Roquelaure (; ''Ròcalaura'' in Gascon) is a commune in the

Gers Gers (; or , ) is a departments of France, department in the regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southwestern France. Gers is bordered by the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques to ...

department in southwestern

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 ...

Geography

History

The village is situated on a rocky height near the site of an Iron-Age

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...

and Gallo Roman

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

on the neighboring hill of La Ciotat (La Sioutat). The ruins of Roman baths were found in the 18th century, which may be part of the same villa that was discovered more recently in 1898 and excavated in the 1960s. The name Roquelaure means "laurel hill" in Gascon. A medieval fortified town was built at the current location sometime in the 12th century under the auspices of a

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

of Roquelaure, and it received its

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

(''charte de coutumes'') in 1244. From the 16th century on, the lords of Roquelaure built and maintained a chapel in the Gothic Church of Saint-Loup. The lords of Roquelaure, including

Antoine de Roquelaure Antoine de Roquelaure (''Antòni de Ròcalaura'' in Occitan language, Occitan), Manorialism, lord of Roquelaure, Preignan, Gaudoux, Sainte-Christie, Mirepoix, Gers, Mirepoix, Montbert, Baron of Lavardens and Biran, Gers, Biran (1544 – Lectou ...

(1544–1625), are buried in the church crypt. Antoine de Roquelaure built the nearby château of Rieutort and began refurbishing the castle at Lavardens, a project which was never completed. Francis I had a fort built on the northern slope of the village hill, guarding the road to Peyrusse-Massas, the ruins of which remain. The grounds of the fort have been the Robert Dauzère Stadium since 1969. The former commune of Arcamont was joined to Roquelaure in 1952.Urizzi, 60–61.

Government and politics

Mayors

Population

Viticulture

The lands of the commune of Roquelaure are classified as part of the Côtes de Montestruc and

Côtes de Gascogne Côtes de Gascogne is a wine-growing district in Gascony producing principally white wine. It is mainly located in the Departments of France, département of the Gers in the former Midi-Pyrénées region (now part of the Occitanie region), and i ...

vin de pays ''Vin de pays'' (; 'country wine') was a French wine classification that was above the '' vin de table'' classification, but below the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) classification and below the former '' vin délimité de qualité ...

'' zones. They are also part of the

Haut-Armagnac Haut-Armagnac ("Upper Armagnac"; ), one of the three terroirs (plantation areas) in the Armagnac area where the grapes for the distillation of the Armagnac eau-de-vie can be cultivated. It lies to the south and east of Bas-Armagnac and Armagnac- ...

zone.

Duchy

The ''seigneurie'' of Roquelaure was elevated to a duchy in 1652 in favor of Gaston-Jean-Baptiste de Roquelaure (1617-1683), son of Antoine de Roquelaure. After this line died out, a different marquisate of Roquelaure was created in 1766 for their relatives, the lords of Saint-Aubin, today Roquelaure-Saint-Aubin.

References

External links

Roquelaure
Community of Communes of the Cœur de Gascogne (in French). Image:Roquelaure2.JPG, The town hall at Place De Montal, with Saint-Loup Church in background Image:RoquelaureFort.JPG, Roquelaure fort Image:Chapelle_d_Arcamont1.jpg, Saint-Blaise d'Arcamont Chapel, northern side Image:Chapelle_d_Arcamont2.jpg, Saint-Blaise d'Arcamont Chapel, southern side Image:Chapelle_d_Arcamont3.jpg, The porch and steeple of Saint-Blaise Chapel Image:Tour_d_Arcamont.jpg, The tower of Arcamont {{authority control Communes of Gers