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The Location of Limousin
The modern region of Limousin is located in the
central part of France, on a series of rolling
plateaus in the northwestern part of the Massif
Central. It is bounded by the départements
of
Indre and
Cher, in the region of
Centre to the north,
Allier,
Puy-de-Dôme and
Cantal, in the region of
Auvergne to the east. The département
of
Lot, in the region of
Midi-Pyrénées,
is to the south, Dordogne is to the southwest, the département
of Charente, in the region of
Poitou-Charente, is to the west and
Vienne, in Poitou-Charente, is to the northwest.
Limousin is comprised of three départements:
Corrèze,
Creuse and
Haute-Vienne. The region’s capital is
Limoges.
The Blond Mountains are located in the southwest,
between the Vienne and Gartempe rivers, and rise to
more than 1600 feet. The Ambazac Mountains, to
the east, rise to more than 2300 feet.
The History of Limousin
During the
Pre-Roman and Roman periods [50 BC to 550 AD], the
general area of Limousin was inhabited by a Gallic
tribe known as the Lemovices. The name Limousin is
derived from that Gallic name.
Under the Romans, the area became a part of the
province of
Aquitania.
During the 6th to 8th centuries
the
Merovigian Franks were the rulers. They gave
it the name Pagus Lemovicinus. From the 8th to
10th century it was ruled by the
Carolingian Franks and, in 918, it once again
became subordinate to Aquitaine. During the
Middle Ages it was known for its troubadour poetry.
The 10th century saw Limousin divided into a number of
small governmental [feudal] units. The northern
part of Limousin became the country of Marche.
The counts of Angouleme, Auvergne and Poitou annexed
other parts. By the middle of the following
century, the Duke of Aquitaine, through the viscounts
of Comborn,
Limoges, Turenne and Ventadour, ruled the
remaining territory.
In 1466, Jean Bourbon II, the 6th duke of
Bourbon, was made governor of Limousin [together with
Berry, Languedoc, Orléanais
and Périgord] by
Louis XI. This honor was bestowed as a
result of Jean Bourbon’s contribution to the earlier
rout of the English.
The middle of the 12th century saw increased
competition for Limousin between the French and
English. During
the Hundred Years' War [1337 to 1453], the area
was the scene of heavy fighting. Ultimately,
Henry IV annexed the area to France. It then
became the French province of Plateaux du Limousin, in
1790, with its center at
Limoges. The present region contains much of
the territory formerly found in the old province.
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