Ardennes( Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Country France;
Region Champagne-Ardenne:
Ardennes is a department in the northeast
part of France named after the Ardennes area...The department is one of the
original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It
was named after the Ardennes hills, which are located in northeast France,
southern Belgium and Luxembourg. It includes portions of the former provinces of
Champagne and Argonne (Celtic: "Ar Gonn", meaning "deep forest")[citation
needed], and the principality of Sedan. Origins: The name of "Ardennes" ("Ar
Denn", from Celtic : "the forest") was first mentioned by Julius Caesar in his
book "The Commentaries on the Gaulic War", which describes a Celtic goddess who
was named "Arduinna".
The area had been the location of much fighting in
World War I and World War II, such as the Battle of the Ardennes and the Battle
of the Bulge. The principal river is the Meuse River. Famous "Ardennais": Robert
de Sorbon (1201-1274), who created in Paris la Sorbonne, the famous French
university, was born in the village of Sorbon, near Rethel; Guillaume de Machaut
(1284-1370), poet/composer and author of Le Voir Dit, was born in Machault;
Turenne (1611-1675), maréchal de France, was born in Sedan;Jean-Nicolas
Corvisart (1755-1821), famous doctor and scientist, was born in Dricourt, near
Vouziers;Hippolyte Taine (1828-1893), philosopher and historian, member of the
Académie française, was born in Vouziers;Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891), one of the
most famous poets from France, was born in Charleville.Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardennes_(department)