County Of Razès
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The County of Razès was a feudal jurisdiction in
Occitania Occitania is the historical region in Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasses much of the southern third of France (except ...
, south of the County of Carcassonne, in what is now
Southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...
. It was founded in 781, after the creation of the Kingdom of Aquitania, when
Septimania Septimania is a historical region in modern-day southern France. It referred to the western part of the Roman province of '' Gallia Narbonensis'' that passed to the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septimania was ceded to their king, Theod ...
was separated from that state.


History

The county had its seat in ''Rhedae'', a Roman and later
Visigoth The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...
town conquered by the
Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
in 756, together with Septimania. In 781
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
created the Kingdom of
Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...
for his infant son
Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...
. About 790 he sent his first cousin
William of Gellone William of Gellone ( 755 – 28 May 812 or 814), the medieval William of Orange, was the second Duke of Toulouse from 790 until 811. In 804, he founded the abbey of Gellone. He was canonized a saint in 1066 by Pope Alexander II.
to be the count of Toulouse and the duke of Septimania. After the conquest of Barcelona in 801, Bera was appointed Count of Barcelona by Louis of Aquitaine and Charlemagne. He delegated the two counties, Razès and Confluent, to his son
Guillemundus Guillemundus (also ''Guillemó'') (died 827) was count of Razès and Conflent, in what is now southern France. He was the son of Bera, Count of Barcelona. He received these counties from delegation of his father in 812. Guillemundus retained th ...
in around 820. Guillemundus rebelled against
Bernard of Septimania Bernard (or Bernat) of Septimania (795–844), son of William of Gellone and cousin of Charlemagne, was the Duke of Septimania and Count of Barcelona from 826 to 832 and again from 835 until his execution, and also Count of Carcassonne from 837. H ...
, who succeeded his father, William of Gellone, as count of Toulouse and Duke of Septimania. Gillemundus was defeated and went into exile in Córdoba. Razès and Conflent went to Bernard. Bernard was deposed in 832 by Pepin's father Louis the Pious, and his lands assigned to
Berengar the Wise Berengar, called the Wise (, ), was the duke or count of Toulouse (814–835) and duke (or margrave) of Septimania (832–835). He held the County of Barcelona concomitantly with Septimania. Berengar was a member of the family of the Unrochids. ...
who had helped subdue Bernard of Septimania and Pepin. Berengar died in 835, and Bernard's territories were returned to him. Pepin died in 838 and his father Louis the Pious in 840. That same year, Pepin's son Pepin II was "elected" king by the nobles of Aquitaine (despite the fact Louis the Pious had granted the territory to his youngest son, Charles the Bald). So a dispute developed between Pepin II and King Charles the Bald. Bernard I of Septimania joined on the side of Pepin II. After he was captured at the Battle of Toulouse in 844, Charles the Bald ordered Septimania's execution in May 844. So, in 844, Argila, son of Bera and brother of Guillemundus, was restored in Razès and Conflent. He died shortly afterwards, to be succeeded by Bera II and then by the latter's son,
Miro the Elder Miro, called the Old or the Elder (in Catalan, ''Miró el Vell'') was the count of Conflent from 870 and Rosselló (Roussillon) from 878 until his death in 896. He was the son of Sunifred I, count of Barcelona, Urgell, Cerdanya, and Besalú, a ...
. Miro was deposed after rebelling against
Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during t ...
. At around 850 Razès was united to the county of Carcassonne.


Rhedae and Rennes-le-Château

Louis Fédié (1815–1899), the 19th-century author, amateur historian and president of the ''Société des Arts et Sciences'' in
Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...
, popularised the claim that ''Rhedae'' was the village of
Rennes-le-Château Rennes-le-Château (; ) is a commune approximately 5 km (3 miles) south of Couiza, in the Aude department in the Occitanie region in Southern France. This hilltop village is known internationally; it receives tens of thousands of vis ...
in his 1880 book ''Le Comté de Razès et le diocèse d'Alet''. His 19th-century identification is widely disputed by professional French archaeologists and historians, and the precise location of ''Rhedae'' remains unknown. It was probably near modern Quillan, which is a major crossroads town about 20 kilometers south of Limoux in the heart of the ancient County of Razès, now in Aude . Putnam and Wood have noted the difficulty in understanding how the name ''Rhedae'' could have been changed to Rennes-le-Château; and ''Rhedae'' was cited as being "located at the crossing point of four major roads: how could this possibly be the case at Rennes-le-Château on its isolated hilltop?"Putnam and Wood, page 88; citing Jean Fourié, ''L'Histoire de Rennes-le-Château, antérieure à 1789'' (Esperaza: Éditions Jean Bardoux, 1984).


See also

*
Aude Aude ( ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Southern France, located in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region and named after the river Aude (river), Aude. The departmental council also calls it " ...
*
Rennes-le-Château Rennes-le-Château (; ) is a commune approximately 5 km (3 miles) south of Couiza, in the Aude department in the Occitanie region in Southern France. This hilltop village is known internationally; it receives tens of thousands of vis ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Razes, County Of States and territories established in the 780s States and territories disestablished in the 850s Medieval Occitania Catalan nobility