Vendômois

The district of Vendôme, in the north of the Loir-et-Cher, on both sides of the Dormouse, is looked today like a traditional country: Vendômois.

The identity of this territory plunges more its roots in a past than thousand-year-old: a pagus of the Early middle ages, a feudal county (IXe-XVIe century), then duchy (XVIe-XVIIIe century) and election of Old Mode (XVIIIe century) of Vendôme. This territory thus seems a typical example of these districts, and traditional countries, of which the contemporary identity takes root in a long story, but more still in the patrimonial identity drawn from erudite work and the monuments which preserved the memory of it.

If its historical identity is undeniable, its astonishing geographical diversity increases its representativeness as a counterexample of the natural countries emphasized by the geographers vidaliens of the beginning of the XXe century. The case of Vendômois, at the same time country historically made up and spaces geographical heterogeneous formed on both sides of the valley of the Dormouse, with the margin of the natural countries which frame it, illustrates moreover the diversity of France, itself: " a country of country drawing its identity from its single diversity, and building its unit on the richness and the complementarity of its différences" (Revel).

The identity or the traditional perception of Vendômois was installation, under its current form, only during XIXe and XXe centuries. It finds the essence of its roots in a process of exploration of the territory, study, manufacture and even of invention of passed through local scholars, gathered soon within the archaeological Société of Vendômois (1862). Their erudite work was quickly popularized, through a series of publications to more or less tourist vocation, contributing to set up imaginary inheritance and high places of the local past.

This identity was perceived since the middle of the XIXe century like a true cultural heritage, later like an asset of the local economy. The past of Vendômois is illustrated besides by a very rich architectural heritage: abbey of the Trinity of Vendôme, feudal castle of Lavardin, keep of Fréteval, churches with frescos of Lavardin, Montoire and Saint-Jacques-of-Guérets, etc

The memory of Pierre de Ronsard, poet and humanistic born in Couture in 1524, where see its native house and the lying ones of his/her parents, plane on Bas-Vendômois and the drill of Gastines. Bas-Vendômois is alleurs become the “Pays of Ronsard” within the framework of the promotion of the tourist richnesses of the district of Vendôme (Blue Guides).

The identity of this territory is not that vendômoise, it is also percheronne by the Perche vendômois, mancelle by the Bas-Vendômois and them Vaux Dormouse, tourangelle by the Forêt of Gastines and the tourangelle Gâtine, finally blésoise and even somewhat orléanaise, beauceronne and even dunoise by the Petite Beauce. Concerning the Old Mode, Manceaux remember that Bas-Vendômois belonged to the diocese of Mans, Orléanais which the election of Vendôme raised of the general information of Orleans.

The identity vendômoise takes part of a very local history, but it returns per moment to the history of the House of France, Xe as in XVIe century, and even today since Jean of Orleans, descendant of Henri IV, also honors him to carry this title. If Lavardin claims since 1957 under “French of the villages of France”, Vendômois could him be looked at, as supported it Gabriel Plat (1877-1950), like “French of the countries of Old France”.

Bibliography:

- Daniel Schweitz, " Traditional Identity of Vendômois: work of local scholarship to the recognition of a country of Old France (XVIIIe-XXe century) " , Vendôme, Editions of the Seek-Moon, 2008; id., " History of the identities of country in Touraine (XVIe-XXe century) " , Paris, Harmattan, 2001,463-p. - XXVII p. of pl.

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