The marvellous tales of _"Liliane"_ and the forest rangers _Phinœrt_ and _Lyderic_, which take Lille back to the days of Julius Cæsar, are mythical. The first mention of Lille in history dates back to the 11th century, when the town was divided into the _"castrum"_ or entrenched camp of the Counts of Flanders (where Baudoin V. erected the Basilica and Forum in about 1050), and the _"forum"_ (to-day the Grand' Place), where the church of St. Martin already existed. The _"forum"_ grew rapidly in the 12th century; the suburb of Fives, with its two churches of St. Saviour and St. Maurice, being enclosed within the new wall. There were no further changes of importance until the 17th century, when the Vauban fortifications to the north further enlarged the town. It was only in 1858 that Moulins, Vazemmes and Esquermes were included in the southern portion of the town, leaving the important suburbs of Fives and St. Maurice outside the ramparts. Its situation on the frontier embroiled Lille in all the great wars. In 1213, _Philippe-August_ took it twice from Count Ferrand, burning it completely the second time, to punish the inhabitants for having received their former chief. _Philippe le Bel_ took it in 1297, and built the Château de Courtrai to commemorate the event. The _Flemish_ conquered it in 1302, but were defeated in 1304 at Mons-en-Puelle by Philippe, who forced them to abandon the town after a month's siege. Then, for half-a-century, Lille belonged to the Kings of France, but the marriage of the Duke of Burgundy, _Philippe le Hardi_, with the Heiress of Flanders, in 1369, restored it to the counts. When _Maximilian of Austria_ espoused Marie of Burgundy, daughter and Heir of Charles the Bold, last Duke of Burgundy, Lille became part of his dominions. At the head of his armies, _Louis XIV._ besieged and took it in 1667 after "nine days of trench fighting," and the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle confirmed the capture. As an advanced citadel, it defended the northern frontier, but in 1708, the _Spanish_ were before its gates, and Marshal de Boufflers, after exhausting his supplies and ammunition, was obliged to surrender to Prince Eugène and the Duke of Marlborough. After a five years' occupation, the Treaty of Utrecht gave it back to France in 1713. In 1792, it was besieged by 30,000 Austrians under _Albert of Saxe-Coburg_, who bombarded it day and night for nine days. The famous _Lille gunners_ beat off the enemy, who raised the siege, and the Convention having decreed that "the town deserved well of the country," a commemorative column was erected in the Grand' Place _(p. 26)_.