[2] Unlike regions such as Normandy, Brittany, or Champagne, Picardy was never established as a duchy, county, or principality, and its boundaries fluctuated over the centuries due to the political instability in the area it covered.

[3] The first geographic description of Picardy appeared in the late central Middle Ages, including the bishoprics of Amiens, Beauvais, Arras, Tournai, and Thérouanne.

In the late Middle Ages, it also encompassed Saint-Quentin, Douai, Abbeville, Béthune, Clermont, and other towns like Noyon, Valenciennes, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Hesdin, and Laon.

From 1972 to 2015, a region of the same name was created, bringing together the three departments of Somme, Oise, and Aisne, thus encompassing most of Picardy as defined in the Ancien Régime.

From the 5th century, the area formed part of the Frankish Empire and, in the feudal period, it encompassed the six countships of Boulogne, Montreuil, Ponthieu, Amiénois, Vermandois and Laonnois.

[4] In accordance with the provisions of the 843 Treaty of Verdun, the region became part of West Francia, the later Kingdom of France.

The name "Picardy" derives from the Old French pic, meaning "pike", the characteristic weapon used by people from this region in ancient times.

[5] The term "Picardy" was first used in the early 13th century,[6] during which time the name applied to all lands where the Picard language was spoken including territories from Paris to the Netherlands.

Beginning in 1419, the Picardy counties (Boulogne, Ponthieu, Amiens, Vermandois) were gradually acquired by the Burgundian duke Philip the Good, acquisitions confirmed by King Charles VII of France at the 1435 Congress of Arras.

In 1477, King Louis XI of France led an army and occupied key towns in Picardy.

[12] In the early 18th century, an infectious disease similar to English sweat originated from the region and spread across France.

[14] One of the most significant historical events to occur in Picardy was the series of battles fought along the Somme during World War I.

Picardy stretches from the long sand beaches of the Somme estuary in the west to the vast forests and pastures of the Thiérache in the east to Chantilly and Pierrefonds near the Paris Area and vineyards of the border with Champagne to the south.