View source for Avallon

{{Other uses|Avalon (disambiguation)}}
{{More footnotes|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox French commune
|name                   = Avallon
|commune status         = [[Subprefectures in France|Subprefecture]] and [[Communes of France|commune]]
|image                  = Avallon-Tour de l'Horloge depuis la place de la Collégiale Saint-Lazare.jpg
|caption                = The clock tower and Saint-Lazare square in Avallon
|image coat of arms     = Blason Avallon 89.svg
|arrondissement         = Avallon
|canton                 = Avallon
|INSEE                  = 89025
|postal code            = 89200
|mayor                  = Jamilah Habsaoui<ref>{{cite web|title=Répertoire national des élus: les maires|url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/en/datasets/r/2876a346-d50c-4911-934e-19ee07b0e503|website=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises|date=9 August 2021|language=fr}}</ref>
|term                   = 2021&ndash;2026
|intercommunality       = [[Communauté de communes Avallon - Vézelay - Morvan|CC Avallon - Vézelay - Morvan]]
|coordinates            = {{coord|47.4908|3.9092|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation m            = 254
|elevation min m        = 163
|elevation max m        = 369
|area km2               = 26.75
|population             = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
|population date        = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
|population footnotes   = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
}}

'''Avallon''' ({{IPA|fr|avalɔ̃|-|Fr-Avallon.ogg}}) is a [[Communes of France|commune]] in the [[Burgundy|Burgundian]] department of [[Yonne]], in France.

==Name==
Avallon, Latin ''Aballō'', [[ablative]] ''Aballone'', is ultimately derived from [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]] ''*Aballū'', [[oblique case|oblique]] ''*Aballon-'' meaning "Apple-tree (place)" or "(place of the) "Apple Tree Goddess" (from [[Proto-Celtic]] ''*abalnā'', cf. [[Old Irish]] ''aball'', [[Welsh language|Welsh]] ''afall'', [[Old Breton]] ''aball(en)'', "apple tree").<ref>Koch, John, Celtic Culture, ABC-CLIO, 2006, p. 147.</ref><ref>Matasovic, Ranko, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Brill, 2009, p. 23</ref><ref>Delamarre, Xavier , Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise. Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental, Paris, éditions Errance, 2003 ({{ISBN|2-87772-237-6}}), p. 29.</ref>

==Geography==
Avallon is located 50&nbsp;km south-southeast of [[Auxerre]], served by a branch of the [[Paris]]–[[Lyon]] railway and by exit 22 of the [[A6 autoroute (France)|A6]] motorway. The old town, with many winding cobblestone streets flanked by traditional stone and woodwork buildings, is situated on a flat promontory, the base of which is washed on the south by the [[river Cousin]], on the east and west by small streams.

==History==
Chance finds of coins and pottery fragments and a fine head of [[Minerva]] are reminders of the Roman settlement carrying the Celtic name '''Aballo''',<ref>Celtic, "Apple-tree" ({{cite web |title=FalileyevMap.pdf |url=http://cadair.aber.ac.uk/dspace/bitstream/2160/282/12/FalileyevMap.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008133011/http://cadair.aber.ac.uk/dspace/bitstream/2160/282/12/FalileyevMap.pdf |archive-date=2010-10-08 |access-date=12 November 2011 |publisher=Cadair the Aberystwyth University online research repository}} ) </ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bradshaw |first=George Publisher of the Rail |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bradshaw_s_illustrated_travellers_hand_b/kGEDAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Avallon+Roman+Aballo&pg=PA69&printsec=frontcover |title=Bradshaw's illustrated travellers' hand book in [afterw.] to France |date=1855 |publisher=Cengage Gale |isbn=978-1-5358-0199-7 |language=en}}</ref> a ''mutatio'' or post where fresh horses could be obtained.<ref>Aballo appears on the [[Antonine Itinerary]] and in the [[Tabula Peutingeriana]]. ({{cite web|url=http://www.sc.edu/ltantsoc/aval0072.htm|title=Avallo = Aballo:aval0072|publisher=Society for Late Antiquity, [[University of South Carolina]] |access-date=12 November 2011}})</ref> Two pink marble columns in the church of St-Martin du Bourg have been reused from an unknown temple (''Princeton Encyclopedia''). The Roman citadel, on a rocky spur overlooking the Cousin valley, has been [[Christianization|Christianized]] as ''Montmarte'' ("Mount of the Martyrs").

In the Middle Ages Avallon (Aballo) was the seat of a viscounty dependent on the [[duchy of Burgundy]]; on the death of [[Charles the Bold]] in 1477, it passed under the royal authority. The castle, mentioned as early as the seventh century, has utterly disappeared.{{citation needed|date=January 2008}}

===King Arthur and the French Avallon theory===

A theory exists which proposes that the [[Isle of Avalon]] mentioned in [[Arthurian legend]] is, in fact, Avallon in Burgundy.

[[Geoffrey Ashe]] first mentioned the French Avallon theory in his 1985 book, ''The Discovery of King Arthur''. His theory is that "King Arthur" is based on the historical [[Romano-British]] supreme king [[Riothamus]], who reigned between 454–470, and whose life and campaigns have parallels to the accounts of "King Arthur" in the first medieval accounts of King Arthur by [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] ({{Lang|la|[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]}}, {{Circa|1136}}). According to Ashe, in the year 470, Riothamus disappeared (and presumably died) in the neighborhood of Avallon after being defeated in the battle of [[Déols]] by [[Euric]] king of the [[Visigoths]], whom the [[Western Roman Emperor]] [[Anthemius]] had hired Riothamus to fight against.<ref>Jordanes, ''The Origin and Deeds of the Goths'' XLV.237, quoted at [[Riothamus]].</ref> This, and other aspects of his reign, made Ashe propose him as a candidate for the [[historical King Arthur]], with Avallon becoming the Arthurian [[Avalon]]. No ancient source mentioning Riothamus places him anywhere near Avallon and Geoffrey of Monmouth, who is the first to mention "the isle of Avalon" (Latin ''insula Auallonis'') and based his description of the isle on [[Classical Literature|Classical]] descriptions of the [[Fortunate Isles]], is explicit that it was an island in the western seas. In Geoffrey's day (and, indeed, dating back to geographers of antiquity), the Fortunate Isles were identified with the [[Canary Islands]].

==Population==
{{Historical populations
|source = INSEE<ref name=pophist>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-89025#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE</ref>
|percentages = pagr
|align = none
|1968 |6846
|1975 |8814
|1982 |8904
|1990 |8617
|1999 |8217
|2007 |7366
|2012 |7210
|2017 |6572
}}

==Sights==
Its chief building, the formerly [[collegiate church]] of [[Autun Cathedral|Saint-Lazare]], dates from the twelfth century, on an earlier foundation dedicated to Notre Dame.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=51}} Vestiges of the earlier church were revealed beneath the high altar in an excavation of 1861.  The acquisition of a relic of Saint Lazare prompted its rededication: ''Saint Ladre'' is attested in the fourteenth century. It was the seat of an archdeaconate answering to the [[Diocese of Autun|bishop of Autun]].{{citation needed|date=January 2008}} The two western portals are densely adorned with sculpture in the [[Romanesque sculpture|Romanesque]] style; the tower on the left of the facade was rebuilt in the seventeenth century. The Tour de l'Horloge, pierced by a gateway through which passes the Grande Rue, is an eleventh-century structure containing a museum on its second floor. Remains of the ancient fortifications, including seven of the flanking towers, are still to be seen.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=51}} Avallon has a statue of [[Vauban]], the military engineer of Louis XIV.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}}

[[File:Avallon_010.jpg|thumb|center|Smaller door of St Lazarus of Avallon (12th century).]]

==Economy==
{{Update-EB|section=y|date=April 2018}}
As of the early 20th century, the manufacture of [[biscuit]]s and [[gingerbread]], and the leather and farm implements supported the economy in Avallon, and there was considerable traffic on wood, wine, and the live-stock and agricultural produce in the surrounding country.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

==Miscellaneous==
{{Update-EB|section=y|date=April 2018}}
As of the early 20th century, the public institutions included the subprefecture, a tribunal of first instance, and a départemental college.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

===Twin towns===
Avallon is twinned with:
*{{flagicon|Belgium|variant=|size=}} [[Pepinster]], [[Belgium]]
*{{flagicon|Germany|variant=|size=}} [[Cochem]], [[Germany]]
*{{flagicon|UK|variant=|size=}} [[Tenterden]], [[United Kingdom]]
*{{flagicon|Japan|variant=|size=}} [[Saku, Nagano|Saku]], [[Japan]]

==Climate==

{{Weather box|width=auto
|metric first=y
|single line=y 
|collapsed = Y
|location =  Avallon (1988–2010 normals, extremes 1988–2013)
|Jan record high C = 17.0
|Feb record high C = 21.9
|Mar record high C = 24.5
|Apr record high C = 29.9
|May record high C = 31.6
|Jun record high C = 38.5
|Jul record high C = 39.0
|Aug record high C = 42.1
|Sep record high C = 34.4
|Oct record high C = 28.4
|Nov record high C = 22.5
|Dec record high C = 21.4
|Jan record low C = -13.7
|Feb record low C = -13.7
|Mar record low C = -14.5
|Apr record low C = -4.4
|May record low C = -0.7
|Jun record low C = 2.5
|Jul record low C = 6.9
|Aug record low C = 4.2
|Sep record low C = 1.1
|Oct record low C = -6.0
|Nov record low C = -10.4
|Dec record low C = -13.6
|Jan high C = 6.5
|Feb high C = 8.5
|Mar high C = 12.6
|Apr high C = 15.6
|May high C = 20.4
|Jun high C = 23.5
|Jul high C = 26.0
|Aug high C = 26.1
|Sep high C = 21.2
|Oct high C = 16.6
|Nov high C = 10.1
|Dec high C = 6.6
| year high C = 16.2
|Jan mean C = 3.6
|Feb mean C = 4.7
|Mar mean C = 7.8
|Apr mean C = 10.3
|May mean C = 14.8
|Jun mean C = 17.7
|Jul mean C = 20.1
|Aug mean C = 20.0
|Sep mean C = 15.8
|Oct mean C = 12.2
|Nov mean C = 6.9
|Dec mean C = 4.0
| year mean C = 11.5
|Jan low C = 0.7
|Feb low C = 0.9
|Mar low C = 3.0
|Apr low C = 5.0
|May low C = 9.2
|Jun low C = 12.0
|Jul low C = 14.1
|Aug low C = 13.9
|Sep low C = 10.3
|Oct low C = 7.9
|Nov low C = 3.6
|Dec low C = 1.3
| year low C = 6.9
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 61.8
|Feb precipitation mm = 55.5
|Mar precipitation mm = 55.8
|Apr precipitation mm = 73.3
|May precipitation mm = 71.7
|Jun precipitation mm = 70.9
|Jul precipitation mm = 68.6
|Aug precipitation mm = 63.3
|Sep precipitation mm = 68.0
|Oct precipitation mm = 72.6
|Nov precipitation mm = 75.2
|Dec precipitation mm = 70.0
|year precipitation mm = 806.7
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 11.6
| Feb precipitation days = 11.2
| Mar precipitation days = 10.7
| Apr precipitation days = 11.2
| May precipitation days = 10.9
| Jun precipitation days = 9.9
| Jul precipitation days = 9.0
| Aug precipitation days = 9.0
| Sep precipitation days = 9.7
| Oct precipitation days = 11.5
| Nov precipitation days = 13.1
| Dec precipitation days = 12.9
| year precipitation days =130.6
|source 1 = Meteociel<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.meteociel.fr/obs/clim/normales_records.php?code=89025006
|title=Normales et records pour Avallon (89)
|publisher=Meteociel
|access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref>}}

==See also==
*[[Communes of the Yonne department]]
*[[Parc naturel régional du Morvan]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book|last=Floyde |first=Marilyn |title=King Arthur's French Odyssey: Avallon in Burgundy |date=10 June 2016 |publisher=Books Sans Frontieres |edition=2nd |isbn=9780956983541}}

'''Attribution:'''
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Avallon|volume=3|page=51}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite encyclopedia |title=Aballo (Avallon), Yonne, France |editor-first=Richard |editor-last=Stillwell |encyclopedia=Princeton Encyclopaedia of Classical Sites |year=1976  |url=http://icarus.umkc.edu/sandbox/perseus/pecs/page.4.a.php}} {{subscription required}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
*{{Official website|www.ville-avallon.fr}} {{in lang|fr}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110628003030/http://paradoxplace.com/Photo%20Pages/France/Burgundy%20Champagne/Avallon/Avallon.htm Medieval Zodiac Signs plus Monthly Labours from l'église Saint-Lazare, Avallon]
*[http://www.islandofavallon.co.uk Island of Avallon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729184311/http://www.islandofavallon.co.uk/ |date=2017-07-29 }}, French Avalon website
*[http://www.bourgogneromane.com/edifices/avallon.htm Avallon page on the site Bourgogne Romane]

{{Yonne communes}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Communes of Yonne]]
[[Category:Subprefectures in France]]
[[Category:Burgundy]]