The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20040413233755/http://www.hostkingdom.net:80/Languedoc.html
Langued'oc
The south of France. In a restricted sense, Languedoc refers to a particular region - that area between the Garonne and the Rhone which encompassed greater Toulouse, but it has come to imply the whole southern third of France. It is cultural and linguistic reference ("langued'oc makes reference to the southern dialect term for "yes" - "oc"); the south is quite distinct from the north, having been in contact with Mediterranean civilizations for a very long time. Here is the homeland of the great Chansonniers, here is the birthplace of the cult of courtly love, and here were to be found the strongholds of the Cathars, or Albigensians - Mediaval schismatics whose influence can still be felt.

ANGOULÊME A compact territory in northern Aquitaine, closely equivalent to the modern Département of Charente. A County during the Middle Ages, it became associated with the Royal House, and was raised to the level of a Duchy in early modern times. ImageAQUITAINE The southwestern quadrant of France, containing the great wine-producing basin of Bordeaux and the Garonne. The Carolingian creation was a Kingdom; that disintigrated and the Duchy set up in it's place. The region became an important cultural hearth, seeing the development of the great chansonniers, and the notion (so vital in the Middle Ages) of courtly love as a noble ideal. ARMAGNAC A County in southwestern France, a significant power-broker during much of the Middle Ages and early modern times. AUVERGNE A region in south-central France, quite hilly and rather sparsely populated. BESANÇON An ancient town (a center of the early Iron-Age Hallstadt Culture, and later an important Gaulish stronghold) in eastern France, 45 miles (72 km.) east of Dijon, and about 30 miles (48 km.) west of the Swiss frontier. During the Middle Ages it's Archbishopric wielded much secular authority. The town is the birthplace of Victor Hugo. CARCASSONNE A city in the south of France, in Languedoc within the hill country north of the eastern Pyrenees extending toward the Massif Central. A cosmopolitan crossroads, subject to many cultural influences, the region is best known as the center of the Cathar movement, an anti-clerical sect of the 12th and 13th centuries closely paralleling Gnosticism. FOIX A small county in southern France, in the foothills of the Pyrenees between Toulouse and Andorra. Though isolated and somewhat obscure in and of itself, it has through it's rulers had an influence on France and western Europe. GASCONY The far southwest of France, beside the Pyrenees and inhabited to a large extent by Basques. With the deterioration of the Carolingian Empire, it emerged for a time as a separate state and, in fact, has retained even to this day a reputation for nurturing a flamboyant, stubborn, and independent people - Dumas Pere's fictional portrayal of D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers is a reasonable example of the reputation of these people. LIMOGES A city in south-central France, on the northern edge of Aquitaine. Originally the capital of the Lemovicii, a Gaulish folk, Limoges has long been noted for its fine enamelware and porcelain. In common with most border locales, the city and district has led a chequered history as various regional powers vied for control. The current old city is, in fact, what remains of two separate communities, Limoges and St. Martial, which faced each other across the river and belonged to different overlords. ImageMONACO This tiny principality began as the base of operations for an exiled Genovese family, the Grimaldi, conducting piracy and raiding operations against the pro-Ghibelline Genoan state. They held a haphazard and intermittent connection with the locality thereafter, although permanent control over the city was not achieved until 1419. The Principality was established in 1659. Though fully independent, a 1918 treaty with France specifies that should the reigning dynasty become extinct, the Principality will revert to the status of an autonomous district within France. ORANGE An ancient market town in southeastern France, on the Rhone River north of Avignon. Originally Arausio (named for a local Gaulish tutulary divinity), there are superior Roman ruins located here. An independent County from the 11th century,and a Principality from c. 1175, the place has gained a permanent imprint in European history in providing the name for a branch of the German noble House of Nassau (who inherited the County in the 16th century) - a branch that went on to establish themselves as sovereigns in the Netherlands. PROVENCE The south of France, between the Piedmont and the Pyrenees and adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea.  A land rich in history and culture, Provence has been a distinct territory from its earliest days. SEPTIMANIA A region in the south of France, on the Mediterranean coast of the Golfe du Lion between Perpignan and Montpelier, centered on the port of Narbonne. It includes interior districts as far as the frontier with Toulouse. A transit point both for people travelling to or from the Pyrenees, and as a port of entry-exit for much of the western Mediterranean, the area has always been subject to diverse cultures and influences. Much of the region was heavily damaged in the 13th century in being a stronghold of Cathar adherents who became the subject of the Albigensian Crusade. On a literary note, it may be of interest that at least one tradition holds this to be the original homeland of the family of Sir Lancelot, within the Arthurian Cycle. ImageTOULOUSE An important county in the south of France. VIENNE A major city in southeastern France, a county in medieval times. From the 12th century, nearly all the Counts utilized the name "Dauphin" as part of their names, and by the 14th century, it had assumed the status of a title. When the County entered the Royal demesne, successive Kings of France developed the habit of assigning it to their heirs, thus creating the official style of the Heir Apparent to France as the Dauphin. **************************************************

To the British Isles

To Germany

To the Low Countries

To Northern Italy

To Spain

To Switzerland

Back up, to Regnal Chronologies

Browse a very extensive review of the Capets in: The French Royal Family: A Genealogy .