[ar-zhahn-tœ-yuh ] 
| a city in N France, on the Seine near Paris. 103,141. |
| Ar·gen·teuil (är-zhäɴ-tɶ'yə) A city of northern France, a residential and industrial suburb of Paris on the Seine River. It grew around a convent founded by Charlemagne in the seventh century. Population: 101,000. |
Argenteuil
town, Val-d'Oise departement, Ile-de-France region, France. It lies along the north bank of the Seine River, northwest of Paris. The town's name comes from silver (argent) deposits exploited there by the Gauls. Argenteuil grew up around a convent that was founded there in the 7th century and of which Charlemagne's daughter Theorade may have been an early abbess. Heloise, of the tragic Heloise-Abelard romance, became prioress of the convent about 1118, but she was expelled in 1129 and the convent was made into a monastery. Enshrined in the monastery's Church of Saint-Denis is the putative seamless robe of Christ, which was given to the convent by Charlemagne after he had received it from the Byzantine empress Irene. In the 20th century industrial development and suburban housing almost completely obliterated the vineyards and asparagus fields that once surrounded Argenteuil. Now many of the industries are gone, replaced by service and commercial activities. Argenteuil's proximity to Paris also makes it an important commuter settlement. Pop. (1990) 93,096; (1999) 93,961.
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