Picardy is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France.
Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie.
It is located in the northern part of France.
History The historical province of Picardy
stretched from north of Noyon to Calais, via the whole of the Somme department
and the north of the Aisne department. The province of Artois separated Picardy
from French Flanders. = Middle Ages=
From the 5th century the area was part of the Frankish Empire, and in the
feudal period it encompassed the six countships of Boulogne, Montreuil,
Ponthieu, Amiénois, Vermandois, and Laonnois. According to the 843 Treaty of
Verdun the region became part of West Francia, the later Kingdom of France.
The name "Picardy" was not used until the 12th or 13th century. During this
time, the name applied to all lands where the Picard language was spoken,
which included all the territories from Paris to the Netherlands. In the Latin
Quarter of Paris, people identified a "Picard Nation" of students at Sorbonne
University, most of whom actually came from Flanders. During the Hundred Years'
War, Picardy was the centre of the Jacquerie peasant revolt in 1358.
From 1419 onwards, the Picardy counties were gradually acquired by the
Burgundian duke Philip the Good, 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. By the end of 1477, Louis would control all of
Picardy and most of Artois. = Modern era=
In the 16th century, the government 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 département, the
northern half of the Aisne département, and a small fringe in the north of the
Oise département. In 1577, Picardy was invaded by Habsburg
forces under the command of Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy. After a
seventeen day siege, St. Quentin would be ransacked, while Noyon would be
burned by the Habsburg army. In the 17th 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.
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.
One of the most significant historical events to occur in Picardy was the
series of battles fought along the Somme during World War I. From September 1914
to August 1918, four major battles, including the Battle of the Somme, were
fought by British, French, and German forces in the fields of Northern
Picardy. = Picardy today=
In 2009, the Regional Committee for local government reform proposed to
reduce the number of 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, 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.
Today, the modern region of Picardy no longer includes the coastline from Berck
to Calais, via Boulogne, 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
dialects spoken in the Nord-Pas de Calais région, north of Picardy proper,
and parts of the Belgian province of Hainaut.
Geography Between the 1990 and 1999 censuses, the
population of Oise increased 0.61% per year, while the Aisne department lost
inhabitants, and the 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 and down to the
chateaux of Chantilly or Pierrefonds near the Paris Area and vineyards of the
border with Champagne to the south. Administration
The president of the regional council is Claude Gewerc, a Socialist in office
since 2004. That year he defeated longtime UDF incumbent Gilles de Robien.
Since 2008, the mayor of the city of Amiens, the regional capital, has been
Socialist Gilles Demailly. He defeated longtime mayor Gilles de Robien of the
New Centre party. Language and culture
Historically, the region of Picardy has a strong and proud cultural identity.
The Picard cultural heritage includes some of the most extraordinary Gothic
churches, distinctive local cuisine, beer and traditional games and sports,
such as the longue paume, 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. "P'tit quinquin", a
Picard song, is a symbol of the local culture.
Arts and architecture Picardy is the birthplace of Gothic
architecture, housing six of the world's greatest examples of Gothic cathedrals,
which envelop 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 the
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 located on
Saint-Pierre cathedral in Beauvais, Oise.
The Museum of Picardy, built between 1855 and 1867, houses a vast array of
great works, spanning centuries. Archaeology from ancient Greece and
Egypt to works of Pablo Picasso. The museum was built for the very reason it
is used today. Although Picardy is one of the least-known regions in France,
its influence from art and most certainly architecture is vivid
throughout the world. Major communities
Abbeville Amiens
Beauvais Compiègne
Péronne Creil
Laon Saint-Quentin
Soissons Morchain
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 silent British film of the same name.
Picardy is one of the minor characters in the Japanese manga series Hetalia:
Axis Powers. Notes
References Potter, David. War and Government in the
French Provinces: Picardy 1470-1560. Cambridge University Press.
External links Picardy : the other north of France -
Official French website (French) Official regional council
website Picardy, brief guide to the region and
attractions Pictures of Picardy
photos from Southern Picardy War Memorials in the Aisne region of
Picardy War Memorials in the Oise region of
Picardy War Memorials in the Eastern Somme
War Memorials in the Western Somme