Seneschallat Carcassonne

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Seneschallate of Carcassonne (French Sénéchaussée de Carcassonne ) was an administrative regional body in France with the capital Carcassonne . Like almost all Bailliages and Sénéchaussées , it was of medieval origin and had existed until the 1789 Revolution .

history

The Cité of Carcassonne with the Château Vicomtal, the official seat of the Seneschal.

The Seneschallate was created as a result of the Albigensian Crusade and the associated fall of the House of Trencavel . Already the leader of the crusade, Simon de Montfort (X 1218), installed seneschals for administration in the areas he had subjected to, as was already practiced by the kings in northern France. After his son Amalrich († 1241) transferred the inheritance rights that had accrued to him to the French crown in 1224, the conquests of Montfort were treated as part of the royal domain from then on , but only King Ludwig VIII. After his campaign of 1226 had the old Trencavel fiefdom subjugate and incorporate the crown domain. The seneschal now appointed here acted as trustees of the kings.

In 1240 the last heir of the Trencavel attempted to recapture the fiefs of his family, but he could not conquer the Cité of Carcassonne, which was defended by the Seneschal, and finally had to surrender to an approaching royal relief army .

The old counties of Carcassonne , Béziers and Agde were combined in the administrative area of ​​the Seneschallate, but it also touched areas beyond them. Overall, it included the dioceses of Carcassonne , Béziers , Agde , Lodève and from 1317 of Narbonne . Furthermore, the land of Mirepoix and that of the abbey (from 1297 diocese) of Pamirs were subordinate to the Seneschal in the diocese of Toulouse . The official seat of the Seneschal was the old vice-count's castle in the Cité. Since the middle of the 16th century, the Seneschalate was subordinated to the Toulouse generals. In 1528 the diocese of Béziers and that of Agde and Lodève were separated from Carcassonne as the new Seneschallate, just as one was established in Limoux in 1642 .

In March 1790 the Seneschallate was dissolved and incorporated into the newly created Aude department .

Officials (selection)

literature