Perche () (French: ''le Perche'') is a former

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of France, known historically for its forests and, for the past two centuries, for the

Percheron The Percheron is a horse breed, breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in western France, part of the former Perche province, from which the breed takes its name. Usually gray (horse), gray or black (horse), black in col ...

draft horse breed. Until the French Revolution, Perche was bounded by four ancient territories of northwestern France: the provinces of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, and

Orléanais The Duchy of Orléanais () is a former province of France, which was created during the Renaissance by merging four former counties and towns. However after the French Revolution, the province was dissolved in 1791 and succeeded by five ''départ ...

, and the region of Beauce. Afterwards it was absorbed into the present-day

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Orne Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Eure-et-Loir Eure-et-Loir (, locally: ) is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers. It is located in the region of Centre-Val de Loire. In 2019, Eure-et-Loir had a population of 431,575.Eure Eure ( ; ; or ) is a department in the administrative region of Normandy, northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2021, Eure had a population of 598,934.Loir-et-Cher Loir-et-Cher (, ) is a Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region of France. It is named after two rivers which run through it, the Loir in its northern part and the Cher (river), Cher in its southern p ...

, and

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...

Toponymy

''Perche'' is known by the following ancient Latin and French toponymic designations: , before the 6th century, and in the 6th century, no date and , in the 11th century, in 1045, in 1160–1174 and in 1308, in1238, in1246,Nègre, Ernest (1990). '' Toponymie générale de la France'', Volume I, Librairie Droz. Dominique Fournier, "Notes de toponymie normande : Promenons-nous dans les bois… (au sujet de quelques noms de bois et de forêts en Normandie)" in ''Histoire et Traditions Populaires'' No. 136 (mars 2017), where the names starting by or denote , the terms and mean forest, ''

Saltus Saltus may refer to: People * Edgar Saltus (1855–1921), American writer known for his highly refined prose style * Francis Saltus Saltus (1849–1889), American poet * Thomas Saltus Lubbock (1817–1862), Texas Ranger and soldier in the Confede ...

'' designates a wooded mountainous region, frontier, wildlife refuge, means country, and refers to a tall-treed forest. A hypothesis put forth by the linguist Guy Villette based on the name ''Perche'' having initially designated the forest region, and not the province, would have ''Perche'' represent the pre-Celtic name of Indo-European origin *''perkʷ-ik-ā'' (forest) with long trees », dissimilated into *pertika, and transmitted as such in the Gallic language, even though the initial ''p-'' was foreign to this language.Villette, abbé Guy (1988 / 1994). « Le nom du Perche » in ''Noms de lieux — Noms de vie'', Actes du 2e colloque de la Lubinière, mai 1988, ''Cahiers percherons'', 1994, n° 2-3, pp. 7-21 (see especially pp. 14-15) The indo-european radical *''perkʷu-'', "large tree: oak, pine, fir, beech . . ." is also the origin of the Latin word "oak" and the common Germanic word *''furhu-'', source of the English and German words ''fir'' and (pine family), respectively. Until about the 11th or 12th century, such terms as or ''pagus Pertecensis'' used in connection with Perche's ancient forest are accordingly understood to refer to a frontier region without precise geographical limits and thus not to a clearly defined political or administrative territory.

Geography

Before the French Revolution, Perche was bounded by the following ancient provinces:

to the north and west, Maine to the west, Beauce to the east and

to the south. Perche is dominated by four topographical-featured arcs: *An outer arc marked by the high edge of a flat high plateau to the west and south of the Perche's eastern and northern limits *An inner arc, concentric to the high plateau edge arc, defined by the Huisne River, a tributary of the Sarthe River, situated in Perche's irregular lowlands. *Forest arcs in ''les collines du Perche'' (the Perche hills) on either side of the Huisne, consisting of a main forest arc off the Huisne's left bank stretching from Moulins-la-Marche to Montmirail and a secondary forest arc off the Huisne's right bank from Pervenchères to Le Thiel. Within the Huisne watershed lie the three unofficial Perche capitals: Nogent-le-Rotrou (economic capital),

Mortagne-au-Perche Mortagne-au-Perche () is a Communes of France, commune in the Orne Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, northwestern France. It is classed as a Petites Cités de Caractère. Heraldry Population Poi ...

(administrative capital) and

Bellême Bellême () is a commune in the Orne department in northwestern France. It is classed as a Petites Cités de Caractère. The musicologist Guillaume André Villoteau (1759–1839) was born in Bellême, as was Aristide Boucicaut (1810–1877), ...

(historical capital).Orne évasions
/ref> The Perche hills are the source of numerous small tributaries of the Seine River watershed via the

Eure Eure ( ; ; or ) is a department in the administrative region of Normandy, northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2021, Eure had a population of 598,934.Avre, Iton and Risle rivers and the Loire River watershed via the Huisne,

Loir The Loir is a long river in western France. It is a left tributary of the Sarthe. Its source is in the Eure-et-Loir department, north of Illiers-Combray. It joins the river Sarthe in Briollay, north of the city of Angers. It is indirectly ...

and

rivers.

Perche's principal towns

The following table lists the principal towns in Perche province along with the distance of any given town to Condé-sur-Huisne, situated near Perche's geographic center:

Peripheral towns

FrancePaysDeLoireLaFerteBernardNDDesMarais

Nearby towns in the four ancient provinces along the periphery of Perche province include (starting from the north, clockwise):

L'Aigle L'Aigle is a commune in the Orne department in Normandy in northwestern France. Before 1961, the commune was known as ''Laigle''. According to Orderic Vitalis, the nest of an eagle (''aigle'' in French) was discovered during the construction ...

Dreux Dreux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise (river), Blaise, a tributary of the Eure (river), Eure, about 35 km north of Cha ...

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

Châteaudun Châteaudun () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It was the site of the Battle of Châteaudun during the Franco-Prussian War. Geography Châteaudun is located about 45 ...

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

Mamers Mamers () is a Communes of France, commune in the Sarthe Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France. The neighboring communes are: Commerveil, Saint-Longis, Saint-Rémy-des-Mont ...

Alençon Alençon (, , ; ) is a commune in Normandy, France, and the capital of the Orne department. It is situated between Paris and Rennes (about west of Paris) and a little over north of Le Mans. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alen� ...

and Sées.

Economy

Agriculture and tourism constitute the economic focus of Perche's natural region, the largest parts of which are located within the departments of

Orne Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Eure-et-Loir Eure-et-Loir (, locally: ) is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers. It is located in the region of Centre-Val de Loire. In 2019, Eure-et-Loir had a population of 431,575.Centre-Val de Loire Centre-Val de Loire (; ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley in the interior ...

, respectively. The

breed of

draft horse A draft horse (US) or draught horse (UK), also known as dray horse, carthorse, work horse or heavy horse, is a large horse bred to be a working animal hauling freight and doing heavy agricultural tasks such as plowing. There are a number o ...

s originated in Perche's Huisne river valley and is identified throughout the world as the Perche's most well known symbol. Apples (for hard cider) and pears are grown throughout the Perche territory. Calvados Apfel 0596

History

Prehistory

Perche's prehistory is manifested by

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...

s (

dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

menhir A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Br ...

s) and prehistoric tools of flint, bronze, and iron.

Middle Ages

Perche was essentially a region between other regions:

"''. . . the Perche was not based on an existing administratative unit, such as its neighbors, the counties of Maine and
Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...
, nor was it coterminous with an ecclesiastical jurisdiction. It grew up at the margins of several larger units, and there was no major population focus nor great religious centre such as a cathedral or ancient abbey within it. It owed its existence to the ambition and energy of successive members of a lineage of warrior elite."''

The Romans found possession of the Perche forests was necessary for the conquest of the vast Armorique and Normandy territories extending from the

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

estuary off the Atlantic coast to

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

off the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. Until the Viking or Norman invasions in the 9th century, Perche was a relatively remote area bounded on all sides by the following Gaul-Roman territories and

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 Foot ...

peoples: to the east and south the

Carnutes The Carnutes or Carnuti (Gaulish: 'the horned ones'), were a Gallic tribe dwelling in an extensive territory between the Sequana (Seine) and the Liger (Loire) rivers during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Carn ...

people in Chartrain territory based in

; to the northeast the Aulerques Eburoviques people in Évreux territory based in

Évreux Évreux () is a commune in and the capital of the department of Eure, in the French region of Normandy. History Antiquity In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century AD, was named '' Mediolanum Aulercorum'', "the central town ...

; to the southwest the Aulerques Cénomans people in Maine territory based in

; and to the northwest the Hyesmois (Essuins) people in Exmes territory based in Séez. These territories eventually became first Roman civitates, to then become the dioceses of

, Evreux,

and Séez. that did not change significantly in terms of geographical limits until the Revolution. Thus Perche has traditionally been shared between three of these four dioceses as follows: *Parishes in northwest Perche such as in the town of Mortagne have been part of Séez diocese; *Parishes in eastern Perche such as in the towns of Tourouvre and Nogent-le-Rotrou have been part of Chartres diocese; *Parishes in southwest Perche such as in the town of Bellême have been part of Le Mans diocese. *The Commune of Thiron-Gardais was occupied by the mother abbey of the Tironensian Order of monks who founded the order in 1106. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the County of Perche was controlled by an independent line of counts. By the 12th century, two large families contended for control of the Perche region: the Talvas of Bellême family and the Rotrou family of Nogent-le-Rotrou. In 1114, Rotrou III annexed Bellême. In 1226, Count Geoffroy V would have been a leader of the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

had he not died before its departure to the Near East. This end of the Rotrou dynasty led to the region's annexation to the Crown of France (by inheritance). At this time, the crown divided part of the region to create the county of

. After 1325, both counties were generally held by a member or members of a

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the

House of Valois The Capetian House of Valois ( , also , ) was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. They succeeded the House of Capet (or "Direct Capetians") to the List of French monarchs, French throne, and were the royal house of France from 1328 to 1589. ...

. During the Hundred Years War, partisans of England plundered Perche, destroyed its nobility, and burned many castles and abbeys. In 1449, free from English domination, Perche began reconstruction. Upon the death of Alençon's last duke (1525), rule returned to and remained under the French crown, and was granted only sporadically thereafter.

Modern times

In the three decades starting in 1632, a large proportion of immigrants to

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

came from Perche, in what has been called the Percheron immigration movement. Many Percherons were thus recruited to work in

seigneuries A seigneur () or lord 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. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...

being establishing along the

Saint Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the Persecution of Christians, persecution of the Christians that the Roman Empire, Rom ...

valley. The Beauport seigneurie, New France's first agricultural-oriented seigneurie, was granted in 1634 to Robert Giffard de Moncel by the Company of Hundred Associates. While the total number of emigrants was small, Perche had a much higher rate of emigration to New France than most other regions of France. Nearly all

French Canadians French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the provi ...

have some ancestors from the villages of Perche. Prominent last names from Perche who came to Canada starting just before the end of

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...

's tenure include: Côté, Boucher, Zacharie Cloutier, Cloutier, Guyon (Dion), Tremblay and Paradis. After the French Revolution, Perche was divided into four departments: Orne, Eure-et-Loir, Sarthe, and Loir-et-Cher. At this time, national law replaced '' :FR:coûtume du Perche'' or local, customary law. In 1998, the government of France created the Perche Regional Nature Park (''Parc naturel régional du Perche'' – see :FR:Perche (région naturelle)). The park is forested mostly by beech, birch, chestnut, oak (especially sessile and pedunculate species), as well as conifers (especially Douglas fir and pine species) populated by wildlife including boar, buzzard, deer, squirrel, woodcock and woodpecker species.

Notes

References

External links

Association Perche-Canada

Centre Généalogique de l'Orne et du Perche

Parc naturel régional du Perche

*

Le Perche {{Historic Provinces of France Former provinces of France Geography of Eure Geography of Eure-et-Loir Geography of Loir-et-Cher Geography of Orne Geography of Sarthe History of Normandy History of Centre-Val de Loire History of Pays de la Loire History of Eure History of Eure-et-Loir History of Loir-et-Cher History of Orne History of Sarthe