Guyenne

The Guyenne (in Gascon Guiana ) is an area with variable contours according to the times, located in the south-west of France. Its name comes from a popular evolution of the word Aquitaine which passed by the stage " Aguiaine" in XIIe and XIIIe centuries, the " A" initial disappearing little by little (" Aguiaine > Guyenne" in Language of oil and " Aguiana > Guiana" in Gascon). Guyenne is the form of the name Aquitaine which was most used by far by the local populations of XIIIe century at the XVIIIe century. Aquitaine seemed a term more archaïsant and more cultivated when Guyenne was the current name of the province. This old province of the south-west of the France had as a capital Bordeaux and merges with the Aquitaine as an area in the north-eastern north of the Gascogne. The term indicated then the whole of the French possessions of the king of England, after the treated of Paris (1259).

During the anglo-Gascon union, the limits of the duchy of Guyenne varied according to the peace treaties passed between the kings of England and the kings of France, then the vicissitudes of the Guerre One hundred Year old. Thereafter, the province or government of Guyenne was largest of the provinces of the kingdom of France since it included/understood in XVIe century the Bordelais, the Bazadais, the the Limousin, the Périgord, the Quercy, the Rouergue, the Agenais, the Saintonge and the Gascogne, leaving side the Béarn and the Low-Navarre . It is necessary to await the middle of the XVIIe century to see distinguished the Gascogne from Guyenne, whereas before the Gascogne was always regarded as part of Guyenne. Consequently, Guyenne itself was regarded as being composed of the Bordelais, of the Périgord, the Saintonge, the the Limousin, the Quercy and the Rouergue, the remainder of the government being regarded as being the Gascogne. Thereafter, the Saintonge and the the Limousin were detached from this government to make of them separate governments giving to the government of Guyenne and Gascogne the aspect which it had in 1789.

Guyenne today

Today, the term of Guyenne has any more reality neither administrative, nor political. Only the High-Resident of Agen, in the search of an identity, tried to exploit the historical capital “Guyenne” by promoting the “Country of Guyenne” in the part Batch-and-Garonnaise of the valley of the Dropt. However, this meaning is today détrônée by “Country of Dropt” term with tourist vocation.

The term of Guyenne survives in addition:

in company names: Guyenne and Gascogne (large distribution - partner of Crossroads), New Guyenne (network of towns of Guyenne)
in denominations of associations, clubs, etc: League of Guyenne (Tennis), Committee of Guyenne (Bridge), etc

A linguistic entity

However, the name of Guyenne was allotted to the XXe century at the zone speeches of Oc ranging between the linguistic Gascogne and the the linguistic Limousin.

Thus, linguistic Guyenne federates:

the Agen-native (47)
Bergeracois and the black Périgord (Sarladais) (24)
the Quercy (46 & 82)
the Rouergue (12)

If the north of the the Dordogne (24) is the Limousin, the south-west of the Cantal to Bertrande (valley of the Cère) and the South-eastern corner of the Corrèze prolong Guyenne.

Guyenne of Gironde

Acceptance above is distinct from the Petite Guyenne (or Guyenne of Gironde ) corresponding to Of Bordeaux and the Between-two-Seas, linguistically Gascon S, but which, since the Novempopulanie, is administratively turned towards Aquitaine second (thus north) become Guyenne in XIIIe century.

It is in this Guyenne of Gironde that refer the denominations Sauveterre-with-Guyenne, Miramont-with-Guyenne and Lévignac-with-Guyenne.

Guyenne in the History

The old story of Guyenne is not other than the history of Aquitaine.

The duchy of Guyenne

The name of duchy of Guyenne was given to the Duché of Aquitaine when it was reduced by the conquests of the French sovereigns. This name appears for the first time in the Traité of Paris, concluded the April 12th 1229 between Saint Louis and Raymond VII count de Toulouse, which yielded most of the Languedoc to the France and put an end to the Albigensian conflict.

Possession of the kings d' Angleterre of 1188 with 1453, Guyenne is joined together with the field of the King de France after the Bataille of Castillon, which put an end to the Guerre One hundred Year old. Given in prerogative to his/her brother Charles de Valois by Louis XI in 1469, the duchy returned definitively to the French crown to died of this one in 1472.

The province of Guyenne

In 1561, the province, including/understanding Gascogne, Saintonge and the Limousin, is set up in government of Guyenne with for seat Bordeaux. It is then the military government vastest of France (6 744.500 hectares - Béarn and Basque Country not included/understood - is approximately 1/8 of all the country): it extends towards the south until the Spain; its limits in north and the east are consisted the Saintonge, the the Limousin, the Quercy and the Rouergue. The province of Guyenne gathered:

the Of Bordeaux or “Small Guyenne”;
the septentrional part of the Bazadais;
the Périgord;
the Agen-native;
the Quercy;
the Rouergue;
the Condomois.

During the creation of the general information, the first Généralité of Bordeaux is created in 1523. It lost successively countries and elections with the creation of the Généralité of Montauban (Quercy and Rouergue or High-Guyenne) in 1655 and of the Généralité of Auch in 1716 (the Gascogne, which included/understood almost all the territory located between the Garonne and the watershed of the the Pyrenees, in particular the Armagnac, the Landes of Gascogne and the Marsan).

Into 1790, the province of Guyenne is divided into five about complete departments:

the Gironde (in the east of the Garonne);
the Dordogne;
Lot-et-Garonne;
Batch;
Aveyron.

To those will be added the Tarn-et-Garonne, created in 1806, and for which Guyenne will contribute for the three-quarters.

This parcelling out will complete to destroy the last bonds which joined together the Lowone, the Highone and Gascogne.

Etymology

The expression “Guienne” appears at the 13th century, resulting from a corruption of “Aquitaine”: Aquitania - > *Aguidaina - > Aguienne - > Guienne . The C-W communication “Guyenne” appears only after fastening with the kingdom of France.

See too

Etienne Henri d' Escayrac Lauture, colonel of the royal regiments of Guyenne

Related bonds

Gascogne
Acapte
History of High-Guyenne Aquitaine
Guyenne of Gironde

References

Guilhem Pip, “war cries “Guyenne!” and “Holy George!”. The expression of a political identity of the duchy of Aquitaine anglo-Gascon”, the Middle Ages, cxii (2006) p. 263-281.

External bonds

Duchy of Guyenne

Heraldic Duchy of Guyenne.

Regiment of Guyenne

Regiment of Guyenne Vexillologie.
History of the regiment of the queen

Random links: