Baleix is a commune of the

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlanti ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by t ...

region of south-western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Baleichois'' or ''Baleichoises''.

Geography

Baleix is located in the Montanérès overlooking the Lées Valley some 26 km north-east of Pau and 10 km south of

Lembeye Lembeye (; oc, Lenveja) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department The following is a list of the 546 Communes of France, communes of the Pyrén ...

. Access to the commune is by the D7 road from

Saint-Jammes Saint-Jammes (; oc, Sent Jacme) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. Its name in Béarnais is ''Sén-Yàmmẹ'' or ''Sén-Yàmbẹ''. Geography The commune is bordered by Higuères-Souye, Gabaston, Mauco ...

in the west which passes through the length of the commune and the village and continues east to

Casteide-Doat Casteide-Doat is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department The following is a list of the 546 communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department o ...

. The D145 comes from

Lespourcy Lespourcy (; oc, Lesporcin) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department The following is a list of the 546 communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

in the south-west and passes through the village to continue north to

Anoye Anoye (; oc, Anoja) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. It is part of the urban area (''aire d'attraction des villes'') of Pau. The inhabitants of the commune are known ...

. Apart from the village there is also the hamlet of ''Tisné'' north-east of the village. The commune is mostly farmland with a few scattered small forests.Google Maps
/ref> The Lées flows through the east of the commune from the south and continues north to join 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. i ...

near

Aire-sur-l'Adour Aire-sur-l'Adour (; oc, Aira d'Ador or simply ) is a commune in the Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Adour in the wine area of southwest France. It is an episcopal see of the Diocese of Aire and D ...

. The ''Petit Lées'' comes from the south and flows north-east through the commune to join the Lées.

Places and hamlets

* Balespouey * Baradat * Berbouly * Capcazaux * Capsus (land) * Castille * La Caussade * Clos * Dujardin * Guilhas * Hourpelat * Jeandavid * Jouanolou * La Moulère * Noau * Pucheu * Puyo * Sarthou * Tisné * Trémoulets * Vignau

Neighbouring communes and villages

Toponymy

Michel Grosclaude Michel Grosclaude (; oc, Miquèu; 1926–2002) was a philosopher and French linguist, and an author of works on grammar, lexicography and Occitan onomastics. Biography Born on 8 July 1926 in Nancy at (Meurthe-et-Moselle). He was the son of ...

said that etymologically the name comes from the Gascon ''Balèch'' meaning "plateau". The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune. Sources: *

Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

:''
''Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees''
1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. ''Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees''
Paul Raymond, Imprimerie nationale, 1863, Digitised from Lyon Public Library 15 June 2011 *Grosclaude: ''Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn'', 2006

, ''Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn'', Edicions reclams & Édition Cairn - 2006, 416 pages, *Cassini:

Cassini Map The Cassini Map or Academy's Map is the first topographic and geometric map made of the Kingdom of France as a whole. It was compiled by the Cassini family, mainly César-François Cassini (Cassini III) and his son Jean-Dominique Cassini (Ca ...

from 1750Cassini Map 1750 – Baleix
/ref> Origins: *Lescar: Cartulary of LescarCartulary of the

Bishop of Lescar The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lescar (Latin: ''Dioecesis Lascurrensis;'' French language, French: ''Diocèse de Lescar''; Basque language, Basque: ''Leskarreko elizbarrutia''), in south-western France, was founded in the fifth century, and contin ...

, published in the proofs of the ''History of Béarn'' by Pierre de Marca *Marca: Pierre de Marca, ''History of Béarn''. Pierre de Marca,
Histoire de Bearn
', La Veuve Jean Camusat, 1640, 850 pages *

Fors de Béarn The Fors de Bearn, or fueros of Béarn, are a series of legal texts (privileges, rulings, judicial sentences, decrees, formularies) compiled over centuries (mostly the eleventh to thirteenth) in the Viscounty of Béarn. Together they formed th ...

Manuscript from the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Census: Census of Béarn *Terrier: The Terrier of Baleix.Manuscript from the 18th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques

History

Paul Raymond noted on page 20 of his 1863 dictionary that in 1385 there were 22 fires and it depended on the

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on th ...

of Pau. Baleix fief was subject to the

Viscounts of Béarn The viscounts of Béarn (Basque: ''Bearno'', Gascon: ''Bearn'' or ''Biarn'') were the rulers of the viscounty of Béarn, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Basque provinc ...

. The commune has long been occupied as evidenced by the discovery of a fortified camp surrounded by a moat with visible remains of earthworks. During the medieval period the commune was a member of the Commandery of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

of Caubin and

Morlaàs Morlaàs (; Gascon Morlans) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. It is the seat of a canton. After the Roman city of Benearnum (today's Lescar) was razed by the Vikings in 841, Morlaàs became the c ...

Administration

List of Successive

Mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities ...

Inter-communality

The commune is part of four inter-communal structures: * the Communauté de communes du Nord-Est Béarn; * the SIVOM of the Canton of Montaner; * the Energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques; * the inter-communal association for the supply of drinking water Luy-Gabas-Lees;

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 143 inhabitants.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has a number of buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments: *A Farmhouse at Sarthou (18th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée *A House at Jean David (18th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée *A House at Castille (1623)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée *The Bourdallé House (18th century) *The Coulomé Farmhouse (1789) *The Bélengou House (18th century) *The Arnautou House at Clos (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée *Houses and Farms (17th-19th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée

Religious heritage

*The Parish Church of Saint-Martin (12th century) is registered as an historical monument.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée The Church contains a very large number of items that are registered as historical objects.

References

External links

''Baleix'' on the 1750 Cassini Map
{{authority control Communes of Pyrénées-Atlantiques