County of Armagnac

Coordinates: 43°54′13″N 0°09′08″W / 43.9036°N 0.1522°W / 43.9036; -0.1522
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Armagnac (region)
)
County of Armagnac
Comté d'Armagnac
Before 960–1790
Coat of Arms before 1304 on left, and after 1304 on right.
Capital
King of France (from then)
 
• c. 950–961
Sancho V Sánchez of Gascony
• 1422–1453
King Henry VI of England
• 1453–1461
King Charles VII of France
• 1774–1790
King Louis XVI
Count of Armagnac 
• ?–960
William Garcés of Fézensac
• 1718–1751
Charles de Lorraine
Historical era
Early modern period
• County created
Before 960
• Decree dividing France into departments
1790
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Duchy of Gascony
Gers
Landes

The County of Armagnac (

Pyrenées, was a historic county of the Duchy of Gascony, established in 601 in Aquitaine (now France). In 960, the title of 'Count of Armagnac' was established, and thus the County of Armagnac was created. In 1751, following the death of childless Charles de Lorraine, Comte d'Armagnac, the county was absorbed into the Crown lands of France and the King, then Louis XV
took the title of 'Count of Armagnac' (Comte d'Armagnac). In 1791, following the decree dividing France into departments, the county was disestablished, but remains an important natural region of France.

History

Under Roman rule, Armagnac was included in the Civitas Ausciorum, or district of

Treaty of Meaux in 1229, the county of Armagnac was the most powerful of the fiefs of Gascony. The chance of dynastic succession continued repeatedly to separate Fezensac.[3]

The three great territorial lords in the south were the

alienated in 1390).

During the

the Black Prince, administered the region for his father, King Edward III of England. He soon alienated the nobles by giving privileges to the towns and levying heavy taxes. Until this time Armagnac had remained practically independent by shifting alliances, but the rule of the Black Prince was so harsh that the count of Armagnac appealed to the French king for help in 1369. By submitting themselves to King Charles V of France
, noble families like the Armagnacs were able to retain much of their former power and assure themselves of protection.

In 1410 the daughter of Count Bernard VII of Armagnac (d. 1418) was married to Duke

Charles I of Orleans. Charles' father had been killed by supporters of the duke of Burgundy, who resented Orleans' influence on the king. After the marriage, the Armagnac family became associated with the part of King Charles VI against Burgundy, and the royal faction came to be called Armagnacs
. Until his death in 1418, Count Bernard remained a bitter enemy of Burgundy. When Burgundy allied itself with England during the later stages of the Hundred Years' War, the friction between the two parties greatly increased. The two factions engaged in a bloody civil war that ended in 1435.

After peace was established, many veterans originally recruited by Count Bernard VII formed mercenary bands that also became known as the Armagnacs. Although they were in the service of King Charles VII, the Armagnacs became notorious for their rapacious plundering in the north of France. In 1444 they were sent to Switzerland on an expedition known as the Armagnac War, which culminated in a battle between the Swiss and the Armagnac mercenaries on August 26, 1444. Although the Swiss were badly defeated, their determined resistance persuaded the Armagnacs to withdraw from Switzerland. Soon after, the Armagnacs were incorporated into Charles VII's regular army.

After the death of Bernard VII in 1418, the counts of Armagnac gradually lost their powerful position in southern France. In the late fifteenth century

Henri de Lorraine-Harcourt, whose heirs possessed it until the Revolution
.

Government

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the County of Armagnac was an

Duchy of Guyenne and Duchy of Gascony, of which the division was part of the latter.[4][5]

Following the decree dividing France into departments announced on 22 December 1789, the County of Armagnac was disestablished. The majority of the county formed part of the new Department of Gers, while the far western parts became part of Landes.[6][7]

List of counts

Geography

The region is watered by several small rivers that descend from the Lannemezan plateau; the river Gers is the largest of these. The region is centered at approximately 43°40'N 0°12'E (43.7, 0.2).

Footnotes

Notes

Citations

  1. ^ "Armagnac". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Armagnac". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  3. ^ The elder branch of the Armagnac line failed to produce a male heir in 1245, so that the two lines were rejoined in the person of Géraud V, comte de Fezansaguet, confirmed as comte d'Armagnac in 1256; however, at his death (1285) the two counties were separated anew.
  4. ^ "Armagnac | historical region, France | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  5. ^ "Gascony | historical region, France | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  6. ^ Suite des décrets sur la division du royaume du 28 janvier 1790 archive, Département d'Armagnac.
  7. ^ Suite des décrets sur la division du royaume du 15 février 1790 archive, Département des Landes et Chalosse.

Bibliography

  • The Encyclopedia Americana, 1977

External links

43°54′13″N 0°09′08″W / 43.9036°N 0.1522°W / 43.9036; -0.1522