Land development in south-west France
The expansion of the country in south-west France describes the internal colonization of the largely settlement-free area in today's Aquitaine region , which fell to France with the victory of the French crown at the end of the Hundred Years War in 1453 . This process took place in the second phase of the European country expansion from the 10th century.
causes
One of the causes of the colonization movement is the increase in population between the 11th and 13th centuries in Europe . This made it necessary to use more land than arable land. The land gained was called Artiga (French artigue , 'freshly grown'). This term is found in many place names again (Artiga. Artigue, Artigas, Artigat, Artigaou, Family, Artigues, Artigos, Artigoeyte, Ethereal Olles Artiguemy, ARTIGUEDIEU, Artiguelaube, Artiguelongue, Artiguelouve, Artiguemale, Artiguenave, Artiguenause, Artiguevieille) and let it draw conclusions about the emergence of individual villages and towns. From the current research perspective, two functions of the country's expansion in south-west France can be derived: "The movement has both concentrated the population and absorbed their surpluses."
Climate and soil conditions
The region has a mild, humid maritime climate , with the annual amount of precipitation varying locally. The characteristics of the floors are also very different. In the Landes de Gascogne, for example, black clay dominates, which, due to its high clay content, was difficult to work with with the means available at the time. The soils in the plateaus, in the Périgord and in the Agenais, on the other hand, are largely ferrous and acidic .
With the extensive deforestation, the natural landscape in the region changed for the first time in the direction of a cultural landscape. However, the area only got its current appearance with the long-term drainage projects from the early modern period and the soil improvement in the 19th century. The pasture management on acidic soil caused the soil to degrade quickly and a barren heathland was created . Only with the arrival of the railroad could almost any amount of lime be brought in to neutralize the soil, which then made intensive agriculture possible.
Settlement types
In the period from the 11th to the 14th centuries, more than 600 new village communities and cities emerged in south-west France, using different types of settlement as models.
Castelnau
The Castelnau type of settlement (plural: Castelnaus ; also Castelnaux ) was formed around a moth or a stone castle . In order to gain additional protection from attackers and a clear view, the castle was usually raised, for example on a rock spur. The houses were either built concentrically (as a circle or arch) and terraced around the castle - as in Fourcès in the Gers department, for example, or stretched out, following the ridge - as in Brian in the Gers department, for example . Also because many of these settlements were surrounded by a city wall, they are built tightly and compactly. These settlements were typically founded by a feudal lord who resided at the castle. The castle is also an expression of the uncertainty that prevailed in the south of France at the time. It offered protection from the access of rival dynasties and from marauding gangs. In addition, this type of settlement ideally corresponded to the imagination of the feudal lords .
According to the historian Charles Higounet, the Castelnau's heyday took place between 1100 and 1175. He describes the construction of Lauzerte in the Quercy as a high point and a simultaneous decline .
The settlement model can be found today in many place names in southwestern Aquitaine. Places like Castelnau de Montratier, Castelnau de Montmirail and Castelnau-Magnoac are evidence of this.
Sauveré
In contrast to the Castelnaux, the Sauverés formed primarily in areas that were under the patronage of clergy around churches, abbeys and monasteries. Many Sauverés were founded especially between 1030 and 1144/1150. Charles Higounet describes the sauverés as a "[...] permanent extension of the Treuga Dei [...] it offered the population protection, their goods and agricultural work the securitas [security] by placing a ban on who broke them." The new settlers got their landlords allotted as much land as they could work with two oxen. The exact size of the country could therefore vary. The new settlers could be obliged to pay a poll tax by their landlords . A few places were also given market rights . The respective area of the Sauverés was delimited by crosses, which symbolized that these areas were under the protection of God's peace . The place names and the document books of the abbeys and monasteries make it possible to identify the origins of the villages and towns.
“The largest colonization enterprise of this kind was carried out by the Johannitern im Comminges . The descendants of Saint-Clar founded over 40 Sauvetés in the first decades of the 12th century on an area of around 800 square kilometers. "
Bastide
The term bastide (Occitan: bastir = "to build") is the name of a settlement model in the Middle Ages in southwest France. These are village communities, which mostly have a central marketplace and streets laid out at right angles. The bastides were either newly built or existing settlements were given the legal status of a bastide. The bastides reached their peak in the second half of the 13th century.
Casale
The casales are carefully planned and structured village communities. The settlements are "[...] laid out in small rectangular or square blocks of houses, resulting in a system of geometric streets."
Push and pull factors
For the settlers
The state expansion brought many advantages for the new settlers. On the one hand, they were under the protection of the landlord, and on the other hand, it meant freedom and a farm for them. This created a new social middle class that bridged the gap between the unfree rural population and the nobility. Many landlords granted the new settlers privileges , such as the reduction of forced labor or exemption from taxes .
For the landlords
The landlords, for their part, hoped for fixed and permanent income from the new settlers. Furthermore, through the resettlement or resettlement, parts of the country that had been devastated by wars could be made usable again. This meant an economic and financial gain for the landlords as well as the strengthening of their position of power and the enlargement of their domain. Charles Higounet argues that landlords also had military-strategic reasons for the new settlement. He observed an accumulation of bastides within the Anglo-French border areas. The motives of the landlords are currently controversial in research.
The role of the monasteries
The monasteries and religious orders played an important role in the development of the country (both in France and during the German settlement in the east ). Around 50 new religious houses were founded by the end of the 12th century. The Cistercian order was particularly important for the new settlement and cultivation of agricultural land. The Cistercians combined spiritual life with practical work in agriculture. Within France, the construction of new monasteries and foundations was encouraged by the king. One of the most famous Cistercian monasteries is Fontenay Abbey , which was founded in 1118. The reform monasteries of the Cistercians also participated to varying degrees in the development of the land in the 12th and 13th centuries and built some of their farms ( grangien ) on new pasture and arable land.
End of the settlement movement
From the year 1320 a decline in the Aquitaine settlement movement could be determined. Many bastides and sauvéres failed when they were founded because not enough new settlers could be found. Thus, the settlement movement ebbed despite numerous attempts to open up new areas. The king also tried to continue expanding, but with moderate success.
literature
- Peter Erlen: European regional development and medieval German eastern settlement: a structural comparison between southwest France, the Netherlands and the Order of Prussia. Herder Institute, Marburg / Lahn 1992, ISBN 3-87969-224-6 . (At the same time: Diss. Univ. Bochum, 1986).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Charles Higounet: On the settlement history of southwest France from the 11th to the 14th century. In: Walter Schlesinger (Ed.): The German East Settlement of the Middle Ages as a Problem of European History - Reichenau Lectures 1970–1972. Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1975, ISBN 3-7995-6618-X , p. 693.
- ↑ a b c Charles Higounet: On the settlement history of south-west France from the 11th to the 14th century. In: Walter Schlesinger (Ed.): The German East Settlement of the Middle Ages as a Problem of European History - Reichenau Lectures 1970–1972. 1975, p. 668.
- ↑ a b Peter Erlen: European regional development and medieval German eastern settlement - a structural comparison between south-west France, the Netherlands and the Order of Prussia. 1992, p. 136.
- ↑ Charles Higounet: On the settlement history of southwest France from the 11th to the 14th century. In: Walter Schlesinger (Ed.): The German East Settlement of the Middle Ages as a Problem of European History - Reichenau Lectures 1970–1972. 1975, p. 675.
- ↑ Peter Erlen: European regional development and medieval German eastern settlement - a structural comparison between south-west France, the Netherlands and the Order of Prussia. 1992, p. 155.
- ↑ Duden: Basic Knowledge History School, 2003. Page?
- ↑ Lexicon of the Middle Ages Author ?, Article ?, Volume ?, Page?