Athos-Aspis is a commune 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 France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Geography

Athos-Aspis is located immediately to the north-west of

Sauveterre-de-Béarn Sauveterre-de-Béarn (, literally ''Sauveterre of Béarn''; oc, Sauvatèrra; eu, Salbaterra Bearno) is a medieval village perched above the Gave d'Oloron and facing the Pyrenees in south-western France. It is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atl ...

and just east of

Abitain Abitain (; eu, Abitaine) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France. The inhabitants are known as ''Abitainois'', or ''Abitaonoises''. Geography Location Abitain is bordered ...

. Access to the commune is by the D27 road from Sauveterre-de-Béarn passing through the east of the commune and going north to Oraas. Access to the village can be by several country roads from the D27 including Arriouteque going to Lespitaou and also the Village road. Apart from the village there is the hamlet of Aspis in the south of the commune. There are significant forests in the east of the commune with the rest farmland.Google Maps
/ref> The

Gave d'Oloron The Gave d'Oloron is a river of south-western France near the border with Spain. It takes its name from the city Oloron-Sainte-Marie, where it is formed from the rivers Gave d'Aspe and Gave d'Ossau. It joins the Gave de Pau in Peyrehorade t ...

forms the whole southern and eastern borders of the commune as it flows north to join the Gave de Pau at

Peyrehorade Peyrehorade (; oc, Pèirahorada) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Peyrehorade station has rail connections to Bayonne, Pau and Tarbes. Population See also *Communes of the Landes departmen ...

. The ''Arriouyeque'' flows from the east of the commune through the centre to join the Gave d'Oloron on the western border. The ''Ruisseau de Rance'' rises just east of the commune and flows south-west to join the Arriouteque. The ''Arrec Heure'' forms most of the northern border of the commune as it flows west to join the Gave d'Oloron at the north-western corner of the commune.

Places and hamlets

* Aspis * Athos * Bouchou * Cabé * Les Camous * La Campagne * La Campagnole * Castet * Cossou * Couteigt * Desbos (barns) * Esperben * Gabirot * Garampoey * Les Garbas * Gué * Hau * Herrou * Héuré (mill) * Houssas * Labourdette * Lapeyrigne * Lapisque * Lavielle * Mina (côte de) * Mouliède * Mousquères * Natou * Peyrou * Poun Agnès * Pys * Rioutèque * Sarrecaute * L'Usine Géoportail
IGN

Toponymy

The commune name in béarnais is ''Atos-Aspins''. For ''Athos''

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 ...

proposed the

patronym A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

''Ato'' with the Aquitaine suffix ''-ossum''. For ''Aspis''

proposed a Gascon etymology ''es pins'' meaning "the pines". The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune. Sources: * Raymond:''
''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, *Orpustan: Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, ''New Basque Toponymy''Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, ''New Basque Toponymy'', Presses universitaires de Bordeaux, 2006, *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 - Aspis
/ref> *Cassini2:

from 1790Cassini Map 1790 - Aspit
/ref> Origins: *Marca:

Pierre de Marca Pierre de Marca (24 January 1594 – 29 June 1662) was a French bishop and historian, born at Gan in Béarn of a family distinguished in the magistracy. His family was known among judicial circles in the 16th century, and maintained the ...

, ''History of Béarn''.

, ''History of Béarn'' *Cartulary:

Cartulary A cartulary or chartulary (; Latin: ''cartularium'' or ''chartularium''), also called ''pancarta'' or ''codex diplomaticus'', is a medieval manuscript volume or roll ('' rotulus'') containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the f ...

of the Abbey of Saint-Jean de SordeCartulary of the Abbey of Saint-Jean de Sorde published in extracts in the proofs of the ''History of Béarn'' by

*Notaries: Notaries of

Labastide-Villefranche Labastide-Villefranche (; eu, Bastidaxarre; oc, La Bastida) 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 commu ...

Notaries of

in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Census: Census of BéarnManuscript from the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Reformation: Reformation of BéarnManuscript from the 16th to 18th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques

History

Paul Raymond noted on page 16 that in 1385 Athos had 19

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 ...

and 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 Sauveterre as did the fief of Aspis as noted on page 15. The villages of Athos and Aspis were united into one commune on 10 January 1842. During the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

the Priest at Athos was murdered in his church and the village adopted the new ideas. Athos is the birthplace of Athos, one of the title characters in the novel ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'' by

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

. The fictional Athos is named after the historical musketeer Armand de Sillègue d'Athos d'Autevielle (1615–1644), youngest son of Adrien de Sillègue, Lord of Athos and Autevielle. Autevielle is another nearby village in the commune of

Autevielle-Saint-Martin-Bideren Autevielle-Saint-Martin-Bideren (; oc, Autivièla, Sent Martin e Vidèren; eu, Autile) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France. Geography Autevielle-Saint-Martin-Bideren i ...

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Inter-communality

The commune is part of five inter-communal structures:Intercommunality of Pyrénées-Atlantiques
, Cellule informatique préfecture 64, consulted on 7 July 2012 * the inter-communal centre for social action of Sauveterre-de-Béarn; * the Communauté de communes du Béarn des Gaves; * the inter-communal association for rivers and of Saleys; * the AEP association of Sauveterre-de-Béarn; * the Energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques;

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 211 inhabitants. From 1793 to 1836 the communes of Athos and Aspis were separate but the above table shows the total for both communes during that period.

Economy

Economic activity is mainly agricultural. The commune is part of the

Appellation d'origine contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bo ...

(AOC) zone of

Ossau-iraty Ossau-Iraty is an Occitan-Basque cheese made from sheep milk. Origin Ossau-Iraty or Esquirrou is produced in south-western France, in the Northern Basque Country and in Béarn. Its name reflects its geographical location, the Ossau Valley in Béa ...

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

There are the houses of Lascampagnes, the consul Gourlat, and of Bouchoô the place where Monsigneur Bouchoô was born. Aspis has a château from the 14th century facing the Gave d'Oloron with a terrace and a door to the garden. There is also the site of an old church and the old school. At Athos there is a church of Romanesque origin in the old fief of ''Moliède d'Athos'' where there was a well-known ferry and ruins of a mill.

Religious heritage

The Church of Saint-Pierre is of Romanesque origin and contains a

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

stoup and a Statue on the Virgin in coloured wood. Behind the

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 pagan ...

is the tomb of Jeanne du Peyrer "Lady of Athos and Aspis" and mother of the musketeer. The renaissance door has a stone carving from the 14th century upside down (it was probably a stone that was reused). The cemetery has the tomb of the design engineer of the Sauveterre bridge and also that of Edmond Gourlat, consul of France and local personality.

Notable people linked to the commune

The birth of the musketeer Athos in the commune is debatable. A plaque near the church says that he was born in the Lassalle house where only parts of walls remain but the village of Autevielle also claims his birth in the fortified house of ''Moliède d'Athos'' which has some remains of strong walls. Athos was the birthplace of Jean-Baptiste Boucho, born in the Bouchoô house in 1797, French

Apostolic vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...

of the

Malay peninsula The Malay Peninsula ( Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The ar ...

Bibliography

*''History of Athos and Aspis'', Alexis Ichas

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athosaspis Communes of Pyrénées-Atlantiques