DOULLENS  , a

town of northern France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Somme, on the Authie, 27 m . N. of Amiens by rail . Pop . (1906) 4495 . It has a citadel of the 15th and 16th centuries which has often served as a state prison and is now used as a reformatory for girls . There are also a belfry of the 17th century and two old churches . The town is the seat of a sub-prefect and has a tribunal of first instance; it has trade in phosphates, of which there are workings in the vicinity, and carries on cotton-spinning and the manufacture of leather, paper and sugar . Doullens, the ancient Dulincum, was seat of a viscountship and an important stronghold in the middle ages . In 1475 it was burnt by Louis XI. for openly siding with the house of Burgundy . In 1595 it was besieged and occupied by the Spaniards, but was restored to France by the treaty of Vervins (1598) .