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PROVINS

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Originally appearing in Volume V22, Page 515 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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PROVINS , a See also:

town of See also:northern See also:France, See also:capital of an See also:arrondissement of the See also:department of See also:Seine-et-See also:Marne, at the junction of the Durtain with the Voulzie (an affluent of the Seine), S9 M. E.S.E. of See also:Paris by See also:rail. Pop. (1906), 7546. The town enjoys a certain reputation for its See also:mineral See also:waters (which contain See also:iron, See also:lime, and carbonic See also:acid, and are used for bathing and drinking), and is also known from its See also:trade in See also:roses, but it derives a higher See also:interest from numerous remains of its See also:medieval prosperity. Provins is divided into two quarters—the ville-haute and the less See also:ancient ville-basse—which in the 13th See also:century were surrounded by fortifications. There still remains a See also:great See also:part of these fortifications, which made a See also:circuit of about 4 m., strengthened at intervals by towers, generally See also:round, and now, being bordered with See also:fine trees, See also:form the See also:principal See also:promenade of the town. The large See also:tower situated within this See also:line, and variously known as the See also:king's, See also:Caesar's or the prisoners' tower, is one of the most curious of the 12th century keeps now extant. The See also:base is surrounded by a thick See also:mound of See also:masonry added by the See also:English in the 15th century when they were masters of the town. The tower serves as See also:belfry to the See also:church of St Quiriace, which See also:dates its See also:foundation from the 12th century. These two buildings in the ville-haute rise picturesquely from the See also:crest of a steep wooded See also:hill above the ville-basse. The church preserves among its treasures the pontifical ornaments of St See also:Edmund of See also:Canterbury (d.

1242). The interior is See also:

plain, but very beautifully proportioned. The See also:appearance of the exterior suffers from an inappropriate See also:dome erected above the See also:crossing. The See also:palace of the See also:counts of See also:Champagne, some fragments of which also belong to the 12th century, is occupied by the communal See also:college. The old tithe-See also:barn is a See also:building of the 13th century with twa fine vaulted See also:chambers, one of which is below ground. The church of St Ayoul dates from the 12th to the 16th centuries, the See also:transept being the See also:oldest part; it is in a See also:state of great See also:dilapidation, and the See also:choir is used as a storehouse. St Croix belongs partially to the 13th century. Extensive cellars, used as warehouses in the See also:middle ages, extend beneath portions of the town. On Mont Ste See also:Catherine, opposite Provins, the See also:general See also:hospital occupies the site of an old See also:convent of St See also:Clare, of which there remains a See also:cloister of the 14th century. The sub-prefecture, tribunals of first instance and of See also:commerce are among the public institutions. There is an active trade in See also:grain, livestock and See also:wool, and the See also:industries include See also:flour-milling, nursery-gardening, brickmaking, and the manufacture of See also:porcelain, pianos, See also:gas and petrol engines, agricultural implements and See also:sugar. Provins began to figure in See also:history in the 9th century.

Passing from the counts of See also:

Vermandois to the counts of Champagne, it rapidly attained a high degree of prosperity. See also:Cloth and See also:leather were its See also:staple manufactures, and its fairs, attended by traders from all parts of See also:Europe, were of as much See also:account as those of See also:Beaucaire, while its See also:money had currency throughout Europe. In the 13th century the See also:population of the town is said to have reached 6o,000; but the See also:plague of 1348 and the See also:famine of 1349 proved disastrous. The See also:Hundred Years' See also:War, during which Provins was captured and recaptured, completed the ruin of the town. During the religious See also:wars it sided with the See also:Catholic party and the See also:League, and See also:Henry IV. obtained See also:possession of it in 1592 only after thirteen days' See also:siege. See See also:Felix Bourquelot, Histoire de Provins (2 vols., Provins, 1839-1840).

End of Article: PROVINS

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