Cambrai: Guide

Cambrai (Dutch: Kamerijk; old spelling Cambray) is a France|French town and commune in France|commune, in the Nord (département)|Nord département in France|département, of which it is a sous-préfecture.

Cambrai is the seat of Archdiocese of Cambrai |an archdiocese whose jurisdiction was immense during the Middle Ages. The territory of the Bishopric of Cambrai, roughly coinciding with the shire of Brabant, included the central part of the Low Countries. The bishopric had some limited secular power.

History

Cambrai was a town of the Nervii, known to the Romans as Camaracum. In the 5th century it was a Frankish town under the rule of Raguacharius, and in 870 the town was destroyed by the Normans.1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, "Cambrai"

The Battle of Cambrai (November 20 - December 3, 1917), a campaign of World War I took place there. It was noted for the first successful use of tanks.

Music history

Cambrai has a distinguished musical history, particularly in the 15th century. The cathedral there, a musical center until the 17th century, had one of the most active musical establishments in the Low Countries; many composers of the Burgundian School either grew up and learned their craft there, or returned to teach. In 1428 Philippe de Luxembourg claimed that the cathedral was the finest in all of Christendom, for the fineness of its singing, its light, and the sweetness of its bells. Guillaume Dufay, the most famous European musician of the 15th century, studied at the cathedral from 1409 to 1412, and returned in 1439 after spending many years in Italy: other composers such as Johannes Tinctoris and Johannes Ockeghem|Ockeghem went to Cambrai to study with him.

Cambrai cathedral had other famous composers in the later 15th century, including Nicolas Grenon, Alexander Agricola, and Jacob Obrecht. In the 16th century, Philippe de Monte, Johannes Lupi, and Jacobus de Kerle all worked there.

As the economic center of northern Europe moved away from Bruges, the area became poorer, with an associated period of cultural decline. The cathedral was destroyed in 1796, but the archives were preserved (presently they are in the Archives Départmentales du Nord at Lille).

There was a pub Dufay's residence.

Births

Cambrai was the birthplace of:

Charles François Dumouriez (1739-1823), French general
Francisco Luis Héctor de Carondelet|Francisco de Carondelet (1747-1807), in Noyelles, Spanish governor of Louisiana Territory|Louisiana, president of the Audiencia of Quito
Louis Blériot (1872-1936), aviator
Henri de Lubac (1896-1991), Jesuit and theologian
Julien Torma (1902-1933), writer, playwright and poet
René Dumont (1904-2001), engineer in agricultural science|agronomy, sociology|sociologist, and environmental politics|politician
Maurice Godelier (born 1934), social anthropology|anthropologist, Neo-Marxism|neo-Marxist, and France|French intellectual

Twin towns

Cambrai is twinned with:
Houma, Louisiana|Houma - Louisiana, United States
Châteauguay, Quebec|Châteauguay - Québec, Canada
Kamp-Lintfort - Germany
Esztergom - Hungary
Gravesend - Kent - UK

Role in the Italian Wars