ALÈS (Alais, according to the spelling prior to 1926). - A city in southern France (department of Gard), of ancient Celtic origin (Alestum, Alesiensis civitas: hence its heraldic coat of arms with wings half spread). It suffered greatly during the “wars of religion” (1559–1598): it was the scene of extremely bloody conflicts that destroyed a large part of its records and monuments. In 1692 Louis XIV, with the approval of Innocent XII, chose it as the seat of a new bishopric, making it the headquarters of the struggle against the “Camisards” or Huguenots of the Cévennes: the bishopric was subsequently abolished by the Constituent Assembly in 1790. Today the town Nîmes (v.).
A commercial and industrial centre from the 12th century onward, A. also had a Studium, which in the 13th century became notable above all for its school of law. The documents concerning it have been lost, apart from three contracts that the city concluded with professors engaged for teaching (published by E. de Rozière and M. Fournier). The Studium had only local importance.