Place · city

Arras

Also known as Nemetocenna

Arras is a city in the Pas-de-Calais department of northern France and the historic capital of Artois. It began as Nemetocenna, the chief town of the Gallic Atrebates, whose name survives in Arras and Artois. In the Middle Ages it grew rich on wool and tapestry weaving, so that 'arras' became an English word for tapestry, and it gave its name to the Union of Arras of 1579.

Arras
Image: JackyM59 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 4 profiles

County of FlandersFoundation, SocioeconomyDuchy of AquitaineDeclineCounty of HainautDeclineDuchy of BurgundyDecline, Summary

Mentioned in 3 state histories

AtrebatesCarausian EmpireCounty of Artois

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Arras. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/arras
MLA
“Arras.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/arras. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Arras.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/arras.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Arras’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/arras (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻