one of the minor characters in the Japanese manga series ''[[Hetalia: Axis Powers]]''.
* The French army song "Reveillez-vous picards" ( "picards awaken") was originally a  rally song used by [[Charles the Bold]]'s picard mercenaries.

== See also ==
* [[War memorials (Aisne)|War memorials in the Aisne region of Picardy]]
* [[War memorials (Oise)|War memorials in the Oise region of Picardy]]
* [[War memorials (Eastern Somme)|War memorials in the Eastern Somme]]
* [[War memorials (Western Somme)|War memorials in the Western Somme]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last=Potter |first=David |title=War and Government in the French Provinces: Picardy 1470-1560 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1993}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130303185858/http://www.france.fr/en/regions-and-cities/picardy-other-north-france Picardy: the other north of France] – Official French website
* {{in lang|fr}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20110223122150/http://cr-picardie.fr/ Official regional council website]
* [http://about-france.com/regions/picardy.htm Picardy, brief guide to the region and attractions]
* [http://www.offrench.net/photos/gallery-10.php photos from Southern Picardy]

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[[Category:Picardy| ]]
[[Category:Former regions of France]]
[[Category:Hauts-de-France]]
[[Category:NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union]]
[[Category:Former provinces of France]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 2016]]