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Provence

 

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 pavillon Provence Arles
Flag of Provence
– Drapeau de Provence,
Source, by: Die Welt der Flaggen




Flagge Fahne flag drapeau pavillon Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
since 1999,
Flag of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region
– drapeau de la région Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur,
Source, by: Flags of the World



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Meaning/Origin of the Flag

The flag of Provence is a scutcheon-flag, it shows the image of the coat of arms. It goes back to Charles of Anjou, the brother of King Charles V., after he became the Count of Provence, when he merried Beatrix of Barcelona in 1245. Since 1999 is in the region of "Provence- Alpes-Côte d’Azur", to which the Provence belongs, a flag in use, which combines the features of the heraldry of the County of Barcelona (Provence belonged from 1112 to 1245 to the County of Barcelona), of the County of Dauphiné and of the County of Nice.

Source: Volker Preuß

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Coat of Arms


Wappen arms crest blason Barcelona Barcelone Provence
1112–1245,
Coat of arms of the County of Barcelona, to which Provence belongs in this time
– Blason de la Comté de Barcelone, Provence entendu à ce moment pour ce pays,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D)


Wappen arms crest blason Anjou
1246–1382,
Coat of arms of Anjou
– blason de Anjou,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D)


Wappen arms crest blason Anjou
1382-1481,
Coat of arms of Anjou
– blason de Anjou,
Source, by: Wikipedia (FR)


Wappen arms crest blason Provence
since 18th century,
Coat of arms of Provence
– Blason du Provence,
Source, by: Wikipedia (FR)

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Meaning/Origin of the Coat of Arms

When the Counts of Arles – which ruled until that point of time over the Provence – extincted in 1112, the Provence came as heir to Count Ramon Berenguer of Barcelona. The land remained in the ownership of the Counts of Barcelona until their extinction in 1245, and during this time the coat of arms of the County of Barcelona was used. The heiress and daughter, Beatrix, had meantimes married Charles of Anjou. He was a brother of King Louis IX. of France, in this way the Provence came to the house of Anjou (Anjou-Provence). This was also visible in the coat of arms. The heraldry of Charles of Anjou showed the lily-scutcheon of the Capetians, supplemented with a red tournament collar with three flaps, which featured Charles – following the rules of the French heraldry – as a younger son. The heiress of the House of Anjou Johanna of Naples adopted Ludwig (son of King John the Good of France) as her successor. The younger line of Anjou in this way took over, but Johann inherits only the Provence. The coat of arms of the Capetians showed three golden lilies on blue, but originally was the coat of arms sprinkled with lilies. From 1365 (by others sources 1376), the number of lilies was reduced to three. The lily-symbol is very old, already the Germanic tribe of the Franks has used it. The House of the Capetians has provided the kings of France between 987 and 1328. It goes back to Hugo Capet, son of Hugo the Great, who was electet to the King of France, in 987, after the death of King Ludwig V. from the House of the Carolingians. The Capetians brought out three branch lines which became the Kings of France: Valois 1328–1589, Bourbon 1589–1792 and 1814–1830, and Orléans 1830–1848.

Source: Wikipedia (D), Volker Preuß

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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 · settlement by the Ligurian tribe of the Sallusians

125 B.C. · military victory of the Roman Consul Fulvius against the Sallusians

123 B.C. · the area of the Sallusians is annexed to the Roman Empire, the today's territories of Languedoc, Dauphiné and Savoy get merged as "Provincia"

58–52 B.C. · Roman conquest of Gaul, the area of Sallusians comes to the province of Gallia Narbonensis, but the name "Provincia" remains in common use

4th/5th century A.D. · the Burgundians come from the region between the Oder River and Vistula River and invade into the Roman Empire, settle on the Middle Rhine near Worms and plunder neighboring Roman settlement areas

436 · the Kingdom of Burgundy in the Middle Rhine area is shattered by Huns in Roman service

443 · the surviving Burgundians get settled by the Romans in the area of Lake Geneva and the today's Savoy

ca. 443 · arise of the Kingdom of Burgundy (Burgundia), expansion of the territory south to the River Durance, the territories from there down to the Mediterranean Sea remain as "Provincia" at the Roman Empire

470 · the Visigoths conquer "Provincia"

508 · "Provincia" comes to the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths under Theodoric the Great

534 · conquest of the Kingdom of Burgundy by the Franks

536 · the Ostrogothic King Vitiges cedes "Provincia" to the Frankish King Theodebert

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 – Burgundy gets divided, the north (Upper Burgundy) comes to the West Frankish Kingdom, the south (Provincia) comes to the Frankish Kingdom of Italy

877 · Lower Burgundy (including Provincia) separates from Italy

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, the Kingdom of Lower Burgundy (including Provincia ) remains

951 · Upper Burgundy and Lower Burgundy become united to the Kingdom of Burgundy, under Conrad III. of Upper Burgundy, this country is also called Arelat

1033 · the Kingdom of Burgundy (Arelat) comes as an inheritance to the German Empire, the Roman-German Emperor Conrad the Elder is elected in Peterlingen (Payerne) to the king of Burgundy, but in subsequent years, the country is divided into several counties (County of Provence, County of Venaissin, County of Savoy, County of Dauphiné, Franche-Comté), the last king of Burgundy is the Emperor Charles IV., who was enthroned in 1365

1112 · the Counts of Arles, until that point of time ruling over Provincia (French: Provence) extinct, the inheritance goes to Count Ramon Berenguer of Barcelona

1245 · death of Ramon Berenguer IV., Count of Barcelona (the Barcelona County is part of the Kingdom of Aragon), the heiress and daughter Beatrix gets married with Charles of Anjou (brother of Louis IX. - the Holy - King of France), in this way comes the Provence to the House of Anjou (Anjou-Provence)

1382 · Johanna I. of Anjou-Provence appoints Louis I. (Duke of Anjou, son of King John the Good of France, brother of Charles V., King of France) as heir, the Provence comes in this way to the younger line of the House of Anjou

1487 · Charles VIII., Count of Provence and Count of Dauphiné (son of the French King Louis XI.), brings the Provence to the French crown, he inherited the Provence from Charles III. (son of Louis I. of Anjou), that was the leaving of Provence from the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation, which had only existed nominally since 1378 (the death of the last King of Burgundy)

17th–18th century · the Provence (as part of the French crown) is just a province, the country is involved in the civil administration of the Kingdom of France and has a governmental administration, but it is equipped with some special rights of a estates state, what could be an own estates assembly (a kind of parliament) or may even mean an own tax jurisdiction towards the king

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 (provinces) become abolished, the Provence is divided into departments (mainly Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Var, Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhône)

1960 · reintroduction of regions in France, forming of the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d' Azur, with its capital Marseille, but not within the historic boundaries, just by integrating of the departments of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Var, Vaucluse, Bouches-du-Rhône, Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-Maritimes

Source: Wikipedia (D), Meyers Konversationslexikon

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Origin of the Country's Name

The name "Provence" goes back to the year 123 B.C., when the area of the Sallusians was incorporated into the Roman Empire, and the territories of today's Provence, Languedoc, Dauphiné and Savoy were summarized as "Provincia" (province). The name "Provincia" remained in common use over the centuries.

Source: Meyers Konversationslexikon

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