Laval, a fortified town of France, capital of the department of Mayenne, on the Mayenne river, 41 m. E. S. E. of Rennes; pop. in 1866, 27,189. There is a considerable trade in wine, brandy, wood, iron, clover, and marble. It has four parish churches of the first grade, a theological seminary, a college, a convent of Trappists, two castles, three hospitals, a public library, iron works, and a considerable linen industry. In 1855 it was erected by Pius IX. into an episcopal see. It was in the environs of Laval that originated in 1791 the royalist insurrection called the Chouannerie. Laval was taken by the Vendean army, and a brilliant victory gained near it over the republicans, in October, 1793.

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Laval, a county of Quebec, Canada, embracing Isle Jesus, which lies at the mouth of the Ottawa river, and is separated from the island of Montreal on the south by the riviere des Prairies; area, 85 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 9,472, of whom 9,325 were of French origin or descent. Capital, Ste. Rose.