County of Artois
| County of Artois | ||||||||||
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Comté d'Artois (fr) Graafschap Artesië (nl) |
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Fiefdom of France, then State of the Holy Roman Empire (1493–1659) |
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.svg) County of Artois (1350)
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| Capital | Arras (Atrecht) | |||||||||
| Languages | Old Dutch, Middle Dutch, French | |||||||||
| Government | Feudal monarchy | |||||||||
| Count of Artois | ||||||||||
| • | 1237–1250 | Robert I (first) | ||||||||
| • | 1404–1419 | John the Fearless (last) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | |||||||||
| • | To France as dowry | 28 April 1180 | ||||||||
| • | Count Robert I | 1237 | ||||||||
| • | Part of Burgundy | 1384 | ||||||||
| • | Passed to Habsburg | 1493 | ||||||||
| • | Joined Burgundian Circle |
1512 | ||||||||
| • | Reverted to France | 5 November 1659 | ||||||||
| • | Abolition of French noble titles |
September 21, 1792 | ||||||||
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The County of Artois (French: comté d'Artois, Dutch: graafschap Artesië) was an historic province of the Kingdom of France, held by the Dukes of Burgundy from 1384 until 1477/82, and a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1493 until 1659.
Present Artois lies in northern France, on the border with Belgium. Its territory has an area of around 4000 km² and a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Atrecht), Calais (Kales), Boulogne-sur-Mer (Bonen), Saint-Omer (Sint-Omaars), Lens and Béthune. It forms the interior of the French département Pas-de-Calais.
Originally a feudal county itself, Artois was annexed by the county of Flanders. It came to France in 1180 as a dowry of a Flemish princess, Isabelle of Hainaut, and was again made a separate county in 1237 for Robert, a grandson of Isabelle. Through inheritance, Artois came under the rule of the dukes of Burgundy in 1384. At the death of the fourth duke, Charles the Bold, Artois was inherited by the Habsburgs and passed to the dynasty's Spanish line. After the religious revolts of 1566 in the Netherlands, Artois briefly entered the Dutch Revolt in 1576, participating in the Pacification of Ghent until it formed the Union of Arras in 1579.
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