The Rouergue (in Occitan Roergue ) is an old province of the South of the France corresponding roughly to current the Département of Aveyron. After having belonged to the County of Toulouse, it was attached to the Guyenne before being detached about it during the formation of the High-Guyenne province of in 1779. The Gentilé of Rouergue is Rouergat .

Geography

Rouergue is bordering on the Auvergne in north, of the Languedoc in the south and south-west, of the Gévaudan in the east and the Quercy in the west.

Divisions

Rouergue included/understood in particular the Comté of Rodez, as well as the High step (Millau) and Low Walk (Villefranche-with-Rouergue).

Rouergue (with the Agenais, the Quercy and the Périgord) was attached to the general information of Guyenne since 1579, from which the seat initially with Bordeaux had been transferred to Montauban, with a spring restricted into 1716 with the elections of Rouergue and Quercy (Généralité of Montauban).

Joined together with the Quercy in 1779, it formed the High-Guyenne province of where a provincial assembly made up of fifty-two members was established, knowledge:

• the bishop of Rodez, president;
• bishops of Cahors, Vabres and Montauban;
• six members of the clergy;
• sixteen gentlemen;
• thirteen deputies of the cities;
• thirteen deputies of the campaigns.

There was, moreover, two public prosecutors syndics and a secretary archivist. This assembly met every two years with Villefranche-with-Rouergue; she was charged to distribute the contributions and to make the lifting, to take care of it on the workshops of charity, etc One still remembers in Rouergue his efforts and the payments which she made to improve agriculture and industry, as well as a great work of land registration.

With the Revolution, the province was transformed into department, except for the canton of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Valley which was detached during the creation of the Département of Tarn-et-Garonne in 1802.

• ecclesiastical Divisions : The parishes of this province were distributed between the Diocèse of Rodez and that of Vabres.

• legal Divisions : Under the reign of the counts de Rouergue and Rodez, justice was managed there on their behalf by vicars or viguiers. One counted sixteen vigueries in 1349. It was: Peyrusse, Roquecézière, Najac, Villeneuve, Castling-Valsergue, Laguiole, Sauveterre, Saint-Obstruct-with Olt, Saint-Rome-of-Tarn, Verfeil, Saint-Africa, Saint-Antonin, Cassagnes-Bégonhès, Millau, Corripeyre and Villefranche. At the higher level, justice was returned by the seneshal of Rouergue.

In 1789, Rouergue was divided between the Sénéchaussée of Rouergue which sat at Villefranche-of-Rouergue and whose the baillage depended on Millau, and the Sénéchaussée of Rodez (corresponding to the Comté of Rodez).

• tax Divisions : Belonging to the General information of Montauban, Rouergue, Country of election, was divided between the election of Rodez, the election of Villefranche and the election of Millau. The elections of Rodez and Millau belonged to the countries of small Gabelle, while that of Villefranche belonged to the rédimés countries. Although country of election, Rouergue was fixed with the real size.

• States of Rouergue : Rouergue had its states which were assembled regularly every year. To the only counts de Rouergue the right belonged to convene them. After them, the counts of Rodez and the kings who succeeded to them enjoyed this privilege. In the beginning, the States were assembled in Rodez. Later, it were held successively in Millau, Sauveterre, Rooms-Comtaux and Villefranche. In addition to the nobility and the clergy, the consuls of the cities and those of the boroughs and large villages had the right to sit there. It is the bishop of Rodez which chaired. Removed in 1606, then restored in 1611, removed one second time in 1651, they were not restored any more. The elections were substituted to them.

The Pagus of Rutènes

Before the Roman conquest, Rouergue was inhabited by the Rutènes, Rutheni , people Celte of Central Europe arrived towards IVième century before our era. Powerful people, Ruthènes had three principal cities: Segodunum , in Celtic language mountain with rye (Rodez); Condatemagus , city of the confluence (with the district of Embarri, close to Millau), and Carentomagus , city of the parents (Caranton). On all these points one discovered bones, currencies, medals, potteries and other objets d'art and industry which seem to confirm the position of these three Gallic cities.

Neighbors and combined Arvernes, Ruthènes followed them in their forwardings beyond the the Alps and fought in their rows for national independence. Betultich or Bituitos, chief of Arvernes, counted in its army twenty-two thousand archers ruthenes, when, joined to the Allobroges, it went against the consul Quintus Fabius Maximus and battle with the confluence of the the Rhone and the Isere delivered to him, year 121 before the Christian era. One knows that the confederated army was overcome and that part of the country of Ruthènes was included/understood, under the name of Ruthènes provincial, in the Provincia romana, which extended until the Tarn.

One called Ruthènes independent those which lived on left bank of this river; but the latter were not long in undergoing the fate of their brothers. Having taken share with the heroic revolt of Vercingétorix against César, they were overcome and having subjected. Consequently, as the remainder of the Gaulle, all the country of Ruthènes returned under the Roman domination. In the division of Gaules by Auguste, it was included/understood in the Aquitaine, and the Aquitaine first under Valentinien. Rome establishes colonies there, builds there temples, circuses, aqueducts; public highways furrowed the country in all the directions. At the 5th century, one spoke the Latin language there.

It was, says one, Saint Martial which, the first, preached the Évangile in Ruthènes, in year 250. At the 4th century, the Christians were already numerous in Rouergue. However, at the 5th century, Ruth, the Celtic divinity, was still adored there. Saint Mercies undertook to convert these people. “ One day that this one sacrificed to Ruth , known as a historian, Amans appeared and it reproached him its impiété and its excesses; but, indicator that instead of going to the efforts of its zeal it entered in fury against him, it called upon the Lord, and suddenly of thick clouds amoncellent themselves, the thunder thunders, bursts, and the odious show falls in parts. ” At this sight, Ruthènes are thrown to the feet of the saint and require the baptism. However, while making with Gallic the their political rights, the emperor Honorius had imposed exorbitant contributions to them. Mercies repurchased Ruthènes of this tribute. This solicitude completed to gain the hearts to him.

County of Rouergue and county of Rodez

After having belonged to the Roman province of Aquitanian first, Rouergue fu detached by Charles the Bald person of the Duchy of Aquitaine and set up in county with the profit of a branch junior by the house of Toulouse. With died of the countess Jeanne of Toulouse, girl of the last count de Toulouse Raymond VII and marries Alphonse of Poitiers, brother of holy Louis de France, Rouergue was incorporated in the crown of France.

The arrival of the Capétiens caused the abandonment of the old woman seneschalsy of Najac, faithful to the dynasty raymondine, the profit of a new city: Villefranche-with-Rouergue. The capital of the province was not transferred to Rodez, more power station, that with the Revolution.

However, part of Rouergue, which had been left guarantees some by the count of Toulouse Raymond of Saint-Gilles to the Viscount of Millau before leaving to the crusade, was at the origin of the Comté of Rodez which passed to the Armagnacs and which was definitively attached to the crown only under Henri IV, last count de Rodez.

The counts of Rodez enjoyed the regalities, with being able to make beat currency, of raising the tax, creating sergeants, etc With their advent in the county, they were crowned by the bishop of Rodez, assisted dom of Aubrac and abbots of Bonneval, of Bonnecombe, Loc-God and Beaulieu. In addition to the four châtellenies, that they looked like the keys of the province, they had in Rouergue nearly twenty-four castles and a great number of strongholds among which two Viscounts, Peyrebrune and Cadars, and twelve baronnies: Landorre, Estaing, Castelpers, Panat, the Verdun-on-Garonne, Aliramont, Aurelle, Sévérac-the-Castle, Calmont-with-Plancatge, Abrupt Calmont d' Olt and . A seneshal, a judge of the county, a judge of the mountains, four lords of the manor and a judge of bird calls returned justice on their behalf there.

Wars of religion

Already in the Crusade against the Albigensians, Rouergue had seen the majority of its cities, inter alia Millau, Saint-Antonin, Wall-of-Bar, Laguiole and Sévérac, devastated by Simon IV of Montfort (1208-1214). These same cities were the first to be declared for the Réforme in Rouergue. Soon there were reformed churches with Espalion, Villefranche, Saint-Africa, Villeneuve, Peyrusse, Compeyre, Saint-Léons, etc Then, persecution interfering itself, the Protesting S took the weapons. From there long and bloody war which the furies of the League threatened to perpetuate in this country, and which perished more than eighteen thousand Protestants or catholics, without counting the churches which were plundered and devastated, the cities and the villages ransacked or destroyed. With the advent of Henri IV, this country found finally peace.

See too

• List of the counts de Rouergue

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