Brantôme (; oc, Brantòsme) is a former

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named af ...

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 southwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune

Brantôme en Périgord Brantôme en Périgord (, literally ''Brantôme in Périgord''; oc, Brantòsme de Perigòrd) is a Communes of France, commune in the Dordogne Departments of France, department of southwestern France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2 ...

. It is the seat of the canton of Brantôme. , an old pilgrimage route to

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...

, runs through Brantôme. The commune, which retains its picturesque atmosphere, is situated along the river

Dronne The Dronne (, also , ; oc, Drona) is a long river in southwestern France, right tributary of the Isle. Its source is in the north-western Massif Central, east of the town of Châlus (south-west of Limoges) at an elevation of . It flows south-we ...

History

The commune started to develop on an island encircled by a sweep of the river

next to the Benedictine Abbey of Brantôme, which was founded in 769 by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

; according to legend he donated relics of

Saint Sicarius Saint Sicarius (in French, ''Sicaire'') can refer to a number of figures in Christian tradition: * Sicarius of Autun (''Sicaire d’Autun'' or ''Siacre''), 600 AD. Archbishop of Autun. Feast day: August 27. * Sicarius of Bassens (''Sicaire de Bas ...

(Sicaire), one of the infants in the Massacre of the Innocents. Those relics attracted pilgrims to the abbey, who also brought a certain affluence to Brantôme, but in spite of St. Sicaire's protection, the abbey was laid waste in 848 and in 857 by

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

rovers who had advanced along the Dordogne and Isle rivers to the Dronne. The abbey was rebuilt towards the end of the tenth century and again in 1465 and in 1480 after the end of the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

. Its Romanesque bell-tower is a competitor for the title "oldest in France" Viollet-le-Duc included a drawing of it in his ''Dictionnaire'' to illustrate the entry "clocher". and developed a high reputation. Here

Bertrand du Guesclin Bertrand du Guesclin ( br, Beltram Gwesklin; 1320 – 13 July 1380), nicknamed "The Eagle of Brittany" or "The Black Dog of Brocéliande", was a Breton knight and an important military commander on the French side during the Hundred Years' W ...

, battling the English Angevins, apprised that he had been made Constable of France by Charles V.

Pierre de Mareuil Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

, abbot from 1538–56, built a right-angled bridge, the ''Pont Condé'', over the river, which connected the elegant Renaissance abbot's lodging he built for himself with its garden, which lay on the opposite bank. He was succeeded by his nephew,

Pierre de Bourdeille Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

(abbot from 1558–1614), a soldier and writer better known by his title as Abbé Brantôme, whose diplomacy saved the abbey and its commune from the Huguenot forces of Gaspard de Coligny on two occasions in 1569 during the

Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

. At the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, the abbey was secularised as a ''bien national'', the last seven monks pensioned and its rich library dispersed.

Geography

The

Côle The Côle (french: la Côle) is a long river in the Dordogne ''département'', south-central France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, ...

forms part of the commune's north-eastern border, then flows into the

, which flows southwestward through the middle of the commune.

Population

Sights

Jardin botanique d'Alaije The Jardin botanique d'Alaije is a botanical garden with an emphasis on vegetables, located in Brantôme, Dordogne, Aquitaine, France. It is open weekdays; admission is free. The garden opened to the public in 1998, and currently contains about 80 ...

History

Geography

Population

Sights

See also