The term Languedoc originated to describe a cultural region that was not necessarily politically unified. After the decline of theCarolingian Empire political rule fragmented into small territorial divisions.[1]
The year 1359 marked a turning point in the history of the province.[3] The threebailiwicks (sénéchaussées) ofBèucaire,Carcassona andTolosa had the status ofbonnes villes (towns granted privileges and protection by the king of France in return for providing a contingent of men at arms). In that year, the three entered into a perpetual union, after which their contribution of royal officers was summoned jointly rather than separately for each of the three sénéchaussées.[4][5][6][7]
Towards the end of 14th century, the term "country of the three seneschalties" (pays des trois sénéchaussées), later to become known as Languedoc, designated the two bailiwicks of Bèucaire-Nîmes andCarcassona, and the eastern part ofTolosa (Toulouse), retained under theTreaty of Brétigny. At that time, theCounty of Foix, which belonged to the seneschal of Carcassona until 1333 before passing to Toulouse, ceased to belong to Languedoc. At this time, the Duchy of Languedoc and the Spanish Duchy of Gandia (of Osuna) became one under the marriage of the two heirs. Later, Duke of Langeuedoc became Governor of Languedoc and Provence; as of 2024 the title is held by the son of the Late Dutchess of Gandia and Prince Obolensky Arnaud Henry Salas-Perez; though the governor role does not exist anymore, title of Duke of Languedoc et Lavandou still remains.
In 1542, the province was divided into twogénéralités: Toulouse for Haut-Languedoc, and Montpellier for Bas-Languedoc. This lasted until theFrench Revolution in 1789. From the 17th century onward, there was only oneintendance for the whole of Languedoc, with its seat in Montpellier.
Part of the territory whereOccitan was spoken came to be calledlangue d'oc,Lengadòc or Languedoc.
Thegouvernement of Languedoc (including Gévaudan, Velay, and Vivarais) among the formergouvernements of France.Toulouse (1650), capital of Languedoc.
The traditional provinces of the kingdom of France were not formally defined. A province was simply a territory of common traditions and customs, but it had no political organization. Today, when people refer to the old provinces of France, they are referring to thegouvernements as they existed in 1789, before theFrench Revolution.Gouvernements were military regions established by the Crown in the middle of the 16th century; their territories closely matched those of the traditional provinces. However, in some cases, small provinces were merged with a large one into a singlegouvernement, sogouvernements are not exactly the same as the traditional provinces.
Historically, the region was called theCounty of Toulouse, a county independent from the kings of France. The County of Toulouse was made up of what would later be called Languedoc, but it also included the province ofQuercy (now thedépartement ofLot and the northern half of thedépartement ofTarn-et-Garonne) and the province ofRouergue (now thedépartement ofAveyron), both to the northwest of Languedoc. At some times it included the province ofAgenais (now the eastern half of thedépartement ofLot-et-Garonne) to the west of Languedoc, the province ofGévaudan (nowdépartement ofLozère), the province ofVelay (now the central and eastern part of thedépartement ofHaute-Loire), the southern part of the province ofVivarais (now the southern part of thedépartement ofArdèche), and even all the northern half ofProvence. After the French conquest the entire county was dismantled, the central part of it being now called Languedoc.
Thegouvernement of Languedoc was created in the mid-16th century. In addition to Languedoc proper, it included the three small provinces ofGévaudan,Velay, andVivarais (in its entirety), these three provinces being to the northeast of Languedoc. Some people also consider that the region aroundAlbi was a traditional province, calledAlbigeois (now thedépartement ofTarn), although it is most often considered as being part of Languedoc proper. The provinces ofQuercy andRouergue, despite their old ties withToulouse, were not incorporated into thegouvernement of Languedoc. They were attached to thegouvernement ofGuienne and its far-away capitalBordeaux. This decision was probably intentional, to avoid reviving the independently spirited County of Toulouse. In the rest of this article,Languedoc refers to the territory of thisgouvernement of Languedoc.
The province of Languedoc covered an area of approximately 42,700 km2 (16,500 sq mi) in the central part of southern France, roughly the region between the riverRhône (border withProvence) and theGaronne (border withGascony), extending northwards to theCévennes and theMassif Central (border withAuvergne).
As the center of theCounty of Toulouse and theregionalparlement,Toulouse is often considered the "capital" of Languedoc. On maps (both ancient and modern) showing the provinces (i.e.,gouvernements) of France in 1789, it is always marked as such. However, the intricate entanglement of administrations and jurisdictions permittedMontpellier to also claim that distinction. In the 18th century, the monarchy clearly favored Montpellier, a city much smaller than Toulouse, with less history, and with fewer autonomous local authorities such as Toulouse'sparlement andcapitoulate.
The governors of Languedoc resided inPézenas, near to the Mediterranean coast, away fromToulouse but close toMontpellier. In time they had increased their power well beyond military matters, and had become the real administrators and executive power of the province, a trend seen in the othergouvernements of France, but particularly acute in Languedoc, where theduke of Montmorency, governor of Languedoc, even openly rebelled against the king, then was defeated and beheaded in Toulouse in 1632 by the order ofRichelieu. The kings of France became fearful of the power of the governors, so after KingLouis XIV (the Sun King) they had to reside inVersailles and were forbidden to enter the territory of theirgouvernement. Thus thegouvernements became hollow structures, but they still carried a sense of the old provinces, and so their names and limits have remained popular until today.[citation needed]
For administrative purposes, Languedoc was divided in twogénéralités, thegénéralité of Toulouse and thegénéralité of Montpellier, the combined territory of the two generalities exactly matching that of thegouvernement of Languedoc. At the head of a generality was anintendant, but in the case of Languedoc there was only oneintendant responsible for both generalities, and he was often referred to as theintendant of Languedoc, even though technically speaking he was in fact theintendant of the generality of Toulouse andintendant of the generality of Montpellier. The generality of Toulouse is also referred to as Upper Languedoc (Haut-Languedoc), while the generality of Montpellier, down to the level of the sea, is referred to as Lower Languedoc (Bas-Languedoc). Theintendants of Languedoc resided in Montpellier, and they had a sub-delegate in Toulouse. Montpellier was chosen on purpose to diminish the power of Toulouse, whoseparlement was very influential, and which symbolized the old spirit of independence of thecounty of Toulouse. Theintendants replaced the governors as administrators of Languedoc, but appointed and dismissed at will by the king, they were no threat to the central state inVersailles. By 1789 they were the most important element of the local administration of the kingdom.
For judicial and legislative matters, Languedoc was overseen by theParlement of Toulouse, founded in the middle of the 15th century. It was the firstparlement created outside of Paris by the kings of France in order to be the equivalent of theParlement of Paris in the far-away southern territories of the kingdom. The jurisdiction of theParlement of Toulouse included the whole of the territory of thegouvernement of Languedoc, but it also included the province ofRouergue, most of the province ofQuercy, and a part ofGascony. TheParlement of Toulouse was the supreme court of justice for this vast area of France, the court of last resort whose rulings could not be appealed, not even to theParlement of Paris. TheParlement of Toulouse could also create case law through its decisions, as well as interpret the law. It was also in charge of registering new royal edicts and laws, and could decide to block them if it found them to be in contravention with the liberties and laws of Languedoc.
Finally, for purposes of taxation, Languedoc was ruled by the States of Languedoc, whose jurisdiction included only Languedoc proper (andAlbigeois), but notGévaudan,Velay, andVivarais, which kept each their own provincial states until 1789. Languedoc proper was one of the very few provinces of France which had the privilege to decide over tax matters, the kings of France having suppressed the provincial states in most other provinces of the kingdom. This was a special favor from the kings to ensure that an independently spirited region far-away fromVersailles would remain faithful to the central state. The States of Languedoc met in many different cities, and for some time they established themselves inPézenas, but in the 18th century they were relocated definitively toMontpellier, where they met once a year, until 1789.
24.8% of its former territory lay in theMidi-Pyrénéesrégion, capital cityToulouse, covering thedépartement ofTarn, as well as the eastern half ofHaute-Garonne, the southeast ofTarn-et-Garonne, and the northwest and northeast ofAriège, which account for 23.4% of the territory ofMidi-Pyrénées. The remaining 76.6% was made ofQuercy andRouergue (of which was talked above), as well as the province ofCounty ofFoix (which had been a vassal of thecounty ofToulouse in the Middle Ages), several small provinces of thePyrenees mountains, and a large part ofGascony.
13% lay in theRhône-Alpesrégion, covering thedépartement ofArdèche, which accounted for 12.7% of the territory ofRhône-Alpes.
6.7% lay in theAuvergnerégion, covering the central and eastern part of thedépartement ofHaute-Loire, which accounted for 11% of the territory of the modernAuvergnerégion.
In 2016, the French regions were reduced in number, withLanguedoc-Rousillon andMidi-Pyrénées merging to formOccitanie, containing over 80% of historicLanguedoc, andAuvergne andRhône-Alpes merging toAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes, with just under a fifth of the historicrégion.
Typical view of the mountainousCévennes area in the thinly-populated interior of Languedoc: plateaus (theCausses) with deep river canyons
On the traditional territory of the province of Languedoc there live approximately 3,650,000 people (as of 1999 census), 52% of these in theLanguedoc-Roussillonrégion, 35% in theMidi-Pyrénéesrégion, 8% in theRhône-Alpesrégion, and 5% in theAuvergnerégion.
The territory of the former province shows a stark contrast between some densely populated areas (coastal plains as well as metropolitan area of Toulouse in the interior) where density is between 150 inhabitants per square kilometre (390 inhabitants/sq mi) (coastal plains) and 300 inhabitants per square kilometre (780 inhabitants/sq mi) (plain of Toulouse), and the hilly and mountainous interior where density is extremely low, theCévennes area in the south ofLozère having one of the lowest densities of Europe with only 7.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (19 inhabitants/sq mi).
The five largest metropolitan areas on the territory of the former province of Languedoc are (as of 1999 census):Toulouse (964,797),Montpellier (459,916),Nîmes (221,455),Béziers (124,967), andAlès (89,390).
The population of the former province of Languedoc is currently the fastest-growing in France, and also among the fastest-growing in Europe, as an increasing flow of people from northern France and the north of Europe relocating to the sunbelt of Europe, in which Languedoc is located. Growth is particularly strong in the metropolitan areas ofToulouse andMontpellier, which are the two fastest growing metropolitan areas in Europe at the moment. However, the interior of Languedoc is still losing inhabitants, which increases the difference of density that was mentioned.
Population of the coast of Languedoc as well as the region of Toulouse is rather young, educated, and affluent, whereas in the interior the population tends to be much older, with significantly lower incomes, and with a lower percentage of high school and especially college graduates.
Languedoc is a significant producer of wine. Today it produces more than a third of thegrapes in France, and is a focus for outside investors. Wines from the Mediterranean coast of Languedoc are labeled as Languedoc, those from the interior have other labels such asFronton,Gaillac, orLimoux to the west – andCôtes du Rhône towards the east.
Other crops includewheat (the traditional crop which made the fortune of the landlords and parliamentarians based inToulouse, and for whose trade the famousCanal du Midi was built),maize (the new and nowadays most common crop in the region),olives (only on the Mediterranean coast of Languedoc), fruit, and rice (in some coastal areas). In the hilly and mountainous areas of the interior, sheep and goats are raised for meat and cheese. The coastal area is, naturally, a source of fish and shellfish.
There is also a significant chemical sector inToulouse, which has been quite battered since the terrible explosion ofAZF on 21 September 2001. It has been decided that chemical industries would be moved out ofToulouse, and a large campus devoted tocancer research and bio-tech R&D will be opened on the site.
Elsewhere in the region industries are small and in decline, in particular around the formerly mining areas ofAlès andCarmaux in the interior of the region.
Services are the largest sector of the economy in the region. In particular, government services employ a significant part of the workforce, especially in small towns. Key administrations have been relocated to the region, such as France's National Meteorology Office (Météo-France) relocated from Paris toToulouse in 1982.
The area is also a major tourist destination. There exists three types of tourism. First, a massive summer tourism industry on the coast, with huge sea resorts such asCap d'Agde,Palavas-les-Flots, orLe Grau-du-Roi, built in the 1970s.
Tourism related to history and art is also strong, as the region contains the historic cities ofCarcassonne, Toulouse,Montpellier, countless Roman monuments (such as the Roman arenas inNîmes), medieval abbeys,Romanesque churches, and old castles (such as the ruinedCathar castles in the mountains ofCorbières, testimony of the bloodyAlbigensian Crusade).
More recently, "green" and sports tourism is on the rise, with the gorges of theTarn, theArdèche Gorges, as well as the vast preserved expanses ofCévennes, Ardèche,Lauragais, and other sites.
Tourism on theCanal du Midi combines history (for example viewing the nine locks of Fonseranes nearBéziers) with activities such as boating on the Canal, and walking or cycling on the towpaths.
Toulouse and Montpellier are also common places for business congresses and conventions.[citation needed]
In April 2019, TheGuardian's travel section included two Languedoc locations in its list of20 of the most beautiful villages in France. The two were Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert with "one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture in the region" and Estaing, whose "narrow streets have hardly changed over the centuries".[8]
Rugby union is the "national" sport in Languedoc, unlike most other parts of France wherefootball is more popular.[citation needed] TheToulouse rugby club (Stade Toulousain) is one of the most successful in Europe; it regularly competes for the French championship and has won four European titles (1996, 2003, 2005, and 2010) in the ten years of the European championship's existence.
Bullfighting and other bull-related events are popular in the eastern part of Languedoc.[9]Sea jousts (Joutes nautiques) are held on the coast. Dating from the 11th century, this sport has local leagues and attracts large crowds.
Property in the Languedoc is quite varied and ranges from newly built villas with swimming pools and tennis courts, to old village houses set into the old ramparts of ancient fortified towns.[citation needed] Some of these village houses date back hundreds of years. A small house in the village of Magalas,Héraultdépartement, has a date of the 13th century carved into its stonework. Being a large area, the type of property available in Languedoc varies a lot, from apartments in beach resorts such asCap D'Agde to isolated bastides in the rural interior.[citation needed]
^"20 of the most beautiful villages in France".The Guardian. 13 April 2019. Retrieved13 April 2019.From a fairytale fortress in the Loire to a clifftop stronghold in Provence, these charming, historic villages make perfect bases for exploring rural France
The Hérault tourist board website Department of Hérault in Languedoc Région. All informations to discover Hérault and to book your holidays in Languedoc. Free brochures and lodging.
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