Historical province in the Kingdom of France
Champagne
(
French pronunciation:
[???pa?]
ⓘ
) was a
province
in the northeast of the
Kingdom of France
, now best known as the
Champagne wine region
for the
sparkling white wine
that bears its name in modern-day France. The
County of Champagne
, descended from the early medieval kingdom of
Austrasia
, passed to the French crown in 1314.
[1]
Formerly ruled by the
counts of Champagne
, its western edge is about 160 km (100 miles) east of Paris. The cities of
Troyes
,
Reims
, and
Epernay
are the commercial centers of the area. In 1956, most of Champagne became part of the French administrative
region
of
Champagne-Ardenne
, which comprised four departments:
Ardennes
,
Aube
,
Haute-Marne
, and
Marne
. From 1 January 2016, Champagne-Ardenne merged with the adjoining regions of
Alsace
and
Lorraine
to form the new region of
Grand Est
.
Etymology
[
edit
]
The name
Champagne
, formerly written
Champaigne
, comes from French meaning "open country" (suited to military maneuvers) and from
Latin
campanius
meaning "level country" or "plain"
[2]
which is also the derivation of the name of the Italian region of
Campania
. The toponym dates back to the Renaissance describing its vast
chalk
lined flat landscape.
[3]
History
[
edit
]
In the
High Middle Ages
, the province was famous for the
Champagne fairs
, which were very important in the economy of the Western societies. The
chivalric romance
had its first beginnings in the county of Champagne with the famous writer
Chretien de Troyes
who wrote stories of the
Round Table
from the
Arthurian legends
.
A few counts of Champagne were
French kings
with the comital title merging with the French crown in 1314 when
Louis I, king of Navarre and count of Champagne
, became king of France as Louis X. Counts of Champagne were highly considered by the
French aristocracy
.
References
[
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]
External links
[
edit
]
49°00′N
4°00′E
/
49.000°N 4.000°E
/
49.000; 4.000
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