Comminges

The Comminges (; Occitan/ Gascon: ''Comenge'') is an ancient region of southern France in the foothills of the Pyrenees, corresponding closely to the arrondissement of Saint-Gaudens in the department of Haute-Garonne. This natural region is normally associated with the former domain of the Counts of Comminges, although an earlier definition is based on the Diocese of Comminges, which appeared to include a small part of Aragon.

History

* The Comminges takes its name from Convenae, the name the Romans gave to the inhabitants of the region. Whilst it is unclear whether this was originally a distinct tribe, the Romanisation of the region established this as the identity of district and its inhabitants.
* The origin of the name Comminges is uncertain. It is claimed to date from 473, when Sidonius Apollinaris wrote of the death of the bishop of Comminges, or 506 when Suavis, Bishop of Comminges, attended the Council of Agde. However, the latin texts of the relevant documents use the term Convenae or Convenis rather than Comminges. There are a number of documents concerning the Counts of the Comminges from the 12th century. Those written in latin typically use the name Convenarum, whilst those written in Old French usually use the name Comenge.

* Comminges was part of Gascony. The title Count of Comminges (or Convenarum) was either created in 830, as an additional title of Aznar I Sanche Duke of Gascony, or created for his son Garcia de Gascogne in 836. The line of the Counts of Comminges was unbroken until Margaret, Countess of Comminges, dying in 1443, willed the county to the French crown. After two interim rulers, it finally became the property of the French crown in 1498, although it retained its identity as a county. It was established as a pays d'état, meaning that it was effectively run by the Estates of Comminges (a type of local parliament), until 1622.
* Over the centuries, the size of the county varied, stretching to Toulouse at times. The small, discontinuous province of Nébouzan was contained within the Comminges and its viscounts were vassals of the counts of Comminges.
* During the Albigensian Crusade Bernard IV de Comminges sided with the Cathars but, at the Battle of Muret in 1213, he was defeated by the forces of Simon de Montfort who occupied the Comminges.
* In 1355, the army of Edward the Black Prince passed through the Comminges twice, burning towns in the north of the county.
* During the French wars of religion (1562–1598) the Comminges remained Catholic. Although a few towns were attacked by Huguenot forces, most of the county remained safe. However it was required to provide troops and taxes to support the wars.
* With the reorganisation of the regions into departments in 1790, Comminges wanted to join its eastern neighbour, the county of Couserans, to form a department but this broke down over arguments about where the prefecture would be located. Eventually Couserans joined with the county of Foix, leaving the Comminges to be joined with the larger county of Toulouse to form the Haute-Garonne ''département''. At the same time the diocese of Comminges was abolished and replaced with a larger diocese aligned with the new department.
* The region still identifies itself as the Comminges and Saint-Gaudens, its largest town, calls itself "capital of the Comminges".

In film and television

In 2017, the Netflix TV series ''The Frozen Dead'' (aka ''Glacé'') was filmed in the region.

See also

* Saint Bertrand of Comminges
* Duchy of Vasconia

References

Sources and external links

* ''Rome in the Pyrenees - Lugdunum and the Convenae from the first century B.C. to the seventh century A.D.'' Simon Esmonde Cleary 2007 ()
* ''Petite Histoire du Comminges'' Rene Souriac 2019 ()
* ''Medieval Lands - A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families'' Charles Cawley

* ''La revue de Comminges et des Pyrénées centrales'', revue d'études régionales biannuelle de la Société des études du Comminges, depuis 1884 (ISSN 0035-1059)

Société des études du Comminges

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Medieval France
Former provinces of France
Geography of Haute-Garonne
Geography of Hautes-Pyrénées
Natural regions of France
History of Occitania (administrative region)