Citizendia
Your Ad Here

Map of the historical and cultural area of Gascony.
Map of the historical and cultural area of Gascony.
flag of Gascony
flag of Gascony

Gascony (French: Gascogne, pronounced [gaskɔɲ]; Gascon Occitan: Gasconha, pronounced [gasˈkuɲɔ]) is an area of southwest France that constituted a province of France prior to the French Revolution. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Gascon (Gascon; French,) is a dialect of the Occitan language. Occitan ( IPA BrE: /ˈɒksɪtn/ AmE: /ˈɑksəˌtɑn/ known also as Lenga d'òc or Langue d'oc (native name occitan This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Kingdom of France was organised into Provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an In historic references dating from the beginning of the Roman era, it was part of Francia (a south-western division of Austrasia) and became part of the Kingdom of the Franks during the conquests of Clovis I(–481 AD). The Roman Era is a period in Western history when Ancient Rome was the centre of power of the world around the Mediterranean Sea, where Latin was the Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire (imperium Francorum Frankish Kingdom (Latin regnum Francorum, "Kingdom of the Austrasia (rarely Austria, both meaning "eastern land" formed the north-eastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, comprising Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire (imperium Francorum Frankish Kingdom (Latin regnum Francorum, "Kingdom of the Clovis I (c 466 &ndash 27 November 511) was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler

It is currently divided between the Aquitaine région (départements of Landes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, south and west of Gironde, and south of Lot-et-Garonne) and the Midi-Pyrénées région (départements of Gers, Hautes-Pyrénées, southwest of Tarn-et-Garonne, and west of Haute-Garonne). Aquitaine (Aquitània Akitania archaic Guyenne / Guienne (Occitan Guiana) is one of the 26 Regions of France, in the south-western part of France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division Landes ( Occitan: Lanas) is a département in southern France. Pyrénées-Atlantiques ( Gascon: Pirenèus-Atlantics; Basque: Pirinio-Atlantiarrak or Pirinio-Atlantikoak) is a department Gironde (Gironda is a common name for the Gironde Estuary - sound where merge the mouths of the Garonne river and of the Dordogne river - and for Lot-et-Garonne ( Occitan: Òlt e Garona) is a department in the southwest of France named after the Lot and Garonne rivers Midi-Pyrénées ( Occitan: Miègjorn-Pirenèus or Mieidia-Pirenèus) is the largest region of Metropolitan France by area larger The Gers ( French: le Gers, Occitan: Gers) is a department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in the southwest Hautes-Pyrénées ( Occitan: Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus) is a department in southwestern France. Tarn-et-Garonne is a French department in the southwest of France. Haute-Garonne ( Occitan: Nauta Garona; English: Upper Garonne) is a department in the southwest of France named after the

Gascony was historically inhabited by Basque related people and it is home to the Gascon language. The Basques (Euskaldunak are a people who inhabit a region spanning over parts of north-central Spain and southwestern France. Gascon (Gascon; French,) is a dialect of the Occitan language. It is also the land of d'Artagnan, who inspired Alexandre Dumas's character in the Three Musketeers. Charles de Batz-Castelmore Comte d'Artagnan (c Lupiac 1611 - 25 June, Maastricht The Three Musketeers ( Les Trois Mousquetaires) is a Novel by Alexandre Dumas père. It is also home of hero of the play Cyrano de Bergerac (but this character has not much in common with the real Cyrano de Bergerac, who was a Parisian). Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand based on the life of the real Cyrano de Bergerac. Hector Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac (6 March 1619 &ndash 28 July 1655 was a French Dramatist and Duelist who is now best remembered for the many works

Gascony is also famed for its douceur de vivre ("sweetness of life"): its food (Gascony is home to foie gras and Armagnac brandy), its medieval towns and villages locally called bastides nested amidst green rolling hills, its sunny weather, the beauty of its landscape, with the occasional distant views of the Pyrenees mountain range, all contribute to the popularity of Gascony as a tourist destination. Armagnac (aʁmaˈɲak is a distinctive kind of Brandy or Eau de vie produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France Bastides are fortified new towns built in Medieval Languedoc, Gascony and Aquitaine during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries although The Pyrenees (Pirineos French: Pyrénées; Catalan: Pirineus; Occitan: Pirenèus; Aragonese: Perinés Due to rural exodus, Gascony is one of the least populated areas of western Europe, and so it has recently become a haven for stressed urbanites of northern Europe (chiefly France, England, and the Benelux nations) who, in search of quiet and peace of mind, are increasingly buying second homes in Gascony. Rural exodus (or rural flight) is a term used to describe the migratory patterns that normally occur in a region following the mechanisation of Agriculture. The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe that includes three neighboring monarchies, '''Be'''lgium, the '''Ne'''therlands, and

Contents

History

See also: Duke of Gascony
Typical view of the hilly countryside of Gascony, with the Pyrenees mountains in the far distance
Typical view of the hilly countryside of Gascony, with the Pyrenees mountains in the far distance

Aquitania

In pre-Roman times, the inhabitants of Gascony were the Aquitanians (Latin: Aquitani), who may have spoken a language related to modern Basque. The Duchy of Vasconia (sometimes Wasconia) later known as Gascony, was a Merovingian creation a frontier duchy on the The Pyrenees (Pirineos French: Pyrénées; Catalan: Pirineus; Occitan: Pirenèus; Aragonese: Perinés Classical antiquity (also the classical era or classical period) is a broad term for a long period of cultural History centered on the Mediterranean The Aquitanian language was spoken in ancient Aquitaine (approximately between the Pyrenees and the Garonne, the region later known as Gascony Basque ( native name: euskara) is the Language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain

The Aquitanians inhabited a territory limited to the north and east by the Garonne River, to the south by the Pyrenees mountain range, and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean. The Garonne (Garonne in Occitan, Catalan and Spanish: Garona; Garumna is a River in southwest France and northern The Pyrenees (Pirineos French: Pyrénées; Catalan: Pirineus; Occitan: Pirenèus; Aragonese: Perinés The Romans called this territory Aquitania, either from the Latin word aqua (meaning "water"), in reference to the many rivers flowing from the Pyrenees through the area, or from the name of the Aquitanian Ausci tribe (whose name seems related to the Basque root eusk- meaning "Basque"), in which case Aquitania would mean "land of the Ausci". Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. This article is for the French town For the bird see Great auk.

In the 50s BC, Aquitania was conquered by lieutenants of Julius Caesar and became part of the Roman Empire. Events and trends First Triumvirate: a secret pact for mutual advantage between Roman politicians Julius Caesar, Pompey and The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial

Later, in 27 BC, during the reign of Emperor Augustus, the province of Gallia Aquitania was created. Year 27 BC was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Augustus ( Latin: IMPERATOR·CAESAR·DIVI·FILIVS·AVGVSTVS September 23 63 BC – August 19 AD 14) born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, was Gallia Aquitania was far larger than the original Aquitania, as it extended north of the Garonne River, in fact all the way north to the Loire River, thus including the Celtic Gallic people that inhabited the regions between the Garonne and the Loire rivers. The Loire River (lwaʁ in French) is the longest River in France. Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western

These Gallic people (with their Gaulish language) were quite different from the non-Indo-European Aquitanians and Basques. Gaulish or Gallic is the name given to the Celtic language that was spoken in Gaul before the Vulgar Latin of the late Roman Empire became This was a deliberate policy of Rome, which sought to gather people from different ethnic backgrounds into a single province, in order to avoid the development of a regional identity.

In 297, as Emperor Diocletian reformed the administrative structures of the Roman Empire, long claims of the now Romanized descendants of the Aquitanians, who had long desired to be separated from the now also Romanized descendants of the Gallic people inhabiting north of the Garonne, were finally heard and Gallia Aquitania was split into three provinces. Events By Place Roman Empire Galerius conquers Ctesiphon from the Persians however as part of the peace treaty it Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus ( ca. December 22 244 The modern historian Timothy Barnes takes December 22 as his birthdate

The territory south of the Garonne River, corresponding to the original Aquitania, was made a province called Novempopulana (that is, "land of the nine tribes"), while the part of Gallia Aquitania north of the Garonne became the province of Aquitanica I and the province of Aquitanica II. Novempopulania ( Latin for "country of the nine peoples" was one of the provinces created by Diocletian out of Gallia Aquitania, being also The territory of Novempopulana corresponded quite well to what we call now Gascony.

From 297 on, the name "Aquitaine" was never used again for Gascony, despite it having been its original name, and instead became used only for territories north of the Garonne River.

Novempopulana

Novempopulana suffered like the rest of the Western Roman Empire from the invasions of Germanic tribes, most notably the Vandals in 407-409. The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic For the cars see Peugeot 407 and Bristol 407. Events By Place Western Roman Empire Gratianus Events By Place Western Roman Empire Constantine III 's general Gerontius revolts in Hispania, and elevates In 416-418, Novempopulana was delivered to the Visigoths as their federate settlement lands and became part of the Visigoth kingdom of Toulouse. For the Canadian area code see Area code 416/647. For the Assault rifle see Heckler & Koch HK416. Events By place Roman Empire Foundation of the Visigothic Kingdom, Roman Emperor Honorius rewarded his The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest

The Visigoths were defeated by the Franks in 507, and fled into Spain. Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire (imperium Francorum Frankish Kingdom (Latin regnum Francorum, "Kingdom of the For the area code see Area code 507 Events By Place Europe Battle of Vouillé: Clovis I Novempopulana then became part of the Frankish Kingdom like the rest of southern France. Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire (imperium Francorum Frankish Kingdom (Latin regnum Francorum, "Kingdom of the However, Novempopulana was far away from the home base of the Franks in northern France, and was only very loosely controlled by the Franks.

Wasconia

Main article: Duchy of Vasconia

It is then, around 600, that taking advantage of the power vacuum thus created, the Basque clans descended from their refuge in the western Pyrenees and established their hegemony over Novempopulana. The Duchy of Vasconia (also Wasconia, later the Duchy of Gascony) was originally a Frankish march formed in the seventh century to protect the Aquitanian Events By Place World The population of the Earth rises to about 208 million people The Basques (Euskaldunak are a people who inhabit a region spanning over parts of north-central Spain and southwestern France. This is why Novempopulana became known as Vasconia (that is, "land of the Vascones", the Latin word "Vasco" later evolving into the word "Basque"). The word Vasconia evolved into Wasconia, and then into Gasconia (w- often evolved into g- under the influence of Romance languages, cf. The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages, or Neolatin languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family comprising all warrantee and guarantee, William and Guillaume).

Although the Basque clans dominated Gascony, the gradual abandonment of the Basque-related Aquitanian language in favor of a local vulgar Latin, a process which was well under its way, was not reversed. Vulgar Latin (in Latin sermo vulgaris, "folk speech" is a Blanket term covering the popular Dialects and Sociolects of the Latin This local vulgar Latin later evolved into Gascon. Gascon (Gascon; French,) is a dialect of the Occitan language. Quite paradoxically (or logically) the Basques from the French side of the Basque Country traditionally call anyone who does not speak Basque a Gascon.

However, Gascon was heavily influenced by the original Aquitanian language (for example, Latin f- became h-, cf. Latin fortia, French force, Spanish fuerza, Occitan fòrça, but Gascon hòrça). French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Occitan ( IPA BrE: /ˈɒksɪtn/ AmE: /ˈɑksəˌtɑn/ known also as Lenga d'òc or Langue d'oc (native name occitan

Viking invasions (840-982)

Viking raiders conquered several Gascon towns in 842-844, including Bordeaux and Bayonne, from where they were only expelled in 982-986. Events By Place Europe February 14 - Charles the Bald and Louis the German sign a treaty Events By Place Europe Rhodri ''Mawr'' ('the Great' becomes king of Gwynedd. ( Gascon: Bordèu) is a port city in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area at a 2008 estimate Bayonne ( French: Bayonne bajɔn Gascon Occitan and Basque: Baiona) is a city and commune of southwest Events By Place Americas Greenland is discovered by Erik the Red (the first known European contact with North Events By Place Europe March 2 — Louis V becomes King of the Franks.

Their attacks in Gascony may have helped the political disintegration of the Duchy. Their presence nevertheless left a mariner legacy that Basques and Gascons would later exploit in their cod-fishing and whale-hunting activities that would bring them as far as Newfoundland. Newfoundland and Labrador (ˈnuːfɨn(dlənd ən(d ˈlæbrəˌdɔr (Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador is a province of Canada, the tenth and latest to join the Confederation

Geography

The most important towns are :

Economy

Main industries are :

External links

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic