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Concept
Pale of Calais
Summary
The Pale of Calais was a territory in Northern France ruled by the monarchs of England from 1347 to 1558. The area, which was taken following the Battle of Crécy in 1346 and the subsequent siege of Calais, was confirmed at the Treaty of Brétigny in 1360. It became an important economic centre for England in Europe’s textile trade centred in Flanders.
The Pale, which was historically part of Flanders, also provided England with a permanent strategic, defensible outpost from which it could plan and launch military action on the continent. Its position on the English Channel meant it could be reinforced, garrisoned and supplied over the short distance by sea. The territory was bilingual with English and Flemish commonly spoken. It was represented in the Parliament of England by the Calais constituency.
During the reign of Mary I, the Pale was unexpectedly retaken by the French following a siege in 1558 during its campaigns against the Dutch and the County of Flanders. Subsequently, the English textile trade abandoned Calais and moved to the Habsburg Netherlands.
The pale is a "jurisdiction, area". English "Cales" (now supplanted by French Calais) derives from Caleti, an ancient Celtic people who lived along the coast of the English Channel.
The actual area of the Pale of Calais is difficult to delineate because boundaries constantly changed and often included ill-defined marsh and waterways. Over those wetlands, the territory was roughly divided in low hills on the west and the lower coastlands to the east. The Pale roughly encompassed the land between Gravelines and Wissant, which was about . Throughout its history, the French were continually retaking small pieces of the territory, particularly land in the southwest.
The Pale of Calais is roughly within the modern French communes of Andres, Ardres, Balinghem, Bonningues-lès-Calais, Calais, Campagne-lès-Guines, Coquelles, Coulogne, Fréthun, Guemps, Guînes, Les Attaques, Hames-Boucres, Hervelinghen, Marck, Nielles-lès-Calais, Nouvelle-Église, Offekerque, Oye-Plage, Peuplingues, Pihen-lès-Guînes, Sangatte, Saint-Pierre, Saint-Tricat, and Vieille-Église.
Official source
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