CAM BRAY, in German Kamerik, or Kambryk, a fortified town of France, in the department of Nord situated on the right bank of the Scheldt, 32 miles S. of Lille, in 50° 10' N. lat. and 3° 14' E. long. It is well built, contains a large number of ancient gabled houses, and is surrounded by strong walls flanked with round towers. The principal building is the Cathedral of St Sepulchre, occupying the site of an earlier structure, which was greatly damaged during the French Revolution, and suffered still more severely from a conflagration in 1859. It still contains a monument by David to the memory of Fénelon, but the tomb in which the archbishop was buried was broken open in 1793, and his coffin melted into bullets. Of the old archiépiscopal palace the only thing left is a Renaissance portal; and the archbishop now has his residence in what was formerly the convent of the Benedictines. Besides these may be mentioned the church of St Gery, and the belfry of St Martin; the town-house, dating from 1873; the citadel; and the public library, containing upwards of 35,000 volumes, in what was formerly the church of the hospital of St John. Cambray is the chief town of an arrondissement, and has judicial and commercial tribunals of the first instance. A college, two theological seminaries, a medical school, and a school of design are its chief educational establishments; it has also various learned societies. The town has long been famous for its manufacture of fine muslin, to which it gave the name Cambric; and it also contains manufactories of cotton cloth, lace, and thread, as well as sugar-factories, oil refineries, distilleries, breweries, and other industrial establishments. Its trade consists of grain, wine, hemp, hops, cattle, butter, and coal. The Scheldt begins to be ...navigable at the town, and communicates with St Quentin by means of a canal. Population in 1872, 22,897.
Cambray is the ancient Nervian town of Camaracwm, which is first mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary. In the 5th century it was the capital of the Frankish king Ragnachar. Fortified by Charlemagne, it was captured and pillaged by the Normans in 870, and unsuccessfully besieged by the Hungarians in 953. During the 1 Oth, 11 th, and 12th centuries it was the scene of frequent hostilities between the bishop and his supporters on the one hand and the citizens on the other; but the latter ultimately effected their independence. In 1478 Louis XL, who had obtained possession of the town on the death of the last duke of Burgundy, handed it over to the emperor, and in the 16th century Charles the Fifth caused it to be fortified with a strong citadel, for the erection of which the castles of Cavillers, Escaudoeuvres, and many others were demolished. From that date to the peace of Nimeguen, which assigned it to France, it frequently passed from hand to hand by capture or treaty. In 1793 it was besieged in vain by the Austrians. The League of Cambray is the name given to the alliance of Pope Julius IL, Louis XII., Maximilian I., and Ferdinand the Catholic against the Venetians in 1508; and the Peace of Cambray, or as it is also called, the Ladies’ Peace, was concluded in the town by Louise of Savoy, mother of Francis I., and Margaret of Austria, aunt of Charles V., in name of these monarchs. The bishopric of Cambray dates from the 5th century, and it was erected in 1559 into an archbishopric, which continued till the Revolution, and has since been restored. The bishops received the title of count from the Emperor Henry I., and in 1510 were raised to the dignity of dukes, their territory including, besides the town itself, the district called Cambresis.
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