Capestang (; ) is a commune in the

Hérault Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...

department in southern France.

History

antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...

, the nearby marshes were crossed by the 1500-metre-long

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Pont Serme The Pont Serme or Pons Selinus, later called the Pons Septimus, was a Roman bridge of the Via Domitia in the Aude department, commune of Coursan, Occitania southern France. The approximately 1500 m long viaduct crossed the wide marshes of th ...

.Colin O’Connor: Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press 1993, , p. 99 The bridge carried the

Via Domitia The Via Domitia was the first Roman road built in Gaul, to link Italy and Hispania through Gallia Narbonensis, across what is now Southern France. The route that the Romans regularised and paved was ancient when they set out to survey it, and tra ...

as it neared

Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...

on its southward strategic journey to Spain. The town's name derives from - referring to the fact that the town sat at the head of a large ' (a large natural saline and shallow lake - very common in the area and the source of wealth and sustenance - salt, fish, game birds). The Archbishops of Narbonne built their summer residence in the town - substantial vestiges remain, especially of the palace wherein a 15th-century ceiling - and there is an impressive collegiate church (12th to 15th centuries with earlier vestiges) whose massive tower dominates the surrounding countryside to this day. The

canal du Midi The Canal du Midi (; ) is a long canal in Southern France (). Originally named the ''Canal Royal en Languedoc'' (Royal Canal in Languedoc) and renamed by French revolutionaries to ''Canal du Midi'' in 1789, the canal is considered one of the g ...

also passes just to the north of the town as it winds its way from the

Aude Aude ( ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Southern France, located in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region and named after the river Aude (river), Aude. The departmental council also calls it " ...

into the

. The crusading armies passed the town after the sack of

Béziers Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...

in 1209 ''en route'' for

Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...

- and in 1356

Edward the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), known as the Black Prince, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Edward III of England. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, succeeded to the throne instead. Edward n ...

reached the eastern extreme of his extensive ''

chevauchée A ''chevauchée'' (, "promenade" or "horse charge", depending on context) was a raiding method of medieval warfare for weakening the enemy, primarily by burning and pillaging enemy territory in order to reduce the productivity of a region, in ...

'', having raised the short siege of Narbonne, where he burned the bourg, and having allowed his troops to damage the neighbouring village of Ouveillan. Capestang, like

Cuxac-d'Aude Cuxac-d'Aude (; ) is a commune in the Aude department in southern France. The French operatic tenor Léon Escalaïs was born and died in Cuxac-d'Aude. Population See also *Communes of the Aude department The following is a list of the ...

and other villages, may have paid to be spared the fate of Ouveillan - or it may have had more robust defences or have been saved by intelligence of the impending arrival of a large army coming from Beaucaire. There is a plaque in the square to resistance hostages shot by the SS on 9 August, 1944, three days after

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

Population

References

{{Hérault-geo-stub Communes of Hérault