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Languedoc

 

Contents

Flag

Meaning/Origin of the Flag

Coat of Arms

Meaning/Origin of the Coat of Arms

Map of the historical Regions in France

Explanations about the Regions

History

Origin of the Country's Name



Flag

Flagge Fahne flag drapeau Languedoc Toulouse
Flag of Languedoc
– drapeau de Languedoc,
Source, by: Wikipedia (EN)



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Meaning/Origin of the Flag

The flag of Languedoc shows the image of the arms of the House of Toulouse, who owned the county from the 9th to the 13th century. The between 1960 and 2016 existing Region of "Languedoc-Roussillon", to which Languedoc mostly belonged, used that model as an unofficial flag.

Source: Volker Preuß

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Coat of Arms


Wappen arms crest blason Raimundin Toulouse
855–1241,
Raimundiner,
Coat of arms of the House of Toulouse,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D)


Wappen arms crest blason Montfort Toulouse
1209–1229,
Montfort,
Coat of arms of the House of Montfort,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D)


Wappen arms crest blason Poitou Alphonse de Poitiers Toulouse
1241–1271,
Coat of arms of Alfons von Poitiers,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D)

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Meaning/Origin of the Coat of Arms

That coat of arms, which is considered today as the coat of arms of Languedoc, is the coat of arms of the House of Toulouse, who owned the County of Toulouse from the 9th to the 13th century. The associated Heraldry showes a golden up-broken key cross on red ground. Between the years 1209 and 1229 the House of Montfort was during the Albigensian Crusade heavily engaged to usurp the County of Toulouse. The Montforts were even enfeoffed with the county by the pope, they but could not prevail. The coat of arms of the house of Montfort shows a silvery lion on a red background. Another well-known coat of arms dates back to Alphons of Poitiers, who was born in 1220. He was the son of the French King Louis VIII. and his wife Blanche of Castile. Therefore, the heraldry of France and Castile was joined in his coat of arms. The shield is divided and one hand shows the golden lilies of the Capetians on blue, and on the other hand golden castles on red. Alphons became Count of Toulouse in 1241 and died in 1271 without leaving any descendants. The coat of arms of the Capetians showed three golden lilies on blue, but originally was the coat of arms sprinkled with lilies. From 1365 (by others sources 1376), the number of lilies was reduced to three. The lily-symbol is very old, already the Germanic tribe of the Franks has used it. The House of the Capetians has provided the kings of France between 987 and 1328. It goes back to Hugo Capet, son of Hugo the Great, who was electet to the King of France, in 987, after the death of King Ludwig V. from the House of the Carolingians. The Capetians brought out three branch lines which became the Kings of France: Valois 1328–1589, Bourbon 1589–1792 and 1814–1830, and Orléans 1830–1848.

Source: Wikipedia (D), Volker Preuß

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Map of the historical Regions in France

The historical, French Regions:

in black: governorate and province in 1776,
in red: former county, province oder governorate

Map: Volker Preuß

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Explanations about the Regions

The until the French Revolution existing provinces (or governorates) have been historically grown structures, which had their roots oftenly in former fiefdoms of the French crown, historic counties and duchies. They oftenly existed for hundreds of years and had preserved regionality (e.g. cultural particularities and regional languages). On the occasion of the French Revolution such phenomena were of course not desirable, and as part of their bloody and violent egalitarianism any regional references were eliminated. Shortly after the French Revolution the provinces were dissolved and France became divided into many départements, which should have approximately the same size and the same status. The départements were named after rivers or mountains, to use never and in no circumstances the name of an old province. However, there was no success in cutting the connections of the people of France to their respective regions, so that administrative regions were re-created in 1960, to have a better control in regional administrative processes. In this way became départements, which were placed in a historical province, administratively grouped to an oftenly historically named region. The resulted structures coincide only approximately with the boundaries of the old provinces. In the strictly centralist France any regionality is avoided, so that even the official flags of these regions mostly look like flags of companies, unloving, unhistorical, technocratic and modernistic, and these flags should not be a subject of any lexical considerations here. Only in a few of that regions, exist official flags which remember the historical models. But, even the existence of these today's regions is douptful, because in 2014 was passed a territorial reform valid from the year 2016, that reduces the number of the existing regions by merging to nearly the half. However, there exist unofficial flags in nearly all of these regions, which should remember the old provinces and the old heraldry.

Wikipedia Link to the regions of France: click or tap here
FOTW Link to the regions of France: click or tap here

Source: Flags of the World, Wikipedia (D), Volker Preuß

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History

antiquity · settlement by Celtic tribes, especially by the tribes of the Helvii, Vocontii, Arecomici, Volcae and Tectosages, in coastal areas colonies of the Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans

52 B.C. · Roman conquest, later forming the province of Gallia Narbonensis in the south of Gaul

440 A.D. · the Alans be settled as federates, the majority of today's Languedoc is within their sphere of influence

5th century A.D. · conquest of Gaul by the Franks (under King Clovis) to 507 conquest of Aquitaine, expansion of the empire to the Atlantic Ocean, the Pyrenees and the Alps

511 · death of King Clovis, division of the Frankish Empire by Salic law of succession among his four sons (residences in Paris, Soissons, Orléans, Reims)

ca. 550 · administrative division of the empire into the kingdoms of Austrasia and Neustria, and the Duchy of Aquitaine and the Kingdom of Burgundy

639 · death of King Dagobert I., the power goes over to the Mayors of the Palace (maior domus) of Austrasia (House of the Carolingians)

687 · Pepin II. asserts itself as Mayor of the Palace throughout the Frankish Empire

751 · Pepin the Short (III., grandson of Pepin II.) eliminates the Merovingian monarchy and let hisself elect to the king from the Franks

8th century · battles in the south of the Frankish Empire against the Arabs, Charlemagne founds the county of Toulouse as a part of the Duchy of Aquitaine, later (after Charles' death) battles between the dukes of Aquitaine and the Frankish kings, the Counts of Toulouse frequently switch between the Houses of the Gellones, Unruochingans and Gerhardins, from 849 ultimately prevail the Counts from the House of the Raimundinians (later House of Toulouse) with Count Fredelo in Toulouse, and enforce finally from 885, in the following years they won in power and influence through extensive acquisitions of territory, so the Counties of Rouergue, Quercy, Albi, Béziers, Narbonne and Nimes, and fiefdoms over the Counties of Foix, Carcassonne and Razès

843 · division of the Frankish Empire (Treaty of Verdun), there arise the West Frankish Kingdom of Charles II. (the Bald), the Middle Frankish Kingdom of Lothar (Lotharingia), and the East Frankish Kingdom of Louis II., the County of Toulouse comes to the Empire of Charles the Bald

870 · at the division of the Frankish Empire (Treaty of Meersen) arises the West Frankish Kingdom, the East Frankish Kingdom, and the Frankish Kingdom of Italy

877 · Ludwig ascends the West Frankish throne

880 · by the division of the Frankish Empire (Treaties of Verdun and Ribbemont) arises the West Frankish Kingdom (later France), the East Frankish Kingdom (later German Empire), the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Upper Burgundy (under Rudolf the Welf) and the Kingdom of Lower Burgundy persists, the County of Toulouse comes to the West Frankish Kingdom

898 · Odo, Count of Paris and Duke of Francia, is elected to the king of the West Frankish Empire

987 · death of the childless West Frankish King Louis V. (House of Carolingians), his heir and uncle Charles of Lower Lorraine could not prevail, the nobility elects Hugh Capet (House of Capet) to the king, the Capetians are the Kings of France to 1328 - the Count of Toulouse (he is also Duke of Narbonne) refuses the following to Hugh Capet, the County of Toulouse becomes thus quasi-independently, and in the following years it became more and more powerful, resulting in the 12th century in an competition and enmity to the Duchy of Aquitaine, that meanwhile became a part of the Angevin Empire of the powerful noble House of Plantagenet

1102 · Count Raymond of Toulouse, participant and leader of the First Crusade, founds in the Levant the County of Tipolis

1187 · the Principality of Antioch inherits the County of Tipolis

12th century · spread of the Cathars (Albigensians) in the Languedoc

1209–1229 · Albigensian Crusade under Simon IV. de Montfort, who wanted to seize the power in Toulouse, he is in 1215 enfeoffed with the Languedoc by the pope, but can not maintain itself against the rightful earls, to 1224 the Crusaders were pushed out of the land by the Counts of Toulouse

1226 · crusade of King Louis VIII. of France against the Albigensians, the Counts of Toulouse have to submit to the King of France in 1229, Joan (Johanna) the Pious, heiress of the County of Toulouse, becomes engaged with Alphonse of Poitiers, the brother of the French King Louis IX.

1241 · Marriage between Joan and Alfons, the marriage remains childless

1271 · death of Joan, the inheritance falls to the crown of France, the County of Toulouse becomes incorporated into the royal domain, but the country could retain some special rights to the year 1779 (French Revolution), in this way it is equipped with some special rights of a estates state, what could be an own estates assembly (a kind of parliament) or may even mean an own tax jurisdiction towards the king

1328 · death of King Charles IV. (the Fair), extinction of the direct Capetian line, according to Salic Law Count Philip of Valois (Son of Prince Charles of Valois, first cousin of King Charles IV.) came on the French throne (as King Philip VI .), the English king Edward III. lays claim to the throne as a maternal nephew of Charles IV., reason for the "Hundred Years War" (Anglo-French War, 1338–1453), out of the House of Valois came all kings of France from 1328 to 1589

1589 · death of Henry III., King of France, Henry III. had no descendants, extinction of the line of Valois, Henry III. determined Henry of Navarre (House of Bourbon) as his successor, which is as Henry IV., the Good, Henri le Bon, the new King of France

1681 · King Louis XIV. of France gives to his illegitimate son, Louis Alexandre, the title of the Count of Toulouse

1776 · the already in the 14th century created governorates of the civil administration of the kingdom of France become committed to a number of 39, and correspond in this way to the number of provinces, in previous years could any provinces be summarized in one governorate, the County of Toulouse was until now almost forgotten, since long time ago the area was known and called as Languedoc

1789 · French Revolution, the governorates and provinces become abolished, Languedoc is divided into departments (essentially: Ardeche, Lozere, Gard, Herault, Aude, Tarn, the west of Haute-Gronne and the south of Haute-Loire)

1960 · reintroduction of regions in France, forming the Region of Languedoc-Roussillon (capital Montpellier), to which the Languedoc in this way largely belongs, but not within the historic boundaries, just by integrating of the the Departments of Lozere, Gard, Herault, Aude and Pyrenees-Orientales (Roussillon)

2016 · the Languedoc-Roussillon region merges with the Midi-Pyrénées region in the new larger region of Occitanie (Occitanie)

Source: Wikipedia (D), Meyers Konversationslexikon

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Origin of the Country's Name

The name "Languedoc" is an indication for the spoken here Occitan language. The word consists of two parts: 1st) "langue" and 2nd) "oc". Translated means Languedoc "Language of Oc". "Yes" is in Occitan "oc", in French is it "oui". In this way they defined the territory of the Occitan language against the French language.

Source: Wikipedia (D), Volker Preuß

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