Norwich bulletin., 1916-07-27
THE WAR PRIMER By National Geographic Society

Troyes, which has been the concen- tratiOn camp of the Russian troops brought to France to aid in the allies drive against the Germans, is the sub
 feet Of today's war geography bulletin or the National Geographic Society. Before the outbreak of the European | war the town of TrOyes, situated 100
 miles southeast of Paris, and 175 miles west of the -Alsatian frontier, was known 10 American importers as one of the centers of the silk, cotton and Woolen hosiery industry of France. As the chief town of the department or the 4uDes this ancient capital of 1 Champagne, with a population of about 5U,OOO, is charmingIy situated on an aIuVial plain, with the Seine flow ing to the west, and it's narrow, crook ed streets intersected here and there by canals.
 The history of Troyes includes many stirring and dramatic episodes. When the Romans came they gave the name or AuSuStC5Ona to thls capital of the l Celtic IricaSsi. One of the heroic figures of it's early Christian days was 1 St. Loup, or Lupus, the intrepid bish- op WnO succeeded in persUading the supposedly ruthless Hun, Attila, to spare the town. Bus there Was no dip iomatic churchman to stay the hand of cOnquCTlnS NOFmans during the clos Ing years Of the ninth century; they sacked the town, leaving it a heap of ruins. Shortly after this calamity the power of the bishops and of the nuns in the famous abbey of Notre-Dame- auX-Nonnains began to Wane and au- thority was transferred to the counts of TrOyes atterWard known as the counts of Champagne.
 't'ur shCrL time during the 100 ! ears War the city was the seat of the royal government of France dur ing the period when the country was l being devastated by foes aJ home as well as by those abroad, while the mad king, Charles VI, raved neglected i at Senlis. l. was at this ebb tide of 1 Hrancc's national pride that the Treaty | or IroJes was signed in 142O, whereby Henry V, of England, was made regent of the kingdom. and the daUphin, after ward to become Charles VII, was de CIarcd iIlGgirimate. To make the bar gain more secure the new ruler took as his bride Catherine, the dauphins sister, and the marriage was solemn Ized in the church Of St. Jean, one of the 14th century edihces which Troyes still treasures as a show place.
 Nine years after this treaty and marriage TrOyes was redeemed for France by Joan Of Arc while she was marching toward Rheims, at the head 1 or I2,tUO troops, to attend the corona tion of the unworthy daUphin.
 "tOllOWinS the mOTnentOus period TrOyes entered upon an era of great prosperity and by the middle of the seventeenth century had q population
 about equal 10 it's present size. Dur
 ing that time Professionalism had en- jOEed considerable recognition in the city, so that the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1885 struck a
 staggering blow to the cOmmmity's in
 dustrial life, the population falling in
 a short time to 12,O0O.
 "TrOyeS boasts a large gallery of distinguished citizens and of these
 none did more for his birthplace than the humble son of a shoemaker who became Urban ", the pope from whose threC-yeaTS jncumbenCy dated the pre-
 pOnderance of French influence in the
 councils of the Church, leading event.
 ually to the removal of the PapaI
 court from Rome to AVignOn, and in
 directly bringing about the Great
 Schism. Urban gave to TrOyes a gem
 of Gothic architecture, the church of
 St. Urbain, one of the most beautiful ecclesiastical structures of the 18th
 century. Here also was born Chres-
 tien de TrOyos, the great French poet
 and founder Of the medieval COurtIy
 romance, and an adapt2r of Arthurian legends to the uses of French literature
 of his day. It was from a work of
 Chrestien's that Wolfram vOn Eschen-
 bach received inspiration for the
 great epic which was the basis of Wag-
 ner's Parsifar ibrettO. The two Mig
 nards and Francois GentI are among
 TrOyes' great artists, while Girardin
 and Smart are her distinguished
 sculptors.
 It is to this city that we owe the
 measure troy ounce and troy pound,
 this standard having been adopted by
 Great Britain in 1497 for weighing
 gold, silver, silk and other valuable
 commodities. And while the apothe-
 cary and jeweler pay honor to Troyes
 with their balance scales, the epicure
 prizes this city as a place which ex-
 ports exceptionally fine snails and
 dressed pork"