Poitou

The Poitou (in Poitevin Poetou ) was a French province, including/understanding the current departments of the the Vendée, Two-Sevres and of the Vienna, whose capital was Poitiers.

It gave its name to the Marais poitevin, marsh located in the old gulf of Poitou, on the Western coast of the France, just in the north of La Rochelle.

Geography

Poitou is divided between various geological formations which give different reliefs. In the west (Low-Poitou or the Vendée) and in south-east, are the old solid masses, with the very eroded relief, giving hills, with the cold and siliceous grounds: they are scrap-metal countries. In the center, the calcareous plate of Poitiers, almost flat, goes down from the Seuil of Poitou towards the valley of the the Loire, variable between an altitude from 150 to 100 Mr.

Poitou is a zone of old transition between the Paris basins and Aquitanian: of Language of oc at the 11th century, it is today of Langue of oil; it is also located at the traditional limit of the coverage areas (Ardoise in north, Tuile channel in the south).

History

Battles of the Threshold of Poitou

The Threshold of Poitou, like strategic passage between the Paris basins and Aquitanian, saw being held several important battles:

  • the Bataille of Vouillé (507) victory of the Francs of Clovis over the Visigoths
  • the battles of Poitiers in 732, victory of the Francs of Charles Martel over the Arabs
  • the Bataille of Poitiers (1356), which took place with Nouaillé-Maupertuis, victory of the English ordered by the black Prince against the French of Jean II the Good.
  • the Battle of Moncontour (1569) between the Protestants of the admiral de Coligny and the royal army ordered by the duke of Anjou.

Antiquity

See Pictons

The Middle Ages

Invasions

Several people settled in Poitou: Taifales, Angles, Sarmates; in fact however the Visigoths joined together it with their kingdom of Aquitaine at the 4th century until the battle of Vouillé (see higher).

The counts de Poitiers established a principality starting from IXe century which extended between the Loire and the Pyrenees.

See also the list of the Norman Raids in Poitou and country of Charente

Early middle ages

In 851, the Treated of Angers between the chief of Breton the Erispoé, wire of Nominoé, come near king de Francie Western Charles II the Bald person, in the City of Angers is subjected to the dation hands of Charles, who gives him the badges of the royalty on Brittany of his father, to which are added the Of Rennes one, the Nantes one and the Retz, i.e. country of Rezé.

Poitou thus sees amputee of part of the Low-Poitou, which was located at the borders of southern bank of the the Loire to the Atlantic estuary, populated area of descendants of Pictons and which name themselves the Paydrets (Country of Retz) in language poitevine or Parlanjhe.

At the beginning of XIe century, the duke of Anjou, Foulque Nerra guerroie without slackening the count de Blois and that of Brittany. many times victorious on its adversaries it increases Anjou by conquering the Maine, the Touraine and seizes the Mauges. Once more Poitou sees amputee of territories.

The low Middle Ages

After the marriage of the last Ramnulfides Aliénor of Aquitaine with initially the king of France Louis VII '' the Young person '' then his divorce and its remarriage with Plantagenêt king d' Angleterre, Poitou preserved a certain autonomy. It badly supported to see it called into question, and the nobility poitevine expressed it by many revolts: first of all against the king of England in 1173 - 1179, 1188 and 1194; then in 1219 - 1224 and 1242 against the king of France (of 1241 to 1271, Poitou is the Apanage of Alphonse of Poitiers brother of Louis IX). This revolt was completed with the Bataille of Taillebourg in 1242.

Thereafter and until the end of the Middle Ages, the nobility poitevine took part in all the protest movements of the central capacity.

The House of Lusignan, founded according to the legend by Mélusine and Raymondin, provides several kings de Chypre and of Jerusalem; it dominates a big part of Poitou, and holds a time the county of Angouleme and that of Walk. They were at their time as powerful as were to it the counts of Toulouse.

XVIe, XVIIe and XVIIIe centuries

In XVIe century, the Reform is established in the province, continuation in particular with the passage of Calvin, and in particular in the campaigns. The province is a faithful support of the Protestants during the wars of religion, and is touched hard (seats of Niort, of Poitiers). The Protestants are approximately 90  000 about 1630.

Poitevins train an important part of the colonists come in News-France (Quebec Acadie). In 1790, Poitou gave rise to the departments of the Vendée, the Two-Sevres and the Vienna.

Recent history

See History of the Poitou-Charentes

Others

For the regiment of Old Mode called the regiment of Poitou , to see the 25e regiment of infantry of line

Blasonnement

The seals of the former hereditary counts of Poitou do not present visible armorial bearings to us. It is Guillaume, brother of Henri II, who will carry the first as a count of Poitou, the traditional weapons of the province to the crawling lion. Richard Heart-of-Lion and Othon IV, counts de Poitou will also carry these weapons. It will be the last count of the house of Poitou, Richard de Cornouailles, who will make known to us the colors of the weapons of Poitou and which will popularize their use. Richard carried: of money to the lion of gold mouths crowned to the edge of sand besantée of or". These weapons will enter several large houses, which have the honorary load to raise the banner of Poitou, as for Mauleon or Châtellerault.

Châtellerault gathered the municipal militia of Poitiers behind the banner of Poitou, which will be at the origin of the weapons of the city.

There would still exist of very many representations of these weapons in stained glasses or carved in Poitiers and in all the old province of Poitou. They are described like such (blazon of Poitou, weapons of stronghold) starting from XIIIe century in the roles of weapons. One does not find the former ones, because it is only Aliénor of Aquitaine which fixed the use of the lion crawling as emblem of the Poitou.

After the conquest of Poitou by Philippe Auguste, the house of Poitou (through Plantagenêt) recognized not this confiscation and continued to use its traditional weapons with the red lion. Thus, Richard, count de Poitou and of Cornouailles, brother of the king Henri III, carried, according to the heraldist Mathieu Paris: " Scutum album, leo guleus, bordur will nigra besantée of or" (ecu of money to a lion of mouths, the edge of sand besantée of or".

French side, holy king Louis allotted Poitou in prerogative to his/her Alphone brother, who, become count apanagist of the province had as armorial bearings:

“Left France and Castille. Alias, Left with I sown azure of flowers of gold lily, to II of mouths sown of gold castles”

These weapons were the personal weapons of Alphonse, of broken France of Castille (gold castles on bottom of red), like all wire of Louis VIII '' the Lion '' and of Blanche of Castille (Robert, count d' Artois, broke the weapons of France of a lambel of mouths charged with gold castles; Charles of Anjou broke by a edge also charged with gold castles).

Alphonse of France is deceased without posterity in 1271 and the county of Poitou made return to the crown.

Others Fils of France were then apanagists of Poitou; they carried a whole ecu " of sown azure of flowers of lily of or" with a crack.

- Philippe, wire of Philippe the Beautiful one and future king Philippe V: " of sown azure of flowers of gold lily charged with a lambel with 5 hanging componé"

- Charles de Valois (future Charles V): " of sown azure of flowers of gold lily to the edge of gueules"

- Jean de Valois, duke of Berry: " of sown azure of flowers of gold lily to the engrêlée edge of gueules".

Jean de Berry is, in XIVe century, the origin of the construction of various buildings in Poitiers of which law courts and the Maubergeon tower. Whereas in the first, where justice in the name of the royal capacity went, it made carve its weapons and those of the king his brother, in the second, which was the feudal center of the county of Poitou (where it received the homages of its vassal), it made carve armorial bearings for the county: one ecu sown of 11 castles laid out 3,2,3,2,1. The shape of the castles number of this carved ecu was that of the Castilian castles. Fault of knowing of it the origin, the men of XVIe and XVIIe century hesitated quickly between a tower and a castle. One reads thus in Jean of $the Hague, in 1581: of chequered mouths of turns or gold castles. In 1610, one finds in frontispiece of the Habits of Poitou, an escutcheon where appear of the turns. The presentation is not very gracious; they are posed three in top of the ecu (as a chief) and two bellow (at a peak). In 1659, whereas until now, the number of revolutions was not fixed, Finé of Brianville, written author of small a armorial: " Poitou: Of mouths with 5 gold turns in saltire . This new provision will be reproduced in several works and on the stamped paper of the general information of Poitiers of 1740 to 1748.

These variations of the weapons of Poitou found echo near the Commission of the Armorial bearings of the mode of Vichy, which allotted to the province five castles gold on red bottom ( of mouths with five gold castles).

However during the history, the weapons with the red lion of Poitou did not fall into the lapse of memory, they were used as a basis for the heraldic weapons of the houses (marshals and seneshals of Poitou) and of the towns of Châtellerault, Mauléon and of Poitiers, capital of Poitou. This last city, irony of the history, even preserved the besantée version of prince de Cornouailles, with a chief with the gold lilies of kings de France, thus mixing the weapons with the two enemies on his blazon.

Culinary specialities

Entries

Cheeses

  • Chabichou (of Montbernage in the beginning)

  • Square of Poitou
  • curds S Dairy product to be eaten in dessert with sugar, of Vendean origin

Cake X

Wines and spirits

  • cream of angelica

  • kayouski
  • pictavi (bitter poitevin)
  • Wine of the Haut-Poitou, which was reorientated towards a production of quality.

Delicacies and small cakes

  • angelica of Niort;

    • cassemuseaux
  • ;
  • almond-flavored heart;
  • heart of flower of orange tree;
  • crunching;
  • slope slopes of Saint-Hilaire;
  • lenses (Dragee S with the chocolate);
  • Macaroon S of Lusignan, Montmorillon;
  • Nougatine S of Poitou;
  • Orangine chocolate;
  • Raymondin S of Lusignan.

Poitevins famous or " célèbres"

Animals

  • Pedigree dog of the Haut-Poitou: Poitevin. It is used with the crossing of Chien S as hunting. Hunting of the Castle of Cheverny.

  • Donkey of Poitou: Crossing of a ass and a Horse.
  • Fedon is the result of the crossing of a donkey of Poitou and a she-ass

Regional language

The poitevin, the parlanjhe , is a Romance Langue pertaining to the family of the languages of oil ( language of yes ) as well as the French, the Saintongeais or the Gallo:

  • cagouilles/the lumas (snails)
  • the cinse (floorcloth)
  • éloise (flash)
  • aeve (water)
  • gour (quiet river ex: Niort)
  • routin (way) Separates
  • draule (child, boy)/drauless (girl)
  • has tae (Hello/hello)
  • çhés fàetes (Goodbye)
  • cheu (to fall)
For more details, to see poitevin .

See too

Related articles

  • the List of the counts de Poitiers for a list of Counts de Poitou.
  • the Poitou-Charentes for the current area including/understanding Poitiers.
  • the official site of tourism in Two-Sevres HTTP: /www.tourisme-deux-sevres.com
  • the List of the Viscounts of Thouars for the Viscount of Thouars.

External bonds

  • Poitou-Charentes Site of the District council of Poitou-Charentes.
  • Observatory of the environment in Poitou-Charentes
  • Water in Poitou-Charentes
  • the flag of Poitou historical and cultural Flags of the Poitou-Charentes.
  • the blazon of Poitou Blazon and armorial bearings of the provinces of France of the west.
  • the language poitevine Site of Vianney Pivetea.
  • the language poitevine Site of Laurent Abraham.
  • the identity poitevine.
  • Gate of Charente the Angoumois in all its states.

Sources

Random links:Condados históricos de Inglaterra | Ettendorf | Scieurac-and-Flourès | SP Tre Warp end | History of Sancerrois | White Trash, Two Heebs and has Bean