Languedocien
Languedocien (French name, ), Languedocian or Lengadocian (), is an Occitan dialect spoken in rural parts of southern France such as Languedoc, Rouergue, Quercy, Agenais and Southern Périgord. It is sometimes also called Languedocien-Guyennai ...
: ''Vilareal'') is a
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
Lot-et-Garonne
Lot-et-Garonne (, oc, Òlt e Garona) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the rivers Lot and Garonne, it had a population of 331,271 in 2019.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 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 ...
.
History
In 1265, Gaston de Gontaut-Biron gave part of the Montlabour forest to the Count Alphonse de Poitiers, brother of the King Louis IX of France and Count of Toulouse. The new Bastide was built in the next four years and the King signed a contract in 1269 determining the legal statutes of the Villereal. In addition, Villereal was occupied by the English from 1279 to 1453. King Edward I of England signed the “Charte des Coutumes de la Cité” on April 20, 1288, which protected the inhabitants and set the rules of life in the village community. Due to this charter Saturday was fixed as the market day.
Structure
Villereal structure follows the basic plan of Bastides. It has 8 main streets, set at right angles, surround the large central square. The “halle”, the main market building is spacious and with an unusual wattle and upper storey. Villereal is a great example for those who believe arcades were not part of the original design. The exterior stairs lead to upper levels of marketplace buildings. Villereal's exterior stairways would be necessary only if arcades were added to an existing building, since they provided access to the room above the street.John Reps, An Introduction to Bastides (PPT), at About the Bastides , John Reps Bastides Collection, Cornell University Library