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Cambrai (Dutch: Kamerijk) also written Cambray is a French town and commune, in the Nord département, of which it is a sous-préfecture.

Cambrai is the see of an archdiocese which jurisdiction was immense in during Middle Ages. The territory of the Bishopric of Cambrai, roughly coinciding with the historical Flanders, included large parts of the Low Countries. The bishopric had some limited secular power.

History

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 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 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 L'homme armé in Cambrai, across the street from Dufay's residence.

Births

Cambrai was the birthplace of:

• Charles François Dumouriez (1739-1823), French general
• Francisco de Carondelet (1747-1807), Spanish governor of Louisiana
• 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 agronomy, sociologist, and environmental politician
• Maurice Godelier (born 1934), social anthropologist, neo-Marxist, and French intellectual

Twin towns

Cambrai is twinned with:

• Houma - Louisiana, United States
• Chateaugay - Quebec, Canada
• Kamp-Lintfort - Germany
• Esztergom - Hungary

See also

• Treaty of Cambrai (1529)
• Cambric

Sources

• David Fallows, Barbara H. Haggh: "Cambrai", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed December 18, 2005), (subscription access)

External link

• Cambrai website

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