Seine
Seine names 4 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Seine san, the chief river of France
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
san, the chief river of France. It rises in the historic region of Burgundy and flows, in general, northwestward into the English channel at Havre. Its valley is a region rich in grain, orchards, and wine. The river was known to the Romans as the Sequana, the inhabitants as the Sequani. The Seine is connected by a network of canals with the Loire, the Saone, the Rhone, and the Rhine. Its total length is about 482 miles. It is navigable for sea vessels as far as Rouen, and for smaller vessels to Paris. Small boats may ascend still higher. Troyes, Fontainebleau, St. Denis, St. Cloud, Sevres, Versailles, St. Germain, Rouen, Havre, and other historic cities and towns situated on its banks are the subjects of separate articles. The lower valley of the Seine formed the large province of Normandy. Below Paris the Seine is noted for its beautiful scenery.
Seine ing in the department of Côte d'Or
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
ing in the department of Côte d'Or; 20 miles N. W. of Dijon, running N. through Champagne to Troyes, where it receives the Aube, and, turning W. is joined by the Yonne, and before reaching Paris, by the am, flowing Marne, becomes a larger stream, Ma from the W. At Paris the Seine varies from 300 to 500 feet in width, and it soon after receives an addition by the influx of the Oise, when, pursuing a winding course to the N. W., it passes Rouen, and discharges itself into the sea at Havre-de- Grace. Length, 482 miles, for 350 of which it is navigable.
Seine the smallest
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the smallest, but most_important and wealthiest department of France, entirely surrounded by the department Seine-et-Oise; area, 185 square miles. The surface is generally level, with few hills-Mount Valerien, 450 feet (strongly fortified), and Montmartre, 344 feet, being the highest. The soil is calcareous, but rendered productive by manure supplied from the capital. It is traversed by the river Seine. Products, principally vegetables and fruits for the Paris markets; capital, Paris. Pop. about 4,150,000.
Seine a large net for catching such fish as mackerel and pilchard
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a large net for catching such fish as mackerel and pilchard. It is often 160 to 200 fathoms long, and 6 to 10 broad, and is buoyed by corks and weighted so as to float perpendicularly. a river of France, ris-
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The river itself is much as Aiton's described it in 1910 — 482 miles from Côte-d'Or to the sea, canal-linked to the Loire, Saône, Rhône and Rhine, with Rouen still France's great river seaport. What has vanished is Collier's "smallest, but most important and wealthiest department of France": the Département de la Seine was broken up in 1968 into the City of Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne. The water has changed too — industrial and sewage pollution had all but killed the river by the 1960s, and after decades of costly treatment works fish returned in numbers and open-water swimming events were held in the Seine at the 2024 Paris Olympics. "Seine" as a fishing net survives in the modern purse seine, now hauled by powered winches on industrial vessels rather than buoyed by corks alone.
Written for this edition, 2026.