SENS, an archiepiscopal city in France, in the department of Yonne, the chief town of the fourth arrondissement, is situated in 43°11' 54" N. lat., 3° 17' 12" E. long., on the right bank of the Yonne, 250 feet above the level of the sea, 70 miles S.E. from Paris by the Lyon railway, and has tribunals of first instance and or commerce, a college, and 10,355 inhabitants in the commune. It occupies the site of the ancient Agendicum, which was afterwards called Senonca from the name of the people to whom it belonged, and thence is derived the modern Sens. Agendicum or Senones became under the Romans the chief town of Lugdunensis Quarta, or Senonia. It became at the end of the 1st century of the Christian era the seat of a bishop, and after wards of an archbishop. In the middle ages it was the capital of a county, which was united to the crown by the kings Robert and Henri L The archdiocese of Sens is now united to that of Auxerre. The archsee of Sens-et-Auxerre is co-extensive with the department of Yonne ; the province of the archbishop comprises also the sees of Troyes, Nevera, and Moulins.
. The town is of an oval form, surrounded by ancient walls now partly destroyed. Some of the large stones of the foundation bear Roman inscriptions. Of the nine gates of the city, three belong to the middle ages, and the rest are modern. The streets, with the exception of that through which tho Paris and Lyon road passes, are narrow and crooked, and the houses generally ill-built. There are two bridges over the Yonne, which is joined by the Vannes on the south side of the town. The principal public buildings are the cathedral, which is
a large gothic structure of various dates, remarkable for the size and good effect of its interior, for its painted windows, and for the height of its tower ; and the college, which is a modern structure. The cathedral is nearly as large as the metropolitan church of Notre-Dame in Paris. In the apse end, behind the Grand Altar, is a spirited repre sentation of the martyrdom of St.-Savinien, first bishop of Sens. lu the middle of the choir is a white marble monument of the Dauphin (father of Louis XVI.) aud his wife Maria Josephs. In one of the chapels of the nave is a beautiful sculptured altar-piece, representing the principal scenes of the Passion. In one of the suburbs is a church dedicated to St-Savinien, which dates from the 11th century. Many houses in the town date from the 14th and 15th centuries, and many of them are adorned with sculptures. There are public baths, a theatre, an hospital, an ecclesiastical seminary, and some pleasant public walks.
The chief manufactures are of glove- and shoe-leather, cotton-yarn, straw and chip hats, woollen stuffs, polished steel, glue, beer, candles, spirits, tiles, and earthenware. The chief trade is in corn and flour for the supply of Paris, wines, wool, hemp, tiles and bricks, bark, leather, tan, timber, &c. Linen is bleached. Sens has a public library of 6600 volumes, and a museum.