Gascony
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Gascony (/ˈɡæskəni/; French: Gascogne [ɡaskɔɲ]; Occitan: Gasconha [ɡasˈkuɲɔ]; Basque: Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascony. The region is vaguely defined, and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; by some they are seen to overlap, while others consider Gascony a part of Guyenne. Most definitions put Gascony east and south of Bordeaux.
It is currently divided between the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (departments of Landes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, southwestern Gironde, and southern Lot-et-Garonne) and the region of Occitanie (departments of Gers, Hautes-Pyrénées, southwestern Tarn-et-Garonne, and western Haute-Garonne).
Gascony was historically inhabited by
Gascony is the land of
History
Aquitania
In
The Aquitanians inhabited a territory limited to the north and east by the river
In the 50s BC, Aquitania was conquered by lieutenants of Julius Caesar and became part of the Roman Empire.
Later, in 27 BC, during the reign of Emperor
Novempopulana
In 297, as Emperor
The Aquitania Novempopulana or Novempopulania suffered like the rest of the Western Roman Empire from the invasions of Germanic tribes, most notably the Vandals in 407–409. In 416–418, Novempopulania was delivered to the Visigoths as their federate settlement lands and became part of the Visigoth kingdom of Toulouse, while other than the region of the Garonne river their actual grip on the area may have been rather loose.
The Visigoths were defeated by the
Duchy of Gascony
Old historical literature[
Modern historians reject this hypothesis, which is sustained by no archeological evidence. For Juan José Larrea, and Pierre Bonnassie, "a Vascon expansionism in Aquitany is not proved and is not necessary to understand the historical evolution of this region".[1] This Basque-related culture and race is, whatever the origin, attested in (mainly Carolingian) Medieval documents, while their exact boundaries remain unclear ("Wascones, qui trans Garonnam et circa Pirineum montem habitant" -- "Wascones, who live across the Garonne and around the Pyrenees mountains", as stated in the Royal Frankish Annals, for one).[2]
The word Vasconia evolved into Wasconia, and then into Gasconia
Meanwhile, Viking raiders conquered several Gascon towns, among them Bayonne in 842–844. Their attacks in Gascony may have helped the political disintegration of the duchy until their defeat by
Angevin Empire
The 1152 marriage of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine allowed the former to gain control of his new wife's possessions of Aquitaine and Gascony. This addition to his already plentiful holdings made Henry the most powerful vassal in France.[4]
In 1248,
In December 1259,
In May 1286,
In 1324 when Edward II of England, in his capacity as Duke of Aquitaine, failed to pay homage to the French king after a dispute, Charles IV declared the duchy forfeit at the end of June 1324, and military action by the French followed. Edward sent his wife Isabella, who was sister to the French king, to negotiate a settlement. The Queen departed for France on 9 March 1325, and in September was joined by her son, the heir to the throne, Prince Edward (later Edward III of England). Isabella's negotiations were successful, and it was agreed that the young Prince Edward would perform homage in the king's place, which he did on 24 September and so the duchy was returned to the English crown.[8]
When France's Charles IV died in 1328 leaving only daughters, his nearest male relative was Edward III of England, the son of Isabella, the sister of the dead king; but the question arose whether she could legally transmit the inheritance of the throne of France to her son even though she herself, as a woman, could not inherit the throne. The assemblies of the French barons and prelates and the University of Paris decided that males who derive their right to inheritance through their mother should be excluded. Thus the nearest heir through male ancestry was Charles IV's first cousin, Philip, Count of Valois, and it was decided that he should be crowned
Province of Guyenne and Gascony
From the 17th century onwards, the government of Gascony
Geography
Gascony is limited by the
The most important towns are:
- Auch, the historical capital
- Bayonne, with both Basque and Gascon identity
- Bordeaux, crossed by the Garonne
- Dax
- Lourdes
- Luchon
- Mont-de-Marsan
- Pau, with both Bearnese and Gascon identity
- Tarbes
References
- ^ Juan José Larrea, Pierre Bonnassie: La Navarre du IVe au XIIe siècle: peuplement et société, pp. 123-129, De Boeck Université, 1998.
- ^ "The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050". The Library of Iberian Resources Online. Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ "History of Vasconia". Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ Harvey, The Plantagenets, p. 47.
- ISBN 1-872031-35-8.
- ISBN 1-872031-35-8.
- ISBN 1-872031-35-8.
- ISBN 978-1-8438-3530-1.
- ISBN 978-0-521-20963-2.
- ISBN 978-0-8122-1655-4.
- ISBN 978-0-313-32736-0.
- ^ Bémont, Charles (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 11 (11th ed.). pp. 494–495.
- ^ a b public domain: "Guienne". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 689–690. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the