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I am quite certain, dear friends, that any cabinetmaker worth his salt will always be delighted, even feel a sensual pleasure, at seeing a wooden ringlet, perfectly regular, curl out of his jointer plane’s mouth… JEAN DIWO Les Dames du Faubourg III - Le génie de la Bastille
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In Paris, the Faubourg Saint-Antoine district gets its name and its renown from the Saint-Antoine-des-Champs Abbey, founded in the thirteenth century, and located where the Saint-Antoine hospital now stands. The name Saint-Antoine-des-Champs (St Anthony in the Fields) hints that this church was situated outside the city walls, and this is corroborated by the
word “Faubourg” – combining “faux” (false), and “bourg” (town), the meaning of which is similar to “suburb” in English – which refers to the district surrounding the Abbey. A glance at any map of Paris shows that Rue SaintAntoine, like so many other Parisian streets, changes name at the city’s former boundary, to become Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine.