AUMALE, a town of northern France, in the department of Seine-Inférieure, on the left bank of the Bresle, 47 m. N.E. of Rouen on the Northern railway. Pop. (1906) 1999. The church is an interesting building of the 16th and 17th centuries, and has a portal attributed to Jean Goujon. The town has glass and steel works.
The territory of Aumale (Albemarle, Aubemale, Aumerle; Lat. Alba Marla) in Normandy, a dependency of the archbishopric of Rouen, was granted to Odo of Champagne, brother-in-law of William the Conqueror, who founded the first line of counts of Aumale. Hawise (Hadwide, Havoise or Avoie), countess of Aumale, after the death of her first husband William de Mandeville, earl of Essex (d. 1189), married William des Forts (de Fors, or de Fortz; Lat. de Fortibus), a military adventurer who had been one of the commanders of the fleet under Richard I. during his first crusade. He died in 1195, and his widow married Baldwin de Betun, who became count of Aumale in her right. He died in 1213, and in 1214 William de Fortibus, son of Hawise by her second husband, was confirmed by King John in all his mother’s lands. Meanwhile, however, the territory of Aumale shared the fate of the rest of Normandy, and was annexed to the French crown by King Philip Augustus; but the title of earl of Albemarle, derived from it, continued to be borne in England by William de Fortibus, and was passed on to his heirs (see [Albemarle]). Aumale itself was conferred by Philip Augustus as an appanage on his son Philip. It was subsequently granted by Louis VIII. to Simon, count of Dammartin, whose daughter, Jeanne, countess of Dammartin, transferred it, together with the countship of Ponthieu, to the house of Castile, by her marriage with Ferdinand III., king of Castile, called the Saint (1238). It then remained in the possession of a branch of her descendants bearing the name of Ponthieu, until it passed to the house of Harcourt on the marriage of Blanche of Ponthieu with John, count of Harcourt (1340). Marie d’Harcourt (d. 1476), heiress of Aumale, married Anthony of Lorraine, count of Vaudémont, and Aumale was created a duchy in the peerage of France for Claude and Francis of Lorraine in 1547. By the marriage of Anne of Lorraine with the duke of Nemours in 1618 the duchy of Aumale passed to the house of Savoy-Nemours. In 1686 Marie Jeanne Baptiste, duchess of Nemours and of Aumale, and wife of Charles Emmanuel II., duke of Savoy, sold Aumale to Louis XIV., who gave it to his natural son, the duke of Maine. After the death of that prince, the dukedom devolved upon his brother, the count of Toulouse, subsequently passing to the latter’s son, the duke of Penthièvre, whose daughter married the duke of Orleans. Since the reign of Louis Philippe, king of the French, the title of duke of Aumale has been borne by a son of the duke of Orleans.
AUMONT, the name of a family which played an important part in French history. The origin of the name is uncertain, but it has usually been derived from Aumont, now a small commune in the department of the Somme. The family was of great antiquity, a Jean, sire d’Aumont, having accompanied Louis IX. on crusade. It was already powerful in the 14th century, and during the English wars of that period its members fought in the armies of the kings of France. Towards the end of the century, the family took the part of the dukes of Burgundy, but returned to the side of France on the death of Charles the Bold. Jean d’Aumont, lieutenant-general to the king of France in the government of Burgundy, rendered important services to Louis XII. and Francis I. Another Jean d’Aumont (d. 1595), a marshal of France and knight of the order of the Holy Ghost since its institution in 1578, fought against the Huguenots under the last of the Valois kings; but he was among the first to recognize Henry IV., and was appointed governor of Champagne and of Brittany, where he had to fight against the League. His grandson Antoine (1601-1669) was also a marshal of France (1651), governor of Paris (1662), duke and peer (1665). Louis Marie Augustin, duc d’Aumont (1709-1782), was a celebrated collector of works of art. Louis Marie Celeste d’Aumont, due de Piennes, afterwards duc d’Aumont (1762-1831), emigrated during the Revolution and served in the army of the royalists, as also in the Swedish army. During the Hundred Days he effected a descent upon Normandy in the Bourbon interest, and succeeded in capturing Bayeux and Caen.
AUNCEL (from the Anglo-Fr. auncelle, a confused derivation from l’auncelle, Ital. lancella, a little balance), a balance formerly used in England; now, in dialectical use, a term for the weighing of meat by hand instead of by scales.
AUNDH, a native state of India, in the Deccan division of Bombay, ranking as one of the Satara Jagirs. Its area is 447 sq. m.; its population was 63,921 in 1901, showing a decrease of 2% in the decade. Estimated revenue £9422. The chief, whose title is Pant Pratinidhi, is a Brahman by caste. The state has suffered severely from plague. The town of Aundh is situated 26 m. S.E. of Satara. Pop. about 3500.