Saintonge
SAINTONGE, one of the old provinces of France, of which Saintes (q.v.) was the capital, was bounded on the N.W. by Aunis, on the N.E. by Poitou, on the E. by Angoumois, on the S. by Guienne, and on the W. by Guienne and the Atlantic. It now forms a small portion of the department of Charente and the greater part of that of Charente Inferieure. In the time of Caesar, Saintonge was occupied by the Santones, whose capital was Mediolanum; afterwards it was part of Aquitania Secunda. The civitas Santonum, which formed the bishopric of Saintes, was divided into two pagi: Santonicus (whence Sanctonia, Saintonge) and Alienensis, later Alniensis (Aunis). Halved by the treaty of 1259, it was wholly ceded to the king of England in 1360, but reconquered by Du Guesclin in 1371. Up to 1789 it was in the same gouvernement with Angoumois, but from a judiciary point of view Saintonge was under the parlement of Bordeaux and Angoumois under that of Paris.
See D. Massiou, Histoire politique, civile et religieuse de la Saintonge et de I' Aunis (6 vols., 1836-1839; 2nd ed., 1846); P. D. Rainguet, Biographie saintongeaise (1852). See also the publications of the Soctile des archives historiques de la Saintonge et de I' Aunis (1874 f'-)- ST OUEN, an industrial town of northern France, in the department of Seine, on the right bank of the Seine i m. N. of the fortifications of Paris. Pop. (1906) 37,673. A chateau of the early 19th century occupies the site of a chateau of the 17th century bought by Madame de Pompadour in 1745, where in 1814 Louis XVIII. signed the declaration promising a constitutional charter to France. Previously there existed a chateau built by Charles of Valois in the early years of the 14th century, where King John the Good inaugurated the short-lived order of the Knights of " Notre Dame de la noble maison," called also the " ordre de 1'etoile." The industries of St Ouen include metal founding, engineering and machine construction and the manufacture of government uniforms, pianos, chemical products, etc. It has important docks on the Seine and a race-course.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
