Excideuil (; ) is a commune in the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...

department in

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...

, southwestern France.

Geography

Excideuil is located in the ''

Périgord Périgord ( , ; ; or ) is a natural region and former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne department, now forming the northern part of the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is divided into f ...

Vert'' area, on a limestone plateau between the upper courses of the rivers Isle and

Auvézère The Auvézère (; Occitan dialect: ''Auvesera'') is a 112 km long river in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France. It is a tributary of the river Isle, which is itself a tributary of the Dordogne. Geography The river begins at above sea ...

. The river

Loue The Loue () is a river of eastern France, a left tributary of the Doubs, which it joins downstream of Dole. It is long. Its source is a karst spring in the Jura mountains near Ouhans, which at least partly receives its water from the Doubs. Th ...

runs through the town. Excideuil is located about from

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

, from

Périgueux Périgueux (, ; or ) is a commune in the Dordogne department, in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Périgueux is the prefecture of Dordogne, and the capital city of Périgord. It is also the seat of ...

, from

Hautefort Hautefort (; ) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It was part of the former province of Périgord. History The ancient fortress dates back to the early Middle Ages, as proved by the first doc ...

and from Tourtoirac. Its built-up area continues into the territory of the adjacent communes Saint-Martial-d'Albarède and Saint-Médard-d'Excideuil.

History

The first reference to Excideuil, as ''Exidolium'' is found in a will document from

Aredius Aredius, also and (25 August 591, at Saint-Yrieix in the Haute-Vienne), was chancellor to Theudebert I, king of Austrasia, and later Abbot of Attane (or Atane, ). He founded the monastery of Attane, which was renamed after his death ''Saint- ...

, also known as Yrieix, dated 572. The town has been referred also as ''Issidor'', ''Excidour'' and ''Excideuilh''. This name is made of the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

word ''ialo'' (meaning "clearing, glade", "place of") suffixed to a radical ''Exito'' (Gaul name) or ''Exitus''. Excideuil was attacked in 1182 around

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

, as mentioned in ''Rerum gallicarum et francicarum scriptores'': :''Richardus, Henrici II filius, a patre Pictavensis Comes institutus, anno 1182 in exercitu Francorum Regis militabat adversus Philippum Flandriae Comitem. Eodem anno, mense julio, pace composita cum Lemovicensi vicecomite, duos ejus filios accepit obsides, et a Petragorico Comite castrum Petragoricum cum propugnaculis solo aequavit. Cum interim tractatum esset cum Engolismensibus et Petragoricensibus, circa Pentecosten Exidolium rediit, et ejusdem castri burgum cepit''. '' Gui d'Excideuil'' is an Old French romance, written in the 12th century, whose text is now lost.

Population

Notable persons

Thomas Robert Bugeaud Thomas Robert Bugeaud, marquis de la Piconnerie, duc d'Isly (15 October 178410 June 1849) was a Marshal of France and Colonial heads of Algeria, Governor-General of Algeria during the French colonization. Born an aristocrat, he has a complex le ...

(1784–1849), Marshal of France and Governor-General of Algeria * Philippe Parrot (1831–1894), painter

Sights

* Château d'Excideuil, 13th-18th century, national heritage site of France

References

Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France: Rerum gallicarum et francicarum scriptores by Dom Michel Jean Joseph Brial

External links

Official website

Official website of the school of Excudeuil
Communes of Dordogne Arrondissement of Périgueux {{Nontron-geo-stub