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144-582: When in 1450 the painting was brought to Cambrai , then part of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy and now in France, it was believed an original by Saint Luke , patron saint of artists, for which Mary herself had sat as model. Thus it was treated as a relic ; God bestowing miracles on those that travelled to view it. The work is significant beyond its aesthetic value: it serves as

288-536: A cedar panel, now backed by a modern board. It measures 35.5 x 26.5 cm, and is in generally good condition, with some local retouching. The initials "MR, DI, IHS, XRS" stand for the Latin Mater Dei, Jesu Christus , "Mother of God, Jesus Christ". It displays the gilded, decorated background typical of Byzantine devotional paintings, while Mary is dressed in a blue robe with gold lined edging. Christ, also typically of such Madonna and child works, possesses

432-490: A Northern European type, and their bodies fuller. In both adaptations, the Madonna's gaze has been significantly altered, she now looks directly at the child and not outwards at the viewer. The three Petrus Christi copies were commissioned by John, Count of Étampes , who was both Philip's first cousin through his father (and the bishop's nephew), and stepson, as his mother Bonne of Artois had married Philip after her husband

576-817: A bridge between the Byzantine icon tradition and the Italian Quattrocento , and inspired the work of 15th-century Netherlandish artists. After the Ottoman Turks had conquered Constantinople , copies of the painting were commissioned in the Low Countries in support of Philip the Good 's projected crusade, announced at the Feast of the Pheasant but never launched. The painting is in tempera on

720-700: A citadel built in its place. In 1595, the city was taken by the Spanish in the eighth and last French Wars of Religion . In December 1623, the community of nuns of the English Benedictine Congregation was founded at Cambrai. Expelled in 1793 as a result of the French Revolution, its successor community in 1838 was Stanbrook Abbey , near Malvern and later Wass in Yorkshire. In 1630, Richelieu , wishing to counter

864-494: A crusade to retake the city. Byzantine Madonnas, and their Italian derivatives, were widely used as prototypes by Early Netherlandish artists from the 1420s with Robert Campin and Jan van Eyck . This was a period when commerce and a desire for piety and salvation, and sometimes politics, drove the commissioners of devotional art works. Painters who explicitly adapted the Cambrai Madonna include Petrus Christus who

1008-624: A few small-calibre artillery pieces, which in the end proved ineffective. The rest of the citizens repaired walls, stood guard on observation posts, collected and distributed food provisions, and collected gold and silver objects from churches to melt down into coins to pay the foreign soldiers. The Ottomans had a much larger force. Recent studies and Ottoman archival data state that there were some 50,000–80,000 Ottoman soldiers, including between 5,000 and 10,000 Janissaries , 70 cannons , and an elite infantry corps, and thousands of Christian troops, notably 1,500 Serbian cavalry that Đurađ Branković

1152-518: A fleet in February 1453, but the fleet's departure was delayed until April, when it was already too late for ships to assist in battle. Further undermining Byzantine morale, seven Italian ships with around 700 men, despite having sworn to defend Constantinople, slipped out of the capital the moment Giustiniani arrived. At the same time, Constantine's attempts to appease the Sultan with gifts ended with

1296-692: A fleet strength of 110 ships comprising 70 large galleys , 5 ordinary galleys, 10 smaller galleys, 25 large rowing boats, and 75 horse-transports. Before the siege of Constantinople, it was known that the Ottomans had the ability to cast medium-sized cannons , but the range of some pieces they were able to field far surpassed the defenders' expectations. The Ottomans deployed a number of cannons, anywhere from 12 to 62 cannons. They were built at foundries that employed Turkish cannon founders and technicians, most notably Saruca, in addition to at least one foreign cannon founder, Orban (also called Urban). Most of

1440-545: A huge impact upon the Constantinople's defense capabilities. At the end of March 1453, emperor Constantine XI ordered a census of districts to record how many able-bodied men were in the city and whatever weapons each possessed for defense. George Sphrantzes, the faithful chancellor of the last emperor, recorded that "in spite of the great size of our city, our defenders amounted to 4,773 Greeks, as well as just 200 foreigners". In addition there were volunteers from outside,

1584-473: A kiss, while her arms warmly cradle him. He has one leg bent and another extended towards her, while his right arm is held upright and intimately holds her chin from below. This closeness and engagement of mother and child is a departure from Byzantine tradition, where they were often shown almost at arm's length, and was in tune with the ideals of the Italian Quattrocento. The Italian origin of

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1728-471: A network of cellars, tunnels and quarries under the city. The poor quality of the Cambrai chalk was reserved for use in the manufacture of lime or filling, as well as common constructions. For prestigious buildings, stone from the nearby villages of Noyelles-sur-Escaut , Rumilly or Marcoing was used. The city is bordered in its western part, as well as to the north and the south, by the alluvial zones of

1872-436: A section of the damaged Blachernae walls in the north-west part of the city. This section of the walls had been built earlier, in the 11th century, and was much weaker. The Turkmen mercenaries managed to breach this section of walls and entered the city but they were just as quickly pushed back by the defenders. Finally, the last wave consisting of elite Janissaries , attacked the city walls. The Genoese general in charge of

2016-432: A sort as to be forgotten through the lapse of time. Still, the eyewitness of those who have seen testifies better than does the hearing of deeds that happened but yesterday or the day before. Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI swiftly understood Mehmed's true intentions and turned to Western Europe for help; but now the price of centuries of war and enmity between the eastern and western churches had to be paid. Since

2160-433: Is 1.5 to 2 °C colder over all combined seasons. On average, there are 71 days of fog per year (Paris-Montsouris has 13) 15 days of storm (Paris-Montsouris has 19) and 20 days with snow (Paris-Montsouris has 15). Fall of Constantinople 40,000–50,000 in total (Turkish sources) 60,000–80,000 in total (Modern sources) Naval forces: Naval forces: 26 ships The fall of Constantinople , also known as

2304-605: Is 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level, Avesnes-sur-Helpe (Avesnois) is at 143 metres (469 ft) and Cambrai only 41 metres (135 ft). The Saint-Quentin canal , the Canal du Nord , the A1 , A2 and A26 autoroutes all borrow all this passage between the basin of the Seine and the plains of the Nord department. The chalky subsoil allowed, as in many medieval cities, the digging of

2448-579: Is 108 kilometres (67 mi) away, Paris is 160 kilometres (99 mi) and London is 279 kilometres (173 mi). The city was born and developed on the right bank of the Scheldt river, locally known as the Escaut. The river has its source in the department of Aisne , just a little over 20 kilometres (12 mi) away. Cambrai is located on chalk bedrock of the Cretaceous period , which forms

2592-541: Is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river. A sub-prefecture of the department, Cambrai is a town which had 32,501 inhabitants in 2018. It is in the heart of the urban unit of Cambrai with 46,772 inhabitants. Its functional area , a more extensive range, included 94,576 inhabitants in 2018. With Lille and

2736-514: Is famously reported to have been moved to tears by this, saying, "What a city we have given over to plunder and destruction." Looting was carried out on a massive scale by sailors and marines who entered the city via other walls before they had been suppressed by regular troops, who were beyond the main gate. According to David Nicolle , the ordinary people were treated better by their Ottoman conquerors than their ancestors had been by Crusaders back in 1204, stating that only about 4,000 Greeks died in

2880-514: The Encyclopædia Britannica , Mehmed II "permitted an initial period of looting that saw the destruction of many Orthodox churches", but tried to prevent a complete sack of the city. The looting was extremely thorough in certain parts of the city. On 2 June, the Sultan found the city largely deserted and half in ruins; churches had been desecrated and stripped, houses were no longer habitable, and stores and shops were emptied. He

3024-462: The 1973 oil crisis . Cambrai today is a lively city and, despite the past destruction, maintains a rich monumental heritage. Cambrai is affirmed as the urban centre of Cambrésis . Its economic life is strengthened by its position on the main local highway and river. Little is known with certainty of the beginnings of Cambrai. Camaracum or Camaraco , as it was known to the Romans, is mentioned for

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3168-771: The Aegean , reached the Capital on 27 May and reported to the Emperor that no large Venetian relief fleet was on its way. On 28 May, as the Ottoman army prepared for the final assault, mass religious processions were held in the city. In the evening, a solemn last ceremony of Vespers was held in the Hagia Sophia , in which the Emperor with representatives and nobility of both the Latin and Greek churches partook. Up until this point,

3312-475: The Blachernae district's wall was the most fortified because that section of the wall protruded northwards. The land fortifications consisted of a 60 ft (18 m) wide moat fronting inner and outer crenellated walls studded with towers every 45–55 metres. The army defending Constantinople was relatively small, totalling about 7,000 men, 2,000 of whom were foreigners. The population decline also had

3456-896: The Bosphorus and defended against attack by the Genoese colonies on the Black Sea coast to the north. In fact, the new fortress was called Boğazkesen , which means "strait-blocker" or "throat-cutter". The wordplay emphasizes its strategic position: in Turkish boğaz means both "strait" and "throat". In October 1452, Mehmed ordered Turakhan Beg to station a large garrison force in the Peloponnese to block Thomas and Demetrios ( despotes in Southern Greece ) from providing aid to their brother Constantine XI Palaiologos during

3600-674: The Byzantine army was led by Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos . After conquering the city, Mehmed II made Constantinople the new Ottoman capital, replacing Adrianople . The fall of Constantinople and of the Byzantine Empire was a watershed of the Late Middle Ages , marking the effective end of the Roman Empire , a state which began in roughly 27 BC and had lasted nearly 1500 years. For many modern historians,

3744-661: The Cambrésis . Mazarin tried unsuccessfully, in 1649, to seize the city, which was being besieged by Henri de Lorraine-Harcourt and the Vicomte de Turenne . A Spanish regiment, which came from Bouchain , succeeded in entering the city and the siege was lifted. In 1657, the Vicomte de Turenne captured Cambrai. Again 4,000 horsemen under the command of Condé , in the service of the Spain, manage to penetrate, and Turenne abandoned

3888-454: The Comité de salut public , arrived in Cambrai in 1794. He was to set up an era of "terror", sending many to the guillotine , until he was tried and executed in 1795. One of his most famous victims was François III Maximilien de la Woestyne, 3rd Marquess of Becelaere . Most of the religious buildings of the city were demolished in that period: in 1797, the old cathedral , which had been dubbed

4032-539: The Council of Florence of 1439 proclaiming a Bull of Union . The imperial efforts to impose union were met with strong resistance in Constantinople. A propaganda initiative was stimulated by anti-unionist Orthodox partisans in Constantinople; the population, as well as the laity and leadership of the Byzantine Church, became bitterly divided. Latent ethnic hatred between Greeks and Italians, stemming from

4176-681: The Habsburg Empire and France made it the venue of several international negotiations, including the League of Cambrai , an alliance engineered in 1508 by Pope Julius II against the Republic of Venice , concluding in the Treaty of Cambrai  [ fr ] . The alliance collapsed in 1510 when the Pope allied with Venice against his former ally France . The conflict is also referred to as

4320-625: The Harbour of Eleutherios . Genoese and Catalan troops were stationed at the Great Palace ; Cardinal Isidore of Kiev guarded the tip of the peninsula near the boom. Finally, the sea walls at the southern shore of the Golden Horn were defended by Venetian and Genoese sailors under Gabriele Trevisano . Two tactical reserves were kept behind in the city: one in the Petra district just behind

4464-530: The Loi Godefroid promulgated by the bishop, in fact or in law, left the people a number of freedoms won in the management of communal affairs. Cambrai is also known for its Irish homily . In the Middle Ages , the city grew richer and larger thanks to its weaving industry which produced woollen cloth, linen and cambric . Cambrai, and in particular the drapery, experienced an economic decline from

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4608-618: The Lycus down to the Sea of Marmara . Mehmed himself erected his red-and-gold tent near the Mesoteichion , where the guns and the elite Janissary regiments were positioned. The Bashi-bazouks were spread out behind the front lines. Other troops under Zagan Pasha were employed north of the Golden Horn. Communication was maintained by a road that had been destroyed over the marshy head of

4752-607: The Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent , shows an interpretation of the model into a later style. Other copies of various periods, some of which have been advanced as members of the commissioned sets mentioned above, follow the original much more exactly. Such parallel use of styles is characteristic of the period; there was a considerable industry importing cheaper icons by the Cretan School to Europe, which could be ordered in bulk specifying either Greek or Latin styles. On 14 May 1894,

4896-610: The Old Cambrai Cathedral , where it was installed with great ceremony in its Chapel of the Holy Trinity the following year on August 13, the eve of the Feast of the Assumption . Almost immediately it became the object of fervent pilgrimage, reflecting a contemporary appetite for new types of devotional imagery. A confraternity was established in 1453 for the "care and veneration" of the relic, which from 1455

5040-772: The Pegae Gate with Greek soldiers. The section of the land walls from the Pegae Gate to the Golden Gate (itself guarded by a Genoese called Manuel) was defended by the Venetian Filippo Contarini, while Demetrius Cantacuzenus had taken position on the southernmost part of the Theodosian wall. The sea walls were guarded more sparsely, with Jacobo Contarini at Stoudion , a makeshift defence force of Greek monks to his left hand, and Prince Orhan at

5184-640: The Salian Franks under the command of Clodio the Long-Haired took the town. In 509, Clovis undertook to unify the Frankish kingdoms by getting rid of his relatives. Cambrai began to grow from a rural market into a real city during the Merovingian times, a long period of peace when the bishoprics of Arras and Cambrai were first unified (probably owing to the small number of clerics left at

5328-480: The Scheldt and the centre of a small ecclesiastical principality , roughly coinciding with the shire of Brabant , including the central part of the Low Countries . The bishopric had some limited secular power and depended on the Holy Roman Empire until annexation to France in 1678. Fénelon , nicknamed the "Swan of Cambrai", was the most renowned of the archbishops. The fertile lands which surround it and

5472-554: The War of the League of Cambrai and lasted from 1508 to 1516. Cambrai was also the site of negotiations in 1529, concluding in the Paix des Dames , which led to France's withdrawal from the War of the League of Cognac . In 1543, Cambrai was conquered by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , and annexed to his already vast possessions. He had the medieval monastery of Saint-Sépulchre demolished and

5616-602: The conquest of Constantinople , was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire . The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-day siege which had begun on 6 April. The attacking Ottoman Army , which significantly outnumbered Constantinople's defenders, was commanded by the 21-year-old Sultan Mehmed II (later nicknamed "the Conqueror"), while

5760-742: The mutual excommunications of 1054, the Pope in Rome was committed to establishing unity with the eastern church . The union was agreed by the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos in 1274, at the Second Council of Lyon , and indeed, some Palaiologoi emperors had since been received into the Latin Church . Emperor John VIII Palaiologos had also recently negotiated union with Pope Eugene IV , with

5904-402: The "Genoese, Venetians and those who came secretly from Galata to help the defense", who numbered "hardly as many as three thousand", amounting to something under 8,000 men in total to defend a perimeter wall of twelve miles. At the onset of the siege, probably fewer than 50,000 people were living within the walls, including the refugees from the surrounding area. Turkish commander Dorgano, who

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6048-587: The "wonder of the low countries", was sold to a merchant on 6 June 1796 who left only the tower, after exploiting the cathedral as a stone quarry. The main tower was left standing until 1809, when it collapsed in a storm. However the cathedral's archives have been preserved (they are now at the Archives Départementales du Nord in Lille ) and a new cathedral was later provided. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 widely spared Cambrai. It also showed

6192-411: The 14th century the county was surrounded on all parts by Burgundy 's possessions and John of Burgundy , an illegitimate son of John the Fearless , was made bishop. However, what looked like an impending annexation of Cambrésis to the states of Burgundy was made impossible by the sudden death of Charles the Bold in 1477. Louis XI immediately seized the opportunity to take control of Cambrai, but left

6336-509: The 15th century, studied at the cathedral from 1409 to 1412 under Nicolas Malin and Richard Loqueville , and returned in 1439 after spending many years in Italy. Cambrai cathedral had other famous composers in the later 15th century: Johannes Tinctoris and Ockeghem went to Cambrai to study with Dufay. Other composers included Nicolas Grenon , Alexander Agricola , and Jacob Obrecht . In the 16th century, Philippe de Monte , Johannes Lupi , and Jacobus de Kerle all worked there. Even though

6480-404: The 15th century. Cambrai then belonged to a commercial hansa of seventeen low country cities whose aim was to develop trade with the fairs in Champagne and Paris . By the 11th century the city walls had reached the circumference they would keep until the 19th century. Cambrai has a distinguished musical history, particularly in the 15th century. The cathedral there, a musical center until

6624-428: The 17th century, had one of the most active musical establishments in the Low Countries; many composers of the Burgundian School either grew up and learned their craft there, or returned to teach. In 1428 Philippe de Luxembourg claimed that the cathedral was the finest in all of Christianity, for the fineness of its singing, its light, and the sweetness of its bells. Guillaume Dufay , the most famous European musician of

6768-432: The 3,500 which consisted of Cambrai. The centre was to be rebuilt, a task which was entrusted to the architect Pierre Leprince-Ringuet  [ fr ] . World War II also struck Cambrai. The city was bombed by the Luftwaffe on 17 May 1940, during the Battle of France , before falling the next day at the same time as Saint-Quentin . The remains of the 9th French Army and General Giraud were taken prisoner by

6912-400: The Bosphorus and a smaller castle at the village of Studius near the Sea of Marmara were taken within a few days. The Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara were likely taken by Admiral Baltoghlu 's fleet during this phase of the siege. Mehmed's massive cannons fired on the walls for weeks but due to their imprecision and extremely slow rate of fire, the Byzantines were able to repair most of

7056-509: The Byzantines, but they were unable to secure the funds needed to hire him. Orban then left Constantinople and approached Mehmed II, claiming that his weapon could blast "the walls of Babylon itself". Given abundant funds and materials, the Hungarian engineer built the gun within three months at Edirne . However, this was the only cannon that Orban built for the Ottoman forces at Constantinople, and it had several drawbacks: it took three hours to reload; cannonballs were in very short supply; and

7200-467: The European envoys at his new court. But Mehmed's mild words were not matched by his actions. By early 1452, work began on the construction of a second fortress ( Rumeli hisarı ) on the European side of the Bosphorus , several miles north of Constantinople. The new fortress sat directly across the strait from the Anadolu Hisarı fortress, built by Mehmed's great-grandfather Bayezid I . This pair of fortresses ensured complete control of sea traffic on

7344-442: The Germans. From 27 April until 18 August 1944, 18 Allied air raids were directed against the railway tracks, killing 250 people and destroying 1,700 buildings, or more than 50% of the city. The first American tanks entered the city on 2 September. After the war, the priority again was reconstruction. A municipality of the "union of the left" was elected in 1945, led by Raymond Gernez  [ fr ] who would remain at

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7488-518: The Great Logothete George Sphrantzes : 200,000; the Cardinal Isidore of Kiev and the Archbishop of Mytilene Leonardo di Chio: 300,000). Mehmed built a fleet (crewed partially by Spanish sailors from Gallipoli ) to besiege the city from the sea. Contemporary estimates of the strength of the Ottoman fleet span from 110 ships to 430 (Tedaldi: 110; Barbaro: 145; Ubertino Pusculo: 160, Isidore of Kiev and Leonardo di Chio: 200–250; (Sphrantzes): 430). A more realistic modern estimate predicts

7632-535: The Horn. The Ottomans were experts in laying siege to cities. They knew that in order to prevent diseases they had to burn corpses, sanitarily dispose of excrement, and carefully scrutinize their sources of water. The city had about 20 km of walls ( land walls : 5.5 km; sea walls along the Golden Horn: 7 km; sea walls along the Sea of Marmara: 7.5 km), one of the strongest sets of fortified walls in existence. The walls had recently been repaired (under John VIII ) and were in fairly good shape, giving

7776-401: The Latin spelling of his name, "John Justinian", named after the famous 6th century Byzantine emperor Justinian the Great . Around the same time, the captains of the Venetian ships that happened to be present in the Golden Horn offered their services to the Emperor, barring contrary orders from Venice , and Pope Nicholas undertook to send three ships laden with provisions, which set sail near

7920-489: The Marquis de Cesen as governor, and appointed 14 new aldermen while keeping the same provost . By the Treaty of Nijmegen of 1678, Spain had relinquished Cambrai, which has remained as a part of France, to this day. French influence would transform the architecture and urbanism of the city. The gables of the houses on the street were blocked and the city was embellished with mansions. The fortifications were reinforced with advanced works. The first archbishop appointed by

8064-436: The Netherlands, which was reached on 20 March. On 22 March, Louis XIV was in the city in person. On 2 April, the French invested in a part of the place. By 5 April, the city surrendered, given the same benefits as Lille in 1667, but the Spanish garrison took refuge in the citadel and the siege continued until 17 April. After 29 days of siege the king made his entry into the city, on 19 April, Easter Monday. Louis XIV named

8208-420: The Ottoman navy assuming control over the Golden Horn, which was accomplished by midday. The army converged upon the Augusteum , the vast square that fronted the great church of Hagia Sophia whose bronze gates were barred by a huge throng of civilians inside the building, hoping for divine protection. After the doors were breached, the troops separated the congregation according to what price they might bring in

8352-407: The Ottoman siege. Constantinople had been an imperial capital since its consecration in 330 under Roman emperor Constantine the Great . In the following eleven centuries, the city had been besieged many times but was captured only once before: the Sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The crusaders established an unstable Latin state in and around Constantinople while

8496-405: The Ottomans from entering the city and the defenders were overwhelmed at several points along the wall. Janissaries, led by Ulubatlı Hasan , pressed forward. Many Greek soldiers ran back home to protect their families, the Venetians retreated to their ships and a few of the Genoese escaped to Galata. The rest surrendered or committed suicide by jumping off the city walls. The Greek houses nearest to

8640-439: The Ottomans had fired 5,000 shots from their cannons using 55,000 pounds of gunpowder. Criers roamed the camp to the sound of the blasting horns, rousing the Ghazis. Shortly after midnight on Tuesday 29 May, the offensive began. The Christian troops of the Ottoman Empire attacked first, followed by successive waves of the irregular azaps , who were poorly trained and equipped and Anatolian Turkmen beylik forces who focused on

8784-406: The Pope, promising to implement the union, which was declared valid by a half-hearted imperial court on 12 December 1452. Although he was eager for an advantage, Pope Nicholas V did not have the influence the Byzantines thought he had over the Western kings and princes, some of whom were wary of increasing papal control. Furthermore, these Western rulers did not have the wherewithal to contribute to

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8928-408: The Protestant Republic of the Netherlands and continued in the following years. In 1676, Louis XIV , in an effort to "safeguard the tranquility of his borders for ever" (" assurer à jamais le repos de ses frontières "), focused most of his efforts against Spain and occupied Condé and Bouchain . On 17 March 1677, the French troops stormed Valenciennes and moved toward Cambrai, the strongest place of

9072-403: The Scheldt Valley. Cambrai is built on the right bank of the Scheldt . The river, still of a very modest flow in Cambrai, played a crucial role in the history of the city by providing multiple functions, including allowing the transportation of men and goods since antiquity. However, it was undeveloped and was crossed by numerous marshes. It was with the discovery of coal at Anzin in 1734 that

9216-413: The Scheldt was expanded and declared navigable in 1780, from Cambrai to the North Sea . The Scheldt is today the Canal de l'Escaut downstream of Cambrai. In addition, the river initially served as the boundary between the bishoprics of Tournai on its left bank and Cambrai on its right bank, from the 6th century. When the division of Charlemagne 's Empire in 843, this border was retained to delimit

9360-515: The Theodosian Walls, the intricate series of walls and ditches protecting Constantinople from an attack from the West and the only part of the city not surrounded by water. His army encamped outside the city on 2 April 1453, the Monday after Easter . The bulk of the Ottoman army was encamped south of the Golden Horn. The regular European troops, stretched out along the entire length of the walls, were commanded by Karadja Pasha. The regular troops from Anatolia under Ishak Pasha were stationed south of

9504-416: The area which are separated by a few tens of kilometres: Douai is only 24 kilometres (15 mi) away, Valenciennes is 29 kilometres (18 mi), Arras is 35 kilometres (22 mi) and Saint-Quentin 37 kilometres (23 mi), all measured as the crow flies . The regional capital, Lille , is 52 kilometres (32 mi) from Cambrai. Cambrai is not very far from several European capitals: Brussels

9648-402: The bishop tried to preserve the independence of his small state of Cambrésis, the task was not easy, wedged as the county was between its more powerful neighbours the counts of Flanders , of Hainaut and the kings of France , especially during the Hundred Years' War . In 1339, in the early stages of the war, the English king Edward III laid siege to the city but eventually had to withdraw. By

9792-407: The bishop was exercised over a vast diocese, which stretched on the right bank of the Scheldt to Mons , Brussels and Antwerp. In 954, the Magyars under Bulcsú besieged Cambrai, which resisted all their attacks. In 958 one of the first communal uprisings in Europe occurred in Cambrai. The inhabitants rebelled against Bishop Bérenger's power and abuses. The rebellion was severely repressed, but

9936-416: The bishop, ceased when in 948 Otto I granted the bishop with temporal powers over the city. In 1007, Emperor Henry II extended the bishop's temporal power to the territory surrounding Cambrai. The bishops then had both spiritual and temporal powers. This made Cambrai and Cambrésis a church principality, much like Liège , an independent state which was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The spiritual power of

10080-400: The body of an adult male rather that of an infant. He is burly, and far too large for a newborn child. Mary is described by scholars as an Eleusa icon because of the tender manner in which the child is nestled against her cheek, setting the image as an intimate portrayal of the bond between mother and child. Her head is tilted towards her son and embraces his forehead and cheek almost as if in

10224-487: The cannon is said to have collapsed under its own recoil after six weeks. The account of the cannon's collapse is disputed, given that it was only reported in the letter of Archbishop Leonardo di Chio and in the later, and often unreliable, Russian chronicle of Nestor Iskander . Having previously established a large foundry about 150 miles (240 km) away, Mehmed now had to undertake the painstaking process of transporting his massive artillery pieces. In preparation for

10368-462: The cannons at the siege were built by Turkish engineers, including a large bombard by Saruca, while one cannon was built by Orban, who also contributed a large bombard. Orban, a Hungarian (though some suggest he was German ), was a somewhat mysterious figure. His 27-foot-long (8.2 m) cannon was named " Basilica " and was able to hurl a 600-pound (270 kg) stone ball over a mile (1.6 km). Orban initially tried to sell his services to

10512-405: The city a year later. Martin and Martine are two legendary characters who have come to represent the city which they are said to have saved. There are different versions of the story. The most commonly accepted version runs as follows: around the year 1370, at the time of Bishop Robert, Count of Geneva, Martin, a blacksmith of Moorish descent established in Cambrai, was among the burghers who left

10656-466: The city is about 110 kilometres (68 mi) from the nearest coast. Precipitation is distributed year-round, with highs in the spring and autumn, with February being the driest month. Contrasting with the rainy image of the region, the total annual precipitation is relatively small with 642 millimetres (25.3 in) at Cambrai-Épinoy; identical to the Montsouris Paris station, which is at

10800-479: The city on their own account. Cardinal Isidore , funded by the Pope, arrived in 1452 with 200 archers. An accomplished soldier from Genoa , Giovanni Giustiniani , arrived in January 1453 with 400 men from Genoa and 300 men from Genoese Chios . As a specialist in defending walled cities, Giustiniani was immediately given the overall command of the defence of the land walls by the Emperor. The Byzantines knew him by

10944-471: The city progressed, while the arrondissement tended to be depopulated. At the same time, the city lost industrial jobs and moved towards the tertiary sector, but it was public administrations which provided the bulk of jobs. The town of Cambrai is situated in the southern part of the Nord Department, of which it is chef-lieu of the arrondissement . It belongs to the dense network of the cities of

11088-419: The city to fight the lord of Thun-Lévêque , who was then reputed to ransom the population around the city and generally to afflict the region. Martin, armed only with his heavy iron hammer, soon came face to face with the enemy. He dealt such a heavy blow on his opponent's head that, although the helmet of the lord did not break, because it was made of good steel, it was driven down to his eyes. Dazed and blinded,

11232-475: The city. In 1666, in the greatest secrecy, Louis XIV prepared new conquests by making plans of the Spanish fortifications, and then began the War of Devolution . The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle from 1668 allowed the Kingdom of France to obtain a large number of strongholds, but Cambrai was not a part of them, nor were Bouchain , Valenciennes or Condé-sur-l'Escaut . In 1672, hostilities resumed against

11376-419: The cost of many struggles and very great dangers and that, having passed it along in succession from their fathers, from father to son, they handed it down to me. For some of the oldest of you were sharers in many of the exploits carried through by them—those at least of you who are of maturer years—and the younger of you have heard of these deeds from your fathers. They are not such very ancient events nor of such

11520-442: The damage after each shot, mitigating the effect of the Ottoman artillery. Despite some probing attacks, the Ottoman fleet under Baltoghlu could not enter the Golden Horn due to the chain across the entrance. Although one of the fleet's main tasks was to prevent any foreign ships from entering the Golden Horn, on 20 April, a small flotilla of four Christian ships managed to get in after some heavy fighting, an event which strengthened

11664-474: The dead ones ... without caring how near they came to the city walls. Our men shot at them with guns and crossbows, aiming at the Turk who was carrying away his dead countryman, and both of them would fall to the ground dead, and then there came other Turks and took them away, none fearing death, but being willing to let ten of themselves be killed rather than suffer the shame of leaving a single Turkish corpse by

11808-650: The death of Lothair II , who had no heir, king Charles the Bald tried to gain control of his kingdom by having himself consecrated at Metz . Cambrai thus reverted, but only briefly, to the Western Frankish Realm . In 870 the town was destroyed by the Normans. In the Middle Ages the region around Cambrai, called Cambrésis, was a county. Rivalries between the count, who ruled the city and county, and

11952-491: The defence of the city by the establishment of flood defensive areas. Despite its important role in the history of the city, the Scheldt is little integrated into the present urban landscape. Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is " Cfb " (Marine West Coast Climate/ Oceanic climate ). However,

12096-481: The defenders on land, Giovanni Giustiniani , was grievously wounded during the attack, and his evacuation from the ramparts caused a panic in the ranks of the defenders. With Giustiniani's Genoese troops retreating into the city and towards the harbour, Constantine and his men, now left to their own devices, continued to hold their ground against the Janissaries. Constantine's men eventually could not prevent

12240-536: The defenders sufficient reason to believe that they could hold out until help from the West arrived. In addition, the defenders were relatively well-equipped with a fleet of 26 ships: 5 from Genoa , 5 from Venice , 3 from Venetian Crete , 1 from Ancona , 1 from Aragon , 1 from France, and about 10 from the empire itself. On 5 April, the Sultan himself arrived with his last troops, and the defenders took up their positions. As Byzantine numbers were insufficient to occupy

12384-399: The discontent flared up again in the 10th and 11th centuries. Between 1077 and 1215, the burghers had a charter franchise on at least four occasions. Each time, these were eventually withdrawn by the combined efforts of the bishops and emperors. In 1227, following another period of unrest, the burghers of Cambrai finally had to give up their charters and accept the bishop's authority. However,

12528-711: The effort, especially in light of the weakened state of France and England from the Hundred Years' War , Spain's involvement in the Reconquista , the internecine fighting in the Holy Roman Empire , and Hungary and Poland's defeat at the Battle of Varna of 1444. Although some troops did arrive from the mercantile city-states in northern Italy, the Western contribution was not adequate to counterbalance Ottoman strength. Some Western individuals, however, came to help defend

12672-618: The end of March. From the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily arrived in Constantinople the condottiero Gabriele Orsini del Balzo , duke of Venosa and count of Ugento , together with 200 Neapolitan archers, who died fighting for the defense of the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Meanwhile, in Venice, deliberations were taking place concerning the kind of assistance the Republic would lend to Constantinople. The Senate decided upon sending

12816-680: The events of the Massacre of the Latins in 1182 by the Greeks and the Sack of Constantinople in 1204 by the Latins, played a significant role. Ultimately, the attempted union between east and west failed, greatly annoying Pope Nicholas V and the hierarchy of the Roman church. In the summer of 1452, when Rumeli Hisarı was completed and the threat of the Ottomans had become imminent, Constantine wrote to

12960-462: The execution of the Emperor's ambassadors. Fearing a possible naval attack along the shores of the Golden Horn , Emperor Constantine XI ordered that a defensive chain be placed at the mouth of the harbour. This chain, which floated on logs, was strong enough to prevent any Turkish ship from entering the harbour. This device was one of two that gave the Byzantines some hope of extending

13104-490: The fall of Constantinople marks the end of the medieval period and the beginning of the early modern period . The city's fall also stood as a turning point in military history . Since ancient times, cities and castles had depended upon ramparts and walls to repel invaders. The Walls of Constantinople , especially the Theodosian Walls, protected Constantinople from attack for 800 years and were noted as some of

13248-610: The fall of Constantinople stated the Ottoman invaders pillaged the city, murdered or enslaved tens of thousands of people, and raped nuns, women and children: All the valuables and other booty were taken to their camp, and as many as sixty thousand Christians who had been captured. The crosses which had been placed on the roofs or the walls of churches were torn down and trampled. Women were raped, virgins deflowered and youths forced to take part in shameful obscenities. The nuns left behind, even those who were obviously such, were disgraced with foul debaucheries. During three days of pillaging,

13392-517: The fifth-century Theodosian Walls . By 1450, the empire was exhausted and had shrunk to a few square kilometers outside the city of Constantinople itself, the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara and the Peloponnese with its cultural center at Mystras . The Empire of Trebizond , an independent successor state that formed in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade , was also present at

13536-399: The final assault began in the evening of 26 May and continued to the next day. For 36 hours after the war council decided to attack, the Ottomans extensively mobilized their manpower for the general offensive. Prayer and resting was then granted to the soldiers on 28 May before the final assault would be launched. On the Byzantine side, a small Venetian fleet of 12 ships, after having searched

13680-433: The final assault, Mehmed had an artillery train of 70 large pieces dragged from his headquarters at Edirne, in addition to the bombards cast on the spot. This train included Orban's enormous cannon, which was said to have been dragged from Edirne by a crew of 60 oxen and over 400 men. There was another large bombard, independently built by Turkish engineer Saruca, that was also used in the battle. Mehmed planned to attack

13824-623: The first time on the Peutinger table in the middle of the 4th century. It became the main town of the Roman province of the Nervii , whose first Roman capital had been at Bagacum , present-day Bavay . In the middle of the 4th-century, Frankish raids from the north threatened Bavay and led the Romans to build forts along the Cologne to Bavay to Cambrai road, and thence to Boulogne. Cambrai thus occupied an important strategic position. In 430,

13968-482: The futility of the fortifications, which the city obtained permission to demolish, at its expense, in 1892. The outer boulevards were constructed and off to the location of the walls, between 1894 and the beginning of the 20th century. The appearance of the city was radically transformed, and the works stimulated the city's economy. In 1914, the German army occupied the city. This occupation, which lasted for four years,

14112-502: The hands of the Turks as Ottoman possessions. The Emperor was not willing to leave the city without a fight: As to surrendering the city to you, it is not for me to decide or for anyone else of its citizens; for all of us have reached the mutual decision to die of our own free will, without any regard for our lives. Around this time, Mehmed had a final council with his senior officers. Here he encountered some resistance; one of his Viziers,

14256-471: The head of the city until 1981, promoting moderate socialism. As early as 1947, the city submitted to a development project of the Ministry of Reconstruction. The municipality gave priority to the construction of houses: The Maison du Cambrésis [House of le Cambrésis], later Maison Familiale group, an HLM cooperative society, contributed substantially to the reconstruction of the city. The population of

14400-550: The hill, directly into the Golden Horn on 22 April, bypassing the chain barrier. This action seriously threatened the flow of supplies from Genoese ships from the nominally neutral colony of Pera and it demoralized the Byzantine defenders. On the night of 28 April, an attempt was made to destroy the Ottoman ships already in the Golden Horn using fire ships but the Ottomans forced the Christians to retreat with many casualties. Forty Italians escaped their sinking ships and swam to

14544-552: The icon of the Cambrai Madonna was crowned by Pope Leo XIII. 50°10′20″N 3°14′00″E  /  50.1722°N 3.2333°E  / 50.1722; 3.2333 Cambrai Cambrai ( US : / k æ m ˈ b r eɪ , k ɒ̃ ˈ -/ , French: [kɑ̃bʁɛ] ; Picard : Kimbré ; Dutch : Kamerijk ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke ,

14688-481: The idea that Constantinople was inevitably doomed is incorrect and the situation was not as one-sided as a simple glance at a map might suggest. It has also been claimed that Constantinople was "the best-defended city in Europe" at that time. At the beginning of the siege, Mehmed sent out some of his best troops to reduce the remaining Byzantine strongholds outside the city of Constantinople. The fortress of Therapia on

14832-510: The impending siege of Constantinople. Karaca Pasha , the beylerbeyi of Rumelia , sent men to prepare the roads from Adrianople to Constantinople so that bridges could cope with the massive cannons. Fifty carpenters and 200 artisans also strengthened the roads where necessary. The Greek historian Michael Critobulus quotes Mehmed II 's speech to his soldiers before the siege: My friends and men of my empire! You all know very well that our forefathers secured this kingdom that we now hold at

14976-576: The initial assault, the Ottoman army fanned out along the main thoroughfare of the city, the Mese, past the great forums and the Church of the Holy Apostles , which Mehmed II wanted to provide as a seat for his newly appointed patriarch to better control his Christian subjects. Mehmed II had sent an advance guard to protect these key buildings. The Catalans that maintained their position on the section of

15120-538: The king of France was François Fénelon . He came to be known as the "Swan of Cambrai" (" le cygne de Cambrai "), in opposition to his friend and rival Bossuet , the "eagle of Meaux" (" l'aigle de Meaux "), and he wrote his Maxims of the Saints while residing in the city. He had a relentless zeal to enlighten the faithful and to convert the unfaithful. The city suffered from the Revolution : Joseph Le Bon , sent by

15264-424: The kingdoms of Lothair I and Charles the Bald , making Cambrai a city of the Holy Roman Empire until 1677. The Scheldt was also indispensable to many economic activities, such as the tanning, milling, the manufacture of salt and soap, as well as for retting of linen , the weaving of which was one of the main activities of the city. Finally, the river was used in the Middle Ages and then by Vauban , for

15408-408: The land walls and one near the Church of the Holy Apostles , under the command of Loukas Notaras and Nicephorus Palaeologus, respectively. The Venetian Alviso Diedo commanded the ships in the harbour. Although the Byzantines also had cannons, the weapons were much smaller than those of the Ottomans, and the recoil tended to damage their own walls. According to David Nicolle , despite many odds,

15552-473: The loot they could get from raiding the city's houses, so they decided to attack the city instead. The Venetian captain ordered his men to break open the gate of the Golden Horn. Having done so, the Venetians left in ships filled with soldiers and refugees. Shortly after the Venetians left, a few Genoese ships and even the Emperor's ships followed them out of the Golden Horn. This fleet narrowly escaped prior to

15696-402: The lord of Thun quickly surrendered. Today the automatons of Martin and Martine, standing at the top of the town hall, strike the hours with a hammer as a reminder of that mighty blow. As the economic centre of northern Europe moved away from Bruges , the area became poorer, with an associated period of cultural decline. However, the city's neutrality and its position between the possessions of

15840-436: The mines and kill the miners. The Byzantines intercepted the first tunnel on the night of 16 May. Subsequent tunnels were interrupted on 21, 23 and 25 May, and destroyed with Greek fire and vigorous combat. On 23 May, the Byzantines captured and tortured two Turkish officers, who revealed the location of all the Turkish tunnels, which were destroyed. On 21 May, Mehmed sent an ambassador to Constantinople and offered to lift

15984-401: The morale of the defenders and caused embarrassment to the Sultan. Baltoghlu was most likely injured in the eye during the skirmish. Mehmed stripped Baltoghlu of his wealth and property and gave it to the janissaries and ordered him to be whipped 100 times. Mehmed ordered the construction of a road of greased logs across Galata on the north side of the Golden Horn and dragged his ships over

16128-401: The most advanced defensive systems in the world at the time. However, these fortifications were overcome with the use of gunpowder , specifically from Ottoman cannons and bombards , heralding a change in siege warfare. The Ottoman cannons repeatedly fired massive cannonballs weighing 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) over 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) which created gaps in the Theodosian Walls for

16272-520: The northern boundary of the Paris Basin , between, to the east, the hills for Thiérache and Avesnois , the foothills of the Ardennes  [ fr ] , and northwest, the hills of Artois . It is at a point which is relatively lower than these two regions, called the "Cambrai threshold" or the "Bapaume threshold", which facilitates the passage between the south and the north: Bapaume (Artois)

16416-433: The northern shore. On orders of Mehmed, they were impaled on stakes, in sight of the city's defenders on the sea walls across the Golden Horn. In retaliation, the defenders brought their Ottoman prisoners, 260 in all, to the walls, where they were executed, one by one, before the eyes of the Ottomans. With the failure of their attack on the Ottoman vessels, the defenders were forced to disperse part of their forces to defend

16560-798: The power of the Emperor and Spain, renewed the alliance of France with the United Provinces . The main effort of France had to focus on the Spanish Netherlands , and a sharing plan was established with the Dutch, with France to receive the Hainaut, Cambrésis, Artois, a large part of Flanders and Luxembourg and the County of Namur. War was declared against Spain in 1635: It was followed by a long series of wars which, compounded by subsistence and epidemics, caused crises which would bruise

16704-468: The remainder of the Byzantine Empire splintered into a number of successor states, notably Nicaea , Epirus and Trebizond . They fought as allies against the Latin establishments, but also fought among themselves for the Byzantine throne. The Nicaeans eventually reconquered Constantinople from the Latins in 1261, reestablishing the Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty . Thereafter, there

16848-506: The same altitude, it is less than those of Toulouse at 656 millimetres (25.8 in) or Nice at 767 millimetres (30.2 in). However, the number of days of rain (63 in Nice, 120 in Cambrai) confirms the oceanic character of the climate. The mean thermal amplitude between the winter and summer does not exceed 15 °C. Although again establishing a comparison with Paris, that Cambrai

16992-523: The sea walls along the Golden Horn. The Ottoman army had made several frontal assaults on the land wall of Constantinople, but they were costly failures. Venetian surgeon Niccolò Barbaro , describing in his diary one such land attack by the Janissaries, wrote They found the Turks coming right up under the walls and seeking battle, particularly the Janissaries ;... and when one or two of them were killed, at once more Turks came and took away

17136-481: The siege if they gave him the city. He promised he would allow the Emperor and any other inhabitants to leave with their possessions. He would recognize the Emperor as governor of the Peloponnese. Lastly, he guaranteed the safety of the population that might choose to remain in the city. Constantine XI only agreed to pay higher tributes to the sultan and recognized the status of all the conquered castles and lands in

17280-652: The siege until the possible arrival of foreign help. This strategy was used because in 1204, the armies of the Fourth Crusade successfully circumvented Constantinople's land defences by breaching the Golden Horn Wall , which faces the Horn. Another strategy employed by the Byzantines was the repair and fortification of the Land Wall ( Theodosian Walls ). Emperor Constantine deemed it necessary to ensure that

17424-786: The siege, he was shifted to the Mesoteichion to join Constantine, leaving the Myriandrion to the charge of the Bocchiardi brothers. Girolamo Minotto  [ el ; es ; fr ; it ] and his Venetians were stationed in the Blachernae Palace , together with Teodoro Caristo, the Langasco brothers, and Archbishop Leonardo of Chios . To the left of the emperor, further south, were the commanders Cataneo, who led Genoese troops, and Theophilus Palaeologus, who guarded

17568-399: The siege, while according to a Venetian Senate report, 50 Venetian noblemen and over 500 other Venetian civilians died during the siege. Many of the riches of the city were already looted in 1204 , leaving only limited loot to the Ottomans. Other sources claim far more brutal and successful pillaging by the Ottoman invaders. Leonard of Chios made accounts of the atrocities that followed

17712-407: The slave markets. Ottoman casualties are unknown but they are believed by most historians to be severe due to several unsuccessful Ottoman attacks made during the siege and final assault. The Venetian Barbaro observed that blood flowed in the city "like rainwater in the gutters after a sudden storm" and that bodies of Turks and Christians floated in the sea "like melons along a canal". According to

17856-586: The textile industry gave it prosperity in the Middle Ages , but in modern times it is less industrialised than its neighbours of Nord-Pas-de-Calais . Cambrai was the Duke of Wellington 's headquarters, for the British Army of Occupation, from 1815 to 1818. Occupied by the German army during World War I , Cambrai suffered partial destruction in the First Battle of Cambrai from British artillery attacks on

18000-542: The time on the coast of the Black Sea . When Mehmed II succeeded his father in 1451, he was 19 years old. Many European courts assumed that the young Ottoman ruler would not seriously challenge Christian hegemony in the Balkans and the Aegean . In fact, Europe celebrated Mehmed coming to the throne and hoped his inexperience would lead the Ottomans astray. This calculation was boosted by Mehmed's friendly overtures to

18144-499: The time) and were later transferred to Cambrai, an administrative centre for the region. Successive bishops, including Gaugericus (in French Géry), founded abbeys and churches to host relics, which contributed powerfully to giving Cambrai both the appearance and functions of a city. When the Treaty of Verdun in 843 split Charlemagne 's empire into three parts, the county of Cambrai fell into Lothaire 's kingdom. However, upon

18288-533: The town, including the nearby Bourlon Wood. The fighting around Cambrai, known as the Battle of Cambrai (20 November 1917 – 3 December 1917) is notable in that it is considered to be the first mass use of tanks in battle. A second Battle of Cambrai took place between 8 and 10 October 1918 as part of the Hundred Days Offensive . World War II was followed by reconstructions and a rapidly developing economy and population, abruptly reversed by

18432-475: The towns of the former Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin , it is also part of the Metropolitan area of Lille  [ fr ] which has more than 3.8 million inhabitants. Towards the end of the Roman Empire , Cambrai replaced Bavay as the "capital" of the land of the Nervii . At the beginning of the Merovingian era, Cambrai became the seat of an immense archdiocese covering all the right bank of

18576-448: The unusual concentration of the child's facial features in a small portion of his head, which gives him an unusually long forehead. The Cambrai Madonna was acquired by Jean Allarmet Cardinal of Brogny (d. 1426), who gave it to his secretary Fursy de Bruille, a canon of the Cambrai cathedral chapter , in Rome in 1440. De Bruille brought it to Cambrai, accepting its provenance as a work painted by Saint Luke, and in 1450 presented it to

18720-443: The veteran Halil Pasha , who had always disapproved of Mehmed's plans to conquer the city, now admonished him to abandon the siege in the face of recent adversity. Zagan Pasha argued against Halil Pasha and insisted on an immediate attack. Believing that the Byzantine defence was already weakened sufficiently, Mehmed planned to overpower the walls by sheer force and started preparations for a final all-out offensive. Preparations for

18864-458: The wall that the emperor had assigned them, had the honor of being the last troops to fall. The sultan had Pere Julià, his sons and the consul Joan de la Via, amongst others, beheaded. A few civilians managed to escape. When the Venetians retreated over to their ships, the Ottomans had already taken the walls of the Golden Horn. Luckily for the occupants of the city, the Ottomans were not interested in killing potentially valuable slaves but rather in

19008-501: The walls in their entirety, it had been decided that only the outer walls would be guarded. Constantine and his Greek troops guarded the Mesoteichion , the middle section of the land walls, where they were crossed by the river Lycus. This section was considered the weakest spot in the walls and an attack was feared here most. Giustiniani was stationed to the north of the emperor, at the Charisian Gate ( Myriandrion ); later during

19152-498: The walls were the first to suffer from the Ottomans. It is said that Constantine, throwing aside his purple imperial regalia, led the final charge against the incoming Ottomans, perishing in the ensuing battle in the streets alongside his soldiers. The Venetian Nicolò Barbaro claimed in his diary that Constantine hanged himself at the moment when the Turks broke in at the San Romano gate. Ultimately, his fate remains unknown. After

19296-463: The walls. After these inconclusive attacks, the Ottomans sought to break through the walls by constructing tunnels to mine them from mid-May to 25 May. Many of the sappers were miners of Serbian origin sent from Novo Brdo under the command of Zagan Pasha . An engineer named Johannes Grant , a German who came with the Genoese contingent, had counter-mines dug, allowing Byzantine troops to enter

19440-574: The work attracted thousands of pilgrims, including Philip the Good (1457), Charles the Bold (1460) and Louis XI of France , who left his kingdom to see it in 1468, 1477 and 1478. Philip the Good encouraged the growth of a cult around the painting, commissioning numerous copies following the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. Philip hoped that the Cambrai Madonna would serve as a significant icon, around which he could rally sufficient religious fervour to launch

19584-399: The work is shown in "the more subtle modeling of the faces, the volumetric aspect of the draperies with soft folds, the Latin inscriptions", and the style of the "elaborate punchwork of the haloes". A number of oddities in the different versions indicate that the many Italian versions came from a single source; primarily the closeness of the two figures' faces, their seeming embrace, as well as

19728-654: Was John of Burgundy , Philip the Good's illegitimate half-brother, and in June 1455 the cathedral chapter commissioned twelve copies from Hayne of Brussels for twenty pounds, of which one is believed to survive, now in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City . Like the van der Weyden in Houston, this freely interprets the Cambrai original in a contemporary Netherlandish style; the Madonna's faces are of

19872-458: Was carried in procession through the town on the Feast of the Assumption (August 15). The legend that developed around the icon held that it was secretly revered in Jerusalem during the persecutions . It was supposedly gifted to Aelia Pulcheria , daughter of Eastern Roman Emperor Arcadius in 430 and taken to Constantinople where it was publicly honored over the centuries. In Cambrai,

20016-533: Was commissioned in 1454 to produce three separate copies, Rogier van der Weyden , Dieric Bouts and Gerard David . In general the Netherlandish artists sought to further humanise the image, through such devices as extending the child's arm towards his mother and painting the child in a more realistic manner. An initial burst of copies were probably connected with Philip's fund-raising for his rescue of Constantinople. The Bishop of Cambrai from 1439 to 1479

20160-498: Was forced to supply as part of his obligation to the Ottoman sultan — just a few months before, Branković had supplied the money for the reconstruction of the walls of Constantinople. Contemporaneous Western witnesses of the siege, who tend to exaggerate the military power of the Sultan, provide disparate and higher numbers ranging from 160,000 to 300,000 ( Niccolò Barbaro : 160,000; the Florentine merchant Jacopo Tedaldi and

20304-475: Was in Constantinople working for the Emperor, was also guarding one of the quarters of the city on the seaward side with the Turks in his pay. These Turks kept loyal to the Emperor and perished in the ensuing battle. The defending army's Genoese corps were well trained and equipped, while the rest of the army consisted of small numbers of well-trained soldiers, armed civilians, sailors and volunteer forces from foreign communities, and finally monks . The garrison used

20448-469: Was killed at Agincourt . The count was "warden and councilor of the cathedral". Both sets of copies may have been for distribution to courtiers, either to promote contributions to Philip's fundraising, or as a reward to those who had already contributed. The count's three copies cost twenty Flemish pounds, while the chapter's twelve cost only a pound each, a point which has generated much scholarly discussion. A miniature by Simon Bening of c. 1520, now in

20592-552: Was little peace for the much-weakened empire as it fended off successive attacks by the Latins , Serbs , Bulgarians and Ottoman Turks . Between 1346 and 1349, the Black Death killed almost half of the inhabitants of Constantinople. The city was further depopulated by the general economic and territorial decline of the empire, and by 1453 , it consisted of a series of walled villages separated by vast fields encircled by

20736-478: Was marked by scenes of looting, requisitions and arrests of hostages. From 20 November to 17 December 1917, the vicinity of the town of Cambrai was the theatre of the Battle of Cambrai , which saw the massive use of tanks for the first time. In 1918, the Germans burned the city centre before leaving, destroying the city hall and the municipal archives. In total, more than 1,500 buildings were totally destroyed, of

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