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Aquitaine

 

Contents

Flag

Meaning/Origin of the Flag

Coat of Arms

Meaning/Origin of the Coat of Arms

Map of the historical Regions in France

Explanations about the Regions

History

Origin of the Country's Name



Flag

Flagge Fahne flag drapeau Aquitanien Aquitaine
Flag of Aquitaine – Drapeau de l'Aquitaine,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D)




Flagge Fahne flag drapeau Aquitanien Aquitaine
1960–2016,
Unofficial flag of the Region of Aquitaine
– Drapeau de officieux de la Region Aquitaine,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D)



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Meaning/Origin of the Flag

The flag of Aquitaine is a scutcheon-flag, its design is the image of the coat of arms of Aquitaine. The in 1960 created Region of "Aquitaine" uses this model as unofficial flag.

Source: Volker Preuß, Wikipedia (D)

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Coat of Arms


Wappen arms crest blason Aquitanien Aquitaine
Coat of arms of Aquitaine – Blason du Aquitaine,
Source, by: Heraldique Europeenne

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Meaning/Origin of the Coat of Arms

The coat of arms of Aquitaine shows a golden leopard on red. About the origin of the coat of arms is nothing known. It is interesting that the Normandy uses the same coat of arms image, but with two leopards, and the kingship of England with three leopards. After all, it is possible that the coat of arms was introduced by Henry Plantagenet, who came by marriage to Aquitaine in 1152. Already in 1144 he had become Duke of Normandy, and introduced there the coat of arms with the three leopards, which were reduced to two in 1194, and the coat of arms with the three leopards was reserved for the kingship of England, and those one with the one Leopard for Aquitaine. As in 1259 the Duchy of Guyenne was created – the English crown lost Aquitaine – the coat of arms of Aquitaine was maintained there.

Source: Heraldique Europeenne, Volker Preuß

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Richard I. Löwenherz Lionheart König von England King of England Read here:
A flag affair! "From a royal banner-throw to being held hostage". The problems of Richard I. (the Lionheart), King of England, with an unloved flag!

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Map of the historical Regions in France

The historical, French Regions:

in black: governorate and province in 1776,
in red: former county, province oder governorate

Map: Volker Preuß

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Explanations about the Regions

The provinces (or governorates) that existed until the French Revolution were historically grown entities that had often developed from former fiefdoms of the French crown, historical counties and duchies, often existed for hundreds of years and had preserved regional characteristics (cultural peculiarities and regional languages). Such phenomena were naturally undesirable to the French Revolution, and in the context of its bloody and violent egalitarianism, all regional references were eradicated. Shortly after the Revolution, the provinces were dissolved and France was divided into many small départements, which were to be approximately the same size and have the same status, controlled by prefects of the central administration in Paris. The departments were named after rivers or mountains so as not to use the names of any of the old provinces. However, it was not possible to sever the ties between the inhabitants of France and their respective historically grown regions, so that in 1960 regions were created again. There can hardly be said to be any real autonomy. The regions are only supposed to promote the economic, social, health, cultural and scientific development of the region, keep an eye on housing and living conditions, and provide support in some areas, e.g. urban development policy, urban regeneration, regional planning, preservation of regional identity and promotion of regional languages. When the regions were formed, departments located in a particular historical province were administratively grouped together into a region that often had the same historical name. The resulting entities only roughly corresponded to the boundaries of historical provinces. In strictly centralised France, however, any form of responsible regionalism is avoided. The regions do not even have their own seals with which to mark their own legally binding decisions, because there are no plans to introduce such a thing. Therefore, anything to do with coats of arms or flags is completely irrelevant. The logos of the regions are used generally, sometimes with the colours reversed and placed arbitrarily on flags or banners. There are no rules, as they are not official symbols. The logos and flags of the regions therefore often look like company logos: Unloving, unhistorical, technocratic and modernistic. That is why most of these regions have a kind of unofficial heraldic flag, which is intended to recall historical heraldic models. However, these are merely decorative in nature and are not a symbol of sovereign functions. The regions created in 1960 were even called into question in 2014, and a territorial reform was decided – centrally from Paris – which reduced the number of regions by almost half through mergers. The regions and their institutions were not even consulted on this matter.

Wikipedia Link to the regions of France: click or tap here
FOTW Link to the regions of France: click or tap here

Source: Flags of the World, Wikipedia (D), Volker Preuß

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History

antiquity · colonization by Iberian and Celtic tribes, the largest are the Auskers and Bituriges

52 B.C. · Roman conquest, forming of the province of Aquitania in the west of Gaul

418 A.D. · the Visigoths be settled as federates

5th century A.D. · conquest of Gaul by the Franks (under King Clovis) to 507 conquest of Aquitaine, expansion of the empire to the Atlantic Ocean, the Pyrenees and the Alps

6th century · the Basques (Vascons) expand their influence in the northern Foothills of the Pyrenees and immigrate, they establish their Duchy of Vasconia (" Gascogne ") in southern Aquitaine

511 · death of King Clovis, division of the Frankish Empire by Salic law of succession among his four sons (residences in Paris, Soissons, Orléans, Reims)

ca. 550 · administrative division of the empire into the kingdoms of Austrasia and Neustria, and the Duchy of Aquitaine and the Kingdom of Burgundy

639 · death of King Dagobert I., the power goes over to the Mayors of the Palace (maior domus) of Austrasia (House of the Carolingians)

687 · Pepin II. asserts itself as Mayor of the Palace throughout the Frankish Empire

8th century · the Moors (Islamic Arabs from North Africa) expand their influence in the northern Foothills of the Pyrenees, Duke Eudes calls Charles Martel to help

732 · Battle of Tours and Poitiers, Charles Martel defeats the Moors, they are pushed back over the Pyrenees, in the following years, however, fights between the Dukes and the Frankish kings

751 · Pepin the Short (III., grandson of Pepin II.) eliminates the Merovingian monarchy and let hisself elect to the king from the Franks

771 · Charlemagne takes over Aquitaine and transmits it later as a kingdom to his youngest son Louis the Pious

814 · Louis the Pious hands over Aquitaine (and the Spanish March) to his son Pippin

817 · Pepin is king of Aquitaine, a few years later Louis the Pious transfers Aquitaine to his youngest son, Charles (Charles the Bald), who has difficulties to prevail as king in Aquitaine

843 · division of the Frankish Empire (Treaty of Verdun), there arise the West Frankish Kingdom of Charles II. (the Bald), the Middle Frankish Kingdom of Lothar (Lotharingia), and the East Frankish Kingdom of Louis II., Aquitaine comes to the Empire of Charles the Bald, However, there is resistance among the nobility, they prefer Pepin II. (son of ex-King Pepin)

845 · Charles the Bald sets Pepin II. as king in Aquitaine, but without Poitou, Saintonge and Angoumois

849 · election of Charles the Bald as King of Aquitaine

855 · Charles the Bald lets elect his son Charles to the King of Aquitaine

867 · Death of King Charles, he is succeeded by his brother Louis (Louis the Stammerer)

870 · at the division of the Frankish Empire (Treaty of Meersen) arises the West Frankish Kingdom, the East Frankish Kingdom, and the Frankish Kingdom of Italy

877 · Ludwig ascends the West Frankish throne, Aquitaine is given as a fief and a duchy to Rainulf, Count of Poitiers, (House of the Ramnulfids)

880 · by the division of the Frankish Empire (Treaties of Verdun and Ribbemont) arises the West Frankish Kingdom (later France), the East Frankish Kingdom (later German Empire), the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Upper Burgundy (under Rudolf the Welf) and the Kingdom of Lower Burgundy persists

898 · Odo, Count of Paris and Duke of Francia, is elected to the king of the East Frankish Empire, Rainulf takes over the title of the King of Aquitaine

909 · Aquitaine is a duchy again, under William the Pious (Williamids, Gellones)

927 · Aquitaine comes to the House of Poitou (Ramnulfids)

950 · Aquitaine includes now the counties of Gascony, Armagnac, Fézensac, Périgord, Poitou, Angoulême and La Marche

987 · death of the childless West Frankish King Louis V. (House of Carolingians), his heir and uncle Charles of Lower Lorraine could not prevail, the nobility elects Hugh Capet (House of Capet) to the king, the Capetians are the Kings of France to 1328 - the Count of Toulouse (actually a vassal of the king of France and Duke of Aquitaine) refuses the following to Hugh Capet, the County of Toulouse becomes thus quasi-independently, and in the following years it became more and more powerful, resulting in the 12th century in an competition and enmity to the Duchy of Aquitaine, that meanwhile became a part of the Angevin Empire of the powerful noble House of Plantagenet

1102 · Count Raymond of Toulouse, participant and leader of the First Crusade, founds in the Levant the County of Tipolis

1152 · Henry Plantagenet marries Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony come to the house of Anjou-Plantagenet

1154 · death of Stephen of Blois (King of England), Henry is his successor as Henry II., Anjou becomes in this way a fief of the French king, which is a part of the crown of England (House of Anjou-Plantagenet)

1204 · Philip Augustus, King of France, conquers Normandy, Anjou, Maine and Touraine (Angevin Empire of the Plantagenets)

1224 · King Louis VIII. of France, son of Philip Augustus, conquers Aquitaine, except Gascony the last possession of the Plantagenets in France, Poitou and Saintonge come directly to the crown, La Marche, Périgord, Angoulême and Auvergne become fiefs

1259 · Treaty of Paris (Abbeville), King Henry III. of England recognizes the loss of Aquitaine, and receives in this way the Saintonge, which is united with Gascony to the Duchy of Guyenne, as fief

1328 · death of King Charles IV. (the Fair), extinction of the direct Capetian line, according to Salic Law Count Philip of Valois (Son of Prince Charles of Valois, first cousin of King Charles IV.) came on the French throne (as King Philip VI .), the English king Edward III. lays claim to the throne as a maternal nephew of Charles IV., reason for the "Hundred Years War" (Anglo-French War, 1338–1453), out of the House of Valois came all kings of France from 1328 to 1589

1453 · Battle of Castillon, the end of the Hundred Years War, the Kings of England have to cede all their possessions in France, in this way the Guyenne comes finally to France, the country is connected to the royal domain, later establish of the province of Guyenne

1776 · the already in the 14th century created governorates of the civil administration of the kingdom of France become committed to a number of 39, and correspond in this way to the number of provinces, in previous years could any provinces be summarized in one governorate

1789 · French Revolution, the governorates and provinces become abolished, Aquitaine is divided into departments (approximately: Gironde, Dordogne, Lot, Aveyron, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Gers, Hautes-Pyrenees and Haute-Garonne)

1960 · reintroduction of regions in France, forming of the Aquitaine region (capital is Bordeaux), but not within the historic boundaries, just by integrating of the departments of Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne and Pyrénées-Atlantiques

2016 · the Aquitaine region merges with the Poitou-Charentes and Limousin regions in the new, larger region of New Aquitaine (Nouvelle-Aquitaine)

Source: Wikipedia (D), Meyers Konversationslexikon

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Origin of the Country's Name

The name "Aquitaine" was alredy given to the country by the Romans.

Source: Volker Preuß

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