The first part of the name of the province of Languedoc-Roussillon comes from the Frenchlangue d'oc ("language ofoc"), and is also ahistorical region. In southern France, the word foryes was theOccitan language wordoc. Prior to the 16th century, the central area of France was referred to asLanguedoil, there the word foryes wasoil inOld French, later becomingoui. These old place names referred to the areas where Occitan and Old French were spoken.[3] TheEdict of Villers-Cotterets made French the official national language in 1539.Roussillon was the name of the medievalCounty of Roussillon.
Map of the Governments of Languedoc, Foix and Roussillon byRigobert Bonne (1727–1795), Paris, circa 1783The province of Languedoc within its 18th century limits and the current communes and departments.
They made a pact with the Romans from the 1st century BC.Narbonne was created to pacify the province in 118 BC and became the capital of theNarbonnaise.[8]
At the beginning of the 5th century, theVandals invaded the province and then theVisigoths settled there. The Narbonne region, like theIberian Peninsula, remained Visigothic until its conquest by theMoors between 719 (fall of Narbonne [fr])[9] and 725 (fall ofCarcassonne and Nîmes).[10] Narbonne then became the capital of one of the five provinces ofAl-Andalus led by awali for nearly forty years.[11]
The fight againstCatharism and theAlbigensian Crusade[17] led to the extinction of the dynasty of the Counts of Toulouse. The province was united to theKingdom of France in 1271, with the exception ofMontpellier, which remained under the influence of theHouse of Barcelona and then of Majorca, and which was not attached to the Kingdom of France until 1349. From there was born the royal Languedoc which persisted until theFrench Revolution.
The region is experiencing the strongest demographic growth in France, and could have around 3,300,000 inhabitants by 2030,[21] an increase of 36% compared to 2000. This increase is mainly due tointernal migration, natural increase being rather low.[22]
Pyrénées-Orientales has the largest proportion of elderly people (12.10% over 75).Gard andHérault are the "youngest" departments, but they are destined to "age" considerably in the coming years. By 2020, the number of people aged over 75 is expected to increase by 12% across the region.
68.7% of Languedoc-Roussillon was formerly part the province ofLanguedoc: the departments ofHérault,Gard,Aude, the extreme south and extreme east ofLozère, and the extreme north ofPyrénées-Orientales. The former province of Languedoc also extends over what is now theMidi-Pyrénées region, including the old capital of LanguedocToulouse.
17.9% of Languedoc-Roussillon was formerly the province ofGévaudan, now the department of Lozère. A small part of the former Gévaudan lies inside the currentAuvergne region. Gévaudan is often considered to be a sub-province inside the province of Languedoc, in which case Languedoc would account for 86.6% of Languedoc-Roussillon.
13.4% of Languedoc-Roussillon, located in the southernmost part of the region, is a collection of five historicalCatalanpays, from east to west:Roussillon,Vallespir,Conflent,Capcir, andCerdagne, all of which are now part of the department ofPyrénées-Orientales. These pays were part of theAncien Régimeprovince of Roussillon, owning its name to the largest and most populous of the five pays, Roussillon. "Province of Roussillon and adjacent lands of Cerdagne" was indeed the name that was officially used after the area became French in 1659, based on the historical division of the five pays between thecounty of Roussillon (Roussillon and Vallespir) and thecounty of Cerdagne (Cerdagne, Capcir, and Conflent).
Llívia is a town of Cerdanya, province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain, that forms a Spanish exclave surrounded by French territory (department of Pyrénées-Orientales).
At the regional elections in March 2004, thesocialist mayor ofMontpellierGeorges Frêche, defeated its center-right president. Since then, Georges Frêche has embarked on a complete overhaul of the region and its institutions. The flag of the region, which displayed thecross of Languedoc as well as theFlag of Roussillon (theSenyera), was changed for a new flag with no reference to the old provinces, except in terms of the colors (red and yellow), which are the colors of both Languedoc and all the territories from the formerCrown of Aragon.
Georges Frêche also wanted to change the name of the region, wishing to erase its duality (Languedoc vs. Roussillon) and strengthen its unity. Thus, he wanted to rename the region Septimanie (Septimania).Septimania was the name created by the Romans at the end of theRoman Empire for the coastal area corresponding quite well to present day Languedoc-Roussillon (including Roussillon, but not including Gévaudan), and used in the earlyMiddle Ages for the area. This name, however, has not been in use since the 9th century, and it sounded quite odd to French people.[27] Strong opposition of the population led to Georges Frêche giving up on his idea. He declared that he still believed in it but could not go ahead without a mandate.
On the other hand, there are some who would like to merge the Languedoc-Roussillon andMidi-Pyrénées regions, thus reunifying the old province ofLanguedoc, and creating a large region. It seems probable that Georges Frêche, with his idea of a "Septimanie" region, would not support such plans, although political leaders inBéziers,Narbonne, and especiallyNîmes, would probably support such a merger, hostile as they are toMontpellier, which was chosen as the capital of Languedoc-Roussillon instead of their own city, and which they accuse ofhegemony.[citation needed]
Prior to the 20th century,Occitan was the language spoken in Languedoc, andCatalan was the language spoken in Roussillon. Both have been under pressure from French. In 2004, research conducted by the Government of Catalonia showed that 65% of adults over the age of 15 in Roussillon could understand Catalan whereas 37% stated they were able to speak it.[28]
In recent years there have been attempts at reviving of both languages, including Catalan-medium schooling through theLa Bressola schools.
Occitan literature – still sometimes called Provençal literature – is a body of texts written in Occitan in what is nowadays the South of France. It originated in the poetry of the eleventh- and twelfth-century troubadours, and inspired the rise of vernacular literature throughout medieval Europe.
TheRomantic music composerDéodat de Séverac was born in the region, and, following his schooling in Paris, returned to the region to compose. He sought to incorporate the music indigenous to the area in his compositions.
The Languedoc-Roussillon region is dominated by 740,300 acres (2,996 km2) ofvineyards, three times the combined area of the vineyards inBordeaux and the region has been an important winemaking centre for several centuries. Grapevines are said to have existed in the South of France since thePliocene period - before the existence ofHomo sapiens. The first vineyards of Gaul developed around two towns:Béziers andNarbonne. TheMediterranean climate and plentiful land with soil ranging from rocky sand to thick clay was very suitable for the production ofwine, and it is estimated that one in ten bottles of the world's wine was produced in this region during the 20th century (Robinson 1999:395). Despite this enormous quantity, the area's significance was often overlooked by scholarly publications and commercial journals, largely because very little of the wine being produced was classified under anappellation contrôlée until the 1980s (Joseph 2005:190).
Several entrepreneurs such as Robert Skalli and James Herrick drastically changed the face of the region, planting more commercially viablegrape varieties and pushing for new AOC classifications. While the AOC system has origins in the 15th century, the Languedoc-Roussillon has some appellations like theCabardès which have existed by law only since 1999 (Joseph 2005:190).
The region is the largest contributor to the European Union's glut (dominance of supply over demand) of wine known as thewine lake.[29]
The Languedoc-Roussillon region has adopted amarque to help market its products, in particular, but not limited to, wine. TheSud de France (Southern France) marque was adopted in 2006[30] to help customers abroad not familiar with theAppellation system to recognise those wines that originated in the L-R area,[31] but the marque is also used for other products, includingcheeses,olive oils and pies.[32]
Languedoc-Roussillon has been a major center ofRugby league in France since the sport was introduced to the country in the 1930s. The region is also home to the rugby union teamsAS Béziers Hérault,RC Narbonne andUSA Perpignan. Since the following years of the retirement of this region, the popularity has gone down.
Montpellier is home toMontpellier HSC, which was founded in 1974 and plays in theLigue 1, the French top division. It won the French Championship after the 2011/12 season. Home matches are played at the Stade La Mosson, named after the area where it is located, with a capacity of 31,250. It was built in 1998.
Paul Valéry (1871–1945), writer, philosopher, poet and epistemologist.
Claude Simon (1913–2005), writer, born inMadagascar, was brought up inPerpignan and throughout his life showed a real attachment to the Catalan land. He spent part of his last years in his home inSalses-le-Château.
Albert Dubout (1905–1976) studied at theSchool of Fine Arts inMontpellier and became the illustrator of many national newspapers, then the poster designer and designer. He very often parodied the little train linking Montpellier toPalavas-les-Flots where a museum is dedicated to him.[33]
^Lauranson-Rosaz, Christian. “Les Guillelmides : une famille de l’aristocratie d’empire carolingienne dans le Midi de la Gaule (VIIIe-Xe siècles)”. Macé, Laurent.Entre histoire et épopée. Les Guillaume d’Orange (IXe-XIIIe siècles): Hommage à Claudie Amado. Toulouse: Presses universitaires du Midi, 2006. (pp. 45-81) Web.http://books.openedition.org/pumi/36238.
^Pala, Marc (2008).L'ancienne frontière: entre mythe et histoire, un espace de l'entre-deux (in French). Parc naturel régional de la Narbonnaise en Méditerranée.ISBN978-2-9515804-5-9.
^Universalis, Encyclopædia."TRAITÉ DES PYRÉNÉES".Encyclopædia Universalis (in French). Retrieved6 April 2022.
^Abitbol, Michel (2013). "6 - Les premiers pas du judaïsme ashkénaze".Histoire des Juifs (in French). Paris. p. 138. Retrieved6 April 2022 – viaCairn.info.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
