Arras (anc. Nemetocenna or Nemetacum, capital of the Atrebates), a city of France, capital of the department of Pas-de-Calais, and formerly of the province of Artois, on the river Scarpe, 100 m. 1ST. by E. of Paris; pop. in 1866, 25,749. It was fortified by Vauban, and has manufactures of thread, lace, and woollens, with an important trade in grain. The woollen manufactures have been famous from very remote times, and the tapestries of Arras during the middle ages were so celebrated that the name of the town was generally given to this species of hangings. Arras has been the see of a bishop since 390. It was the seat of ecclesiastical councils in 1025 and 1490. "When Louis XL seized Artois on the death of Charles the Bold of Burgundy in 1477, Arras resisted, whereupon the king assaulted the town in person, drove out the inhabitants, replaced them by people drawn from all parts of France, and changed the name of Arras to Franchise. Robespierre was both a native and a representative of Arras.