﻿2S3 



IL PIZZO. 



ILLE-ET-VILAINE. 



2S4 



IL PIZZO. [CAtABBIA.] 



IL VASTO. [Abrdzzo.] 



ILCHESTER. [Souebsetshihk.]' 



ILDEFONSO, SAN. [Castilla-la-Vieja.] 



ILE-DE-FKANCE, L', a province of France, forming one of the 

 military governments into which France waa formerly divided. It 

 was bounded N. by Picardie, W. by Normandie, S. by OrleSanais, and 

 E. by Champagne. It was watered by the Seine and its tributaries, 

 the Yonne, the Loing, the Marne, the Oise, and the Eure. It now 

 forms the departments of Seine, Seine-et-Oise, and Oise, and part of 

 those of Seineet- Marne, Aiane, and Eure-et-Loir. Paris was its 

 capital. 



Le Parisis, or the Ile-de-France proper, with large territories annexed 

 to it extending southward to the Loire, was held in the decline of the 

 Carlovingiau dynasty by a race of powerful nobles, who acted an 

 important part in the history of France. In the year 861 Charles le 

 Chaure bestowed upon his kinsman Robert 1' Angevin, otherwise 

 Robert le Fort, "the province between the Seine and the Loii-e," 

 under the title of the Duchy and Marquisate of France. Robert 

 died in battle against the Northmen, a.d. 866, and was succeeded by 

 his son Eudes, count of Paris, which title he bore in his father's 

 lifetime. He bravely defended Paris against the Northmen, who 

 besieged it, a.d. 885, and compelled them to raise the siege. On the 

 death of Charles le Qros, A.D. 888, Eudes was elected king of France. 

 He was involved in hostilities with his competitor for the crown, 

 Charles le Simple, and died a.d. 898. 



On the death of Eudes, his brother Robert became duka of France. 

 He rebelled against Charles le Simple, caused himself to be pro- 

 claimed king, and waa consecrated at Reims, a.d. 922. Charles how- 

 srer, being supported by the counts of Toulouse and Auvergne, 

 attacked Robert in the plain of Soissons. Robert fell in the battle, 

 bat his son Hugues continued the combat, and succeeded in putting 

 Charlea to flight The battle was fought A.D. 923. 



Huguea, sumamed le Blanc, otherwise Le Qrand, and from his 

 holding Kveral abbeys in commendam, L'Abb^, succeeded his father 

 in the duchy of France. He bestowed the crown on his brother-in-law, 

 Raoul, duke uf Burgogne. Upon the death of King RaonI, a.d. 936, 

 Hngues procured the return of Louts IV., sod of Charles le Simple, 

 from England, where he had been conveyed by bis mother. Louis 

 was only sizteini years old ; and Hugues at first virtually exercised 

 the sovereign power, though without the title of regent. Louis 

 having a year after emancipated himself from tutelage, Hugues formed 

 a formidable alliance, which was joined by Otho I., emperor of 

 Qermany, against the kinir. But the rebel lords were after a time 

 reconciled to Louis, a.d. 942, and peace was restored. Hugues subse- 

 quently obtained of the king the whole of the duchy of Bourgogne, 

 of which he had previously held a part. Some years afterwards he 

 became involved in new dinputes with his sovereign, whom he got 

 iota bis power, and retained, until compelled to release him by Otho 

 of Oermany, who came with an army to his rescue. Tlte war 

 between Hugues and Louis continued till a.d. 953, when the quarrel 

 waa made up. Louis died the year after, and Hugues aasistad in 

 raising hia son Lothaire to the throne. Huguea however posseiaed 

 the real power of the sovereignty till his death, a.d. 956. 



Hugues, sumamed Capet, son of Hugues Le Blanc, was young at 

 hia father's death ; but by the protection of Richard duke of Nor- 

 mandie, and Brunon archbishop of Cologne, he succeeded in obtaining 

 from the king the investiture of his inheritance, comprehending the 

 duchy of France, the counties of Paris and Orleans, and the abbeys 

 which his ancestors had possessed. He became in effect ruler of the 

 country, and exercised his power in a way to give general satisfaction. 

 The emperor Otton or Otho II., having invaded France, was obliged 

 to retreat, and Hugues attacked his rear-guard, and put it to flight on 

 the banks of the Aisne. King Lothaire died a.d. 986, recommending 

 his son and successor, Louis V., Le Fain(iant, to the guardianship of 

 Hugues. Louis died the yi-ar after at Compi^g^e; and his uncle 

 Charles, brother of Lothaire, being unpopular, Hugues assembled his 

 friends, and procured himself to be chosen king of France. Thus the 

 Capetian dynasty replaced the Carloviugian. The hereditary domains 

 of Hugues were thenceforth united to the crown. 

 iLEEN-DODON, L'. [Qabohne, Haute.] 



ILFORI). [EasEX.] 



ILFRACOMBE, Devonshire, a market-town and sea-port in the 

 parish of Ilfracombe, is situated on the shore of the Bristol Channel, 

 in 61" 12' N. lat., 4° 7' W. long., distant 50 miles N.W. from Exeter, 

 and 202 miles W. by S. from London. The population of the town in 

 186> was 2919. The living is a vicarage, with the chapelry of Lee 

 aimexed, in the archdeaconry of Barnstaple and diocese of Exeter. 

 The parish is under the management of a Local Board of Health. 



The town consists chiefly of one main street extending along the 

 Ma«oa*t, and reaching to the harbour, which is formed by an inlet or 

 cove of the Bristol Channel. The harbour afford."! anchorage to vef«els 

 of 230 tons, and is rendered additionally Recure by a pier 860 feet in 

 length. A b«tt< ry and lighthouse are at the entrance of the harbour. 

 The houses are tolerably well built ; a number of good houses range 

 along the harbour. Tl)e church, a commodious building, is partly 

 of the 12th century. The Wesleyan Methodists and Independents 

 hare chapels; and there are National, British, and In&nt schoob. 



The town is almost entirely dependent on summer visitors and wailthy 

 i-esidents. For their accommodation hot and cold salt-water baths 

 have i)een erected, and by tunnels cut through the cliffs a communi- 

 cation has been made with a retired cove for sea-bathing. A broad 

 public walk has been made rouud cue of tlie hills, and on the verge 

 of the sea, called Capstone Parade ; it forms a singularly fine sea-walk. 

 Some of the inhabitants are engaged in the herriug-fiahery. The 

 market, which is generally well supplied with flah, is on Saturday. 

 The coa^t scenery about Ilfracombe is bold and often esceediugly 

 picturesquft ; the scenery inland is also very beautiful. 



ILHA-DO-SAL. [Cai'e Vekd Islands.] 



ILISSUS. [Attica.] 



ILIUM. [Tboy.] 



ILKESTON, Derbyshire, a small market-town in the parish of 

 Ilkeston, is situated in the valley of the river Erewaah, iu 52" 58' 

 N. lat, 1° 20' W. long., distant 9 miles N.E. by E. from Derby, and 

 126 miles N.W. by N. from London. The population of the parish 

 in 1S51 was 6122. The living is a vicarage in the archdeaconry of 

 Derby and diocese of Lichfield. The market is only held occasionally, 

 and the town is not of much importance. The church haa a stone 

 screen in the early English style. The principal manufactures are 

 thoae of stockings and lace. In the neijhbourliood are several coal- 

 mines. Near the town is a mineral spriug. The Erewaah Canal and 

 the Nutbrook Canal both pass through the parish. 



ILKLEY. [Yorkshire.] 



ILLE-ET-VILAINE, a depai-tment in the west of France, is 

 bounded N. by the English Channel and the department of Manche, 

 E. by the department of Mayenne, S. by that of Loire-Inf'<5rieure, and 

 W. by the departments of Murbihan and C6tes-du-Nord. Its form 

 approximates to a quadrangle, lying between 47° 37' and 48" 31' 

 N. lat, 1° and 2" 13' \V. long. Its length from north to south is 74 

 miles, from east to west 55 miles. The area of the department is 

 25974 square miles. The inhabitants, by the Census of 1841, numbered 

 647,062; by that of 1851, 571,618, being 221-219 inhabitant* to a 

 square mile, or 46'635 above the average population per square mile 

 for the whole of France. The department is formed out of a portion 

 of the old province of Bretagne. 



The department is crossed from west to east by the Armoric Hills, 

 or Menez Mountains [CdTBS-DO-NoRD ; Bbetaone], from which the 

 surface slopes down towards the English Ctiannel on one side, and 

 the Bay of Biscay on the other. The Armoric Hilla do not attain 

 within this department to any considerable elevation. The surface pre- 

 sents a great variety of bill and dale, heaths, moors, forests, ponds, and 

 marshes, which are rendered productive by drainage, or on the coast 

 by banking out the sea. The soil, except iu the marsh land, is shallow 

 and light ; the most fertile lands are in the neighbourhood uf St.-Malo, 

 Montfort, and Rennes, and in the marshes north of Dol. The coast, 

 which extends between the embouchures of the Couesnon and the 

 Ranee, measures about 40 miles ; it is washed by the fine Bay of 

 Cancale, but access to it is much impeded by a great number of 

 isolated rocks and islets. St.-Malo in the noi-th and Kedon in the 

 south of the department are the most important ports. 



The department takes its name from the Ilia and the Vilaine, 

 its principal rivers. The lUe rises near Combourg, north of the 

 Armoric range, through a gap iu which it runs south and joins the 

 Vilaine on the right bank at Rennes after a course of about 20 miles. 

 Its waters supply the fUeet- Ranee Canal, which runs a considerable 

 way along the Illo, and then, turning north-west, joins the Ranee, 

 a little above Dinan. rC6TES-DU-NoRD.] The Vilaine ris^^s a little 

 west of Emde, iu the department of Mayenne, and runs generally 

 west past Vitn5 as far as Rennes, 5 miles above which it becomes 

 navigable. Having received the lUe at Rennes, its course is south-south- 

 west past Redon, whence to its mouth in the Bay of Biscay, below 

 Roche-Bernard, it is a tide river and navigable for vessels of 250 tons. 

 Its whole length is 116 miles, 78 miles of which are navigable. On the 

 right it receives the Canlache, the Chftvre, the Ille before mentioned, 

 the Meu, and the Oust [MorbihanJ ; on the left its feeders are the 

 Seiche, the Semnon, the Cher (which enters it on tbe borders of Loiro- 

 Inf^rieure), and the Don and the Isac, which flow from Loire-Iufdrieure, 

 and are both navigable for barges. The Cmiemon rises east of 

 Fougires, and runs first west, then north past Autrain, and enters the 

 Bay of Cancale, below Pontorson, in the department of Manche. It is 

 navigable at high water for barges from Antrain. The Ranee is 

 described imder C6tes-db-Nobd. The department is travei-sed by 

 11 imperial, 12 departmental, and 4 military roads ; the railroad 

 from Paris to Brest, now iu course of construction, passes Vitr(5 and 

 Rennes. 



The department contains 1,662,427 acres. Of this surface, 982,269 

 acres are arable; 181,256 are natural pasture; 32,621 are covered 

 with orchards, nurseries, and gardens; 255,909 acres arc heath and 

 moorland; 147,016 acres are under woods and forests; 12,912 acres 

 are covered with wet marshes, rivers, canals, &c. ; and 341 acres are 

 under vine-culture. The farms are small, the largest not exceeding 

 75 acres, and many consist of not more than 5 acres, small holdera 

 being generally linen-weavers as well as tillers of the soil. The food 

 of the peasantry is composed of bread made of rye, oata, or barley, 

 potatoes, milk, and butter, to which salt pork and dried sardines are 

 occasionally added. The soil U made to produce all kinds of bread- 



