Aspet (; oc, Aspèth) 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

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; oc, Nauta Garona, ; en, Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country' ...

department in southwestern

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 ...

Gallery

Aspet - Chapelle de Miègecoste et la tour du Chucaou.jpg, Chapel of Miègecoste and the medieval tower of Chucaou Aspet - Eglise saint Martin.jpg, Saint Martin's church Aspet - Fontaine d'Aspet - 06.jpg, The fountain ( monument historique). View from Ray Atkins' house, near Aspet, France.jpg, View from artist

Ray Atkins Ray Atkins is a British figurative artist, member of the St Ives School & the London Group and educator. He was born in 1937 in Exeter, Devon, and studied art at Bromley College of Art and at the Slade School of Fine Art. He is known particula ...

' house

Geography

Located in the middle of the Pyrenees mountain chain, within the ancient region of Comminges, Aspet sits 15 km south to Saint-Gaudens and at the foot of the Cagire ( in Altitude).

Toponymy

According to some, the name Aspet comes from the Basque language where ''azpeta'' means ''at the cliff's foot''. The only issue is that there are no cliffs to be seen in Aspet as the landscape is mainly made of rolling hills. The first document stating the existence of the town was found in 1068 and states its name as « ''Spel'' » or « Espel ».

History

The exact date of the creation of the Seigneurie (lordship) d'Aspet is not known. The first lord able to be named is Ramon-At(hon) ruling there around 1068. Names of several lords who took part in the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

have also been found such as Arnaud II, who left with Philippe-Auguste from

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

in 1190. At the beginning of the 15th century, the Coarraze family takes the lead of the territory. Raymond-Arnaud II de Coarraze fought with

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...

during the

Siege of Orléans The siege of Orléans (12 October 1428 – 8 May 1429) was the watershed of the Hundred Years' War between France and England. The siege took place at the pinnacle of English power during the later stages of the war. The city held strategic an ...

. The last representative of the Coarraze name was dame Catherine, who supposedly commissioned the fountain we can still admire on the town's main square. She died in 1492, leaving the leadership to the

County of Foix The County of Foix (french: Comté de Foix, ; oc, Comtat de Fois) was an independent medieval fief in southern France, and later a province of France, whose territory corresponded roughly the eastern part of the modern ''département'' of Ariè ...

which had Henri III de Navarre as last baron, the soon to be king

Henri IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

. Under his reign, Aspet and its surroundings became part of the royal territories. Thus, in the main street of Aspet (Grand-rue), which leads to the church, are to be found the remains of the Royal Judges House.

Population

References