Angoumois (), historically the County of Angoulême, was a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

and province of France, originally inferior to the parent duchy of

Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...

, similar to the Périgord to its east but lower and generally less forested, equally with occasional vineyards throughout. Its capital was

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; ) is a small city in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Charente, of which it is the Prefectures of France, prefecture. Located on a plateau overlooking a meander of ...

with its citadel and castle above the river

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the r ...

. It almost corresponds to the

Department which also takes in the east of the coastal comté de Saintonge. cites Castaigne's 1845 ''Essai d'une bibliothèque historique de l'Angoumois''

History

This area was a

and province of France, originally inferior to the parent duchy of

, similar to the Périgord to its east. Many of the historic churches and castles, or castle ruins in the county, survive. Today it is noted for sunflowers and Cognac, the archetypal brandy, one of its small towns being at its origin, as much as its historic mainstay crops of corn and wheat. In the High Middle Ages, an enlarged Aquitaine pledged loyalty to the Angevin kings of England. Their claims in France triggered the Hundred Years' War, in which the kingdom of France emerged victorious in the 1450s, with many incorporated areas coming to be ruled directly by the French kings. The county was created on the

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

civitas In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by Roman law, law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilitie ...

'' of ''Iculisma'', the current Angoulême. It included the following " pays" (lit. countries), or natural regions of France: Ruffec, Horte and Tardoire and part of Confolentais, and was part, with Cognac, of the possessions of the House of Valois-Angoulême when they acceded to the throne of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. First placed under the authority of the Count of Angoulême, it was gradually integrated, from the 15th century, into the administration of modern France. File:Map France 1030-fr.svg, Map of France in 1030 Image:France 1154-en.svg, Map of France in 1154

History

References

Further reading