"_Martyred city, destroyed by an infuriated enemy, powerless to hold it._
"_Sublime population who, like the Municipal Authorities--models of devotion to duty and despising all danger--gave proof of magnificent courage, by remaining more than three years under the constant menace of the enemy's attacks, and by leaving their homes only when ordered to do so._
"_Inspired by the example of the heroic French maid of venerated memory, whose statue stands in the heart of the city, showed unshakeable faith in the future of France (Croix de Guerre)._"
[Illustration: RHEIMS, AS SEEN FROM THE GERMAN LINES (_Photograph found on a German prisoner_)]
Rheims is one of the oldest towns in France, so old that legendary accounts, in an endeavour to outdo one another, carry back its foundation sometimes to 1440 B.C. after the Flood, sometimes to the siege of Troy. Lying at the intersection of the natural routes between Belgium and Burgundy, and between the Parisian basin and Lorraine, _i.e._ between political districts that long remained different in character, and regions having different commercial resources, it was at one and the same time the "_oppidum_" and _market-town_. Its military and commercial position destined it early to be a great city.
It probably takes its name from the tribe of the _Remi_, who occupied almost the whole territory now forming the "_départements_" of the Marne and the Ardennes, and who were clients of the _Suessiones_ (Soissons) before the Roman conquest. It was already a prosperous town, under the name of "_Durocortorum_," when Cæsar conquered Gaul. It freed itself from the yoke of the Suessiones by accepting the Roman domination. When the Belgians revolted in 57 B.C., the _Remi_ remained faithful to Cæsar and received the title of "_friends of the Roman people_." Neither did they take any part in the general revolt of Gaul in 52 B.C. Under the Empire, Rheims was, with Trèves, one of the great centres of Latin culture in "_Gallia Belgica_." On becoming a federated city, it retained its institutions and senate. A favourite residence of the Roman Governors, Rheims was embellished with sumptuous villas and magnificent monuments, and soon became one of the most prosperous towns in Gaul. At the beginning of the Germanic invasions Rheims drew in its borders and became a military town. Under _Diocletian_ it was the capital of _Belgica Secunda_.