The Fulkerson Family Pages
The Vignes: From the Valley of the Swan
Valenciennes is a town two and one-half hours' drive northeast of Paris, France. The area has also been called Val des Cygnes, or the Swan Valley, because there were many swans living there. The village lies on both sides of the Scheldt, a 200 mile long river that runs through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands.
Valenciennes is the major city in the County of Hainaut (French: Comté de Hainaut). It was first mentioned in legal documents in 693. In the 843 Treaty of Verdun, it was made a neutral city between Neustria and the Austrasia. Later in the 9th century the region was overrun by the Normans, and in 881 the town passed to them. In 923 it passed to the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, under the general auspices of the Holy Roman Empire.
