Caudry () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the Nord department in northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Its inhabitants are called the
Caudrésiens
. The town is mostly known as the Capital City of French

Lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

(along with Calais). Caudry station has rail connections to Douai, Cambrai, Paris, Lille and Saint-Quentin.

Toponymy

The city of Caudry has not always carried its current name. However, this last derives from the previous appellations of the city: * Calderiacum since 1087. * Caudris since 1129. * Cauderi since 1219. * Caudri-en-Borneville. * Caudri since 1286. * Caudry since 1349.

History

In the Middle Ages, as tradition will have it, Maxellende, a daughter of the lord of Caudry, was stabbed to death by one Harduin d'Amerval on 13 November 670 after turning him down. Following this Harduin became blind. However it is said that he recovered his sight as his victim's body was carried past him during its

translation Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

. Since then Maxellende has been the patron saint of Caudry and of the blind or partially sighted. In the 19th century Caudry started specializing in tulle and lace making. The first loom was installed in 1826 with parts smuggled from England. By 1913 there were some 650 looms employing several thousand workers. The population expanded from 1,926 in 1804 to 13,360 in 1911. Caudry was shelled and burnt during the August 1914

Battle of Le Cateau The Battle of Le Cateau was fought on the Western Front during the First World War on 26 August 1914. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army had retreated after their defeats at the Battle of Charleroi (21–23 Aug ...

, where it was on the left flank of the line of the retreating British Expeditionary Force. It remained under German occupation until recaptured in late 1918. Today Caudry remains, with Calais, the only town in France where lace is still made. A lace museum has been opened in a former workshop in the town centre.

Lords (Seigneuries)

Many different Lords ( French: ''Seigneurs'') owned Caudry's lands and properties and had administrative power over the town. The following are the Lords of Caudry ( French: ''Seigneurs de Caudry'') chronologically ordered: * Almaric de Caudry (1007). * Amulric de Caudry (1078). * Mathieu de Caudry (1140). * Alondus de Fontaines, Régnier de Beaumont, Adam de Caudry (1150). * Adam de Caudry, vassal of Adam de Walincourt (1207). * Lambert de Caudry, married to Agnès de Héripont (1219). * Gérard de Saint-Aubert, Régnier de Beaumont (1220). * Alulphus de Caudry, Chevalier (1223). * Adam de Caudry (1227). * Jean Flamen, Seigneur de Caudry et de la Sotière (1233). * Adam de Caudry (1239). * Jean de l'aitre (1241). * Adam Kight and Lord of Caudry (1249). * Mathieu de Caudry (1272). * Adam, Sire de Caudry (1278). * Jean de Brebière, became 'Lord of Caudry' by having married Alys, Adam de Caudry (1315)'s daughter. * Jacques de Haspres, became 'Lord of Caudry' by having married Marie, Adam de Caudry (1322)'s other daughter. * Adam Flament, Seigneur de Caudry (1347). * Adam, dit Flament, Seigneur de Caudry, bailli du Cambrésis (1360). * Pierre de Caudry (died in 1424). * Guillaume de Viefville, Lord of Romeries and Caudry (1530). * Pierre de Viefville (1570). * Charles de Viefville (1635). * Charles de Lignières (1672). * Félix-Ignace-Guillaume de Taffin, Lord of

Troisvilles Troisvilles is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes cooperate in ...

, bought the 'Seigneurie de Caudry' (1755). * Charles-Augustin-Hyacinthe Cordier, bought the 'Seigneurie de Caudry' then the one of Potelle and Borneville (1763). He was the last Lord of Caudry.

Population

Lace

The city is mostly known as the Capital City of French

(along with Calais) and is considered a landmark of French sartorial heritage and high craftsmanship for its art of

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

the finest and most precious

fabrics Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

(including

Chantilly lace Chantilly lace is a handmade bobbin lace named after the city of Chantilly,"Chantilly" ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989. France, in a tradition dating from the 17th century. The famous silk laces were introduced in the 18th cent ...

, Leavers lace,

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

tulle Tulle (; ) is a commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the department of Corrèze, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Tulle is also the episcopal see of the Roman Cat ...

) through its centuries-old

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry. Industry process Cotton manufacturi ...

. The city is a lead supplier for luxury

fashion houses Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and place. "A fashion designer creates ...

such as Chanel or

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragran ...

. The city also supplies brands such as Yves Saint Laurent,

Dolce & Gabbana Dolce & Gabbana (), also known by initials D&G, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, and cosmet ...

, La Perla,

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashio ...

or Ralph Lauren. In recent history, among the most internationally publicized creations made out of Caudry's

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

were

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge Catherine, Princess of Wales, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely next ...

's wedding gown worn while marrying Prince William, Duke of Cambridge in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

on 29 April 2011 or

Amal Clooney Amal Clooney (; ar, أمل علم الدين; born 3 February 1978) is a Lebanese and British barrister. Her clients include Filipino and American journalist Maria Ressa; former President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed; Julian Assange, the ...

's wedding dress worn in September 2014 in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

while marrying American actor George Clooney. Numerous artists and politicians such as

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

, Beyonce or Michelle Obama have worn Caudry's lace.

Film Industries

Since 1910, Caudry's

industries have closely collaborated with

costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume ...

s working for

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

productions and film industries within Hollywood; the

Cinema of Europe Cinema of Europe refers to the film industries and films produced in the continent of Europe. Europeans were the pioneers of the motion picture industry, with several innovative engineers and artists making an impact especially at the end of ...

;

East Asian cinema East Asian cinema is cinema produced in East Asia or by people from this region. It is part of Asian cinema, which in turn is part of world cinema. The most significant film industries that are categorized as East Asian cinema are the industrie ...

(particularly the

cinema of Japan The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2021, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. In 2011 Japan produced 411 feature films that e ...

, China,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

);

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

and

West Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

n cinemas (

Iranian cinema The Cinema of Iran ( Persian: سینمای ایران), also known as the Cinema of Persia, refers to the cinema and film industries in Iran which produce a variety of commercial films annually. Iranian art films have garnered international fame ...

Israeli cinema Cinema of Israel ( he, קולנוע ישראלי, Kolnoa Yisraeli) refers to film production in Israel since its founding in 1948. Most Israeli films are produced in Hebrew, but there are productions in other languages such as Arabic and English ...

Jewish cinema Jewish culture is the culture of the Jewish people, from its formation in ancient times until the current age. Judaism itself is not a faith-based religion, but an orthoprax and ethnoreligion, pertaining to deed, practice, and identity. Jew ...

and Turkish cinema). Caudry's

and textile creations were used in hundreds of films such as in

Luc Besson Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed or produced the films ''Subway'' (1985), '' The Big Blue'' (1988), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Besson is associated with the ' ...

's ''The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec'' (2010), ''

The Hunger Games (film series) ''The Hunger Games'' film series is composed of science fiction dystopian adventure films, based on ''The Hunger Games'' trilogy of novels by American author Suzanne Collins. The films are distributed by Lionsgate and produced by Nina Jacobson ...

'' starring Jennifer Lawrence (2012-2015) or Sam Mendes's ''

Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the vill ...

'' (2012) part of the ''James Bond'' series and starring

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...

. In 2013, costume designer Catherine Martin earned the Academy Award for Best Costume Design as well as the

Academy Award for Best Production Design The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...

for her work on

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962), known professionally as Baz Luhrmann, is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music and recording industries, he is re ...

's ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby ...

'' (2014) starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The dresses created for this film and notably the ones worn by

Carey Mulligan Carey Hannah Mulligan (born 28 May 1985) is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. Mulli ...

were made with 1,400 meters of

made in Caudry.

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

chose 210 drawings, out of 8,000 available.

Notable people

* André Piettre (1906-1994) - French

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

, born in Caudry. * Lucien Janssoone (1898-1944) - French Resistant, director of the ‘Complementary Classes For Boys’ in Caudry from October 1933, shot in 1944. *Charles Lemaire (born 1985) – French

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

from Caudry. * Arthur Ramette (born in Caudry, Nord, on 12 October 1897 - 15 December 1988) was a French mechanic, communist and politician. He was a leading representative of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Un ...

in the National Assembly both before and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

(1939–45). * Gaston Pigot (1885 - 1969) - French boxer, born in Caudry. *

Lucienne Bogaert Lucienne Bogaert (born Lucienne Jeanne Gabrielle Lefebvre; 6 January 1892 in Caudry, Nord – 4 February 1983 in Montrouge, Hauts-de-Seine) was a French actress. She started her career in theatre, but later also worked in film. After she divo ...

(1892-1983) - (born Lucienne Jeanne Gabrielle Lefebvre; 6 January 1892 in Caudry, Nord – 4 February 1983 in

Montrouge Montrouge () is a commune in the southern Parisian suburbs, located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. After a long period of decline, the population has increased again in recent years. ...

, Hauts-de-Seine) was a French actress. * Léonce Bajart (1888-1983) - French Resistant and Caudresian personality, died in Caudry. (Knight of the

National Order of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

- 1937; Commander of the

Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music and jazz, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/ concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes and grew in scope to comprise up to five dances, sometimes with ...

– 1959; Medal of Honour of the City of Caudry – 1953). * Eugène Fiévet (1867-1910) - French politician, mayor of Caudry, general councilor and deputy of the North, born and died in Caudry. * Charles de Lignières (or Carolus de Lignieres), Lord of Caudry from 1672 to 1755.

Twin towns

Caudry is twinned with: * Wedel,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...