The County of Armagnac (, ; oc, label=
Gascon, Armanhac), situated between the
Adour
The Adour (; eu, Aturri; oc, Ador) is a river in southwestern France. It rises in High-Bigorre (Pyrenees), in the commune of Aspin-Aure, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean ( Bay of Biscay) near Bayonne. It is long, of which the uppermost ca. ...
and
Garonne
The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna
or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – ...
rivers in the lower foothills of the
Pyrenées, was a historic
count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...
y of the
Duchy of Gascony
The Duchy of Gascony or Duchy of Vasconia ( eu, Baskoniako dukerria; oc, ducat de Gasconha; french: duché de Gascogne, duché de Vasconie) was a duchy located in present-day southwestern France and northeastern Spain, an area encompassing the m ...
, established in 601 in
Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...
(now France). In 960, the title of '
Count of Armagnac
The following is a list of rulers of the county of Armagnac:
House of Armagnac
*William Count of Fézensac and Armagnac ?– 960
* Bernard the Suspicious, First count privative of Armagnac 960– ?
* Gerald I Trancaléon ? –1020
* Bernard ...
' 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
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...
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
Auch
Auch (; oc, label= Gascon, Aush ) is a commune in southwestern France. Located in the region of Occitanie, it is the capital of the Gers department. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony.
Geography
Localization
Hydrography
The ...
, of
Aquitania
Gallia Aquitania ( , ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquitaine. It was bordered by the provinces of Gal ...
. Under the
Merovingians
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
it was part of the
duchy of Aquitania. Near the end of the ninth century the part now known as
Fezensac became a hereditary county. In 960, Armagnac was separated from Fezensac as a separate county, under Bernard le Louche,
Géraud Trancaléon and Bernard II, who reunited under his control all of Gascony (1040–1052); in 1052 Gascony became part of "Aquitania", by personal union of duke
William VIII. About 1140 Bernard's grandson, Géraud III, briefly reunited the comté of Fezensac, which was then detached as an
appanage
An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...
for a younger son, styled ''comté de Fézensaguet''. When Gascogne was linked once more to Aquitaine by the
Treaty of Meaux
The Treaty of Paris, also known as Treaty of Meaux, was signed on 12 April 1229 between Raymond VII of Toulouse and Louis IX of France in Meaux near Paris. Louis was still a minor, and it was his mother Blanche of Castile, as regent, who was inst ...
in 1229, the county of Armagnac was the most powerful of the
fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...
s of Gascony. The chance of dynastic succession continued repeatedly to separate Fezensac.
The three great territorial lords in the south were the
Count of Armagnac
The following is a list of rulers of the county of Armagnac:
House of Armagnac
*William Count of Fézensac and Armagnac ?– 960
* Bernard the Suspicious, First count privative of Armagnac 960– ?
* Gerald I Trancaléon ? –1020
* Bernard ...
, the
Count of Foix
The Count of Foix ruled the independent County of Foix, in what is now Southern France, during the Middle Ages. The House of Foix eventually extended its power across the Pyrenees mountain range, joining the House of Bearn and moving their cour ...
, and the Lord of
Albret. The counts of Armagnac increased their territory through marriage and purchase.
Jean I, comte d'Armagnac (1319–1373) and his successors joined to Armagnac the
comté of Rodez and that of
Carlat
Carlat () is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France.
The "Rocher de Carlat" or rock of Carlat situated above the picturesque commune was once the site of one of the most powerful and impenetrable chateaux in all of France. ...
, and the vicomtés of Lomagne and Auvillars, Comminges and briefly
Charolais (which
Jean III alienated in 1390).
During the
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...
the southern part of France, including Armagnac, was ceded to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
by the
Treaty of Brétigny
The Treaty of Brétigny was a treaty, drafted on 8 May 1360 and ratified on 24 October 1360, between Kings Edward III of England and John II of France. In retrospect, it is seen as having marked the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years ...
(1360). Edward,
the Black Prince
Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, su ...
, administered the region for his father, King Edward III of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. 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
Charles V (21 January 1338 – 16 September 1380), called the Wise (french: le Sage; la, Sapiens), was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380. His reign marked an early high point for France during the Hundred Years' War, with his armi ...
, 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
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...
, 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
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
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
Count Jean V opposed King
Louis XI. He was driven from the Armagnac lands and was killed by the king's soldiers in 1473. After the last court died in 1497, Armagnac was united temporarily with the crown. However, King Francis I gave the district to a nephew of the last count, and it subsequently passed by marriage to the family of
Henry of Navarre. Henry became king of France as Henry IV in 1589 and joined Armagnac to the
royal domain in 1607. In 1645,
Louis XIV
Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...
granted the title to
Henri de Lorraine-Harcourt, whose heirs possessed it until the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
.
Government
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the County of Armagnac was an
administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
of the
General Government of Guyenne and Gascony (''Gouvernement-Général de Guienne et Gascogne''). During this period the government was divided into the
Duchy of Guyenne and
Duchy of Gascony
The Duchy of Gascony or Duchy of Vasconia ( eu, Baskoniako dukerria; oc, ducat de Gasconha; french: duché de Gascogne, duché de Vasconie) was a duchy located in present-day southwestern France and northeastern Spain, an area encompassing the m ...
, of which the division was part of the latter.
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
''Landes'', or ''Lanas'' in Gascon, means moorland or heath.
''Landes'' and ''Lanas'' come from the Latin ''plānus'' meaning “‘flat, even, level, plain’”. They are therefore cognate with the English plain (and plane), the Spanish word ''l ...
.
Suite des décrets sur la division du royaume du 15 février 1790archive
Département des Landes et Chalosse.
Today
Today the region is associated with the production of Armagnac, one of the world's great brandies
Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...
. It is also renowned for its manufacture of foie gras
Foie gras (, ; ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a duck or goose. According to French law, foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by gavage (force feeding).
Foie gras is a popular and well-known delica ...
.
Geography
The region is watered by several small rivers that descend from the Lannemezan plateau; the river Gers
Gers (; oc, Gers or , ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southwestern France. Named after the Gers River, its inhabitants are called the ''Gersois'' and ''Gersoises'' in French. In 2019, it had a population of 191,377. is the largest of these. The region is centered at approximately 43°40'N 0°12'E (43.7, 0.2).
Footnotes
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
*''The Encyclopedia Americana'', 1977
External links
Stories about the region
(in French)
{{Authority control
Counts of Armagnac
Former counties of France
Armagnac