Editing Orléans (section)

==History==
{{see also|Timeline of Orléans}}

===Prehistory and Roman Empire===
:''See also [[Cenabum]], Aureliana Civitas.''
'''Cenabum''' was a [[Gauls|Gaul]] stronghold, one of the principal towns of the tribe of the [[Carnutes]] where the [[Druid]]s held their annual assembly. The Carnutes were massacred and the city was destroyed by [[Julius Caesar]] in 52 BC.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0001:book=7:chapter=28|title=C. Julius Caesar, Gallic War, Book 7, chapter 28|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu|access-date=2018-02-16}}</ref> In the late 3rd century AD, [[Roman emperor|Roman Emperor]] [[Aurelian]] rebuilt the city and renamed it '''civitas Aurelianorum''' ("city of Aurelian") after himself.<ref>{{cite web|last=Larousse|first=Éditions|title=Orléans - LAROUSSE|url=https://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/ville/Orl%C3%A9ans/136330|access-date=2021-04-28|website=www.larousse.fr|language=fr}}</ref> The name later evolved into Orléans.<ref>For an exact etymology, see ''Cenabum, Aurelianis, Orléans'' de Jacques Debal (Coll. Galliae civitates, Lyon, PUL, 1996)</ref>

In 442 Flavius Aetius, the Roman commander in Gaul, requested [[Goar]], head of the [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] tribe of [[Alans]] in the region to come to Orleans and control the rebellious natives and the Visigoths. Accompanying the [[Vandals]], the Alans crossed the Loire in 408. One of their groups, under [[Goar]], joined the Roman forces of [[Flavius Aetius]] to fight [[Attila]] when he invaded Gaul in 451, taking part in the [[Battle of Châlons]] under their king [[Sangiban]]. Goar established his capital in Orléans. His successors later took possession of the estates in the region between Orléans and Paris. Installed in Orléans and along the Loire, they were unruly (killing the town's senators when they felt they had been paid too slowly or too little) and resented by the local inhabitants. Many inhabitants around the present city have names bearing witness to the Alan presence – Allaines. Also many places in the region bear names of Alan origin.<ref>[http://www.marres.education/alans.htm marres.education] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520022911/https://www.marres.education/alans.htm |date=20 May 2020 }}. Accessed January 2016.</ref>

===Early Middle Ages===
In the [[Merovingian]] era, the city was capital of the Kingdom of Orléans following [[Clovis I]]'s division of the kingdom, then under the [[House of Capet|Capetian]]s it became the capital of a [[Count of Orléans|county]] then [[Duke of Orléans|duchy]] held in [[appanage]] by the house of Valois-Orléans. The Valois-Orléans family later acceded to the throne of France via [[Louis XII]], then [[Francis I of France|Francis I]]. In 1108, [[Louis VI of France]] became one of the few French monarchs to be crowned outside of [[Reims]] when he was crowned in [[Orléans cathedral]] by [[Daimbert, Archbishop of Sens]].

===High Middle Ages===
[[File:View of Orléans 1428 - Project Gutenberg etext 19488.jpg|thumb|left|Orléans in September 1428, the time of the [[siege of Orléans]].]]
[[File:Vigiles du roi Charles VII 18.JPG|thumbnail|250px|15th-century depiction of the French troops attacking an English fort at the siege of Orléans]]

The city was always a strategic point on the Loire, for it was sited at the river's most northerly point, and thus its closest point to Paris. There were few bridges over the dangerous river [[Loire]], but Orléans had one of them, and so became – with [[Rouen]] and Paris – one of medieval France's three richest cities.

On the south bank the "[[Fortress|châtelet]] des Tourelles" protected access to the bridge. This was the site of the [[Siege of Orléans|battle]] on 8 May 1429 which allowed [[Joan of Arc]] to enter and lift the siege of the [[Plantagenets]] during the [[Hundred Years' War]], with the help of the royal generals [[Jean de Dunois|Dunois]] and {{ill|Florent d'Illiers|fr}}. The city's inhabitants have continued to remain faithful and grateful to her to this day, calling her "la pucelle d'Orléans" (the maid of Orléans), offering her a middle-class house in the city, and contributing to her ransom when she was taken prisoner.
[[File:Orleans Monument Joan of Arc.jpg|thumb|Statue of [[Joan of Arc]], Place du Martroi]]

===1453 to 1699===
[[File:1581-Aurelia Franciae civitas ad Ligeri flu.JPG|thumb|''Aurelia Franciae civitas ad Ligeri flu. sita'' (1581)]]
[[File:Hôtel Groslot, Orléans, France, 2012..JPG|thumb|The Renaissance Hôtel Groslot]]

Once the [[Hundred Years' War]] was over, the city recovered its former prosperity. The bridge brought in tolls and taxes, as did the merchants passing through the city. King [[Louis XI]] also greatly contributed to its prosperity, revitalising agriculture in the surrounding area (particularly the exceptionally fertile land around [[Beauce, France|Beauce]]) and relaunching [[saffron]] farming at [[Pithiviers]]. Later, during the [[Renaissance]], the city benefited from its becoming fashionable for rich [[châtelain]]s to travel along the Loire valley (a fashion begun by the king himself, whose royal domains included the nearby châteaus at [[Chambord, Loir-et-Cher|Chambord]], [[Amboise]], [[Blois]], and [[Château de Chenonceau|Chenonceau]]).

The [[University of Orléans]] also contributed to the city's prestige. Specializing in law, it was highly regarded throughout Europe. [[John Calvin]] was received and accommodated there (and wrote part of his reforming theses during his stay), and in return [[Henry VIII of England]] (who had drawn on Calvin's work in his separation from Rome) offered to fund a scholarship at the university. Many other Protestants were sheltered by the city. Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known by his pseudonym [[Molière]], also studied law at the University, but was expelled for attending a carnival contrary to university rules.

From 13 December 1560 to 31 January 1561, the [[Estates General (France)|French States-General]] after the death of [[Francis II of France]], the eldest son of [[Catherine de Médicis]] and [[Henry II of France|Henry II]]. He died in the Hôtel Groslot in Orléans, with his queen [[Mary, Queen of Scots|Mary]] at his side.

The [[Orléans Cathedral|cathedral]] was rebuilt several times. The present structure had its first stone laid by [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]], and work on it took a century. It thus is a mix of late Renaissance and early [[Rococo|Louis XIV]] styles, and one of the last cathedrals to be built in France.

===1700–1900===
When France colonised America, the territory it conquered was immense, including the whole [[Mississippi River]] (whose first European name was the River [[Jean-Baptiste Colbert|Colbert]]), from its mouth to its source at the borders of Canada. Its capital was named ''[[New Orleans|la Nouvelle-Orléans]]'' in honour of [[Louis XV]]'s regent, the [[Philippe II, Duke of Orléans|duke of Orléans]], and was settled with French inhabitants against the threat from British troops to the north-east.

The Dukes of Orléans hardly ever visited their city since, as brothers or cousins of the king, they took such a major role in court life that they could hardly ever leave. The duchy of Orléans was the largest of the French duchies, starting at [[Arpajon]], continuing to [[Chartres]], [[Vendôme]], [[Blois]], [[Vierzon]], and [[Montargis]]. The duke's son bore the title ''duke of Chartres''. Inheritances from great families and marriage alliances allowed them to accumulate huge wealth, and one of them, [[Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans|Philippe Égalité]], is sometimes said to have been the richest man in the world at the time. His son, King [[Louis-Philippe of France|Louis-Philippe I]], inherited the Penthièvre and Condé family fortunes.

1852 saw the creation of the ''Compagnies ferroviaires Paris-Orléans'' and its famous [[gare d'Orsay]] in Paris. In the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870, the city again became strategically important thanks to its geographical position, and was occupied by the [[Prussia]]ns on 13 October that year. The ''[[armée de la Loire]]'' was formed under the orders of [[Louis d'Aurelle de Paladines|General d'Aurelle de Paladines]] and based itself not far from Orléans at [[Beauce, France|Beauce]].

===1900 to present===
[[File:US Army medics in Orleans, France 1944-08-19.JPEG|thumb|US Army medics in Orléans, 1944]]

During the [[Second World War]], the German army made the ''Orléans Fleury-les-Aubrais'' railway station one of their central logistical rail hubs. The Pont Georges V was renamed "pont des Tourelles".<ref>World-wide current events of 16 May 1941, available on the site of the [[Institut national de l'audiovisuel|INA]] ([http://www.ina.fr/archivespourtous/index.php?vue=notice&id_notice=AFE85000506 direct link]).</ref> A transit camp for deportees was built at [[Beaune-la-Rolande]]. During the war, the American Air Force heavily bombed the city and the train station, causing much damage. The city was one of the first to be rebuilt after the war: the reconstruction plan and city improvement initiated by Jean Kérisel and Jean Royer was adopted as early as 1943, and work began as early as the start of 1945. This reconstruction in part identically reproduced what had been lost, such as Royale and its arcades, but also used innovative prefabrication techniques, such as îlot 4 under the direction of the architect [[Pol Abraham]].<ref>Joseph Abram, ''L'architecture moderne en France, du chaos à la croissance'', tome 2, éd. Picard, 1999, pp. 28 et 37–38</ref>

The big city of former times is today an average-sized city of 250,000 inhabitants. It is still using its strategically central position less than an hour from the French capital to attract businesses interested in reducing transport costs.

===Heraldry===
[[File:Arms of Orléans.svg|thumb|left|Arms of Orléans|100px]]
According to [[Victor Adolphe Malte-Brun]] in ''La France Illustrée'', 1882, Orléans's arms are "[[gules]], three caillous in ''cœurs de lys'' [[argent]], and on a chief [[Azure (heraldry)|azure]], three fleurs de lys [[or (heraldry)|Or]]."  Charle Grandmaison, in the ''Dictionnaire Héraldique'' of 1861, states that it is "Or, with three hearts in gules", without the chief of France. Faulty designs sometimes describe it as "gules, three fleurs de lys argent, and on a chief azure three fleurs de lys Or."<ref>[[Grand Larousse encyclopédique]] in 10 volumes, 163</ref>

The "cœurs de lys", or heart of a lily, is not a true lily, which would have 6 [[tepal]]s, but a stylized or symbolic lily. Certain authors solve the problem by calling this symbol a "[[tiercefeuille]]", defined as a stemless [[clover]] leaf, with one leaf at the top and two below, thus making this coat of arms "gules, with three reversed tiercefeuilles in argent, etc".

===Motto===
"Hoc vernant lilia corde" (granted by [[Louis XII]], then [[duke of Orléans]]), meaning "It is by this heart that lilies flourish" or "This heart makes lilies flourish", referring to the [[fleur de lys]], symbol of the French royal family.