Languedoc

Languedoc (Lengadòc in Occitan) is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² (16,490 sq. miles).

The question of the limits of Languedoc

It should be noted that the traditional provinces of the kingdom of France had no official existence. They were not administrative units. A province was a territory set up by tradition and customs, and which people regarded as a unit, but provinces had no political organization. Therefore their territory had no strict limits as we think today of administrative units, and their number varied depending on the point of view of the geographers. Today, when people refer to the old provinces of France, they actually refer to the gouvernements as they existed in 1789. Gouvernements were military regions established in the middle of the 16th century and whose territories matched those of the traditional provinces. However, in some cases, small provinces had been merged with a large one into a single gouvernement, so gouvernements are not exactly the same as the traditional provinces.

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With this in mind, we can talk about the limits of Languedoc, which vary depending on what is considered. Historically, the region was called the county of Toulouse, a county independent from the kings of France. The county of Toulouse was made up of what would later be called Languedoc, but it also included the province of Quercy (now département of Lot and northern half of the département of Tarn-et-Garonne) and the province of Rouergue (now département of Aveyron), both to the northwest of Languedoc. At some times it even included the province of Agenais (now eastern half of the département of Lot-et-Garonne) to the west of Languedoc, the province of Gévaudan (now département of Lozère), the province of Velay (now the central and eastern part of the département of Haute-Loire), the southern part of the province of Vivarais (now the southern part of the département of Ardèche), and even all the northern half of Provence. After the French conquest the entire county was dismantled, the central part of it being now called Languedoc.

Related Topics:
County of Toulouse - Quercy - Département - Lot - Tarn-et-Garonne - Rouergue - Aveyron - Agenais - Lot-et-Garonne - Gévaudan - Lozère - Velay - Haute-Loire - Vivarais - Ardèche - Provence

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The gouvernement of Languedoc which was created in the middle of the 16th century was made up of Languedoc proper, but also included the three small provinces of Gévaudan, Velay, and Vivarais (in its entirety), these three provinces being to the northeast of Languedoc. Some people also consider that the region around Albi was a traditional province, called Albigeois (now département of Tarn), although it is most often considered as being part of Languedoc proper. The provinces of Quercy and Rouergue, despite their old ties with Toulouse, were not incorporated into the gouvernement of Languedoc, instead being attached to the gouvernement of Guienne and its far-away capital Bordeaux. Probably this was made consciously to avoid reviving the independently-spirited county of Toulouse, potentially dangerous to France's unity. In the rest of the article, what is called Languedoc refers to the territory of the gouvernement of Languedoc, as described here, which is what most people refer to when they talk about the province of Languedoc, even though it is actually larger than strictly-speaking Languedoc proper.

Related Topics:
Gévaudan - Velay - Vivarais - Albi - Albigeois - Tarn - Quercy - Rouergue - Toulouse - Guienne - Bordeaux - County of Toulouse

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