Arras

Arras , city (1990 pop. 42,715), capital of Pas-de-Calais dept., and historic capital of Artois, N France, on the canalized Scarpe River. It is a communications, farm, and industrial center, with oil works and factories making machinery, metal products, and esparto goods. Of Gallo-Roman origin, it became an episcopal see c.500. It was granted (1180) a commercial charter by the crown and enjoyed international importance in banking and trade. By the 14th cent. it had become a center of wealth and culture, renowned particularly for tapestry . It was nearly destroyed during the wars between Burgundy and France (15th cent.), which ended with the Treaty of Arras (1435). Occupied (1492) by the Spaniards, Arras was conquered (1630) by the French; French possession was confirmed (1659) in the Peace of the Pyrenees. Heavy bombardments in World War I destroyed much of the town, and it was further damaged in World War II. Nevertheless it retains much of its old Spanish-Flemish flavor. The town square, bordered by 17th-century buildings, forms a notable ensemble of Flemish architecture. The damaged town hall (16th cent.) and the Abbey of St. Vaast (18th cent.; now housing a museum) have been restored. The house where Robespierre was born still stands. A school of agriculture is there.

arras XV. — arras in AN. draps d'arras ‘cloths of Arras’, name of a town in Artois, France.

Arras tapestries. Tapestries produced in the 14th and 15th centuries at Arras in northern France. They are first mentioned in 1313 and their pre-eminent reputation during the later Middle Ages is attested by the fact that the name of the town passed into several European languages as a generic term for tapestry hangings (Polonius is hiding ‘behind the arras’ when he is killed by Hamlet). However, production was in decline by the mid-15th century (Tournai had become the leading centre of the art) and the industry was brought to an end when Louis XI of France captured Arras in 1477 (at this time it was part of Burgundy) and expelled the citizens. Subsequent attempts to re-establish it bore little fruit. A number of surviving tapestries have been ascribed to Arras looms, but the only one that is documented is that in Tournai Cathedral depicting the lives of Sts Piat and Eleutherius; it formerly bore the signature of Pierrot Feré of Arras and the date 1402.