Champ de Mars

Champ de Mai, (shawn(g)da-mar, -da-mā.) (Fr. Hist.) The names given to certain public a emblies of the early Franks in the 5th cent. They bore the former name (from being held in the month of March) till the 8th cent., when king Pepin altered the time of meeting to May, whence the latter title. The name also designates a large open space, 3,280 ft. in length, by 1,640 in width, in the city of Paris, used as ground for military parades. It was the scene of a dreadful ma acre, ordered by the leaders of the constitutional party during the Fête de la Fédéra tion, July 14, 1791, and of the Exposition of 1878. [s. 164]