The history of

Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...

( oc, Lemosin), one of the traditional

provinces of France The Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until the National Constituent Assembly adopted a more uniform division into departments (''départements'') and districts in late 1789. The provinces continued to exist administratively until 2 ...

, reaches back to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

times. The region surrounds the city of

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

( oc, Limòtges). Limousin is located in the foothills of the western edge of the

Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,00 ...

, with cold weather in the winter. Its name is derived from the name of a Celtic tribe, the

Lemovices The Lemovīcēs (Gaulish: *''Lēmouīcēs'', 'those who vanquish by the elm') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the modern Limousin region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Lemovices'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. B ...

, whose main sanctuary was recently found in

Tintignac Tintignac is a hamlet near Naves in the Corrèze region of France. It is primarily known for the archaeological remains of a sanctuary where Gallic and Gallo-Roman artefacts have been found, including seven carnyces (war trumpets) and ornamented ...

and became a major site for Celtic study which were found such as the carnyces in the whole Celtic world. During the 10th century, Limousin was divided into many ''

seigneuries ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (o ...

''; the most important of them, located in the southern part of the region, were the '' vicomtés'' of

, Comborn (in present-day

Corrèze Corrèze (; oc, Corresa) is a department in France, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its prefecture is Tulle, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, ...

), Ventadour (today Ussel and

Plateau de Millevaches 220px, Plateau de Millevaches The Plateau de Millevaches (; oc, Replanat de Miuvachas) is an upland area in Limousin a former administrative region of France. It covers approximately 3,500 km² and crosses the boundaries of three French dep ...

), and

Turenne Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (11 September 161127 July 1675), commonly known as Turenne , was a French general and one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. The most illustrious member of the ...

. The northernmost part of Limousin belonged to the

County of La Marche The County of La Marche (; oc, la Marcha) was a medieval French county, approximately corresponding to the modern ''département'' of Creuse. La Marche first appeared as a separate fief about the middle of the 10th century, when William III, D ...

, while the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

s of

controlled most of present-day

Haute-Vienne Haute-Vienne (; oc, Nauta Vinhana, ; English: Upper Vienne) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve departments that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitai ...

. Such political fragmentation led to the construction of many

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

s, whose ruins still evoke memories of that historical period. In 1199, King

Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...

was fatally wounded by a crossbow bolt during his siege of

Château de Châlus-Chabrol The Château de Châlus-Chabrol ( Occitan Limousin : ''Chasteu de Chasluç-Chabròl'') is a castle in the ''commune'' of Châlus in the ''département'' of Haute-Vienne, France. The castle dominates the town of Châlus. It consists today of a ...

, about southwest of Limoges. The region was reconstituted during the Fifth Republic as part of decentralization efforts by the French government.

Bibliography

* * ''L'Atlas du Limousin'', Ph. Bernard-Allée, M.-F. André, G. Pallier, Limoges, Pulim, 1994. * ''Plaidoyer pour un limogeage'', L. Bourdelas, Lucien Souny, 2001. * ''Encyclopédie Bonneton – Limousin'', Paris, Bonneton, 2000. * ''Limousin 14–18, un abécédaire de la Grande guerre'', S. Capot et J.-M.Valade, Les ardents éditeurs, 2008.

References

External links

Arri!, Collectiu Lemosin (Lexics, maps)
Limousin History of Nouvelle-Aquitaine {{Limousin-geo-stub

See also

Bibliography

References

External links