History of Île-de-France

Île-de-France is a province of France encompassing the north-central departments of Val-d’Oise, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis, Ville-de-Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Val-de-Marne, Essonne, and Yvelines. It is bounded by the regions of Picardy (Picardie) to the north, Champagne-Ardenne to the east, Burgundy (Bourgogne) to the southeast, Centre to the south, and Haute-Normandie to the northwest. Its capital is Paris and it has an area of 4,637 square miles (12,011 square km), and a population of 11,491,000 (2006).

The region lies in the center of the Paris Basin and consists of limestone plains with a gently rolling relief. Its principal rivers are the Seine and its tributaries, the Marne, Oise and Aisne. The province of Île-de-France encompasses the north-central territories of Val-d’Oise, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis, Ville-de-Paris (Paris), Hauts-de-Seine, Val-de-Marne, Essonne and Yvelines. Some parts of the historic province are now incorporated into the present-day region of Picardy, while other parts of the present-day région Île-de-France are taken from the historic province of Champagne. See French history.

The history of Île-de-France dates back to The Middle Ages when Île-de-France was also known as Isle of France.

The name "Isle de France" first appeared in 1387 when the term "France" designated certain Crown territories, replacing the pays de France ("pays" means "region/county" as well as "country"). Literally, the name "Island of France" was derived from its being bordered by the Seine, Marne, Oise and Beuvronne rivers, which surround it like an island. The name may also inherit from the Frankish Lidle Franke / Lilde Franke, or, "little France". Because the "French"/Frankish kings were bilingual until the 12th or 13th century, the Frankish expression may have evolved when Francia ("Franko/n", "Franke", or "Franchonolant" in Frankish) no longer meant the entire Frankish Empire but only the smaller West Francia, and later the even smaller "Pays de France". The expression "Lidle Franke" / "Lilde Franke" may have persisted until the 13th century when locals quit pronouncing the "s" in "isle"; then "Lilde France" [lildəfrãntsə] would have been difficult to distinguish from l'Île-de-France (IPA: [lildəfrãnsə]).

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