|
Laval () is a town in western France, about southwest of Paris, and the capital of the Mayenne department. Laval was before the French Revolution part of the province of Maine, now split between two departments, Mayenne and Sarthe. Its inhabitants are called ''Lavallois''. The commune of Laval proper, without the metropolitan area, is the 13th most populous in northwestern France and the 119th in France. A part of the traditional province of Maine, Laval is also lying on the threshold of Brittany and is not far from Normandy and Anjou. It was thus an important stronghold in northwestern France during the Middle Ages. Laval became a city during the 11th century, and was the cradle of the House of Laval, one of the most powerful families in Maine and Brittany. The counts of Laval developed a textile industry around 1300, and made Laval a significant centre for the French Renaissance a century later. The linen industry remained the principal activity in Laval until the 20th century, when milk processing became more profitable. Laval developed around a promontory, on which the castle was built, and along the river Mayenne. The Laval metropolitan area is a small economic centre in western France, particularly active in the industrial sector, dairy production, electronics and chemicals. Laval is economically oriented towards Rennes, the administrative capital of the region of Brittany, and located only west of Laval. Laval proper covers and has a population of 51,182 inhabitants, while c. 120,000 live in its metropolitan area. The Laval Agglomération intercommunality is made up of 20 communes covering with 95,000 inhabitants. Laval is notably the birthplace of Henri Rousseau, a major Naïve painter, and the town has a museum dedicated to him and other Naïve artists. Laval also enjoys a significant architectural heritage, with its castle, portions of city walls, medieval houses, old bridges and churches. ==Toponymy== Laval is a relatively new foundation in comparison to other French cities. That is to say that the borough was not officially mentioned prior to the 11th century. According to legend, glorifying the Counts of Laval, mediaeval chroniclers portrayed the citizens of Laval as being the offspring of Charles Martel's grandson Wala of Corbie. By virtue of the chroniclers' accounts, ''Laval'' should be a synonym for "Vala" or "Valla"—the two spelling variants of "Wala". Etymologically spoken, however, the name of ''Laval'', in all likelihood, merely stands for "the valley" in French ("la vallée" in contemporary language), to capture the lush valley of the Mayenne river, wherein ''Laval'' is situated. This name commonly appears in other French location names, sometimes with a second word, such as in ''Laval-d'Aurelle'' (Ardèche) or ''Laval-sur-Doulon'' (Haute-Loire). The first mention of the town was the Latin ''Vallis Guidonis'', meaning "Guy's valley", because the counts of Laval were all called ''Guy''. On its side, the castle was usually named ''Castrum Guidonis'' or ''Aula Guidonis'' ("Guy's castle" and "Guy's palace"). During the 11th century, Laval is also called ''Castrum Vallis'' or simply ''Vallis''; and ''Lavallis'' appears in 1080. Other Latin names include ''Valles'' and ''Castrum de Valibus''. ''Lavallum Guidonis'' is first written in 1239. After the Renaissance, ''Lavallis'' and ''Lavallium'' are both commonly used by the clergy and the scholars.〔 As in Latin, the name evolved in French from ''Laval-Guion'' or ''Laval-Guyon'' to ''Laval'' in one single word.〔 Laval is one of the few cities in the world to have a palindrome as a name, as ''Laval'' can be read the same way in either direction. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Laval, Mayenne」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|