Argelos (''Argelòs'' in Occitan) 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

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 Atlant ...

department 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 ...

region of south-western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It is part of the urban area (''aire d'attraction des villes'') of Pau.

Geography

Mairie d'Argelos (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) vue 2

Argelos is located some 25 km north of Pau and 3 km west of Auriac. Access to the commune is by the D214 road from the village north to join the D944 road south-east of Thèze. The

A65 autoroute The A65 autoroute is a motorway in south west France. Construction started in 2008 and it was officially opened on 14 December 2010. It connects Langon ( Gironde) to Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), with a toll payable of € 19.70 for the compl ...

passes through the northern tip of the commune but the nearest exit is Exit 9 near Miossens-Lanusse.Google Maps
/ref> The commune is mixed farmland and forest. Located in the

Drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of the Adour, the ''Luy de France'' forms the north-eastern border of the commune as it flows north-west fed by its tributaries the ''Basta'' and the ''Balaing''.

Places and Hamlets

* Barbé * La Barthe * Bordenave * Boué * Bourdalé * Bozano * Brouca * Carrère * Cassou * Castagnet * Chicoy * Dibet * Hargouette * Hayet * Labarrane * Lamarque * La Lane * Larricq * Lavignotte * Lopou * Loubané or Loubâne * Morlaas * Noble * Poulou * Sansarricq * Tauhuré * Then

Neighbouring communes and villages

Toponymy

The commune name in béarnais is ''Argelos''. Brigitte Jobbé-Duval Brigitte Jobbé-Duval, ''Dictionary of place names - Pyrénées-Atlantiques'', 2009, Archives and Culture, indicated that Argelos probably had a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

origin of ''argilla'' (meaning "

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

") with the suffix ''-ossum''. The meaning of the name would then be "clay soil". 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 *Cassini: Cassini Map from 1750Cassini Map 1750 – Argelos, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
/ref> Origins: *Census: Census of BéarnManuscript from the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques

History

Paul Raymond noted on page 10 of his 1863 dictionary that in 1385 there were 29

fires Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are pr ...

in Argelos and it depended on the bailiwick of Pau. Auriac was formerly annexed to the commune. The barony of Viven included Argelos, Auriac, and Viven and was a vassal of 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 province ...

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Intercommunality

Argelos is part of 4 inter-communal structures: * the Communauté de communes des Luys en Béarn; * the AEP association of the regions of Luy and Gabas; * the Energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques ; * the scholastic association Argelos - Astis.

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 282 inhabitants.

Culture and Heritage

Civil Heritage

The commune has several buildings and sites that are registered as historical monuments: *The Maison Marque Farmhouse (18th century) *A Farmhouse at Loubané (18th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée *The Maison Lavignotte-Lagrela Farmhouse at Lavignotte (18th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée *A Farmhouse at Lamarque (1725)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée *Houses and Farms (18th century) *A Fortified Complex at Lopou (

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée

Religious Heritage

The Parish Church of Saint-André (12th century) is registered as an historical monument. It contains many items which are registered as historical objects: *The Furniture in the Church *Two

Dalmatic The dalmatic is a long, wide-sleeved tunic, which serves as a liturgical vestment in the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, United Methodist, and some other churches. When used, it is the proper vestment of a deacon at Mass, Holy Communion or other ...

s (18th century) *A Sunburst Monstrance (19th century) *4

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

Candlestick A candlestick is a device used to hold a candle in place. Candlesticks have a cup or a spike ("pricket") or both to keep the candle in place. Candlesticks are less frequently called "candleholders". Before the proliferation of electricity, candl ...

s (19th century) *2 banks of

Pew A pew () is a long bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview The first backless stone benches began to appear in English churches in the thirt ...

s (19th century) *A

Confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall in which the priest in some Christian churches sits to hear the confessions of penitents. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches, but si ...

(18th century) *An

Altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

Tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

, and

Retable A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate structur ...

in the Altar of the Virgin (17th century) *2 Hanging Lighting Brackets (18th century) *A Painting: Christ on the Cross (1935) *2 Statues: Saints Pierre and André (18th century) *A

(18th century) *A

(17th century) *An

with 2 banks of seating (17th century) *The whole main AltarMinistry of Culture, Palissy

Education

Argelos has a primary school which is shared with Astis as an inter-communal educational grouping.