Editing Valenciennes (section)

===<FONT COLOR="#FF9900">'''During the Middle Age'''</FONT>===
In 1008, '''a terrible famine brought the Bubonic Plague'''. According to the local tradition, the Virgin Mary held a cordon around the city which, miraculously, has since protected its people from the disease. Since then, every year at that time, the Valenciennois used to walk around the 14km road round the town, in what is called the tour of the Holy  Cordon. In 1285, the currency of Hainaut was replaced by the currency of France: the ecu. Valenciennes was full of activity, with numerous corporations, and outside its walls a large number of convents developed, like that of the Dominicans. In the 14th century, '''the Tower of Dodenne was built''' by Albert I, Duke of Bavaria, where even today, the bell is rung in honour of Our Lady of the Holy Cordon. In the 15th century, the County of Hainaut, of which Valenciennes is part, was re-attached to Burgundy, losing its autonomy.