Beauvais

Beauvais, a town of France, capital of the department Oise, situated in the valley of the Thérain, 55 miles NNW. of Paris. Among several fine buildings the most noteworthy is the unfinished cathedral, begun in 1225, the choir of which, 153 feet high, is the loftiest as well as one of the finest specimens of Gothic in France. The industries of Beauvais include the weaving of Gobelin tapestries (since 1664), and the manufacture of cotton, woollen cloths, shawls, and carpets. Pop. (1891) 19,275. Beauvais was known by the Romans as Cæsaromagus, afterwards as Bellovacum. In 1472 it was besieged by Charles the Bold of Burgundy, with an army of 80,000 men, when the women of Beauvais, under the leadership of the heroine Jeanne Hachette, displayed remarkable valour. The standard which the Burgundians had planted on the wall was torn down by Jeanne, and borne off by her in triumph. The banner is borne every year by young girls in a procession, and a statue of Jeanne was erected in 1851.