Gévaudan (; ) is a historical area of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Lozère Lozère (; ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

''. It took its name from the

Gabali The Gabali (Gaulish: *''Gabli'') were a Gauls, Gallic tribe dwelling in the later Gévaudan region during the La Tène culture, Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Gabalos'' or ''Gabalis'' by Julius Caesar, Caesar (mid-1 ...

, a Gallic tribe.

History

After the

conquest of Gaul The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and Brittonic tribes fought to defend their homelands ag ...

, the Romans preserved the capital city of the

, ''Anderitum'', which they renamed ''Gabalum'' (modern Javols).

Middle Ages

In the Gallo-Roman period, Gévaudan was known as ''Pagus Gabalicus''. It was later part of the Kingdom of the Franks, then became part of the Kingdom of Aquitaine, and was placed under the rule of the

Count of Toulouse The count of Toulouse (, ) was the ruler of Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surrounding county from the late 9th century until 12 ...

. In the beginning of the 10th century, Mende had supplanted Javols as religious and administrative capital of the Gévaudan. The western part of Gévaudan constituted the Viscounty of Grèzes. In 1096 the Count of Toulouse, leaving for the

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

, transmitted his rights on the eastern part of Gévaudan to the Bishop of Mende. It was inherited in 1166 by

Alfonso II of Aragon Alfonso II (1–25 March 1157Benito Vicente de Cuéllar (1995)«Los "condes-reyes" de Barcelona y la "adquisición" del reino de Aragón por la dinastía bellónida» p. 630-631; in ''Hidalguía''. XLIII (252) pp. 619–632."Alfonso II el Casto, h ...

. In the 12th century, Adalbert, Bishop of Mende, decided to take advantage of the lack of interest of the nominal rulers of Gévaudan to increase his personal power.

Louis VII of France Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger or the Young () to differentiate him from his father Louis VI, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. His first marriage was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and ...

granted him temporal power over the region by the

Golden Bull A golden bull or chrysobull was a decree issued by Byzantine emperors and monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Description A golden bull was a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors. It was later used by monarchs in Europe ...

of Gévaudan (''Bulle royale du Gévaudan''). Therefore, Gévaudan was the first

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

-speaking area to acknowledge the nominal suzerainty of the king of France. Gévaudan was divided into eight baronies which were in constant rebellion against the Bishop of Mende. According to the 1307 peerage, the Bishop of Mende was granted the title of count of Gévaudan and could mint coins and dispense lower justice. Although being nominally part of

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

, Gévaudan kept its own States General until 1789. During the same period, Gévaudan was a crossroads of pilgrimage trails.

Modern period

In the beginning of the 16th century Gévaudan was extremely wealthy, but the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

ruined the country. The

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

settled in the city around 1550. The area was victim to a series of vicious attacks of people in the 18th century by an unidentified wild animal called the Beast of Gévaudan. Gévaudan ceased to exist after the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. The department of

was created from the former county of Gévaudan.

In popular culture

The Beast of Gévaudan has been the subject of many works of fiction.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gevaudan States and territories established in 1096 States and territories disestablished in 1790 Crown of Aragon Former provinces of France Geography of Lozère History of Occitania (administrative region) Languedoc

History

Middle Ages

Modern period

In popular culture

See also

References