Saint-Quentin [key], city (1990 pop. 62,085), Aisne dept., N France, on the Somme River. Foundry products, machinery, textiles, and food products are manufactured. Saint-Quentin was famous for its cloth during the Middle Ages. Of Roman origin, the city was chartered in 1080 and was the capital of the medieval county of Vermandois. It became part of the royal domain in 1191 and was ceded briefly to Burgundy (1435–77). The city has a long history of sieges and captures, most notably by the Spanish (1557) during the Wars of Religion. The Musée Lécuyer contains pastels by Maurice Quentin de La Tour, who was born in Saint-Quentin. In the city is the Collégiale Saint-Quentin (dating from the 13th to the 15th cent.), a large Gothic church.
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